Please Advise on Itinerary

Roni, how many nights are you planning to be in Guatemala during that time frame? Whether I think areas are worth a visit or not depends on how much time you have to spend because you're naming places that are very distant from each other. Regarding an extra night near Tikal, with a car it would be easy to visit Yaxhá, another favorite in the area so definitely worth a 2nd night in my opinion. The school holidays in Guatemala generally go from the end of October through mid January.

I can't help you with car rental as we always take public transport (and the odd shuttle). We loved both Xela and Nebaj. We like to hike and loved climbing volcano Santa Maria (day hike) and Tajumulco (overnight). We also enjoyed the hike to Laguna Chicabal. There are many traditional villages around Xela. The Friday market at San Fransisco El Alto is hectic but great. We also liked the hot springs (Fuentes Georginas) in Zunil.

Nebaj takes some time to get to but we enjoyed hiking to Acul and Cocop. Again, many traditional villages in that area to explore.

Tikal : as far as the sunrise goes... it is often too cloudy for a real sunrise. That being said, we love spending one night in the park as it is great to get up early, hear the jungle wake up and spot animals. One day in the park gives you a chance to see the main ruins, explore a bit, look for wildlife... There is a lot of walking involved and after 6 hours or so most people are ready for a break. We usually arrive around 11 am and explore the park that day. In the morning we don't go back in but wander the trails outside of the park. If you really like archeology I am sure you would like staying longer (you could also visit the museums). We also recommend Yaxha. It is possible to get there by public transport but it is a bit of an adventure and takes a while that way.

How many days total do you have? Most these areas can all be accessed via public bus or private shuttles and arranged through your hostel/lodging.

You can rent a car in Antigua, but it can be dropped elsewhere other than Guatemala City or Flores/Peten area that I am aware of. I used Guatemala-Rent-A-Car.

Its also not always best to drive yourself around Guatemala, depending on area, a tourist can be a target...

We spent 2 nights Antigua, 4 nights Xela and 6 nights Atitlan area, and that was just enough to relax and see some highlights, in Xela we hire a guide/driver for the day twice, for areas of interest...with Adrenalina Tours.

Thanks mrmoto.
How did you get along in Xela without a car?

You don't need a car. You may prefer one but you don't need one. Public transport (chicken buses and minibuses) will get you everywhere. Or shuttles. Volcano climbs can be organized with a tour operator (we went with Kaqchiquel tours). Villages you can reach by bus. Hot springs : bus and pick-up or shuttle (through Kaqchiquel or other tour operators).

I was in Xela for about a month earlier this year. It was easy to get around on foot, although some areas are not very safe traffic-wise for pedestrians, and microbus (one quetzal or so). There were also a lot of early 1980s Toyota taxis sitting around (25q or so depending where you are going). No tuk tuk's. The chicken buses are at the Minerva terminal (near Walmart) and connect to many towns near and far.