airwayvz

I checked out both places you asked about - Hotel Villa Margarita and Hotel Casona de la Isla. Both looked like fine places to stay to me, and are fairly close to each other (as is everything on Flores).

Hotel Casona de la Isla has better views, and that pool would definitely be ice in the HOT weather of Flores. Of course, it costs a bit more to stay there than Villa Margarita...

hopefulist

Thanks so much! I think we'll splurge at Tikal to get the pool and choose Villa Margarita in Flores which is less than half the cost. It was really nice of you to scope them out for me! Happy trails!

airwayvz

At least you'll get SOME pool time, haha! By the way, we used Luis - the guide that Suzie2 recommended and he was FANTASTIC if you're looking for a guide. We stayed about two hours after sunset exploring the park. The next day he took us to Nakum & Yaxha. We were the first visitors to Nakum in nearly a month...it's pretty tough to get to if there's a lot of rain.

hopefulist

airwayvz - How many nights did you spend in the area? We'll have 2 and are thinking 1st at Tikal and 2nd at Flores, flying out the next morning. If we do Tikal in the evening and morning, could we fit in Yaxha? In other words, is it a half day trip? I should probably just look that up in a guide book but you've been so helpful....

Otis_B_Driftwood

If you are going all the way to Tikal, I'd recommend spending more than one day there. It's a huge place and it's exhausting walking through the jungle in the heat. We spent three days and wish we had stayed longer.

We stayed at the Westin Camino Real which is a beautiful hotel and quite reasonable. The lake views are extraordinary. It's closer to Tikal than Flores but you'll want a car to get around.

hopefulist

I spent a couple of days at Tikal witih my family a few years ago. This time I'm heading back with a friend who's never been out of the US. We'll be studying Spanish in the highlands for most of the 3 weeks and will just have a few days to explore before and after. We're planning to head to Flores/Tikal from Rio Dulce, arriving mid day, and will leave 2 days later in the morning on a flight back to GUA to connect with our flight home. We didn't explore other sites besides Tikal when we were visiting before and likely won't have time this time, but I thought I'd ask.

airwayvz

Sure, you can fit in Yaxha...especially if you decide to hire Luis as a guide. But even if you don't hire a guide, it's still do-able.

We went on an afternoon tour with Luis - he met us at our hotel in El Remate at about 12:30pm and off we went to Tikal. We left Tikal at 8:30 pm, so even though it was technically a "half-day" trip it definitely felt like a full day trip, and he gave us so much more information than we would have had just exploring on our own.

Something like that could be really fascinating for your friend who has never been out of the US. The stories Luis told us about growing up in the park, the civil war, and life in Guatemala, were well worth the money.

Another advantage of doing Tikal in the afternoon was that the place was nearly empty shortly after we arrived.

As far as Yaxha, it's is an easy drive from Flores, so can easily be done in a half day if that's all the time you have to spend there. If you are interested in hiring Luis, I think it ran about $90 per day per person. That included all park fees, transportation, etc...If you are just meeting him at the park I believe it was closer to $50 per person. He is the president of the tour guide association, so if you DO book him, I'd do it as far in advance as possible....just call his cell if you do decide to book him. I've got the number if you want it.

Also, I have a FEW photos from our trip posted on my flickr site if you want to see 'em...haven't had a chance to upload many yet as I just got back into town this week. Anyway, the website is http://www.flickr.com/photos/roscoehortonjr just look for the Guatemala collection on the right side.

Let me know if ya have any other questions!

hopefulist

Thanks, again, airwayvz!! We just found out yesterday that the school district we work for will pay $1200 of each of our trips, which will about cover it - seems to me that it might be worth "splashing out" for a day of Luis. Maybe he could meet us for an early morning tour of Tikal and then take us to Yaxha before dropping us in Flores for our last night. Hmmm....I'll going to sleep dreaming about Guatemala.

airwayvz

$1200 each? Guess you should have enough money to bring me along then...right? Right?

hopefulist

Sorry, airwayvz - limited enrollment this trip. We paid about $500 for our flights including taxes and are spending 2 of our 3 weeks in language schools which cost about $110/per week including 1-on-1 instruction, full room and board, and activities like weaving, traditional cooking classes, guided hikes, and free internet. We picked towns that offer programs for kids with disabilities so we can volunteer (we work with kids with disabilities in the states). So that leaves well over $500 for the additional 7 days we're not in school and except for the nights in Tikal and Flores we're keeping the lodging below $25/double and traveling mostly by bus or cheap shuttle. Piece of cake! Can't wait!!!

julebarbara

cAN YOU GIVE CONTACT INFO FOR LUIS AND SUGGEST WHICH HOTEL WITHIN TIKAL IS PREFERABLE

hopefulist

We didn't use him, but here is Luis' email address from a previous thread: [email protected]

4 years ago we stayed at the Jaguar Inn which was fine, but in August I stayed at the Tikal Inn which was much nicer - bigger rooms, nice pool. We paid $75/double which included dinner and breakfast.

I have posted pictures of my most recent trip if you're interested:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections/

Happy trails!