Santo Tomas, Guatemala Mayan excursions

[Plankton1]

I will be coming to Santo Tomas in late December and was looking for an excursion to see the Mayan ruins. However, it's so very hard to know by looking at the cruise brochure which tours are best for the family. We don't want a tour that is super-high energy (I have a disabled daughter) and would love to hear about your experiences with either the Holland-America tours here or a local tour that I can book on my own. Thanks.

[Plankton1]

Holland-America offers these tours--the ones for which I want feedback:

 

1. Mayan Ruins of Copan--why is this excursion $500 by the way?

2. Quirigua Archaeological Ruins

3. Tikal--again, why is this excursion $500? Is it worth it? I'd expect a lot for this price.

[Love2bake]

The Mayan Ruins of Copan and Tikal are both LONG trips and are expensive because they include flights to the area. Quirigua is fairly close to the port and is probably your best option for good ruins without spending a lot of time traveling to and from the ruins (Tikal is a 45-60 minute flight and then 60 minute drive after the flight in each direction. Ruins of Copan are amazing but a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of ruins after flight and drive over dirt roads.)

 

Hope that helps!

[DeirdreTours]

Tikal is far too big to be appreciated on the 9 hour excursion from the port. Most of the excursion time will be spent in transportation-- bus to plane to more bus to site. Tikal is 29 acres of intricate building-- it deserves far more than the 2 hours you will have on this tour. We booked independantly for this port-- a trip closer in.