Santo Tomas de Castilla

[stunned]

We are sailing on NCL Pearl in November and I have never had as much trouble finding information on a port as I am for Santo Tomas de Castilla. I have looked on ports threads, but there isn't much recent info. Does anyone have any recommendations for beach or water activities, or really any advise.

 

 

Thanks.

[MeHeartCruising]

We are sailing on NCL Pearl in November and I have never had as much trouble finding information on a port as I am for Santo Tomas de Castilla. I have looked on ports threads, but there isn't much recent info. Does anyone have any recommendations for beach or water activities, or really any advise.

 

 

Thanks.

 

I stopped there a few years ago on a cruise. As you note, there wasn't much available to do then either. I ended up taking a ship excursion to see the Mayan ruins at Quirigua. It was a good day, although not the best mayan ruins I have seen by far. Still, it was not a bad choice. Give it some thought if it is still offered.

[Safetyal]

There is nothing at the port. We were there earlier this year. You will need to book an excursion if you plan on doing anything while visiting. There are vendors who set up in an old warehouse if you would just like to do some quick shopping.

[MeHeartCruising]

Here is a link to my photos from the day in this port. As you can see from the first few pictures, the dock area is an industrial facility. Not much going on at all. The excursion pictures are for the Quirigua location I mentioned earlier.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickchapman1962/albums/72157661709243556/page1

[drvalo]

The port is very industrial (fruit exports). The area is VERY poor. We went on a tour. It was quite good. It was very educational and we saw some interesting and historic locations, however, there was a jeep of armed guards following our bus the whole time. And when we booked the tour, the excursion desk rep's last comment to us was, "At least it is safe." I would take a tour from the ship if you plan to go any place other than visit the vendors just off the dock...not even a DI in sight and the ship's shopper consultant didn't even mention the stop. There are a number of local vendors and women's co-ops selling items there and that is where we chose to spend some cash. They have some beautiful textiles unique to the country.

[stunned]

Here is a link to my photos from the day in this port. As you can see from the first few pictures, the dock area is an industrial facility. Not much going on at all. The excursion pictures are for the Quirigua location I mentioned earlier.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickchapman1962/albums/72157661709243556/page1

 

Thanks for the pics, not sure if that's the excursion we will take, but it does look interesting.

[kitkat343]

My family (including my 3 year old son) absolutely loved the humanitarian tour at that port with Go with Gus. My review on trip advisor is here so you can see the pictures (and the whole cruise is in my signature line, but it was on HAL so the other ports might all be different): https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g292010-d1013413-r202501543-Go_With_Gus_Tours-Livingston_Rio_Dulce_Izabal_Department.html#REVIEWS .

 

This tour was a wonderful experience - the students at the school were thrilled to see us, and the Rio Dulce is beautiful. That being said, there were a few scary reviews I'd read before our trip (in 2014). One talked about how they almost missed the ship and only made it because the HAL captain's wife and daughter happened to be on the tour and the ship waited a few minutes for them (that's still one of the top things that come up when you google go with gus, which is a little scary). The other thing is that on the Guatemala board, someone posted that Go with Gus asked them to prepay for their tour, which seems really sketchy. We weren't asked to prepay our tour in 2014, but things may have changed since then. Also, some people felt the boat ride was rocky. We booked a private tour for just our family (I am insane enough to cruise with toddlers, but try to not subject any other passengers to my children's potential meltdowns whenever possible) so I wasn't worried about the timing of our tour. I correctly assumed they would let us go back to the ship whenever we asked on a private tour, and that we just needed to keep an eye on the time. Also, I wrote to them ahead of time and specifically asked about the rocky boat ride, and they told me with a small child they'd travel slowly. So maybe they can put together a group of people who would rather go more slowly if you contact them - I would imagine when they put people on the boats in the dock, there might be groups of people who would be fine with spending a little less time at the sites and go slowly on the boat. This day was the highlight of that cruise, and we all had a wonderful time. But I don't know if I'd have booked with a company with these kinds of negative reviews anywhere else, but since there wasn't much of a choice I decided to go for it, and it all worked out wonderfully for my family.

