Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
CROSSING INTO GUATEMALA: TRANSPORT AND PRACTICALITIES
GETTING THERE
Hotels and tour companies throughout Belize, and especially in the Cayo district, offer
day-trips and overnight tours to Tikal, but it's also straightforward to travel independently.
By shuttle bus
Mayan Heart World offer a daily service between San Ignacio and Tikal
(departs San Ignacio 7.30am, Tikal 2pm; US$40 one way; Belize
T
501 824 3328, Guatemala
T
502 2375 7072;
W
mayanheartworld.net), and can also arrange transfers to and from Flores
and El Remate.
By bus
Three daily direct buses connect Belize City with Santa Elena, just outside Flores (see
p.169). Otherwise, regular buses connect Belize City and San Ignacio with the town of Benque
Viejo, from where
colectivo
taxis run the final mile west to the frontier (US$3).
By plane
Daily flights connect Flores with Belize City and Guatemala City (see p.169).
By car
If you want to drive into Guatemala from Belize, rent a car from Crystal Auto Rental in
Belize City (see p.54).
BORDER PRACTICALITIES
Both the Belizean and Guatemalan border posts are on the eastern bank of the Mopan River,
nine miles west of San Ignacio. Even if you're leaving Belize for just one day, the Belizean
passport control will charge you Bz$37.50. Most nationalities do not need a
visa
to enter
Guatemala.
Moneychangers
on either side of the border pester everyone who passes
through.
PHONES
The international dialling code for Guatemala is
502
.
LANGUAGE
Guatemala is a
Spanish
-speaking country; overcharging foreigners is routine, and the better
you are at getting by the less likely you are to be ripped off. Our Spanish-language guide
covers the basics (see p.260).
MONEY AND COSTS
The Guatemalan unit of currency is the
quetzal
(Q); one US dollar is generally worth between
7Q and 8Q. Businesses in Tikal, Flores and El Remate often prefer to be paid in US dollars,
and everyone readily accepts dollars instead of quetzales.
Costs
are generally far cheaper
than in Belize; for transport, accommodation and food they can be as much as forty or fifty
percent less.
CRIME AND SAFETY
In Guatemala you'll need to take even greater
safety precautions
than in Belize. While there
has been little trouble in recent years, it's safest to cross the border and indeed arrive at Tikal in
daylight. Violent robberies and assaults on tourists have in the past taken place in and around
El Remate and within Tikal itself, but
Tourism Police
patrols in vehicles and on foot have cut
the crime rate considerably.
several huge pyramids and large acropolis complexes. You can get a sense of its size and
layout from the scale model near the site entrance. The tallest and most impressive
pyramid,
Structure 216
, northeast of the entrance, rises in tiers to a height of over 98ft; the
restoration enables you to climb to the top for spectacular views over the forest and lake.
Topoxté
Set on the easternmost of three small islands in Laguna Yaxhá, the Maya settlement of
Topoxté
is much smaller than Yaxhá itself. Although the site was occupied from the
Preclassic era onwards, most of the structures now visible date from the Late
Postclassic. In view of the lake's population of large crocodiles, the only way to reach
Topoxté is by boat; ask at the
El Sombrero
lodge (see p.158).
