My husband and I will be taking a cruise, with Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala as a port of call. The cruise line has a little information about the area, but I am finding it difficult to find information about the area on the internet.

Can anyone give me information about this area? History, what not to miss, what to skip, what to avoid, and what to be careful of? Any tips will be appreciated.

hi, Santo Tomas de Castilla is located in Izabal (North-east Guatemala) . So, why don´t you try to look in the internet for Rio Dulce, Livingston or Castillo de San Felipe. This is the Caribbean part of Guatemala (meaning that it´s the only place where we have white sand beaches).

Did you and your husband go? We are going there on january 1 2006 and can't find any information either. We are a party of 13 ages 13-78 all in good health and adventurous. We want the kids to "see and learn" something. What did you find out/do? Happy Holidays! TC

Hello, Puerto Santo Tomas is located on the carribean shores of Guatemala. It is well known mostly for its naval base. The Americans train with the central american navies and mostly consist of drug trafficking operations. There isn't much out there except for pristine beaches and punta de manabique. Head for Castillo San Felipe the area offers many hotels where one can stay at.

We went to a resort called Amatique Bay. We didn't get a chance to see the "city" since we were only docked for 8 hours. The resort was fantastic. We had to take a water taxi to get there.

We went...visited an eco-reserve which took about an hour by bus, then a ferry to the reserve. Hiked through the forest, learned about the flora and fauna, was hoping to see/hear the howling monkeys, but didn't. This was an all day venture, hiking is moderately strenuous, need sturdy shoes and be prepared to hike hills. We went in April 2005 and it was very warm - upper 80's, humid and you definitely need to hydrate. Not much else there - port was commercial only. Not much in the way of shopping, the craftspeople at the eco reserve not willing to banter over prices - prices seemed a little steep. I think they know that people want souveniers and opportunites are limited. But - the great thing was that our trip was the last of the season in port, all of the taxi drivers lined up on the dock and blew their horns and waved as we were sailing away.....it was great!

NCL Sun has shore tours @ this POC. Did you go on the cruise yet? I will go in Late 2006. I am also in need of any info on this port. Shopping, local tour operators, taxis, food, etc. Thanks

We did our cruise in 2005. The port is a very commercial port - a few vendors set up shop to sell souveniers, but this port is not a traditional or typical cruise port. Unless you want to sit on the ship all day, book something through the cruise line. I would not advise grabbing and taxi and venturing on your own at this port. Poverty is everywhere, and it was not uncommon to see armed police/servicemen around.

Note - even though we went in April, it was very hot - in the mid 90's, so be forewarned. I would think that even late in the year will be be quite warm, so any strenuous activities will be more exasturbated because of the heat. We did the ecohike, and it was very lovely, but exhausting. We found the bargaining not so good with the locals.

It is a very beautiful country, and the people we encountered were friendly and gracious for the most part. Since it has been over a year since we visited, there may be more available at the port, but I would advise to book an excursion through the cruise line.