Hotel Casa Rosado Rio Dulce tours

On TripAdvisor, I found some positive reviews of Hotel Casa Rosado located in Livingston. The hotel operators will conduct tours of the Rio Dulce if reserved in advance. I could not find any mention of this establishment on CruiseCritic. Does anyone know anything about this tour? How does it compare to the Rio Dulce tour that Gus provides?

Thanks!

I do not have any experience with Go With Gus tours, but we took the tour with Javier Putul (owner of Casa Rosada) on Jan 6th and had an amazing time! He was a wonderful and gracious host and knows so much about the area and the people that live there. His hotel is right next to Gus's in Livingston and it is really tranquil and beautiful! I would have been happy to relax there all day, but would have missed the amazing places we saw. We had a fabulous day seeing sights along the Rio Dulce and although the weather was pretty chilly, Javier made sure we had a memorable day (complete with a warm up Guatemalan coffee break at the hotel before getting started.) We stopped at a national park where you can swim, if weather permits, as well as walk to a collective where you can buy hand crafts from the area at great prices. We went to a hot springs, again a chance for a dip, where there was also a cave and those of us that wanted to took a short tour of it(complete with bats!). He stopped often along the trip to point out local people and how the river impacts their lives as well as birds and animals living there - we came across lots of little surprises along the way. He was a wonderful tour guide and the whole day was fantastic! We ended up back at his hotel for a delicious lunch (several things to chose from) before heading back to the dock with time to shop there if we wanted. I would highly recommend Javier and his tour!! I can't imagine how anyone would not have a wonderful time!

If I can answer any other questions, I will be happy to!

Thanks Tahlulla -

It's great to hear that someone else has had a wonderful experience with Javier. On the day we will be able to do this tour, Javier already has a group of 20 booked. How many people were with your group? Do you think a group of 22-24 is too many?

I am, however, afraid I am overscheduling myself. In Costa Maya, I am planning on going on the Mayan Experience tour with Native Choice. This tour combines a visit to the ruins at Chacchoben with a visit with a Mayan family. In Belize, I am planning on going on the Lamanai tour and New River safari. Since we will be going the end of March, the weather will probably be a bit steamier than what you experienced in January. Just something else to consider while I'm trying to make all these decisions. Why does planning a vacation have to be so difficult? I will have to plan a vacation to relax from planning my vacation:D

I think we had 13 in our group. We could have fit a few more comfortably in the boat we were in, but maybe he would use a bigger boat for that number. I would try to sit up front so you can hear what he has to say - lots of interesting info. If he thinks that number is manageable, I would trust his judgment.

As far as over scheduling is concerned, I know what you mean! However, I found the tour pretty relaxing actually. The river area is really gorgeous and it was nice to sit back and take it all in. Most of what you see is while riding in the boat and the spots where we got out, we had plenty of time to wander around and I never felt like we were in a hurry to get anywhere. None of the activity out of the boat is strenuous either. We got back to the pier with about an hour and a half before we had to be on board, so plenty of time to shop the craft market there. Even if you don't take this tour, you may want to think about scheduling something at this port. The market in the port is nice, but not large enough, in my opinion, to spend all day there.

I would love to know what you decide to do!

Thanks for answering my questions, Tahlulla. At this point, Javier is holding our spots - he said he will let me know if anyone else inquires about our date. How did you pay for this tour? I am assuming Javier will require a deposit of some sort.

I hate having to wear heavy walking shoes- my feet tend to get so hot- do you think I could do this tour wearing good walking sandals? I'm also much more comfortable in a skirt than shorts - again, could I get away with this?

Thanks for all your help! I'll probably think of more questions later.:D

Catsy57 - Feel free to ask as many questions as you would like!

I think you will be fine in good walking sandals. I had on Chaco flip flops and was, for the most part, fine. There was one area we could, or didn't have to, climb out of the boat and climb around on some rocks and either get in the water or put our feet in. They were a little slippery, but I was careful and it worked out. Some of us also toured a cave at the hot springs (again, only those who wanted) and this was a little dirty and slippery as it was pretty vertical, so depending on how sturdy your footing is in sandals, that might be another spot to skip. I did it in the flip flops, but I did have to be even more careful here. The rest of the walking we did (not much at all) would be fine with sandals.

