Is it best to book a ship's tour in Guatemala?

[burm]

I have spent the day researching some of our ports for next year and recall that someone recommended for one of our ports that it was best to stick to the ship's tours. Would that be Guatemala? Is there any reason why we should not book private tours there?

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

We did the B2 Tour (Colonial Antigua Tour) with Go With Gus last month and although the tour itself was excellent I felt we were cutting it too close to get back to the ship by 6:30. I thought there was uneccessary extra shopping time near the end of the tour and as a result we got back at 5:50 which in my mind is cutting it close since you are close to 1 hour away and we did not run into any mechanical problems. With a bit of fine tuning Gus could have had us back at 5 pm which would have been fine with me.

[pisces1]

We just did a tour with turix as well. The strange thing on HAL is that we operated on Central time w/ daylight savings, while the port and the tour operated on Central time with no daylight savings. So it was 10:00 a.m. on the ship but 9:00 a.m. in the port/on land. It confused many folks.

 

Anyway, that meant that our tour took off later than anticipated and some of the guests were concerned with cutting it too close when returning. We were running over the estimated 4 hour time limit when we arrived in Livingston (our last stop and about a 40 minute cruise back to the ship), so the passengers just took a vote and said we only wanted to stay for 25 minutes. They asked us for our opinion and they responded accordingly. However, that being said, I would absolutely book an independent, but I would make sure that you do have a comfortable "bumper" of time since many things can delay you when you are on a small boat 15 miles or more from your mother ship (and no roads to take you back). The bay had gotten rough upon our return, but we had an excellent skipper who managed to cruise at almost maximum speed. It made for an interesting ride, but we never felt in any danger.

[mizLORInj]

We don't normally use ship tours, though we did 2 on our March 20-30 Island Princess Panama Canal cruise (both were great!). We did not use ship's tour for Guatemala, however, and ended up not going there due to a transit strike in Guatemala! Turansa will not give us a full refund for our group of 12. Our group of 12 is not too happy about that! The port was missed due to their country's transit strike and we wouldn't have been able to get around even if we did port. So I would just check refund policies more carefully than I have in the past for my next cruise!

ENJOY!!

[exBFF]

just returned on the Ryndam this morning and one of the ports we visited was St. Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala.

 

A couple of things:

 

1 - Personal choice, but we always book shore excursions through the ships. We've had a couple of experiences where the tour went awry and we'd have likely been left behind if it weren't a holland america tour. You pay more, but it's worth the peace of mind (to us).

 

2 - There are plenty of local tour options when you get off of the ship. Just walk into the terminal (where they have all of the arts and crafts). Plenty of private tours available.

 

3 - We did Amatique Bay Resort as our shore excursion. Loved it. Great pools (several with large water slides for kids), but plenty of places to go to get away from kids as well. Food was very good. We'd definitely go back.

 

4 - I was shocked by the pollution in the ocean during this stop. It's like the local people use the bay to dump all of their trash. We had to take a small boat from the ship to Amatique Bay and you go through tons of trash. Then when we tried to swim at the beach, there was garbage all over the ocean floor, trash floating in (a lot of styrofoam trays for meat, paper, plastic). It got worse...I won't say what it was, but I'm still grossed out by the item that finally drove me from the water.

 

5 - The guatemalan people were, literally, the friendliest we've ever met. Everywhere we went, they were just inherently kind and friendly. There's clearly a core group trying to develop it as a tourist destination...and they are on the right track. A group of locals came to perform as our ship pulled away. It was such a friendly gesture (everyone had boarded, so there was no money to be made...they did it as a farewell). Very touching, very special and will make my son and I remember their country fondly.

 

PS...I was also a bit worried about visiting, but I felt very safe in Guatemala. Honduras, now that's a different posting. :-)

[burm]

We enjoy booking private excursions with guides highly recommended by CC members, but there are some countries where it is just wiser to stick to the ship's tours. For example, in Panama there are frequent traffic problems that could cause you to miss your ship.

 

And speaking of garbage, what I will always remember about Panama is lovely green mountains - with trash dumped everywhere! You would think that countries that want to develop tourism would realize how offputting this garbage is.

[stiej]

We just got back off the Ryndam today as well and we booked with Go With Gus and did the humanitarian tour. We were a family of 4 and LOVED it. We were back with enough time to shop in the little market by the ship. We went to Livingston to Gus's hotel and had fruit. Then up the Rio Dulce to a house where a family fixed us fresh corn tortillas and we bought a fresh coconut where the gentleman cut it and gave us a straw to drink and then sliced it for us to eat the meat. After that we went to the hot springs and we toured a cave. Then, we went back to Livingston and had lunch at Gus's restaurant (fish, shrimp - yummy). After that, we walked through Livingston back to the boat and rode back to the ship. Gus was our guide and he loves his people, his country and his culture. It was one of the best tours I have ever taken in my 15+ cruises. My 2 kids loved it as well. HTH!

