Tikal Tickets and Entrance Fee 2026

Tikal admission prices 2026

Prices in quetzales (Q) for foreign visitors, with rough US dollar and euro equivalents in brackets; Guatemalans pay considerably less with ID. Sunrise and sunset are added to admission.

* Prices for Guatemalan citizens with a valid DPI/CUI. Children under 10 free, full price from age 10, seniors pay the regular price. Prices in quetzales according to the Ministry of Culture ticket shop, as of 25 September 2026; dollar and euro figures are rough conversions (rate of 25 September 2026). Opening hours and rules according to the Ministry of Culture.

Sunrise or sunset: worth the extra 100 Q?

• Sunrise is worth it if the jungle matters to you as much as the temples: pick-up in Flores at 3 am, into the forest in the dark at 4, then waiting on Temple IV until the howler monkeys announce the day. Mist usually hangs over the canopy, so you do not always see the sun itself. The regular guided tour follows, and you are back in Flores around midday.
• Sunset is the more relaxed option: pick-up at noon, a guided walk through the city in the afternoon as the day visitors leave, and the view over the canopy from Temple IV until it is dark at 8 pm. Wildlife is as active in the evening as in the morning.
• Both require three things: the regular ticket (150 Q), the extra ticket (100 Q) and a licensed guide. Without a guide the extra ticket is not accepted at the entrance. If you mainly want to see the buildings, regular admission from 6 am gets you in just the same and saves 100 Q.

Tikal opening hours

The park opens every day of the year, including Christmas, New Year and Holy Week; only force majeure closes it. Between 6 am and 6 pm you may walk the marked trails without a guide. For sunrise or sunset you need the extra ticket and a licensed guide in addition to admission; the platform does not provide guides. The site is quietest between 6 and 8 am and after 3 pm.

Buying tickets: official or through a provider?

Just the ticket? Buy it online before the drive at the boletos.culturaguate.gob.gt, the platform of the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture: up to 30 days in advance, by Visa or Mastercard, and always in the “Extranjeros” category. Show the PDF (Forma 63A2) and your passport at the entrance and you receive wristbands. There is no ticket office in the park and hardly any signal; on site, the only option is the BANTRAB bank agency at the first checkpoint, about 20 kilometres before the visitor centre.

With a guide or transfer? Then a package makes sense. Providers such as GetYourGuide bundle pick-up in Flores, Santa Elena or El Remate, the drive and a guide; some tours include admission, many do not. Tikal covers 16 square kilometres, and without a guide the Great Plaza stays a backdrop. For sunrise and sunset a guide is compulsory anyway.

Note: Foreign visitors holding a ticket for Guatemalan citizens are refused entry, and the platform gives no refunds, not even for a wrong purchase. Screenshots and bank receipts do not count as tickets; only the PDF does. Book guides through a tour operator or ask licensed guides at the entrance for their credentials.

Free admission and discounts

• Children under 10: free, full price from the 10th birthday.
• Students, seniors: no discount; seniors also pay 150 Q.
• Guatemalans: 25 Q admission with a valid DPI/CUI; this does not apply to foreign residents without a DPI.
• 30 days of validity: A ticket is valid for 30 days from purchase, whatever date is printed on it. From a group order, only the tickets used that day are cancelled; the rest remain valid.

Tikal with a guide: from Flores, El Remate or Belize

Almost nothing at Tikal is labelled, and the paths between the plazas run through dense forest. A four-hour guided tour puts the Great Plaza, the North Acropolis, Mundo Perdido and Temple IV in order and points out the toucans and spider monkeys you would walk past on your own. Tours leave from Flores, Santa Elena and El Remate, and from Belize with a border crossing at Melchor de Mencos. Choose the language when booking.

Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: we may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Prices, languages and availability change; the provider’s listing prevails. Selection checked on 25 September 2026.

Getting there: from Flores, Santa Elena or Belize

Tikal lies in Petén in northern Guatemala, 63 kilometres from Flores, about an hour’s drive. The island of Flores and the neighbouring town of Santa Elena with Mundo Maya airport are the base for almost every visit; from Guatemala City it is 484 kilometres, about nine hours by bus or an hour by plane. The CA-13 road runs towards Melchor de Mencos, and at Ixlú the park road branches off via El Remate. Operators’ shuttles leave Flores and Santa Elena daily from about 4:30 am, colectivo minibuses run from Santa Elena, taxis are available, and drivers and guides wait at the airport.

From Belize, Tikal is a day trip: from San Ignacio it is 15 minutes to the border at Melchor de Mencos and then about two hours to the park. If you want to stay overnight in the park, there are three lodges and the campsite (50 Q) by the visitor centre; buy the next morning’s ticket online beforehand all the same. By car: the car park is at the visitor centre, and tickets are checked at the first checkpoint.

Entrance and paths in the park

Checkpoint (Garita)

About 20 kilometres before the visitor centre. Tickets are checked here, and this is the only place to pay on site (BANTRAB).

Visitor centre

Car park, museums, lodges, restaurants and the entrance where wristbands are issued. From here it is a 20 to 30 minute walk to the Great Plaza.

Paths

Wide forest trails link the Great Plaza, Mundo Perdido, Temple IV and Complex Q; a circuit including Temple IV is about six kilometres, with wooden stairs on the buildings you may climb.

The entrance, the Great Plaza, Temple IV and the paths between them are on our Tikal map. To meet the kings buried beneath Temple I, read our history of Tikal.

Around Tikal: museums, Uaxactún, Yaxhá

At the visitor centre there are two small museums: the Museo Sylvanus G. Morley with pottery and burial goods, and the Museo Lítico with stelae and altars from the city. The platform sells a museum ticket for 30 Q which it assigns to the Museo Regional del Mundo Maya; ask at the visitor centre which museums it opens. Uaxactún, 23 kilometres north through the park, is the city with the oldest known Maya observatory; admission 50 Q, and the track is difficult in the rainy season.

Yaxhá lies between two lakes east of Tikal and belongs to a separate national park with its own ticket, which is not sold on the Tikal platform. Many operators combine sunrise at Tikal with sunset at Yaxhá on the same day.