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Is it safe to take children there? Is it safe, period? I have read mixed information.
Thanks.

Safety there is fluid, but it has been safe for a nice long stretch now and I'd certainly feel safe to travel to Tikal with adults or kids.

The answer is most definitely yes-but if you are worried take a tour bus from San Ignacio,and you will have no -problems

that way when you get mugged you will have something in common with all those strangers

Yeah. Okay. I know!
We would fly there. I suppose it would be with a tour, or guide.
Thanks for your honest replies. So, in conclusion, it is fine??? Sort of fine??

I think you'll be fine. I fly over for the day and had read and re-read all the warnings etc... of course I had a guide since it was just a day trip so I felt a little easier about that. There were only two of us on the "tour" and on the way back to Flores we came upon a van that had broken down. A couple flagged us down and you could tell the driver and the guide were on their toes. The couple wanted/needed a ride into Flores and couldn't/didn't want to wait for the van that had broke down to be fixed or another ride. We were fine with it but the guide kept asking us if we were sure. We finally convinced him that we felt ok with it. So bottom line, I think you'd be fine. They also had police or security all over the place when I was there last year.

There were more police/guards than tourists when I was there at Easter (and, there were a lot of tourists)...

Please note Tikal is not Disney-fied. When you climb to the top of Temple 4, you are on a thin ledge surrounding the highest Mayan ruin in the world...no fence...just a guy with a stretcher at the bottom! Wear proper shoes. Don't mean to patronize, but I met a injured people who were wearing sandals/flip flops.

All the warnings posted on Lonely Planet and the other backpacker type sites stated that most problems were experienced by people in vans or buses that were pulled over in so-called road blocks. Katie at Maya Travel arranged flights and private driver for me, and it was fine. We did pass one road block on the way from the airport to the Jungle Lodge, but they waved us through.

We took our kids on a day trip to Tikal in November 2002. We took a van from San Ignacio, and didn't run into any trouble on the road. However, as Mayaphile said, the political situation is very fluid, so be sure to check before you go.

My husband and I took turns climbing Temple 2 (we deemed it too dangerous for the kids). The steps are VERY steep, VERY narrow, with NO handrails, and NO guard rails. The ledge at the top of the steps seems to be a few stories from the ground. When I got back down, I asked our guide if anyone had ever fallen. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Eh..not many." That struck me as pretty funny.

We did let the kids climb Temple 4. It was an awesome sight, and the sound of howler monkeys floating above the canopy is something I will always remember.

Tikal is a fabulous place, and I hope you and your kids are able to go.

I understand that virgins are much more at risk. Just got back from Tikal and I would say that if you carefully and conscienciously watch your children... it might be OK. Tikal is DEFINATELY not the place for children running around unsupervised. Also, no monkey business!!