[TravlGrl]

We don't normally use ship tours, though we did 2 on our March 20-30 Island Princess Panama Canal cruise (both were great!). We did not use ship's tour for Guatemala, however, and ended up not going there due to a transit strike in Guatemala! Turansa will not give us a full refund for our group of 12. Our group of 12 is not too happy about that! The port was missed due to their country's transit strike and we wouldn't have been able to get around even if we did port. So I would just check refund policies more carefully than I have in the past for my next cruise!

 

ENJOY!!

 

I echo what Lori said about Turansa. Shady business practices, and I do not recommend them.

[lynncarol]

We had a similar experience when we booked (and prepaid) Turansa to pick us up at the Guatemala City Int. airport for transportation to Antigua. No sign of them when we arrived. Since we were in Antigua for a week, I tracked down the Turansa agent. He admitted it was their fault (too many passengers and not enough vans) but it still took over 2 months for the credit to appear on our card.

[ST.ice]

I have spent the day researching some of our ports for next year and recall that someone recommended for one of our ports that it was best to stick to the ship's tours. Would that be Guatemala? Is there any reason why we should not book private tours there?

 

I recommend http://www.hotelcasarosada.com/home.htm

Offers similar tours to go with Gus. Their tours have less people per group and smaller boats. the smaller boats can fit in to the mangrove tunnels a very cool experience. Javier Putul Choc was a great guide he is the owner. This was one of the best cruise excursion I've been on. They will also Tailor the tour to your needs and what you want to do and see.

[burm]

I recommend http://www.hotelcasarosada.com/home.htm

Offers similar tours to go with Gus. Their tours have less people per group and smaller boats. the smaller boats can fit in to the mangrove tunnels a very cool experience. Javier Putul Choc was a great guide he is the owner. This was one of the best cruise excursion I've been on. They will also Tailor the tour to your needs and what you want to do and see.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. I will definitely look into this.

 

That looks like an interesting hotel, cheap, modest rooms, but incredible property and food.

[VaTraveler]

We booked with Go With Gus last February and had one of the best tours of our entire cruise experience. We had plenty of time at the end of the tour to just stroll with him through the town and were never concerned about getting back to the ship. I can't imagine why anyone would be concerned about booking with him instead of the ship.

[fideauxdon]

I echo what Lori said about Turansa. Shady business practices, and I do not recommend them.

 

You're correct about this. We were considering an Antigua tour with Turnasa, and it was like pulling teeth to get them to disclose their "Terms and Conditions" beforehand. The forfeiture amount was in there, but you had to search for it. There are too many other good companies out ther. Forget Turansa.

[alexandra cruiser]

I contacted a few of online companies I googled,,,a few wanted payment up front,,no way,,,,other had minimum number of people to confirm tour,,,etc...too many details,,,etc...wimped out and booked ship tour...

Also, the guidebooks I found suggested safety in outlying areas could be a factor,,,along with Belize,,,another concern....we ll see....going in Nov..and will post review ,,,etc.....;)

[Two Tumbleweeds]

:)We took the ship's tour to Antigua and a coffee plantation. On the way back we were in a torrential rain storm, and the driver had to go super slow just to see. We did get back in time but the ship had to wait for two busses that were late. They would not have waited for a private tour, so take your chances. I would hate to try to catch some form of transportation to the next port to catch the ship.:(

[Nickymjw1]

We normally book independent excursions but for Guatemala we booked through the ship. We really enjoyed our Discover Rio Dulce tour . Some roll call members went on Go with Gus. They said they didnt get back until 15 minutes before final boarding time which made them very nervous.

 

I felt our tour was a little to rushed, so it would be nice to find something in between...either way, Guatemala is beautiful and the people are wonderful!

 

Just make sure you book an excursion because you arrive in a shipping port full of containers!

[burm]

We ended up taking the Rio Dulce and Livingston tour with Happy Fish and had a wonderful time. We told our guide that we wanted to be back by 4:30, which left us plenty of time before final boarding. We returned punctually.

 

Perhaps it is new, but there was a building with crafts vendors and tour operators in Santo Thomas. Go With Gus, Happy Fish and a few others had booths. Anyone without reservations could have booked at the last minute.

 

I would "guesstimate" that there were 10 people in our group, enough to make for a jolly group but not a cumbersome number.

 

The Rio Dulce area is very beautiful and this was one of our favourite ports.

 

I would be very happy to recommend Happy Fish.