El Remate is a small woodcarving village of approximately 370 families, located on the east end of Lake Petén Itzá, on the main road halfway between Tikal and Flores. A good base for your stay in the Petén area, El Remate is the closest accommodation to Tikal National Park. Many visitors consider it a pleasant option to the often crowded and noisy area of Flores or the expensive hotels in Tikal.

Some of the tours and activities in or nearby El Remate include: Tours to Tikal and other Maya ruins, Canopy Tours (ziplines), the Sky Way swinging bridges and jungle hiking trails, boat tours, swimming, horseback riding, birding, Biotopo Cerro Cahui natural reserve, Petencito Zoo and Actun Can Caves.

El Remate is also close to a number of other important Maya ruins in addition to Tikal. Yaxhá, the second most visited ruins after Tikal, gained notoriety from being the filming location for the CBS reality show "Survivor: Guatemala". See tours. Ceibal, Nakum and Uaxactun are also nearby.

El Remate is rapidly growing into a tourism based economy. The local wood carving families are doing less slash-and-burn agriculture, preserving the precious and in some cases scarce hardwoods. The variety of woodcarvings is indescribable and there are numerous woodcarving shops in the village. Some of the largest and most intricate carvings can be found at La Casa De Don David.

Swimming is safe in the clear waters of Lake Petén Itzá, however you will not find nice, sandy beaches. When entering the water from the shore, you will find white mud and rocks. Swimming is best done from one of the many public docks in the village.


Transportation

Since all transportation in route to Tikal passes through El Remate, it is easy to travel to and from Flores and Tikal by taxi or one of the many microbuses which are in constant transit between both locations. Tourist buses in route to Flores from Chetumal, Mexico and Belize also arrive and depart from El Remate twice daily (see how to get there). If you are arriving from Belize on the Linea Dorada bus, be sure that your ticket destination says "La Casa De Don David" and the driver will bring you to the hotel entrance.


Accommodations

El Remate has a few good hotels and numerous small, rustic places to stay, also two camping areas. There are 15 or more places to stay in the village. Most are family operated, only few have private baths and/or hot water showers. A nice room can cost $25-120 double and camping is available from $3-6 per person. When making reservations be sure to ask and understand clearly what you are getting, since here, as in other areas of Latin America, a place to stay may be called a hotel or bungalow, and may actually be a thatched roof structure with makeshift beds and without windows or doors. Even a nice camping area may be called a hotel, with only half walls and a roof. Just make sure to ask before you reserve. There are now a few places to stay that provide internet service and accept credit cards. Note most charge an extra fee to use your credit card, La Casa De Don David does not charge to use credit cards and provides free internet for guests.

La Casa De Don David is a 15 room bed and breakfast with a full service restaurant that operates 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. Clean, spacious rooms have private baths and hot water showers. Most have air conditioning, porch with hammock and/or chairs, and can accommodate 2-6 people per room. Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Traveler's Cheques and U.S. Dollars are accepted.  Guests receive free bottled water and internet service.

While there are no real cable or telephone lines to El Remate, most places offer some type of telephone service. La Casa De Don David  Tel. 502-7928-8469, 502-5306-2190, info@lacasadedondavid.com

There is a small tourist information center located near the woodcarving shops in the village which is usually open during daylight hours, but service can be variable. Information and maps of Guatemala, Tikal, Antigua, Belize, etc. can be found in the restaurant and hotel lobby of La Casa De Don David. The helpful and friendly staff can either make arrangements for tours, transportation, etc. from the hotel or put you in touch with someone who can.

Although there is electricity in El Remate now, power blackouts do occur from time to time. Please plan accordingly. Few hotels have portable generators.

Listed below are places to stay and/or eat within 2 km of El Remate. The links are included for informational purposes only. La Casa De Don David does not necessarily recommend or endorse them, does not receive payment for including any of these links and they are not listed in order of importance.

Posada Ixchel - hotelixchel@yahoo.com
Hotel La Mansion del Pajaro Serpiente - tikalnancy@hotmail.com
Hotel Sunbreeze - sunbreezehotel@gmail.com
La Casa De Don Juan - casadonjuan_@hotmail.com
Hostal Hermano Pedro - infotikal@hhpedro.com
Hotel Las Gardenias - hotelasgardenias@yahoo.com
Mon Ami - hotelmonami@hotmail.com
Palomino Ranch - reservaciones@hotelpalominoranch.com

Restaurant Las Orquideas - lasorquideasremate@yahoo.com
Restaurant Cahui - restaurantecahui@yahoo.com


Within 12 km of El Remate along the lakeshore you will find the following acommodations: Hotel Camino Real, El Gringo Perdido Camping & Hotel, and La Lancha, a Francis Ford Coppola resort.


If you have any problems or complaints you can communicate with the Institute of Tourism INGUAT or write us at comments@lacasadedondavid.com to report to the local tourist commitee.

Cerro Cahui



Lake view from Cerro Cahuí




Toucanet



Aguti