 

ETA: recent trip advisor reviews seem to indicate the prepaying request was a result of their website being hacked, which seems scary too. This is what they stated on trip advisor in response to someone not being able to reach them : I just read your comment and want to apologize for what you went thru trying to get in touch with us.

 

For a while I have not received any emails, until accidentally I found them all in the Spam Folder - when someone send a request, the emails are supposed to go to my address and my husband's Gus -. But after finding them there, I checked Gus's address but the Spam Folder is not in it!!

WE BELIEVE OUR WEB PAGE WAS HACKED BY ONE OF OUR COMPETITORS to get us out of business. We are working on a new page to see if will remedy this situation. Regards, Gus and Ira / Go With Gus Tours

[ozscotart]

We did the ships tour to Quirigua and enjoyed it, the bus was comfortable, the guide was really interesting, both about the Mayan culture in that particular area and about recent Guatemalan history. There is a small museum at the site and some shops. The site is very open and easy to access but you definitely need a guide, as with most sites, to make the most of it. There are no tourist amenities at the port.

[newmexicoNita]

Thanks for the pics, not sure if that's the excursion we will take, but it does look interesting.

glad you asked: we were wondering the same thing as you. It is one port we haven't seen and am hoping it will be worth the effort to get off the ship and do something. We usually enjoy new ports. I do think we will book through the ship if we do a tour. We don't always use ship tours as they are more expensive and not all that great, but this is one time we most likely will.

[roger001]

We've stopped twice but been several years ago. As mentioned, it is very poor and the community just beyond the port not a place you would want to wander. For Santo Thomas, it's pretty much tours or nothing, other than port area shopping in that warehouse building. First time we did a small boat tour up to a waterway, looked at it, then stopped in a small community to have escorted walk through. Really enjoyed that tour and our tour guide. Next time we did a bus tour of the local area. Was very informative, making me realize again how fortunate I am. Roads were so bad in areas that bus had to stop and be backed by a guide a block or so to get out of a neighborhood. All the people were wonderful, nice as can be, and I left so sorry that they can't have a better life. A huge bunch gathered at the dock for sail away playing music and waving.

[Homosassa]

As the other posters have said, do not leave the port area without being on a guided tour and be very careful if you decide to wing it with a private tour.

 

I have to say that I enjoyed the port area. Besides having local craftspeople selling, there will also be local musicians and dance groups performing.

 

We enjoyed our stops and tours while on cruises that we booked a two week escorted land tour of the country. The country is beautiful and the local people warm and friendly.

 

Of all the travel I have done over the years, the land tour to Guatemala is one that made the deepest impression.

[MCC retired]

We stopped here December 2016 on HAL .

Book a tour for sure as there is nothing walkable other than a local shopping building.

We did the Happy Fish River Cruise tour and were very pleased .

Along the coast to Livingston then up the river thru the jungle to the school , then back to the ship with a stop for lunch @ the Happy Fish Restaurant in Livingston .

The boat up & down the coast was a bit ruff for some but we enjoyed the wild ride on the way back.

Many that stayed onboard for this port expressed dismay that they didn't book a tour as it is just a

freighter port .

[LrgPizza]

It's been a while since I've been there. You won't find anything in the way of beaches. We visted Las Escobas Springs Reserve. We did this on our own, and not through a ship excursion, as there were lots of local vendors/drivers waiting to take people places. Not the safest option, but we did it. It was very neat. Looking at info now, it looks to have been built up quite a bit since then.

[stunned]

Thank you everyone for your info - I am happy to see there are options.

[kitkat343]

I was told the government charges a lot more for the ships to dock than neighboring countries, so it appears on fewer itineraries. It's a shame because it truly is a gorgeous country, and if you are able to find a reputable tour guide you will have a wonderful time there. Best of luck in your search.