HI there, I'll be doing a Panama Canal cruise soon and we will be stopping in the following ports.
Puerta Vallarta-Mexico
Hualtuco-Mexico
Puerta Chiapas-Mexico
Puerta Quetzal-Guatemala
Fuerte Amador-Panama
Cartagena-Columbia
What, if any excursions from the cruise ship do you recommend? Is it just as easy to see things on your own? I'm thinking of a Maya ruins tour in either Mexico or Guatemala. What other sights do you guys recommend?
thx in advance
shore excusrions for Panama Canal cruise
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Did the PC but the only common port is Guat. This was about one yr. ago on the Island Princess. We decided to spend the day in Antigua and it was actually much cheaper to take the bus arranged by the ship into town. The price for a cab was double which is unusual in that ships tours are generally more expensive. Antigua has a number of nice restaurants so have lunch and if you like beer try the local brew Gallo. Its wonderful.
. Also get some local coffee if you are so inclined. Its very good as well. Have fun and hope this helps. Larry
In Panama City, taxis are cheap, so I would probably just take a taxi to the old part of the city and walk around and see the sights and have a nice lunch. Same for Cartagena (but a boat tour of the harbor is nice there and can be arranged once you land). Puerto Vallarta is very easy to do on your own unless you want to arrange a zip-line tour or something like that, and then I'd probably arrange it through the ship. But Puerto Vallarta is a great place to just stroll, shop, and eat, and taxis are pretty cheap (but negotiate the price before getting in).
Huatulco is harder to do on your own because the area is spread out, but if you just want to do a beach trip, see what the ship charges for transportation; it might rival the cost of a taxi (though with the exchange, you can do very well in Mexico on your own). It depends on what your ship offers. Puerto Chiapas is within striking distance of some interesting Mayan ruins, but they are a relatively long drive, and I probably wouldn't do that trip unless I arranged it through the ship.
I don't know Puerto Quetzal enough to comment. But there are Mayan ruins in the vicinity.