Recommended Western Caribbean Excursions?

[GMIAC]

I'll be on a Grandeur sailing this winter, and am looking for recommended excursions in the following ports:

 

Georgetown, Grand Cayman

Cozumel

Costa Maya

Harvest Cay

Santo Tomas de Castilla

Roatan

Key West

 

The excursion that looks extraordinary is the Secret River tour in Cozumel. We're fairly adventurous types.

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Twice in Santo Tomas we took a long excursion (a paid one, a "Choice" excursion).  It was then called, "VISIT TO Q’EQCHI INDIGENOUS RIVER COMMUNITY".  It included a fairly long speed boat ride up the bay to the mouth of their large river (Rio Dulce I believe).  Along this large river, which visually seemed like something out of Jurassic Park, are indigenous communities, mostly Maya, mostly small groups of refugees originally from other parts of Guatemala.  The stop was at a school where these children come to school.  The river and the communities we saw were fascinating.  We then went back down the river to  the community of Livingston, which is a Garafuna town. The Garafuna are Afro-Indigenous people originally from St. Vincent.  We were given lunch and a cultural performance at a small hotel, then took the speedboat back to the ship.

 

I see they have the same excursion listed this year:

 

VISIT TO Q’EQCHI INDIGENOUS RIVER COMMUNITY

• 6.0 Hours
• Strenuous Activity
• #

  STC-002:

  CA$138.00

• Cruise the Tatin River to a rural community whose residents are of Mayan origin.
• Learn how a non-profit organization is helping the community prosper.
• Gain an understanding of the programs that offer the residents a brighter future.
• Observe daily life among the Q’eqchi villagers in the community.
• Watch a folkloric performance of music and dancing while enjoying lunch.

[DavidTheWonderer]

2 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

... Along this large river, which visually seemed like something out of Jurassic Park, are indigenous communities, mostly Maya, mostly small groups of refugees originally from other parts of Guatemala.  The stop was at a school where these children come to school. ...

One lasting image from this wonderful excursion was that transportation by the indigenous folks was by canoe. Children barely older than toddlers had their own child-size canoes which they freely used to get around, including paddling out to our speedboat to see if we had any presents for them. With nary a supervising adult in sight. Or lifejacket.
And the school was really inspiring. The tuition had various forms, one of which had the dads doing physical work to maintain the buildings.

Edited July 3, 2023 by DavidTheWonderer

[cwn]

Ratan - free Dolphin Experience. Small groups 2-4 people with a trainer and dolphin, ours had a baby in protected but open water. Beautiful resort. 
 

Grand Cayman - swim with stinger rays, open beautiful clear water, about 5 feet deep lots of rays all sizes. 

[RELS]

9 hours ago, GMIAC said:

The excursion that looks extraordinary is the Secret River tour in Cozumel. We're fairly adventurous types.

 

We did this tour. It is wonderful. Completely worth the ferry ride/ long bus ride there and back. They say they give you a snack, but for us it was a full-on meal. You can't bring anything into the caves with you, so figure on an extra $99 to buy the photos they take. These photos are much better than anything you can take, because a professional photographer accompanies every group.

 

As for Costa Maya, we did the Chacchoben ruins tour, and really enjoyed it due to a great guide.

[GMIAC]

On 7/3/2023 at 7:42 PM, RELS said:

 

We did this tour. It is wonderful. Completely worth the ferry ride/ long bus ride there and back. They say they give you a snack, but for us it was a full-on meal. You can't bring anything into the caves with you, so figure on an extra $99 to buy the photos they take. These photos are much better than anything you can take, because a professional photographer accompanies every group.

 

As for Costa Maya, we did the Chacchoben ruins tour, and really enjoyed it due to a great guide.

 

How long is the bus ride? I've mapped it out, and it looks like about a 31-minute drive from the ferry on the mainland. Is this accurate?

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by GMIAC

[RELS]

6 hours ago, GMIAC said:

How long is the bus ride?

 

It seemed longer than that to me, but I don't really remember. Sorry.

[CruiserFromMaine]

On 7/3/2023 at 8:42 PM, RELS said:

As for Costa Maya, we did the Chacchoben ruins tour, and really enjoyed it due to a great guide.

We did that tour earlier this year and enjoyed it. Wasn’t too long of a bus ride and the ride was interesting. 

Edited July 7, 2023 by CruiserFromMaine