Santo Tomas, Guatemala Shore Tours

[Peggy Tuten]

I'm on the 5 Feb sailing of the Veendam and haven't been able to find out much about the shore excursions at this port beyond the HAL info. Would appreciate hearing from those who have been or will shortly be visiting Santo Tomas. I'm especially interested in hearing about the Amatique Resort, and the various options to visit the ruins at Quirigua. How about the Banana Plantation tour and the Rio Dulce by land. Was there much walking involved? - I'm in good shape, but if I take my mother with me on these tours, she doesn't get around well. Lastly, does the ship dock right in Santo Tomas or do you have to take a launch in.

thanks in advance,
Peggy

[SharonN]

Last March on the Veendam we took the Rio Dulce & Quirigua Ruins tour. We docked and it was a short walk to the boat for the tour. They split the tour in two with half taking the river cruise first and the other half starting with the bus ride to the ruins. We were on the river for the morning and it was very interesting even though it rained almost the entire time. The boat and bus met at the restaraunt where we had lunch (very nice) and then switched. We had a great guide but having been to Tulum on a prior cruise the ruins were just ok. Mostly monuments though he did have some interesting stories on them etc. There was some walking thru the area but it was fairly flat and over grassy areas. There was a sidewalk thru the middle with some benchs along the way but not sure how it would work for your mother.