I think you will be okay in a skirt, too. Hopefully your day will be warmer than ours - it was nice to have jeans on when it got chilly as we rode along in the boat. Getting in and out of the boat is not to hard and there is help if you need it, so a skirt shouldn't be an issue there either. I would definitely wear whatever you are going to be most comfortable in. There really isn't much of a need for special footwear or clothing (maybe a bathing suit if you want to take a dip in the river or the hotsprings). However, I was happy I brought some travel size hand sanitizer and wet ones after getting a little dirty in the cave.

I did not know that Gus had a hotel in Livingston. We did the Rio Dulce trip on a ship's tour a couple of years back, and had lunch at a hotel, can't remember the name -- no doubt not Gus's. It was quite an elaborate resort with quite a nice dining room.

I did not know that Gus had a hotel in Livingston. We did the Rio Dulce trip on a ship's tour a couple of years back, and had lunch at a hotel, can't remember the name -- no doubt not Gus's. It was quite an elaborate resort with quite a nice dining room.

Javier pointed it out next door and mentioned that is was "Go With Gus" Gus' when we stopped at his hotel. As you mention, maybe not the spot you guys stopped for lunch. I wouldn't call either one of their hotels really elaborate - more quaint, open air and really lovely with all the tropical flowers everywhere. Although when we came back for lunch, there was a group eating next door. The dining area was on the second level and almost all window, so I know their view while eating was very nice!

Javier pointed it out next door and mentioned that is was "Go With Gus" Gus' when we stopped at his hotel. As you mention, maybe not the spot you guys stopped for lunch. I wouldn't call either one of their hotels really elaborate - more quaint, open air and really lovely with all the tropical flowers everywhere. Although when we came back for lunch, there was a group eating next door. The dining area was on the second level and almost all window, so I know their view while eating was very nice!

Well ours was quite elaborate, in the sense that it was spread out and multi-level with lots of walk-ways between rooms, all set on the side of the hill. The dining room was open-air, with a few out to the bay.

In fact I just googled it and found some familiar pictures. It was Hotel Villa Caribe.

Another one bites the dust! Javier contacted me late last week and said that, for various reasons, he could no longer hold our "reservation".:( So now I am left with no plans and no ideas for Santo Tomas. I know there have been many positive reviews of Go with Gus tours, but since we are taking the Mayan Experience tour in Costa Maya, I don't think I want to spend the extra money for the Humanitarian tour with Gus. He doesn't seem to offer just a Rio Dulce tour like Javier and NCL does. Does anyone know of any other operator that offers Rio Dulce tours they can recommend? Thank you...:)

Hi Mates.. Paleotrekker here,

Saw some of the threads and thought of putting a few pence in here..

On this visit to this Caribbean part of Guatemala I will be spending the days before and during "Semana Santa" (late March to early April) in the Livingston- Rio Dulce Area and staying at the Posada El Delfin that Go with Gus Tours operates at the mouth of Rio Dulce in Livingston..

I will also book on a couple of his tours to different locations in the area during my stay.. Go with Gus as someone else already explained is next to Casa Rosada.. Go with Gus has a few boats.. last time I was on a boat that had at least 50 mates on it and we did the full length tour of the Rio Dulce all the way to Castillo de San Felipe and beyond.. with several enjoyable stops along the way..

I think there should be space for a few more fellow trekkers around the dates you are looking for but check with Go with Gus Tours..

Hope this helps.. sounds like you're planning ahead and want something relaxing for the back end of your trip.. check with Gus or Iracema, they might have the right surprise you..

Ok mates, signing off here, Sea You Around,

Paleotrekker ~'\'~

Thank you World Gallery, the tour your taking sound like something I would love to do but the rest of the group would probably not so much and my mom would think I was torturing her with a mile hike, she too has had back/neck surgery a few times so walking isn't so great. Did your group like the waterfalls and iguana farms alot? The children that we will have with us is 4,2 and 6 mths but we love to be adventurous and usually DIY but this port doesn't sound to much like a DIY place. Since you have been there do you feel safety is an issue, with some of the things that I have read I wasn't sure especially with having the children with us. Hope you have a great trip!

