Day 1 Arrival Guatemala City, Guatemala

Meet at Guatemala City International Airport. Transfer to hotel in Guatemala City. Overnight in Guatemala City.

Accommodations: WESTIN Camino Real Hotel
Included Meals: none

Day 2 Copan, Honduras

Morning transfer to Copan in Honduras. Visit to Copan Archaeological Site. An UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, Copan was the southernmost major center of lowland Maya civilization and is famed for its artistic sculpture. The great Hieroglyphic Stairway was dedicated in 755 and it bears a continuous text of more than 1250 glyph blocks listing dates and names of the city's Classic Period rulers. Because of its beautiful artwork, unsurpassed in any other Maya city, Copan occupies a special place in the study of the ancient Maya. Visit Copan’s Museum of Maya Sculpture which contains some of the finest examples of Maya sculpture ever found. Dominating the center of the museum is a full-scale brightly colored replica of the Rosalila Temple which was completed in 571. The ball courts are the playing grounds of an extremely serious sport to the Mayans. These games are believed to have had religious significance: the captain of one team was sacrificed to the gods. Overnight in Copan Town.

Accommodations: Marina Copan Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 3 Quirigua, Guatemala

Transfer to Guatemala’s Caribbean coastal plains, visiting Quirigua en route. Also an UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Site since 1981. This strategically located river city of the Classic Period controlled the important Motagua Valley trade route linking the Caribbean coast with interior settlements. Remarkably preserved portraits and texts on sandstone stele chronicle a ruling dynasty in competition with nearby Copan. In 738 the ruler Kak Tiliw captured and beheaded Copan's 13th lord, 18 Rabbit. Quirigua is home to the largest stele in the Maya World at 26 feet and 6 inches in height and weighting about 65 tons. Overnight in Flores.

Accommodations: Camino Real Tikal Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 4 Caracol, Belize

Early morning departure to visit Caracol, one of the largest political, religious and economic centres of the Maya Classic Time. Magnificent and well restored pyramids, the tallest one is named Caana. Caracol is connected through a network of sakbeob with several small sites. In the 7th Century, in an alliance with Calakmul, Caracol defeated mighty Tikal. Overnight in San Ignacio, Belize.

Accommodations: Cahal Pech Village Resort
Included Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 5 Xunantunich, Belize & Yaxha, Guatemala

Xunantunich is an interesting small site with a tall pyramid and a spectacular view of the San Ignacio Valley. Transfer to the Central Peten area for the next visit, it is to the Yaxha Archaeological Site, the only Maya Classic Site whose name is the same as its emblem glyph. Known for having a large concentration of massive buildings and with defined avenues and causeways, it was always an ally of Tikal. Its location, on the shore of a lake and within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, makes it unique. Back to Guatemala, overnight in Flores.

Accommodations: Camino Real Tikal Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 6 Tikal, Guatemala

The third UNESCO’s World Heritage Site of the itinerary and the first one in the Maya World, since 1979. Intensive construction took place at Tikal from the late Pre-classic Period until the waning of Classic Maya civilization around AD 900. At its peak the city covered about 48 square miles and had a population estimated at 55,000. Tikal's Stelae 29 bears the earliest Long Count date known in the Maya lowlands. In 292 AD Temple IV, one of the many pyramids erected to memorialize the dead rulers of Tikal's royal dynasty, and one of the tallest of Maya structures at 212 feet, was erected. Overnight Flores.

Accommodations: Camino Real Tikal Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 7 Ceibal, Guatemala

Depart early to the Pasion River, the most important tributary of the Usumacinta River. After a boat ride, reach the strategic cliff where the Ceibal Archaeological Site is located. Ceibal provides the opportunity to see extraordinary stelaes that shows foreign influences in the Maya World during the Terminal Classic time. Afternoon ride to Flores Airport for a 1-hour flight to Guatemala City for overnight accommodations.

Accommodations: WESTIN Camino Real Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 8 Departure from Guatemala City, Guatemala

Transfer to Guatemala City International Airport for departure.