Top Things to do in Flores
7 Sights & Landmarks in Flores That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Flores, Guatemala including Ruinas de Uaxactun, Jorge's Rope Swing, Malecon Isla De Flores, Catedral de Flores, Parque Central De Flores, Sitio Arqueologico Tayazal, Catedral Nuestra Senora De Los Remedios.
Restaurants in Flores
1. Ruinas de Uaxactun
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 134 reviews
Reviewed By Brooklet425 - Staunton, United States
We weren't really sure what to expect from Uaxactun, but this truly ended up being one of the highlights of our trip to Central America. We were staying at a hotel in Tikal National Park (The Jungle Lodge Hotel) and they arranged for their driver to take us up to Uaxactun (which is technically in the park boundaries.) The hotel charged us $80 USD for this, which we initially thought was a little expensive, but after seeing the road conditions that the driver had to drive on, and the amount of time that he spent with just the two of us, it really was worth the price. The hotel had also sent the driver to the park entrance, with copies of our passports, to buy us tickets to go to Uaxactun. We paid for the tickets, but there was no extra charge for the driver getting the tickets for us and we thought that was really nice. The drive from Tikal to Uaxactun is about a 20 mile (45ish minutes) ride on a poorly maintained dirt road, and then all of a sudden you are in a small village in the middle of the Guatemalan jungle, with Mayan ruins on opposite sides of the village. The two sides of town are separated by a large strip of land that we found out is an old landing strip. At one point Wrigley's Chewing Gum had used the trees in this area to make their gum, and the landing strip was from when they were set up there. We thought that was an interesting piece of history. As for the rest of the town, we absolutely loved the fact that there was no one else at the ruins when we were there. On one hand, I think it would be great if more people chose to visit this site. But on the other hand, having the place to ourselves was wonderful. We toured the first set of ruins mostly by ourselves. Our driver from the hotel wasn't a tour guide, but he walked around with us and gave us a few pieces of information that he knew. Uaxactun is significant because it has the ruins of ancient Mayan astrological pyramids. From what we understand, archeologists basically ignored this site initially because they didn't think it was as significant as some other sites. Once the astrological pyramids were discovered, they started paying more attention to it. The astrological observatory is said to be the earliest known astrological observatory in the Mayan world. When we were done with the first set of ruins, our driver took us to the other side of town to see more ruins. At this point, a young boy from the village appeared and started following us around at a distance. Eventually he came up to us and asked us if we wanted to buy a small carved jaguar that he had with him. He ended up walking around with us and showing us some places that we wouldn't have noticed on our own. Things like a natural air conditioner (hole in the ground that has cool air flowing through it), and a view from the top of one of the pyramids that overlooked the whole town. He didn't ask for any money for showing us around, but we ended up giving him $100 GTQ (about $14 USD) for the tour and for the souvenir jaguar. So if you're visiting these ruins and a young boy named Jeffrey appears and offers you a tour - take his tour! He wasn't pushy at all and was very respectful. He didn't speak English, but we were really impressed by his ability to communicate with us by speaking slowly and using hand gestures. He had the whole customer service thing down pat! He was really proud to be from Uaxactun and he knew a lot about the ruins themselves. All this to say that if you have the time, then definitely visit these ruins. Take the time to walk around, and walk on any of the pyramids that allow you to. There are so many hidden nooks and crannies in the structures that you can't see from the ground, and the view of the town from the top of the largest structure was really nice. Our impromptu tour guide Jeffrey called the view "La cima del mundo" - the top of the world :-). One tip that I wish we had known prior to visiting: Make sure that you have some cash on you in varying amounts. The village of Uaxactun is VERY small and the ruins aren't visited by many people. When you arrive, the local people WILL notice that you're there. At the first set of ruins, a local lady saw us arrive and set herself up with small souvenirs that we had to pass on our way out. We were the only ones there so we found it extremely hard to say "no" to what she was selling. Its much easier to walk past someone when there are lots of other people around, but not so easy when you are the only ones there. We knew that she was there because she had seen us arrive and we would have felt like jerks if we just walked past her and ignored her. We only had larger bills with us so we ended up buying two pairs of earrings that I didn't really want or need and some of the local chewing gum made from the trees in the area (that was actually kind of neat). When we met up with Jeffrey on the other side of town, he only asked for what amounted to about $4 USD for the jaguar trinket, but again, we only had larger bills with us and we ended up giving him about $14 USD. In total, we spent about $20 that we didn't intend on spending. It wasn't much, and certainly wasn't the end of the world, but it would have been nice to have been prepared with smaller amounts of money since a US Dollar goes really far in this area of Guatemala. The locals that we met here were extremely friendly and respectful and we didn't feel pressured to buy anything from them, but again, we would have felt really bad if we just ignored them. So make sure you have some cash on you in small amounts when you go here. I wish that we had had more time to spend in the village. It's a place that I would like to go back to one day in order to explore more of the town. We noticed at least one restaurant as we drove around and I think there is also a campground or small hotel in the town too (unsure if its a campground or a hotel or something in between).
2. Jorge's Rope Swing
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 102 reviews
Reviewed By IsabelleWestra - Utrecht, The Netherlands
We spent a great and fun afternoon here! Took a lancha over there from Flores for 40 quetzales (return per person). The entrance is 10 quetzales and they sell drinks and nacho and even pasta. There's a jumping platform and a couple of rope swings, very fun to play around with. Bear in mind that the Los Amigos party boat arrives around 15:15 - 15:30. If you want to enjoy the quietness, make sure you get there before that time.
3. Malecon Isla De Flores
4. Catedral de Flores
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 115 reviews
Reviewed By Sergio327 - Flores, Guatemala
A classic colonial-style cathedral, it gives more impression by the fact that it is built on the top of the "hill" of Flores island. Which, in fact, is a huge pyramidal temple of Itza people. Every stone there has a history. It delivers more thrills to know the story of Tayasal - the last sity of old Mayan civilization... Besides that the place offers beautiful views of Peten Itza lake, especially on the sunsets.
5. Parque Central De Flores
6. Sitio Arqueologico Tayazal
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 5 reviews
