Editor’s note (2026): This story is based on my 2013 trip from Belize into Flores and Tikal. The operator-specific warnings I read at the time were older traveler reports, and I have not independently verified that the same company remains a current issue today. What is still current is the broader need for caution: official advisories continue to warn about violent crime in Guatemala generally, armed attacks on roads connected to major tourist sites including Petén and Tikal, and elevated risk around the CA-13 border crossing with Belize. Always check current official advisories and recent local reviews before booking transport in Petén.
Guatemala is an absolutely beautiful country. Its terrain shifts from Pacific coastline to mountains to northern lowlands, and its culture carries a rich mix of Spanish, Maya, and Garifuna influence. It is one of those countries that feels layered the moment you arrive, and in many ways it opened my eyes to Central America on a deeper level. My trip there in the summer of 2013 was, overall, an amazing experience and one that gave me more confidence to keep traveling through Latin America. But one part of that journey absolutely had me on edge: getting from Belize to Flores and Tikal through Petén.
Guatemala Is Worth Visiting, But Caution Matters
This is not a post meant to scare people out of visiting Guatemala. It is a country with incredible history, beauty, and culture, and I would never reduce it to one unsettling ride. But like many destinations, especially when moving overland through border areas and long rural routes, there are places where you need to pay closer attention and trust your instincts.
Before that trip, I had done a lot of research on transportation through Petén, the northern department of Guatemala that includes Flores and Tikal. At the time, I kept running into warnings from travelers online about sketchy transportation setups, aggressive sales tactics, and one particular company name that came up more than once. That planted the seed of fear in my head before I had even crossed the border.
Why the Belize to Flores Route Had Me on Edge
Crossing from Belize into Guatemala was chaotic enough on its own. There were money changers everywhere, people trying to offer rides the second you stepped through, and a kind of pressure that can make it hard to think clearly when you are hot, tired, and trying to make quick decisions on the spot.
My stepdad and I got stamped in, and almost immediately we were offered a ride on a small white bus. It already had a few other passengers on board, including two Germans, a Mexican traveler, and a local Guatemalan. I had already seen the company name before crossing, and it matched the warnings I had read .
Boarding the Bus Anyway
The strange thing is that the ride itself did not start off badly. The scenery was beautiful, the road stretched through a side of Guatemala I had never seen before, and from the outside it could have passed for a normal transfer. But once fear gets into your head, every little detail starts to feel magnified.
Every speed bump, every pothole, every vehicle slowing down in front of us had me on alert. I was filming scenery on my GoPro and iPhone, but mentally I was somewhere else entirely. I kept imagining all the things that could go wrong. At one point when I saw motorcycles on the road, I braced for the worst. When we passed a police checkpoint, I was not relieved; I was still waiting for something to happen.
That is what made the ride so uncomfortable. Even before anything clearly suspicious happened, I had already lost any real sense of trust.
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When the Ride Started Feeling Wrong
The moment that really spiked my anxiety came at the crossroads where one direction led toward Santa Elena and Flores, and the other toward Tikal National Park. Instead of turning the way I expected toward Flores, we went toward Tikal. That was the same general route I had read about in one of the stories that made me nervous in the first place, so from that point on my mind was racing.
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In El Remate, the bus stopped at a small tour office and picked up a man who instantly set off alarms in my head because he matched a description I had seen in one of those old reports. He came on the bus, started working his phone constantly, and then began trying to sell cheap accommodations to Tikal. In my nervousness, I made the mistake of showing him my hostel reservation and asking where my place was. He looked over my information for far too long, which only made me more uncomfortable.
Eventually he got off before Flores, along with another quiet local passenger, and the ride continued. But even when we finally made it closer to town, the awkwardness did not stop. Instead of being dropped at the hostel as expected, we were dumped off in Flores, and suddenly the little English the driver had seemed to disappear. Even with Spanish, it felt like he was pretending not to understand.
What Happened After We Reached Flores
Once we finally got to our hostel north of Flores, overlooking the island, I told the owner everything that had happened. He listened and basically confirmed that the company had a very bad reputation among travelers and locals. That was enough for me. Whether every rumor floating around at the time was true or not, the ride had already told me what I needed to know: the stress, confusion, pressure, and uncertainty were not worth whatever money I had saved.
The strange part is that it only cost us about ten dollars to get across. At the time that felt like a bargain. Looking back, I would have gladly paid more for peace of mind.
After that, we handled transportation very differently. For Tikal, we booked through the hostel and got there and back safely. Later, getting from Flores to Guatemala City on a coach bus arranged through a more reputable route felt like a completely different experience. It was long, but it was comfortable, straightforward, and far less stressful.
What I’d Do Differently Now
If I were doing that route today, I would not make a last-second decision at the border just because a cheap ride was sitting there waiting. I would book transport in advance through a reputable hostel, hotel, or well-reviewed operator. I would double-check recent traveler reviews instead of relying only on old forum posts. I would also keep in mind that just because a ride is cheap and immediately available does not mean it is the right choice.
The lesson for me was simple: budget travel should never mean ignoring your instincts. Saving money is great, but not when the entire ride has you wondering whether you made a terrible call.
Final Thoughts on Guatemala Safety and Petén Travel
Like most travelers, at some point you go through an experience that makes you think, damn, I made it through that. Some are minor. Some shake you up more than others. This was one of those moments for me.
Still, I would not tell people to write off Guatemala because of one bad transport experience. Guatemala is beautiful. It has depth, history, and some unforgettable places. Flores and Tikal were still worth seeing. But I would absolutely tell people to be more careful than I was when booking transport through Petén, especially around border routes and fast-talking sales pitches.
Travel smart, pay attention, and do not let a cheap ride make the decision for you.
AVOID THE TOUR AGENCY LABELED: SAN JUAN TOURS