Yes, our group did like the this tour but I am not sure it would be easier for you with little ones. Actually, I think it may be harder. As for the mile hike mentioned in the last post, I have already told Luis that we weren't interested in that so we are going to have more time elsewhere. That is the beauty of a custom tour, you can adjust according to your needs and for us, having 5 children, that is important. It may be helpful to email Luis (or anything other tour guide you are considering) and tell him exactly your situation, the ages of your children, medical issues, etc and get their advice. That is what I have done in the past and it is very helpful. As for cost, we have never paid more than what a non-custom tour would cost because we have at least 7 of us but last trip, we had 22 because other family memebers were with us.

Here is what I wrote about the waterfalls and Iguana Farm in response to a question on CC:

We used Turix Activo last year to do a custom tour to the waterfalls, iguana farm and the Hibscus museum/restaurant with a group of about 22, both children and adults. We thought they were great and will use them again in the future. They were very prompt in returning my emails and answering all of my questions. My sister has back problems and couldn't make it up the path at the waterfalls so one of the tour guides walked back to the van with her and stayed with her. We enjoyed the waterfalls but go prepared. If you plan to swim in them, bring watershoes for sure. It is rocky. Also, bring floaties/lifevest for children, even if they can swim because there was a bit of a current in one of the pools at the bottom of the waterfalls and the water is deep. My kids (8 - 15) loved swimming in the waterfall pools and the tour guide knew which ones to go to to avoid crowds but I think that all children should have a life vest and watershoes. They will have more fun that way and you won't have to worry. Also, bring natural bug repellent (I don't think they will allow some types because they said it harms the enviroment). There weren't many bugs but one person in our group was bitten by something (not that bad though).

As

As for safety issues, I never felt unsafe or noticed anything that would concerned me. I do plan to talk to Luis again before our trip (by email) and ask him about this.

Javier just contacted me that he was now able to use the big boat and therefore could include our party of four. Unfortunately, we have already made other plans, so we cannot take advantage of this, but I told Javier that I would pass the information along to our fellow travelers at CC. If you are interested in taking this tour of the Rio Dulce, you can contact Javier Putul at info@hotelcasarosada.com . You can also look up his website by Googling Hotel Casa Rosada Guatemala.

Thanks for the info. I checked out there website and would love to book with them if they would take us 2. WE will be there on 3/22 on the NCL Sun.

Great thing about hotel casa rosada...the co-owner is a Belgian lady, just like me!!! That would be so cool to meet her.

I e-mailed them and looking forward to there reply.

Nicky

On TripAdvisor, I found some positive reviews of Hotel Casa Rosado located in Livingston. The hotel operators will conduct tours of the Rio Dulce if reserved in advance. I could not find any mention of this establishment on CruiseCritic. Does anyone know anything about this tour? How does it compare to the Rio Dulce tour that Gus provides?

 

Thanks!

We just returned from a day with Gus and his staff on the Rio Dulce River. I agree with my teens, who said that it was the best excursion that we have taken in 6 years of cruising!!

The river is tropical, primeval and lovely. The sights that you see are unbelievable -- native peoples living on, next to and over the river - much as they have done for 1,000s of years.

And to top it off, Gus, his wife and their staff are professional, gracious, very knowledge and fun!

All in all, it made for an experience that we will rememeber for years to come.

Cruiznuts

I am glad to hear that someone did the humanitarian tour with go with gus. I have trid several times and can not get Gus to respond to my e-mails. We will be on the sun for the march 5th western caribbean cruise and would like to do that excursions. Otherwise we will just do the one thrugh ncl. Any suggestions as to how to get a response? Do you know how this tour may compare with the one NCL offers other than being longer and more expensive?

I am glad to hear that someone did the humanitarian tour with go with gus. I have trid several times and can not get Gus to respond to my e-mails. We will be on the sun for the march 5th western caribbean cruise and would like to do that excursions. Otherwise we will just do the one thrugh ncl. Any suggestions as to how to get a response? Do you know how this tour may compare with the one NCL offers other than being longer and more expensive?

Here is Gus' email address. He'll get back to you I am sure.

Gustavo Turcios <gustavo.turcios@gmail.com>

Also, on the difffernce to the ships tour.

With Gus:

No waiting around at the port, smaller group, Gus as a guide (he is great) and the ability to go up small triutaries of the river to see the indigenous people (the most fascinating part of the day), and a stop at some warm springs along the river (also really cool, no pun intended).

Have a fun trip!

Cruiznuts