SPEND THE NIGHT AS CLOSE TO THE SITES AS YOU CAN
The Villa
Archeologicá (part of Club Med) has hotels at Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, and Cobá. I highly
recommend them for their service and convenience of location. Being close to a site means
you can easily be there when it opens (and so there are fewer tourists to deal with). You
can also return to your hotel at any time to eat, get more supplies, or to rest, or
whatever. This paragraph especially applies to the site of Tikal. If you can get a room in
one of the few small hotels that exist in the Tikal park, do so. There's nothing like
staying inside the park, where you can walk from your room directly to the ruins. You also
can experience the sounds of the jungle at night in your room (the top third of our room
was open screen, so the sounds of the birds and howler monkeys came right in!).