Here is a do-it-yourself way to tour Bonampák and Yaxchilán:
(Prices listed were correct in 2003)
Leave Palenque village early by taking a bus or combi to San Javier. Transportes Rio Chancalá on 5 de Mayo has a few combis each day. Also
see Transportes Montebello on Calle Velázquez Suarez. The bus will cost less AND will charge you
only for that distance. The combi will charge you more AND won't prorate where
you get off before Frontera Corozal.
In about 3 hours you will get off at San Javier and then you should glance around for a taxi. If there is a cab, he will probably drive by you. The standard charge is 40-50 pesos. If there is no cab, it is a two hour walk to the Bonampak turnoff, where you could rent a tent later or get a bite to eat. I would bet that the fellow would let you leave your pack there as well.
See Bonampák and either stay at the nearby campground or hike back to the junction. At this point, you could either head to the non-quaint
Lacandón village, Lacanhá Chansayab, or you could go back to San Javier and catch the next bus or combi onward to Frontera Corozal. At
Lacanhá, you can get a basic room for 50 or so pesos and maybe meet up with tour group members and you can find the taxi driver when you want him. Frontera Corozal is spread out and dull, but has several hotels.
Show up reasonably early in the morning in Frontera Corozal and find others who are not in tours to share a boat with. Sharing my 500 peso boat were the German I bumped into on the bus, along with a Frenchman and an Italian couple. The German and I had shared the cost of the cab ride from the Corozal turnoff (40 pesos) and immediately set up headquarters at the Escudo Jaguar, where we had breakfast and gathered
the others. I never did find out what happened to the four tourists who got dropped by boat from Guatemala and couldn't find the person they were supposed to continue with.
After the four hour Yaxchilán tour, including the boat travel, if you did it right, you will be able to avoid spending the night in Frontera Corozal. Then you can
either head back to Palenque or go onward to Bethel, Guatemala. where you can get a hotel room and be ready to
hit Flores, Guatemala, the next day.
However, if you do spend the night, there is a new basic hotel with a decent restaurant called Nueva Alianza, where unlike the Escudo Jaguar, you can have a beer with your meal.
For a discussion of going the entire route between Flores or Palenque see this page.
If you are interested in seeing the ruins at Piedras Negras along the way, see this page.
Updated information is both welcome and requested. Please mail your info or feedback to
web_ahau at mostlymaya.com. Thank you.