Rare fellswoop Posted October 16, 2012 #1 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Can't decide if we should just catch the ride from the ship to Antigua and walk around on our own or if we will enjoy sticking with an all day ship tour and really hear all the history. They provide lunch too at Casa Santo Donmingo Hotel. Any ideas one way or the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 17, 2012 #2 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Wandering on your own it will be just a bunch of old buildings Go with the group & get the history of the place Does the tour give you free time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare fellswoop Posted October 17, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted October 17, 2012 yes it does/ thankyou, I think you are right/ if we go all the way there might as well get a good history of everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 17, 2012 #4 Share Posted October 17, 2012 yes it does/ thankyou, I think you are right/ if we go all the way there might as well get a good history of everything Be sure to look around the grounds of the hotel after lunch Enjoy the trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Azulann Posted October 17, 2012 #5 Share Posted October 17, 2012 have read on this forum that the DYI ship tour drops you off at the tourist office. You can hire a certified guide there for a walking tour of the town. We plan to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC SeaPA Posted December 1, 2012 #6 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Just off the Infinity- Antigua on your own. Easy to get your own guide at the drop off- $10pp- and get a good tour, etc. Just be aware lots of traffic issues- we spent 3 hrs there and almost 5 on the bus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Aurora Posted December 2, 2012 #7 Share Posted December 2, 2012 We did the "Antigua on your own" tour last April. After a ninety minute drive the motor coach delivered us to the visitor's center. Numerous guides were available for personalized tours of Antigua. These guides are multi-lingual, and their english was excellent. They are also certified by the Guatamalan tourist board. I would definitely recommend the this type of tour of Antigua as it was my understanding from talking to another passenger who took the ship's tour of Antigua that they basically were in buses who drove by the various buildings, versus actually going into them. There also were numerous interesting restaurants in Antigua. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted December 4, 2012 #8 Share Posted December 4, 2012 We were there for a week before we did the walking tour. The main reason to do it is that there is absolutely no street signage, so once you move from the central park and cathedral it is easy to get turned around, if you dont keep in mind your route. On the plus size, it is the grid system and there is plenty to see and do without going very far at all. Food in restaurants are safe. There is a lot of free wifi to send your instagrams. In fact I facetimed my daughter from Cafe Barrista to show her the volcanos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Azulann Posted January 5, 2013 #9 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Just back from the Celebrity Century. We did the DIY ship tour to Antiqua. There were four of us who hired Miguel for $10.00 per person at the tourist center. He asked us what we wanted to defintiely do? We said buy great coffee and have lunch at a local Guatemalan cafe and see the places of interest. We walked to Santo Domingo, a upscale hotel embedded in monastary ruins. We explored many of the courtyards, the ruins, the crypt with bones of early monks and the church on the grounds. We then walked to another boutique hotel that was in a old spanish house. Again beautiful courtyards, rich architecural details, antique Spanish furniture. Miquel said the rooms cost about $80 USD a night. We then went to the main square/park. It is beautiful with a large Ceiba tree in the middle and beautiful fountains. Off the square was a coffee shop. We got to sample various coffees from different parts of Guatemala. After about four expressos we all bought coffee. then on to lunch at a cafe facing the square. We had a typical Gautemalan lunch. I had chicken soup, big pieces of chicken in a tomato broth. They brought a plate of rice and some other vegetables to pour into the soup. It was very tasty. Others had roasted chicken, rice, beans. After lunch Miguel took us to the market also near the square to wander around and shop. Miguel told us that he was sent to Belize to live with his grandmother during the civil war to escape the military. That is where he learned English and went to high school. He is of Mayan descent. In fact, all the tour guides in Antiqua are of Mayan descent. Our guide on the bus could give tours all over Gautemala but not in Antiqua. Here only the locals are allowed to be guides. They are all certified.They all wear light brown vests. We got back to our drop off place by 2pm for our 2:30 pick up back to the ship. It was a great day, saw the volcanoes, some of the countryside, including the sugar cane plantations which are owned by one family. Learned some more of the history of the country and leisurely paced tour of Antiqua made for a great port day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamchops Posted January 15, 2013 #10 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Can't decide if we should just catch the ride from the ship to Antigua and walk around on our own or if we will enjoy sticking with an all day ship tour and really hear all the history. They provide lunch too at Casa Santo Donmingo Hotel. Any ideas one way or the other? The lunch at Casa Santo Domingo was pretty good when we did the tour. It doesn't matter what you decide but make sure it's the "SHIP'S TOUR" as we were 30 minutes late getting back and there were 2 other buses after us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted January 25, 2013 #11 Share Posted January 25, 2013 as it was my understanding from talking to another passenger who took the ship's tour of Antigua that they basically were in buses who drove by the various buildings, versus actually going into them. This must be a misunderstanding. Only minibusses fit in the narrow cobblestone streets, but they use big busses to take you from the port to the city. We took the 'Antigua on your own' tour, glad we did because the busses got stuck in traffic on the way back to port. One of them arrived 1 1/2 hours late. Antigua is too far from port to risk independent transportation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globalhoneymooning Posted January 29, 2013 #12 Share Posted January 29, 2013 While the licensed guides in Antigua charge $10 pp for the walking tour, is there a reduced rate for children and infants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoupMom Posted January 30, 2013 #13 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Also, from the discussion above, which I greatly appreciate, I take it that one can use $US in Antigua? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Azulann Posted January 31, 2013 #14 Share Posted January 31, 2013 RoupMom, yes you can use USD. If you buy somenting they will give you a price in dollars. i bought some lovely beaded necklaces with small figures of Guatemala women in bright dresses on them from a street vendor. She charged $1.00 per item. Enjoy your day in Antiqua. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisedreamer1 Posted February 4, 2013 #15 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Did anyone buy good coffee? If so, where and what was the brand? Cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.