Post Santo Tomas de Castilla Info Here

[Joyce and Tim]

We just got back from WCarib on the Sun, apparently one of the first cruise ships to visit San Tomas in Guatemala. The ship's info consisted of one line about it being a rural area, but they of course offered the tours. We prefer to skip ship's tours and venture out on our own.

At the terminal you'll walk through a large indoor market area, with all kinds of native crafts, the usual t-shirts, jewelry, etc. There is a real air of desperation with the vendors -- they drop the price by 50% immediately, even before you decide if you like an item. I defy you to get out of there without buying SOMETHING once these folks look you in the eye! (Also you can get beer for $1/bottle while you shop from the woman in back of the chairs/tables set up for the musical entertainment in the middle of the room.)

Going out the door of that building, you'll see the gate where you can exit the port. We met a couple who were returning and asked them what they saw. They said there is nothing out there, just some houses. No town? No... [turns out they were wrong...see below] ok, so we checked out the men selling the taxi tours. There were lots of taxis and vans lined up, as in any port. For $15/person for four people, we could get a ride to the waterfalls ($5 entry) and see the area. (Cheaper with more people.) Within a couple minutes we were joined by two Canadian ladies and embarked with our driver Jose. He spoke a bit of English and was very friendly. The ride to the falls took about 20 minutes on a bumpy gravel road. One of our companions took a zillion pictures out the window, as we passed the local scenes. I think it was her first time in Central America and she was fascinated by the trees, flowers, houses, children, animals, yards, you name it. At the waterfalls, which is in a protected, national reserve, an English speaking woman introduced us to our guide, Luis, an adorable 12 year old. The woman explained that the children do this as part of their education. He spoke only Spanish so I asked her to tell him to limit his vocabulary with us to the simplest terms! aqua, bonita, eg. were about all we understood. He pointed out the names of some plants and trees along the way. The walk through the rainforest was gorgeous and not too strenuous...there were wooden bridges and well groomed stairs, and the walk was 20-30 minutes. Just to be in what we assume is primary growth rainforest was very special. At the end there was a small pool [you could swim there if you wanted] and waterfalls. Don't expect Niagara Falls! but it was a lovely scene and cool. Our taxi driver came with us and said he could sit there all day. There were three or four armed guards at this point (rather incongruous at the peaceful scene!) and we were told it was because of orchid poachers.

After we were back in the car, we four gringos were trying to remember the Spanish word for town. Someone finally remembered barrio and the cab driver thought we wanted to go to the next town, Puerto Barrio. He was in no hurry to get back, so we took him up on his offer and rode about 15 minutes to the next town, a busy port town. Again, very colorful and very native--other than the Coca Cola and Pepsi signs, everything was Spanish. It was nice that there were no McD, KFC, etc, which are too typical in such places!

In driving through the town of San Tomas, we got the lay of the land, and can tell you how to walk to town if you want to. It seemed plenty safe (daytime) unless you're just freaked out by foreign countries for some reason. There were plenty of small businesses, including internet cafes, restaurants etc.

Directions: If you want to walk to town, go out the gate and straight ahead about 2-3 blocks. You'll pass a fenced-in park on your right. At the end of the park go left for about 1/2 mile. You'll pass another fenced park on your left. When you get to the entrance to the cargo area of the port on your left, turn right. Take this road maybe 1/2 mile. You'll come to the main highway (there will be green highway signs.) Cross that street and very soon you'll see the road into the town, slightly to your left. You can't miss it.

Tim as a great sense of direction and memory for places, and these are his directions for you! I don't know how much a taxi would charge for this, but surely not very much, right? But if you want to walk and explore, don't be put off when you don't see something immediately.

Other people on the ship took boat trips to Livingston and up the Rio Dulce. They saw a lot more than we did, and were fascinated by how the people lived along the river. I hope they'll post vivid accounts of their days.

Enjoy your travels!!!

[flashdog_1]

Thanks for posting. We were all anxiously awaiting some reviews.

