I am cruising from Tampa in Nov. and 2 of the ports are Guatemala and Costa Maya. It will be my husband, daughter (11) and my parents in their late 70's. They enjoy staying on the ship while in port, so not to concerned with what they will do! I am unsure of what to do in Santo Tomas de Castilla (Guatemala) and Costa Maya. Everything I read seems as if it is a little "unsafe" in Guatemala, and since we have our daughter I want to be cautious yet see something there. Any suggestions? We love the outdoors, any type of water sport and just seeing how the people live there. Not sure if I should travel to far away from the port? Same with Costa Maya, want something fun, that gives us an idea of the culture there and how the people live, yet don't want to stray to far in case it is not the safest place. Any help would be appreciated. I have looked into the shore excursions through the ship (HAL Ryndam) but not much offered especially in Guatemala. In other ports, we have done our own thing, without booking through the ship, not sure if should do this there though. Thank you, thank you!

You may get more help if you post this question on the Mexico and Central America, rather than US, board. Another good resource for this type of inormation is the Ports of Call board at www.cruisecritic.com. Good luck!

Thank you very much! I do not know how to repost this, but will see if I can figure it out.

leeam, just click above where it says "change forum" and choose Mexico and Central America from the dropdown menu. Then post your question again (you can copy and paste) there.

Good luck!

Maybe you could book a loop that would make a quick stop at the Maya ruins of Quirigua (small but with impressive tall stelae), then to Rio Dulce town to connect with a boat up the Rio Dulce to Livingston, then a boat across back to your ship. That's a lot of ground (and water) to cover but would offer an interesting glimpse into that part of Guatemala. It's entirely different there than the interior, highlands, or northern lowlands - much more Caribbean and less Central Americanish. There have been some safety issues but I have not had any problems there; you might feel safer with a guide or a group, though, if you haven't spent time there and speak no Spanish. I hope you make time in the future to really pay Guatemala a visit as it's an incredibly colorful country. A few photos in my collections below - happy trails!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

Thank you hopefulist for your suggestions and the pictures, they were great! I have read about the Rio Dulce and am considering that. I could not figure out how to post this on the Mexico/Carribean website even though one of the other posters explained it, I couldn't figure it out! I will have someone help me with that. Thanks again!!!

We spent one night on the Rio Dulce during a trip to Guatemala in late February. (we were driving between G. City and Tikal and had stopped to see the impressive stelae at Quirigua-- an interesting area in the middle of a banana plantation) We would have liked more time in the area to take a boat trip to Livingston. The seafood tapado is an excellent local specialty

Hi Leeam, my husband and I are taking this trip on March 7 next year and would love to hear how your trip went. We do lots of geo caching but that doesn't look to promising on this short cruise however we would appreciate your candid opinium on the shortside excursions.