Tikal or Coban

[Floridiana]

I hope to find answers from people who have visted several Mayan ruins and are able to compare.

 

We booked the Mayan Mystique cruise on the Riviera in December 2012.We plan to see three different ruins. I have therefore included the ones in Mexico and Belize for comparison purposes.

Our choices are:

 

Guatemala: Tikal or Copan (ship's excursions, both by air)

 

Costa Maya: Chacchoben (independent operator)

Belize: Lamanai (ship's excursion)

 

Would you choose Tikal or Copan?

[panajachel]

I hope to find answers from people who have visted several Mayan ruins and are able to compare.

 

We booked the Mayan Mystique cruise on the Riviera in December 2012.We plan to see three different ruins. I have therefore included the ones in Mexico and Belize for comparison purposes.

Our choices are:

 

Guatemala: Tikal or Copan (ship's excursions, both by air)

 

Costa Maya: Chacchoben (independent operator)

Belize: Lamanai (ship's excursion)

 

Would you choose Tikal or Copan?

Tikal, of course, they are expectacular!

[asalnars]

Go to Tikal you will not regret the experience.

[jpver]

Tikal is worth the trip. On top the flight with probably TAG , a 18 seater Bandeirante is already an excursion itself. These planes are flying at low altitude and you have very nice sceneries of the country and the mountains.

Tikal is great. The best view is on the Temple number 4 where you have on top the best panaromic view of the jungle with the other temples.

 

 

Note we were there with the Statendam in december 2011.

Wud recommend to make such excursions only with the cruise ship organisation. If there is a problem and you are stuck somewhere, the cruise ship will not wait for you.

[dkoitz]

Were booked on March 28, 2013 (Ryndam) to go to TIKAL. Tikal is a UNESCO World Heritage site and on the Smithsonian list of places to see before you die. I am so excited. Everyone should opt to check this place out. Don't worry about the cost, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.Just do it!

http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/content/lifelist/

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

[sansterre]

We have been to several Mayan sites and were wondering whether or not to make the effort to Tikal. It sounds like we should! Can anyone compare Tikal to Chichen Itza?

[AERIE_JMR]

Does anybody know how to get from Santo Tomas to Tikal for a day trip? The cruiseline wants $850 per person!!!!!

[dkoitz]

We are just back from the most awesome trip. Tikal was awesome and definitely worth the money. We climbed several temples and got some great photos. We previously have been to Lamanai, Chacchoben, Coba, Kohunlich, Tulum, Xunantunich, and this place beat them all on what you can climb and volume of ruins. Our legs hurt for 2 days after because we climbed so much. The flight was fine, and we got to see the landscape. After they took us to lunch at a restaurant that has a neat gift shop. Got a Tikal wood carving, a wood puma carving and t-shirts. They had stitched blankets, purses, books, carvings, stone carvings of the Gods and a wonderful selection of Jade amongst many other items. On the way back to the ship, the trolleys belt broke and the tour company called in for a police escort along with another trolley replacement. They stopped traffic and police escorted us through 2 towns. It was an express escort to make it to the ship on time. What wonderful customer service, I was definitely impressed. There was I believe 15 people on the tour. The ship is now headed to Europe, but when they cruise the Caribbean again, Tikal is a trip NOT to be missed.

[Reenwad]

Caracol (Cayo District and Western Belize): Caracol (http://www.caracol.org) is the largest known Mayan archaeological site in Belize, and one of the great Mayan city-states of the Classic era. Located deep within the Chiquibil Forest Reserve, the ruins are not nearly as well excavated as those at Tikal, Xunantunich, or any number of other sites. However, this is part of Caracol's charm. The main pyramid here, Caana or "Sky Palace," stands some 41m (136 ft.) high; it is the tallest Mayan building in Belize and still the tallest man-made structure in the country.

 

Tikal: Just over the Belizean border in neighboring Guatemala, Tikal is the grandest of the surviving Classic Mayan cities. Tikal is far more extensively excavated than any ruins in Belize. The pyramids here are some of the most perfect examples of ceremonial architecture in the Mayan world. The peaks of several temples poke through the dense rainforest canopy. Toucans and parrots fly about, and the loudest noise you'll hear is the guttural call of howler monkeys. In its heyday, the city probably covered as much as 65 sq. km (25 sq. miles) and supported a population of over 100,000.