 

Those of you who went to Livingston and the Rio Dulce, please let us know how it went time wise and what you got to see. I've booked independently with a hotel in Livingston to pick us up in Puerto Barrios since we were concerned that transportation back to Santo Tomas might be a problem. Thanks

[cruisinfoolJim]

Hi everyone

Here's what we did in Santo Tomas, Guatemala. A small group of us got a water taxi right at the dock $25.000 pp and went 1 1/4 hours up the coast to see the Siete Altares water falls ($1.50 to get in) The waterfalls and jungle was nice, very few bugs. We went swimming in the creek and jumped off the rocks. that was fun. We met a couple of police on the way down the trail and were told the goverment was doing this to make the tourist feel safer. We stopped at a restaurant the guide knew on the way back. I didn't care for that. If we had stopped in Livingston on the way back that would have been better. It was a good day overall as we got to see and do something different. I did talk to some who went to Amatique Bay and did not enjoy it but I will let them tell you about that. The Guatemalan people are very nice and you should try to do something away from the port as it is more of an industrial area. I was told this was only their second cruise ship to dock and when we left port they lined up all the buses and cars and beeped their horns for 15 to 20 minutes as a send off. that was special.

 

Jim

[jjworm]

So here's my two cents worth...

 

We did the Amatique Bay Beach Resort excursion through the ship. Had a good day. Took a water taxi about 10 minutes out of the harbor and headed south for another 5 minutes. Spent the day at the resort sitting by the pool (they have two pools, one from 5 to 8 feet deep and the other a kids pool) connected by a moat). The adult pooll has a swim up bar. There were two big water slides and a great kids pirates play ship. Lunch was a buffet style meal which was an average affair consisting of corn, meat, rice, vegetables and dessert and a coke or diet coke.

 

You can walk all around the resort, although nobody other than those from the Sun were there. People were horse back riding there too.

 

I saw people using paddle boats and kayaks too in the harbor area of the lagoon.

 

The beach area is OK with lounge chairs and ricketty hammocks, but the water is terribly dirty. There is no way you would ever want to swim in that water. However, the pools were very clean and they always had a person walking around skimming them.

 

All in all it was a good day. Got some sun, plenty of lounge chairs, nice grounds to walk around on (there is a little tower you can climb up on and look around at the grounds).

 

I went to www.amatiquebay.net for all the maps of the grounds and printed them out ahead of time. They actually gave us all the same exact copy of it when we arrived. Its in Spanish, so translate ahead of time.

 

The trip was probably overpriced, but it was a relaxing day and you could have stayed as long as you liked. The water taxis just kept on running.

[Zeno]

Amatique Bay Resort Beach Day:

 

This was a shore excursion we took through NCL.

I would rate this about a 7 out of 10.

This was the first time this excursion was run – so there were some glitches but overall they were correctable and for us did not ruin the day.

 

Transportation to the Resort:

Needs some improvements. Boats took people from the ship’s dock to the resort. (This was contrary to information I was given – which was that buses would be used.) The boats were a problem IF you are elderly or have mobility difficulties. Only one boat was easy to board. In my opinion, they should reserve this boat and board all those who are elderly or have some mobility problems on it first... This would only take a little extra organization. I injured my knee boarding one of the boats. (I don’t blame NCL since I could have waited for the ‘easy to board’ boat to return and I chose not to.) Be assured on the way back, I made very sure I got on the ‘easy to board’ boat and I had no problems.

 

Tour Operator Personnel:

In spite of the transportation difficulty, I rate them pretty highly. They were attentive and friendly (especially Christina) and seemed to be trying to make things enjoyable. I cut them a lot of slack because this was the first tour and I think they were doing a little learning as they went along.

Minor errors:

They should have let us know that we needed our ticket stubs, before we all marched off to the buffet area for lunch. Some people got to the front of the line – only to be sent back for their stubs (luckily we thought to bring ours). The buffet line-up could also have been better organized.

 

Resort Facilities:

The beach was not very nice – murky water but the pool was great. The washrooms were clean. The resort staff were friendly. There were plenty of loungers and chairs.

Drinks were extra and expensive.

The grounds are attractive. There are iguanas and turtles to view.

I think this would be a great place to go with small children (as long as you supervise them). There were water slides and a rather neat pirate ship (in the children’s pool area.

There is also a shopping area and if you were prepared to bargain with the vendors, you could get some good deals. I got a small woven rug for $13. (The starting price was $35).

 

The Buffet:

The chicken was somewhat undercooked – we did not eat ours. But I found all other items edible. My friend said her steak was very good. Mine was OK. The desserts were actually tastier than they looked. Except for the chicken we had no complaints.

 

Overall:

Except for injuring my knee, we had a good (not a great day). I would have liked a nicer beach area but the pool was pleasant.

Who I would recommend this for:

Families with small children

People who just want to relax for a day

Note: It may be worth contacting the resort to see if you can arrange a day there for a cheaper price than the NCL excursion.

 

My opinion after this brief and limited glimpse of Guatemala - I would love to see more of this country. We had enticing glimpses of heavily forested hills that must surely lead to lovely countryside. The port itself is very industrial but the flickering light farewell to the ship put on by the buses and taxis was a nice touch.

