Where to Eat
Eat at La Villa del Chef. Everything we had was delicious. The service was friendly and the owners are very concisely conscious (if you’re into that sort of thing.)
The steak was really good (Keep in mind that its not like North American steak. It’s not prepared rare.) The special local white fish was delicious. All the fruit smoothies were great. Try the Vodka Mango or the Mojito.
Where to Stay
I think you can stay anywhere on the island. I’m guessing its all pretty similar by the look of things. We stayed at Santana. It was decrepit but decent. It had wifi, friendly service and was relatively clean. It’s what you’d expect for $55 a night.
Transportation
A few airlines fly puddle jumpers into the local airport. A taxi from the airport to town should cost you about $3 per person.
For transit around Guatemala by bus there are a few luxury bus companies. The locals seem to recommend Linea Dorado. ADF and ADN seem to come in second place and Maya de Oro seems the slightly crappier option.
Tikal
Don’t be lazy wake up for the 3am sunrise tour of the Tikal ruins. Watching the sunrise from the top of temple 4 is spectacular as is walking through the ruins in the dark. Bring a headlamp. Always bring a headlamp.
Boat Tour
If you have some free time, like when you’re waiting for your bus out, take a short boat tour to the little museum in on the tiny island in the middle of the lake. It’s a one room private collection owned by the family that lives on the island. You get really close to the artifacts and can even ask to hold them.
The same boat tour will likely take you to the Tayasal Ruin. It’s completely overgrown so its really more of a lookup point onto the lake. The amazing part is that as you walk up the path from the beach you can find pieces of mayan pottery mixed in the gravel.
The zoo is ok but nothing to write home about. You can skip it unless you really like that sort of thing.