What to do in Guatemala

[MOYSHA]

We will be on the Veendam cruise that makes a port stop in Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala. I can not locate this port on the 'boards' and want to get an idea of an excursion there. We nlormally prefer excursions NOT ship related. Were you there? Anyone know anything about the area?:confused: Help us go from:mad: to :) Thanx

[COLGATE]

We were there on the Veendam two years ago. If memory serves, the port itself has absolutely nothing of interet, and there is no real tourist infrastructure there. The most interesting thing are the Mayan ruins (about an hour's drive). We took the HAL tour and enjoyed it a great deal. The ruins are easy to explore, and there is a nice tourist market with all types of handicrafts there at quite reasonable prices. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.:)

[Neil in Vancouver]

We will be on the Veendam cruise that makes a port stop in Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala. I can not locate this port on the 'boards' and want to get an idea of an excursion there. We nlormally prefer excursions NOT ship related. Were you there? Anyone know anything about the area?:confused: Help us go from:mad: to :) Thanx

We made this stop on the Veedam about 2.5 years ago. Santo Tomas de Castilla is an industrial port across the bay from Peurto Barrios, which might be easier to find on a map. Apparently the town is really an industrial centre, with not much for tourists. We didn't go into the town, but did take the ship's tour to the Mayan Ruins at Quirigua. We quite enjoyed it.

[Logoladytcs]

We were on the Volendam this past April - and I honestly don't remember the name of the port in Guatemala - my papers are at home and I'm at the office.

But if you have a chance get to Antigua - we used a guide named Elizabeth Bell - not ship sponsored - she was amazing - an American who had lived there since she was 14 - her father was a VP at Sunset Magazine and he was transferred down there. We met her in the town square and a three hour tour was only about $18. It was Holy Week while we were there so we got to see all the preparations for the processions. Also we went to the Jade Museum where I found a great bracelet.

If you are interested I could get her info later - she's also a writer and her books are a great source on Guatemala.

Barbara

[HERKIMER417]

The board postings for this port are under
Caribbean -Other

Check out the complete posting of my trip on March 2006 or that of Flashdog.

Yes ! it was basically an industrial port but the people are very excited that cruise ships are coming in. The storm distruction last fall, to ports like Cancun in the north, opened this port up.

I took a tour with - Gus. We rode a boat up the Rio Dulce and visited a Mayan school. Straw roof and dug out canoes. It was National Geographic in the live. This is no Disney, this is a real 3rd world nation coming into the 20th century and very eye opening.

There are several "new" tour operators located on the dock at Porto Tomas and all are very very happy to have the business and very reasonable.

As the ship pulled away from the dock, all of the cabs and trucks came to the dock side to flash there lights and wave goodbye to us.

J

[berniemom]

The board postings for this port are under
Caribbean -Other

Check out the complete posting of my trip on March 2006 or that of Flashdog.

Yes ! it was basically an industrial port but the people are very excited that cruise ships are coming in. The storm distruction last fall, to ports like Cancun in the north, opened this port up.

I took a tour with - Gus. We rode a boat up the Rio Dulce and visited a Mayan school. Straw roof and dug out canoes. It was National Geographic in the live. This is no Disney, this is a real 3rd world nation coming into the 20th century and very eye opening.

There are several "new" tour operators located on the dock at Porto Tomas and all are very very happy to have the business and very reasonable.

As the ship pulled away from the dock, all of the cabs and trucks came to the dock side to flash there lights and wave goodbye to us.

J

hi,
can u tell me, is there places from the beaches that we could snorkel from safely???

[Ed and Jim]

We were on Oceania Regatta this past March, stopping at Santo Tomas. If you have a full day and are interested in Mayan ruins, do not miss a trip to Tikal. This excursion involves a 45 minute plane ride, an hour van drive and a three hour hike in the forest - but what a great experience! A long day and pricey, but definitely one of the highlights of Central America.

[Copper10-8]

We've been there twice; very tropical. It has already been said; Santo Tomas de Castilla/Puerto Barrios is a busy combination industrial (container) port/Guatemalan Navy base. There is not much to do in town. A group of local merchants including one that sells jade, will set up shop in one of the large warehouses across from where the ship docks. The big attractions are the Mayan ruins. There are Shorex tours down the Rio Dulce river and to the Quirigua archaeological ruins, the Motagua valley, Hacienda Tijax (eco hike), Amatique resort and to a Chiquita banana plantation. If you really want to splurge, there is a 8 1/2 hour tour to Honduras (40 min. flight) and the Copan pyramids. Up the coast from Santo Tomas is Livingston, an Afro-Caribbean town. We saw lots of taxis on the dock, as a matter of fact, they gave the ship a big wave-off with their headlights and horns when we shoved off. I guess you would have to be somewhat of an adventurer to "do your own thing" there since it is still a somewhat new destination and not yet an touristy one for HAL . Berniemom, sorry, we saw no snorkel spots (at least not near the harbor) and they were not mentioned by the port lecturer and/or in the program