[passaporta]

Thank you for the reviews. We are hungry for info on Guatemala.

Suzanne

[flashdog_1]

http://www.nps.gov/centralamerica/guatemala/

[mhurdle127]

For those of you who have done the Amatique Bay thing -- did you book it through the cruise line? Do the ferries operate continuously throughout the day both ways or do you have a set time to leave the dock and/or the resort?

[jjworm]

We booked it through Norwegian. I am sure you can call the resort and arrange for a deal with them.

 

The water taxis ran all day so you can come and go as you please. They seemed to leave every 15-20 minutes or so between the ship and the resort and then back again. The wait to get on the ferry in the morning was long (20 minutes for us) so get there early or late and you should be fine. The taxis hold anywhere from 50-80 people or so and they have several running.

[flashdog_1]

SANTO TOMAS

Prior to the cruise I could not find a HAL excursion that I wanted, so had contacted various hotels in Livingston to see if one could be arranged. As it turned out, by sailing day, there was a very similar shore excursion offered, but I'd already made my arrangements independently for a ride down the Rio Dulce and lunch in Livingston, with a little walk around town.

 

Our group met, disembarked together at 8 a.m., and met a couple of English speaking guides on the dock, one who had lived in the states when he was 8 years old, and the other had spent 20 years in NY (GUS). They both knew our Livingston contact (told us to tell him "hi" for them), so they were not trying to sell us tours but were helpful in any way they could be. The young one wanted to practice speaking English. His was perfect but said it was difficult pulling it out of his memory.

 

There was a large "warehouse" type building filled with vendors. Apparently the custom is to ask a high price and for the buyer to refuse, offering a lower price etc. until an agreement could be made. I'd taught my group to say, "demasiado" (too much) or to exclaim, "tanto!" (so much!) to get the bargaining going. Our dinner mates said they said nothing, and were just trying to decide on a color, when the vendor dropped the price by 50%. So that's a word to the wise. Don't pay the asking price.

 

There was a steel drum group playing. We were given little 2" Guatemalan dolls. We did not tarry since we wanted to make the most of our one day in port.

 

There were some interesting and unusual "facts" I will now offer. There were six of us but we could not get a van unless we booked one of the shore excursions there at the pier. So we booked two taxis. The asking price was $130 per person round trip. I spoke up that we'd been told we could do it for $10 per person!! So that's what we paid. Off we went.

 

When I say, "we booked" what I mean is that inside the pier facilities you will get a licensed driver as opposed to walking outside the pier where someone may offer you a ride for a set fee. You will also be able to negotiate in English inside the facilities.

 

I was going to walk outside, but I could not see how far away it was, or if in fact there were any cabs there, so it just seemed simpler to do it there, be safe with a licensed driver, and not have to walk to search for a lower price outside the gates. Security was very good at the pier, and I saw that we'd have had to walk a distance to leave the pier to find a cheaper rate.

 

Our Livingston guide had told us what other people he had taken on tours had paid ($10 each) and that it might be even cheaper outside the pier gates. He also had told me that the previous tourists had paid AFTER the round trip, but we paid before. We set a time to meet, and he was there at 3:30 p.m. as promised. So we were back on the ship before 4 p.m.

 

Our taxi driver spoke very little English and was relieved that I spoke Spanish, so we went back and forth if we could not understand each other. Romeo was going to school 2 hours every week night and said it was slow learning. He showed us his school, the hospital etc, and at my request took us by the 400 year old mission church in town so we could take photos, and then to the port in Puerto Barrios where we met our Livingston guide. We had occasion to ask if the missionaries had actually destroyed the Mayan religion. The answer everywhere we went was that it had not been destroyed, even if everyone had become Christian.

 

He drove very slowly so we saw some of the "life" in town. Streets were very wide, but very few cars were on the road. No one seemed to know there should be "lanes" for driving. In other words, all the cars were simply where they wanted to be, whether the middle or to the right side of the road. Or perhaps they were avoiding pot holes.

 

It was very tropical, humid, and poor by US standards, but no beggars. We did see one juggler (on our return trip) at an intersection who stopped by each car to collect his tariff. I'd spent every single dollar I had, so told him, "no tengo dinero" at which point he gave me a large coin. I'd read that this was a custom! I gave it to Romeo.

