Shore Excursion:Quirogua

[vcdarty]

We'll be on Veendam again, this time in December. Last February did the excursion to Tulum. Disaster. Beautiful site, but wall-to-wall mobs. Buses galore from many ships. Never again. We've done plenty of Mayan sites on our own, unspoiled and splendid. Any advice on the Quirogua excursion?

[Loreto]

We'll be on Veendam again, this time in December. Last February did the excursion to Tulum. Disaster. Beautiful site, but wall-to-wall mobs. Buses galore from many ships. Never again. We've done plenty of Mayan sites on our own, unspoiled and splendid. Any advice on the Quirogua excursion?

Hi vcdarty! We were on the first Veendam cruise of the season, Nov. 1-9, an 8 day cruise....though we couldn't dock for the extra port, Roatan, Hondouras due to civil disorder.

 

In Santo Tomas de Castilla we took the Nature & Culture Bay cruise at 8 A.M. (90 Min.) briefly shopped at the dockside market...sorry we didn't buy more coffee, it was delicious...ate lunch and took the 1 P.M. tour to the Quirigua Archaeological Ruins. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get there. The Guatemalan countryside was lush and interesting.

 

Our guide said that in the morning it had been hot, humid and hazy for the tour. By afternoon there was a pleasant breeze and the temperature was comfortable. We had a small group of 30. The site was very peaceful, with birds singing and very few visitors. The property was very lush and parklike. It was not too difficult to climb the rock steps to higher levels. Be sure to were insect repellant, because you will be walking through grassy areas. We had never been to any Mayan Ruins, and we found this just the right size.

 

There was a jade museum and a small market with crafts. There were restroom facilities in this area. We drove through a banana plantation to get to the site.

 

In all, it was a very pleasant outing, and I would recommend the bay cruise and Quirigua. We got back about a 1/2 hour before the Veendam sailed. What made the day was that we pretty much had the site to ourselves!

 

In Costa Maya we took the Kohunlich Mayan Ruins with lunch excursion. Manuel, our guide was outstanding. The site was not crowded and again very peaceful. Lunch was on Bacalar Lake....we had a choice of chicken, beef or vegetarian fajatias, rice& beans. Manuel phoned our choices in, so it was ready when we arrived. We got back about 1/2 hour before sailing...no time to shop.

 

Many choices in Belize. We took the Catamaran Barrier Reef Snorkel & Beach. There weren't many people, and the snorkeling was fantastic. Swimming on the island was delightful.

 

I gave you more than you asked for...I hope this helps. We did meet people who went to Tikal and were very pleased.

 

Enjoy your cruise...we had a great time!

Karen

[jtl513]

We did the Quirigua tour two years ago, and found it very interesting. It is not like most Mayan ruin sites, but more like a park with many stelae and zoomorphs, and just one main pyramid. The day we were there it was not crowded at all - maybe because there was only one other cruise ship in port. The only negative for me was that we spent almost three hours on the bus for about an hour at the site. I didn't find the scenery along the road all that interesting.

[vcdarty]

to loreto and jtl513 for your detailed and most helpful comments. I think we'll try quirogua. we visited copan a couple years ago, spent 3 days there, a beautiful, remarkable site and a sort of sister to quiroga, so it makes sense to see the smaller site. re tikal: good to hear that it works as a shore excursion for some. it's on our itinerary for a future visit, but hear that it's good to spend at least one night at the site to fully appreciate the ruins and their setting.

 

j

[Loreto]

to loreto and jtl513 for your detailed and most helpful comments. I think we'll try quirogua. we visited copan a couple years ago, spent 3 days there, a beautiful, remarkable site and a sort of sister to quiroga, so it makes sense to see the smaller site. re tikal: good to hear that it works as a shore excursion for some. it's on our itinerary for a future visit, but hear that it's good to spend at least one night at the site to fully appreciate the ruins and their setting.

 

j

You're welcome! People who went to Tikal said the plane was very good...didn't appear to be held together with duct tape. It required extensive walking. One male guest was badly bitten by mosquitos.

 

Karen

[jtl513]

If you're interested in seeing about 25 pictures of Quirigua, email_me your email address.