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Another Question or Two About Antigua


gottagocit
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How spread is the old part of the city including sights such as Le Merced and Le Recollection Churches?

 

We are considering a 'On your own' excursion during a Princess port call in Puerto Quetzal in November and I'm trying to get a feel for how difficult it is to get around the old city and see some of the interesting sights.

 

How difficult and costly is it to hire a car and driver? Is one needed?

Is safety a concern if you're exploring the city on your own?

 

We're in good health and don't mind a good deal of walking but not looking to do a marathon! Lol.

 

Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

the port is about one hour from Antiqua.

we took the ship bus tour "DIY" to the center of town and were dropped off at a tourist informaiton area. We hired a guide and each of us(4) paid $10.00 for a four hour tour plus we also ate lunch at a local cafe. the town could be done without a guide, but get a good map and do research before you go.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and visited Santa Cristina, the main square, a coffee shop where we tasted the diffenrt coffees of area and of course brought whole beans, a hotel that was a former residence, and Jade museum, and the vendor markets. It is a lovely town full of rich history.

I also thought the actual port area was one of the nicest of all of Central Amer. ports. Lots of vendor stalls, cafes, free wifi, and good shade.

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To the left side of the port building , if you are leaving the ship, there are a couple of open air cafes along side the vendor stalls. My brother in law used his tablet while we sat and had drinks.

Maybe you have to buy a drink though.

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  • 11 months later...
Are you able to hire guides in advance or do you just hire a guide when you arrive in Antigua for the Self Explore Tour?

 

Yes, there are guides available which can be booked in advance. We found ours (http://www.antiguatours.net) on TripAdvisor. We thought it was worth to have a reputable guide reserved in advance. I think we paid a bit more ($10?) over what the guides charge at the drop-off point on a walk-up basis.

 

Couple of caveats with Elizabeth Bell tours.... we were required to pay in advance. Very rarely run across this on private cruise ship tours. She told me that it was "standard" in Guatemala to charge in advance. She did say that if for some reason the ship was unable to dock, she would refund the cost. Also, her guide did NOT meet us at the drop-off point. We had to walk several blocks to their office on the square with the cathedral. We ended up taking a wrong turn on the way, which delayed the start of our tour. In the end, we made it, and had a very good guide. He had a great recommendation for a place to eat in Antigua.

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when we were in Antiqua with the ship DYI tour, we hired a local guide at the tourist drop off area. In talking to our guide, we learned that all officai tour guides in Antiqua are locals. Any tour guides in other parts of Guatemala which also are official cannot really do business in Antiqua.

As to the expat who does tours, I really cannot speak to her business.

Our local guide lived in town, he was of Mayan descent, he lived in Belize with his grandmother duirng the civil war, so his English was excellent.

I would not hesitate to hire a guide once you get to Antiqua. Just do some research before you go so you can tell your guide what are some of the things and places you really want to see.

 

have a great tour day.

I will be returning to Antiqua in September for three days,looking forward to exploring the town again.

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  • 2 weeks later...
the port is about one hour from Antiqua.

we took the ship bus tour "DIY" to the center of town and were dropped off at a tourist informaiton area. We hired a guide and each of us(4) paid $10.00 for a four hour tour plus we also ate lunch at a local cafe. the town could be done without a guide, but get a good map and do research before you go.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and visited Santa Cristina, the main square, a coffee shop where we tasted the diffenrt coffees of area and of course brought whole beans, a hotel that was a former residence, and Jade museum, and the vendor markets. It is a lovely town full of rich history.

I also thought the actual port area was one of the nicest of all of Central Amer. ports. Lots of vendor stalls, cafes, free wifi, and good shade.

 

Hi,

Thank you for your info about the ships "DIY" tour, we are interested in that on our upcoming cruise.. How much time did you have in the town? Did the same bus bring you back to the ship? The reason I ask is we did a similar tour on a past cruise & the return trip was awful because there was no order to which bus was taking you back to the ship. You had to scramble to get a bus that had 2 seats available.

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Hi,

Thank you for your info about the ships "DIY" tour, we are interested in that on our upcoming cruise.. How much time did you have in the town? Did the same bus bring you back to the ship? The reason I ask is we did a similar tour on a past cruise & the return trip was awful because there was no order to which bus was taking you back to the ship. You had to scramble to get a bus that had 2 seats available.

 

When we used the ship's shuttle this past May (on HAL), we returned on the same bus. I think most people occupied their same seats.

 

I seem to recall we were in town a little over 4 hours.

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