Alternate San Felipe Fortress Tour (Sto Tomas de Castilla Port)

[LolaLemon]

:confused:

Does anyone know of a reputable tour operator that runs a San Felipe Fortress Tour similar to the one HAL offers?

[BULLOCK]

Jenivive, We just got back from our cruise today. We booked a tour guide inside the terminal when we arrived at the port. When you enter the terminal you will find a few booths set up against one of the walls. ( gowithgus, happyfish and one other company.) The licensed tour guides are located at the opposite end of the terminal. They are near the exit and drive grey coloured vans. You can not miss them as you exit the building. There was four people in our group and we asked for a 4 - 5 hour tour to see and learn the culture. We negotiated a total price of $140 and away we went. One of the stops was the Fort. There was a couple of young ladies who spoke Spanish to give tours as we entered. Our tour guide came along and did the interpreting for us . We enjoyed the trip and saw a lot of Country and learned a lot about their culture. We were gone for 5 hours, it worked out to $35 per person. Our "dam" ship was charging $79 for a tour of the fort - 4 hrs. We were very happy with our deal and gave him a great tip. There is plenty of licensed guides at the terminal, you just have to negotiate your price. You also get an idea of how good their English is prior to going. Hope this helps.

[BonnieVA]

Jenivive, We just got back from our cruise today. We booked a tour guide inside the terminal when we arrived at the port. When you enter the terminal you will find a few booths set up against one of the walls. ( gowithgus, happyfish and one other company.) The licensed tour guides are located at the opposite end of the terminal. They are near the exit and drive grey coloured vans. You can not miss them as you exit the building. There was four people in our group and we asked for a 4 - 5 hour tour to see and learn the culture. We negotiated a total price of $140 and away we went. One of the stops was the Fort. There was a couple of young ladies who spoke Spanish to give tours as we entered. Our tour guide came along and did the interpreting for us . We enjoyed the trip and saw a lot of Country and learned a lot about their culture. We were gone for 5 hours, it worked out to $35 per person. Our "dam" ship was charging $79 for a tour of the fort - 4 hrs. We were very happy with our deal and gave him a great tip. There is plenty of licensed guides at the terminal, you just have to negotiate your price. You also get an idea of how good their English is prior to going. Hope this helps.

 

Great info. Thanks.

 

Did you have much input as to what you did w/ the guide or did you just go along w/ whatever they did?

[LolaLemon]

Jenivive, We just got back from our cruise today. We booked a tour guide inside the terminal when we arrived at the port. When you enter the terminal you will find a few booths set up against one of the walls. ( gowithgus, happyfish and one other company.) The licensed tour guides are located at the opposite end of the terminal. They are near the exit and drive grey coloured vans. You can not miss them as you exit the building. There was four people in our group and we asked for a 4 - 5 hour tour to see and learn the culture. We negotiated a total price of $140 and away we went. One of the stops was the Fort. There was a couple of young ladies who spoke Spanish to give tours as we entered. Our tour guide came along and did the interpreting for us . We enjoyed the trip and saw a lot of Country and learned a lot about their culture. We were gone for 5 hours, it worked out to $35 per person. Our "dam" ship was charging $79 for a tour of the fort - 4 hrs. We were very happy with our deal and gave him a great tip. There is plenty of licensed guides at the terminal, you just have to negotiate your price. You also get an idea of how good their English is prior to going. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you so much for your post.

 

Was the tour guide you booked with a specific company? If so, which company? Anything would help!

[BULLOCK]

Jenivive,

 

All the drivers inside the terminal are licensed. They display identification cards around their necks. We settled our price with a person who also was carded. I would call him more of a "manager". He produced a detailed map of the area and told us about each area and what you would see. We selected the area that was of interested and the bartering of price took place. After settling on the price, the manager approached a couple of drivers who were listening to our conversation and "Oscar" accepted our bit. His vehicle was 2 -3 years old and in excellent shape.

 

I was given a receipt with the company name when I paid prior to leaving. I just finished looking for it but could not find it.

 

Our ship had a quest speaker on board. He did not work for the cruise lines and during one of his talks, he mentioned that he had lived in Belize and Guatemala for 3 years. If anyone had any questions he would answer them. I spoke with him as we didn't have anything booked.

 

He advised me that all the tour drivers inside the terminal were licensed and safe to book with. They would not risk losing their license and source of income. I followed his advise and was clad I had.

 

Hope this info helps you decide. There were 15 tour drivers visible when we were there.

Neil

[LolaLemon]

Jenivive,

 

All the drivers inside the terminal are licensed. They display identification cards around their necks. We settled our price with a person who also was carded. I would call him more of a "manager". He produced a detailed map of the area and told us about each area and what you would see. We selected the area that was of interested and the bartering of price took place. After settling on the price, the manager approached a couple of drivers who were listening to our conversation and "Oscar" accepted our bit. His vehicle was 2 -3 years old and in excellent shape.

 

I was given a receipt with the company name when I paid prior to leaving. I just finished looking for it but could not find it.

 

Our ship had a quest speaker on board. He did not work for the cruise lines and during one of his talks, he mentioned that he had lived in Belize and Guatemala for 3 years. If anyone had any questions he would answer them. I spoke with him as we didn't have anything booked.

 

He advised me that all the tour drivers inside the terminal were licensed and safe to book with. They would not risk losing their license and source of income. I followed his advise and was clad I had.

 

Hope this info helps you decide. There were 15 tour drivers visible when we were there.

Neil

 

Thank you for your help! We will just try to do this.

[AzEileen]

Jenivive,

 

All the drivers inside the terminal are licensed. They display identification cards around their necks. We settled our price with a person who also was carded. I would call him more of a "manager". He produced a detailed map of the area and told us about each area and what you would see. We selected the area that was of interested and the bartering of price took place. After settling on the price, the manager approached a couple of drivers who were listening to our conversation and "Oscar" accepted our bit. His vehicle was 2 -3 years old and in excellent shape.

 

I was given a receipt with the company name when I paid prior to leaving. I just finished looking for it but could not find it.

 

Our ship had a quest speaker on board. He did not work for the cruise lines and during one of his talks, he mentioned that he had lived in Belize and Guatemala for 3 years. If anyone had any questions he would answer them. I spoke with him as we didn't have anything booked.

 

He advised me that all the tour drivers inside the terminal were licensed and safe to book with. They would not risk losing their license and source of income. I followed his advise and was clad I had.

 

Hope this info helps you decide. There were 15 tour drivers visible when we were there.

Neil

 

Do you think it's best to book ahead, or safe to wait and book when you arrive? We've always booked with the cruise line because I worry about not getting back in time. Has anyone ever had a problem like that??

[bobyng]

Do you think it's best to book ahead, or safe to wait and book when you arrive? We've always booked with the cruise line because I worry about not getting back in time. Has anyone ever had a problem like that??

 

Are you still taking the Jan 17 cruise? I just started a thread but not responses so far.