Actun Chapat or ATM Cave?

cassiecr,
I know nothing about Actun Chapat but my experience was so amazing at the ATM Cave that I think it would be hard to top. The jungle hike by itself was beautiful and exciting. The cave was a thrilling experience and being inches away from artifacts and skeletons was very cool.
We went to ATM with PACZ and they picked us up out in Bullet Tree the morning of for no additional cost (Parrots Nest Hotel - highly recommended). Max's tours also picked up guests at the hotel for a Tikal day trip so I would assume most if not all companies would pick up guests in Bullet Tree. We loved Pacz and heard good reviews from other travelers and business owners.

Hope this helps and have a great time.

#1 did you book your tour with pacz ahead of time? I will be there in about a month by myself and want to do the ATM tour but would prefer not booking it before hand just because my itinerary is loose. I also dont want to try at one of the busier times of the year and not be able to go at all.

I'd book ATM ahead but a day or 2 would probably do it. We booked well in advance in order to arrange to be 1st into the cave and were very happy we did. You can read reviews of the Actun Chapat tours here.

I did book my trip pretty far in advance only because I had read on this site that it might be something to do during busy times of the year. But I did get the vibe that you could probably get away with booking just a day or two in advance as mentioned by hopefulist.

Thank you everyone! Right now, I'm leaning towards ATM, and I'm sure I won't be dissappointed.

ATM was indeed special, but we didn't do the other one. PACZ picked us up at Chaa Creek, for an extra fee of US$10 each, but it's pretty far off the main road, and it was less expensive than getting a taxi to their San Ignacio office, not to mention more convenient..

Based on the (incredibly positive) reviews I linked above, a big part of the appeal of the other one is that you're the only ones there; that sounds pretty appealing to me. Much as we enjoyed the ATM cave we were grateful to be the 1st in because it was becoming sort of a zoo by the time we headed out.

We ended up going with PACZ for the ATM tour, and absolutely loved it! The cave itself was much more impressive than I could have imagined, and I would recommend the trip to everyone even slightly interested. It is well worth the money.

Hopefulist, it seems like you have become interested in Actun Chapat, so you will have to let me know how it is it you go!

Sounds like you had a great trip - yay! I'm hoping to visit Actun Chapat and other neighboring caves this summer.