 

It was pouring rain, (but no thunder and lightning) and one of our members did not have a poncho. He asked me to ask the attendant at the dock if she had them to sell. She did not, and said the store across the street had them, but that store was closed. She did come out with a thin black garbage bag for him (price $1!) and helped him fit into it. Several of the women went across the street to find "servicios" (don't say banos because a bano is where you bathe). There was a charge there, as well. Originally they wanted a dollar per person but the women convinced her to take a dollar for 3.

 

The municipal pier was tiny, accommodating perhaps half a dozen private boats and the ferry. No one approached us to try to sell us anything.

 

PUERTO BARRIOS TO LIVINGSTON, GUATEMALA.

Our guide for the day was Javier Putul, a native Mayan who owns the Hotel Casa Rosada with his Belgian wife. We waited until there was a break in the weather before heading out for a half hour bumpy trip across Amatique Bay to Livingston. There were no sissies in our group of 6 which ranged in age from 29 to 65. This was a real expedition! I suppose we could have canceled and paid the 33% penalty for doing so, but we hoped the weather would improve (it did). We laughed as we held up the tarps Javier had provided. Even Javier was laughing. Imagine, laughing tourists instead of complaining ones! Thank goodness we had cushioned seats which helped with the jarring of the boat meeting the sea at high speed.

 

Even in the rain the scenery was nice. 90% of the trip we were close to land, but it always felt as if we were on the open seas. There was a canopy on the launcha but it could not protect all passengers equally.

 

We stopped at the waterfront hotel to place our lunch orders (1 lobster & 5 tapados. Tapado is a local dish made from coconut milk, plantains, fish and shell fish. My bowl contained a whole crab, 6 shrimp, 2 mussels and half a fried local fish. It was delicious and messy! It was served with coconut bread, a first course of salad with their own salad dressing, and key lime pie for dessert. I had made sure that purified water was used to clean the vegetables and to make ice. We all tried the local beer) and look around a bit, waiting for the weather to clear. And clear it did. It was beautiful weather the entire time on the Rio Dulce. We drank Guatemalan coffee, as well.

 

The dining room was open air, overlooking the Caribbean, with exotic birds chirping. There were lovely gardens, Mayan designed, hand painted chairs and tables. I chose this particular hotel to deal with because it seemed so authentic and because i felt I had a personal contact with javier rather than another hotel trying to sell me something. javier wanted to give us what we wanted. We could have gone to a more Americanized resort for our tour and lunch, but we wanted something Guatemalan, and we got it. Javier was born in Livingston and was totally familiar with the area, and gave us what we were looking for. For those of you who may not know, Livingston is accessible only by boat. No roads lead there.

 

We went thru the canyons, up close to the limestone walls with hanging vines, to the hot spring with clear water to see the bottom, which was rocks (it is not a volcanic hot spring, but one created from moving plates?), bird island where there were a gazillion birds in flocks, to El Golfete, stopping at a school, Ak Tenamet and lagoons with lilies. We saw tiny frogs (smaller than a woman's pinky nail), termite nests, many herons and cormorants. No alligators, jaguars or Quetzales (the state bird after whom the currency is named) who reside in the mountains.

 

The area is pristine. I thought I'd found paradise. The water appears green because of the reflection off the vegetation on the walls of the canyon. There were people getting about in dugout canoes, some just crossing the river to visit friends, and others fishing for dinner or to sell.

 

After lunch Javier walked us to town on the main street. It was very Caribbean in feeling. The street was paved, with a concrete storm drain on both sides of the street. Flowers in every doorway. Every other house was a store or bar of some kind, with the family's living place behind it. Most people were of Mayan descent. I saw no negroid Garifunas except one beautiful woman waiting for the ferry in Puerto Barrios. Other cruise people did see many Garifunas, however in the restaurants and bars where they went. We saw only a handful of visitors, mostly Europeans and "capitalistas" meaning people from the capital, Guatemala City.

[flashdog_1]

http://www.belize.com/articles/puerto-barrios-guatemala.html

 

I've been back from our cruise for a month and still am looking up info on the area. We only drove straight from the S. Tomas pier to the P. Barrios pier so did not see any of the hotels, or much commerce that is there.

 

This website article gives a little history of the port there, which used to be exclusively for the United Fruit Co. until the earthquake of '76.

[susanNjay]

Hello.

We are considering taking a cruise in November that includes this port on its itinerary...

Has anyone visited the ruins there?

How did you book the excursion?

 

--Susan

[Ivanova]

We are thinking of doing the Norwegian Sun March 2007 with a stop at Santo Tomas de Castilla .. any recommendations on Mayan ruin excursions?

