sunitak63

Hi there,
I am heading on a trip to Belize and wanted to check out either Lamanai or Tikal in Guatemala, but don't have enough time to do both.
Would you suggest Lamanai or should we cross the border to check out Tikal?

Thanks!

Suzie2

Haven't been to Lamanai but have been to Xunantunich and Caracol. They were interesting but not a place I feel the need to go back to. I say that because after seeing Tikal once I had to go back the next year to see it again and I plan on going back on my next trip down. We are birders as well and it is the most incredible place we have seen so far in Central America. We spend a lot of time in Costa Rica and love the birds there but with 100 species in one day in Tikal we were blown away.

Lamanai does sound like a great place and I would love to read a report about it if you go. We may have to go back to Belize to see it.

Katie_Valk

Tikal is amongst the most imrpessive sites in the Maya empire. Depends on where you're based in Belize. Lamanai is lovely and important as one of the last inhabited sites, where the Maya cooexisted along with the Spanish. Theres a chuch at the site and the village is named Indian Church.

Aduchamp1

We have been Tikal twice. We have been to over twenty countries and Tikal remains one of our favorite places.

RBCal

It doesn't really matter where you stay in Belize since Tropic Air offers both 1-day and overnight trips to Tikal.

The flight over the Belize and Guatemala jungle is almost as interesting as the guided tour of Tikal included.

I did the overnight tour and you stay in a hotel in Flores which is a small village on a lake. I would highly recommend this. Flores is very charming and souvenirs are dirt cheap in comparison to Belize.

obslop

I haven't been to Lamanai but just recently returned from Tikal. Tikal is amazing. You need at least two full days to really take it in. The guides say that you can do 3-4 days to see everything. I stayed in the Jungle Lodge which is next to the park. It was worth the money to stay there as you will hear Howlers. They are very active and it adds to the experience. The only thing that sucked about Jungle Lodge is that the electricity is cut off at 11pm. Not sure if all the lodgin in Tikal do this. Anyway, Tikal is a must see. Definetely do a sunrise tour. You have to get up at 4am but its so worth it. We were lucky to see the sunrise very similar during solstice/equinox.

Doug60

I have not been to Tikal but Lamanai is awesome. Go to Orange Walk and go to the New River bridge. Under the bridge you will find a man with a boat who will transport you down the river, through the jungle including a bird sanctuary and a mennonite community in the jungle. You end up at Lamanai where the guide will take you through the jungle trails to see the 3 main pyramids. The howler monkies are everywhere and are very loud. I would highly recommend this trip.

QueenofDaNile

Lamanai was interesting (dramatic boat trip to get there) but I think there is more depth to Tikal based on these comment.