RAC

This trip is WAY off in the distance (February 2010) but getting our first choice of locations was important for this trip.

Anyway:

Day 1: Take the early flight and arrive at BZE at 12:30 pm. After clearing customs and immigration, grab bags and take shuttle to Cahal Pech Village Resort. If we arrive in time, do a night canoe tour on the Macal river.

Day 2: Day trip to Caracol, with stops in Mountain Pine Ridge including Rio On and Rio Frio cave.

Day 3: Morning canoe at Barton Creek, either relax by the pool or do Cahal Pech's Lost Valleys of the Maya. Do the night canoeing if we didn't get a chance to on day 1.

Day 4: Catch shuttle to Tikal, check into Tikal Inn, tour ruins by ourselves until sunset

Day 5: Tikal

Day 6: Either one more tour of Tikal, or a zipline, then catch an early afternoon transfer to Flores. Spend the afternoon exploring Flores, maybe do a boat tour of the lake

Day 7: Fly from Flores to BZE, catch shuttle/boat to Lamanai Outpost Lodge. Do one of the activities that comes with the package there.

Day 8: Tour Lamanai, other nature activities at Lamanai Outpost Lodge

Day 9: Lamanai Outpost Lodge Activities

Day 10: Catch the shuttle into BZE and make our way begrudgingly back to the US.

Questions:

1. Does anyone know of any good naturalist guides or ziplines (emphasis on safety) in the Tikal area?

2. Has anyone done the Lost Valleys of the Maya tour through Cahal Pech. We're kind of up in the air about whether to do it or just chill by the pool instead.

Thoughts:

1. We had initially looked at Cockscomb or Chan Chich instead of Lamanai, but ruled the former out due to logistical reasons (not close to anything else we wanted to see this time) and the latter because of cost ($500-600 just to get there, whereas the Outpost Lodge provides free transport) and because the Outpost Lodge has better ruins and activities to do.

2. Yes, we are going to Belize and not doing any diving or Caye exploration. We'll do those things next time.

shillmac

Sounds like a great plan! You'll love it. If you get a chance to do the ATM tour--well, it's amazing!

Suzie2

We have the name of a wonderful guide in the Tikal area. I will try to find his email address for you. He grew up in the park, attended school in the park and inherited his fathers guide number....number 1. Our first visit with him was incredible, 100 species of birds in one day, amazing info on the temples. They were working on temple 4 the second time we went but he still managed to get us up there to see the sunset. Unfortunately, it was cloudy the morning we wanted to go for the sunrise. We had already taken the tour with a non english speaking guide (my husband speaks fluent spanish) but he didn't know nearly as much as Luis. We also saw a guide letting a tourist get close to an alligator in the pond near the entrance. Way too dangerous imo.

We have been back to visit him and are looking forward to seeing him again soon in the next year or so. He does speak english fairly well.

My internet here in Costa Rica isn't great so I thought I better look sooner rather than later and give it to you while I have a decent connection.

[email protected] Hopefully this will work.

RAC

Suzie:

That would be great. We've heard that a lot of the guides around Tikal provide entertaining fiction instead of information about the site. Having a really good one would be a treat.

From what I understand, there's only one species of crocodile that's dangerous to people in Central America, and that it isn't found at Tikal. (Now, the monsters we saw in Costa Rica are another story).

Shillmac--we had thought about the ATM cave, but my wife has chronic arthritis in her joints. Not enough to stop her from hiking or swimming, but rock climbing and squeezing through holes would be too much.

hopefulist

I'd be really wary of ziplines in CA, though I think I'd trust the one Caves Branch runs. The standards just aren't the same for safety, no inspectors, no rules or laws really.

Your plan sounds great - wish I could help you more though it doesn't look like you need it. My best advice is to travel really light (just a loosely filled carry-on each) and to allow time for hammocks and hanging out.

Have a great trip and please post a travelogue when you get back. Happy trails!

RAC

We've done the ziplines in Costa Rica, which are done with a high degree of safety and professionalism. But, yeah, ziplining in Guatemala makes me nervous.

shillmac

Sure, RAC--that makes sense. Not all that much squeezing, a little; but quite a bit of climbing--up and down. There will be plenty of great things to do to make your trip very special. Wish we had gone to Lamanai. Another time, maybe! I'm hoping that someday we can do a house exchange with JeanH and her husband! Did I mention that to you, Jean?

Have fun, RAC!

By the way, you are probably right about the guides. I thought the one we had at Tikal was WAY to interested in end times and the Mayan calendar's predictions. Interesting, but perhaps not fact? Who knows? Perhaps the Mayans did. We'll find out Dec. 23, 2012. I laughed and told my husband that maybe we shouldn't spend money on Christmas gifts that year!

RAC

We had a pretty good guide for our visit to Chichen Itza. And I know there are good ones there--just have to figure out which ones are which.

Apparently there's a harpy that was known to nest around the Tikal Inn, and there's also a midnight jaguar tour. Now that would be hitting the lottery.

The big draw at the Outpost Lodge for birds is that Jabiru are almost guaranteed sightings.