Looking for info on Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala

[richtersl]

Hi!

Due to Hurricane Ivan having trashed Grand Cayman, our cruise has scheduled Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala as an alternate port for our cruise in November. I've not had much success in finding out information about this port on the web and was wondering if anyone here had any experiences they would like to share. I know that HAL stops at that port on one of its Western Caribbean itineraries.

[GA girl]

Last year my husband and I cruised the Western Carib. on board the Veendam and Santo Tomas de Castilla was probably our favorite port. We had booked a HAL shore excursion up the Rio Dolce River (expensive) but it was cancelled because not enough people signed on. So - upon arrival at the port we found, right on the quay, a small boat (about 25') to charter - it carried six passengers plus captain and mate. We had a wonderful trip up the river, making several interesting stops, and cost was very reasonable. We thought it was a fabulous trip and would certainly do it again. The river and shoreline are very beautiful. Hope you enjoy your stop there.

[richtersl]

Do you remember the name of the charter that you took or perhaps the name of the captain?

[GA girl]

Good morning richtersl...

Sorry, I don't remember the name of the folks doing the boat chartering, but you shouldn't have a problem finding them. The quay itself is not that large and everything for the cruise line passengers is in one area - as you exit the ship walk to your right - there were several tent-awnings up with tables underneath and that's where we made arrangements. You'll probably also see the boats tied up right there. Boat was comfortable and did have a bimini - also bottled water was provided.