Santo Tomas, Guatemala

[TN-CruiseGirl]

We are a family of four with children ages 10 and 12. We cruise a lot, but we have never been to Santo Tomas, Guatemala. We really enjoy a good beach stop, but are open to ideas. Does anyone have any good suggestions?:)

[LHT28]

You may want to check on the Guatemala forum

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=460

[KirkNC]

Yes post this on the Port of Call / Guatemala forum.

[rvsullivan]

Santo Thomas is the only port in the Caribbean that we felt uneasy when moving about. The ships tie up next to a military base. We were told not to walk into town, about quarter of a mile. Our ships excursion was escort by armed guards from the port until we returned. This was two years ago, maybe it's better now. It's a beautiful place after you leave the port.

[skbaw]

In 2011, we did a river boat in Santo Tomas. You went up the river and visited a small village. You then came back to Livingston where you toured the town - saw a school, church, little stores. We were not escorted by armed guards. We had several children on the tour . There is also a shopping area right at the pier. There is definitely not a beach near the port - I don't recall if there was a beach excursion.

[GORDONCHICK]

We did one of our all-time favorite excursions from this port - Go with Gus. We did a humanitarian tour with him, taking school supplies to a place very far away from the port by boat. It was one of the most amazing tours. My DS, who was 8 at the time loved it too. Gus picked us up in his boats, stopped at his hotel/restaurant to pick up lunch and off we went - far into the rain forest. We'd do it again in a heartbeat! And it was good for our DS to see how fortunate he is. We've always told him that there will always be many with more than you have, but many many more with much less than you have, and he was able to see that.

[cruiserssandr]

We did one of our all-time favorite excursions from this port - Go with Gus. We did a humanitarian tour with him, taking school supplies to a place very far away from the port by boat. It was one of the most amazing tours. My DS, who was 8 at the time loved it too. Gus picked us up in his boats, stopped at his hotel/restaurant to pick up lunch and off we went - far into the rain forest. We'd do it again in a heartbeat! And it was good for our DS to see how fortunate he is. We've always told him that there will always be many with more than you have, but many many more with much less than you have, and he was able to see that.

We also did this tour with Gus. It is by far one of the best tours we have ever done. It did make us realize how fortunate or kids and grand kids are. We ate lunch at his hotel. Given the chance we we do this tour again.