[berniemom]

hi,

can anyone tell me about possible safe spots to snorkel off the beach??? don't need to rent equipment, if this helps.:D

[mimicsr]

I would like more info on how to contact Gus for a tour of Livingston that includes a boat ride on the Rio Dulce, plus lunch, and how much it would cost per person for 2, 4, 6,or 8. Anyone who has done this, please respond with more details. We are on the Veendam 11/25 sailing. Thanks so much

[A Sixth?]

Lots of good stuff. We've just booked the NCL Sun for March 4/07.

 

Central American ports of call are always a bit mysterious.

 

I'll do more sniffing around and share what I find.

[sarai]

What all do they sell?

[lhaddon]

Does anyone have any information on a charter from Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatamala to Roatan? Any leads would be greatly appreciated!

 

Lora

[msd760]

Beware of shopping for Ron Zacapa Centrino Rum IN Santo Tomas De Castillo, Gautemala. They tried to scam me.I approaced the only stand selling it and asked how much and was told $40 a bottle. I then offered $25 for a bottle and the woman agreed. She wrapped it as i got out my money and when i went to hand it to her a woman grabbed me from behind and told me the price was now $45 a bottle. I told her the woman at the stand agreed to $25 and she said it was now $45 a bottle and my offer was no good. I walked away laughing and purchased 2 bottles in Belize at a better price. Shopping in Belize is much better, but the tour of the waterfalls was great.

[kimsky]

Was the waterfall tour in Belize or Santo Tomas? Pleae give details. We are going on the Norwegian Sun 11/19 and would like to go to the falls.

[msd760]

The waterfalls trip was in Santo Tomas. We booked thru the Sun but i forget the cost. You can find details thru Norwegians site in the shore excursions section. You can even book it now before you go and they will add it to your onboard bill.

The trip was very nice. There were about 50 or so of us from the ship on it. The waterfalls got crowded but it's still beautiful. We got to see 2 different waterfalls and swim and take pics. The water is cold though but Crystal clear.

I heard other people telling that they booked the tour privately when they got ashore, but I also heard some of them saying they only got to see 1 of the falls.

Santo Toams is a bleak area. The port is a shipping container port with 1 building set up for shopping. When you drive thru town you will be shocked as to what you see. It is definitely a 3rd world country although they are trying.

I thought the people were alittle pushy trying to sell you things, but when we left a bunch of them came out in their cars to the dock, flashed their lights and bid a nice farewell.

The area is very mountainous when you first see it and reminded of the movie King Kong. You see the mountains and fog hovering since it is early in the AM when you arrive.

One other thing, If you want to snorkel Wait till you get to Belize. It is awesome. We booked a private tour with Ecological Tours. They were right across from the Iquana Bar where you will be taken ashore. The cost for that was $59 per person. We went about a half hour away by boat and snorkeled 2 spots. The first was along the barrier reef. The water is crystal clear and see alot of coral and fish. After that we went to Shark/Ray Alley. There we swan with many Rays. NO ONE got hurt. The guide,(Carlos), even picked a few up to the surface for us to touch and take pics of. I even went under once and saw a 6 foot nurse shark swim by. Carlos said they are not aggressive and don't be alarmed. After that we were supposed to go to the beach for a lunch and relax but it was raining and many wanted to go, so we did. Watch out if you have people with you from Carnival, there ship sailed earlier then ours and most of them wanted to cut trip short. They were scared of their boat leaving them.

Hope this helps and enjoy.

[kimsky]

Thanks, I appreciate the information.

[lintlady]

We just got back from our Norwegian Sun cruise to Guatemala, Belize and Mexico. Guatemala was the highlight of our trip. The Rio Dulce is absolute paradise. Gus is an excellent guide and has a huge heart for the people of Guatemala. I hightly recommend taking his tour. It was easy, inexpensive and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[cruisn11.26.06]

Hey Lintlady, How can I get in touch with Gus and what is the cost for this tour?

[VoyageVirgin]

We are thinking of doing the Norwegian Sun March 2007 with a stop at Santo Tomas de Castilla .. any recommendations on Mayan ruin excursions?

 

We went last Feb on the Sun. The Quintigra Ruins - very long bus ride, but very much worth it. Make sure you take the early one. We barely made it back in time to sail - but book through the ship for this one. I really wouldn't want to be stranded there, as lovely as it is. Absolutely beautiful country. Every time I see the Chiquta bananas I think of the fields there. They do provide an armed guard for the trip (or at least they did with ours) and if you leave the pier area you will notice quite a few armed guards throughout the drive. They had unearthed new ruins just before we arrived, unfortunately we didn't have time to see them. Great guides though. and well worth the trip.