We were trying to fit as much into our December vacation as possible. We will be staying at Duplooy's on the Mainland for 3 days and can only fit so much in on those 3 days. Therefore, we were hoping to do a day trip to TIKAL from AC one day. I know you can fly to Belize City and take a tour from there. We were wondering if there was an airport closer to TIKAL so we could spend ALL of our day in TIKAL and skip the extras they offer during the drive from Belize City. Since we are staying at Duplooy's we will already have seen the Belize Zoo which I understand is one of the main attractions during the drive into TIKAL.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

The day tours from San Pedro to Tikal involve flying from San Pedro to Belize City and then flying from Belize City to Flores, the airport closest to Tikal. Both Maya Island and Tropic Air do this trip.

From the San Ignacio area, you'd do the trip overland by van (it's about 2 hours to Tikal from San Ignacio).

Be aware that there is a major crime wave going on now in the Peten.

--Lan Sluder
Belize First Magazine http://www.belizefirst.com/

Thank you for the information.

Does anybody know what type of Major crime is happening in the TIKAL area. I haven't heard of anything out of the ordinary so I was assuming it was reasonably safe to travel into Guademala (excuse my spelling). Any information would be greatly appreciated.

jingles...

see Lan's post: ( 2nd paragraph)
//ambergriscaye.com/message/Forum4/HTML/003250.html

I went to Tikal last December with a private tour...definitely a wonderful trip though I was scared the whole way there! I have since heard about alot of crime and vigilante activity in the area and wouldn't go now.

When we went to Tikal this past April we met some American soldiers who were there digging wells. They told us to be careful driving back as the bandits will not stop your vehicle-if they decide to target your car, they just open fire. I must admit I was nervous the whole way back. We saw a lot of military carrying very powerful weapons even in the ruins and military helicopters patrolling. I was so glad when we crossed the border back into Belize. Nothing happened but if I had known this beforehand I don't know if we would have done the trip. The ruins were nice but not as spectacular as Chichen Itza. Maybe by December things will change. I guess you have to do what you think is best. Maybe there are some other comparable ruin sites in Belize. Lamanai was nice but nothing as grand as Tikal. Maybe Xuantunich?