Puerto Quetzal Excursion: Explore Colonial Antigua City's Best Highlights
4.0
20 Ratings
Puerto Quetzal
Discover the captivating charm and rich history of Antigua, Guatemala on a Puerto Quetzal excursion. Explore the best-preserved colonial city in Latin America and immerse yourself in its vibrant culture and artisan traditions.
Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Puerto Quetzal - Depart from Puerto Quetzal

  • Marina Pez Vela - Your Antiguan experience begins as your expert tour guide picks you up from port for a scenic, 90-minute air-conditioned ride through forests, past volcanoes and stunning examples of Spanish Baroque influenced architecture

  • Arco de Santa Catalina - Built in the 17th century, originally it was connected to the convent of Santa Catalina, allowing the cloistered nuns to pass from one building to the other without going out on the street.

  • Antigua Guatemala Central Park - Central Park surrounded by the traditional grid pattern used frequently in urban planning in the Spanish colonies. The park is surrounded by the Palace of the General Captains, the Town Hall, the Cathedral of San Jose and the Trade Portal.
    Here in the park, we will also find the Las Sirenas fountain. This fountain has a traditional oral where the Count of La Gomera ordered to build the fountain in memory of his daughters, who in giving birth did not want to breastfeed their children for what the count ordered To tie his daughters to a trunk in the center of a waterhole, where they died of thirst and hunger.

  • Jade Maya - The original Jade factory, museum & showroom - At the Jade Factory and Museum you will learn about the various types of jade, how this mineral is mined and processed then fashioned into beautiful jewelry. Be sure to touch the jade rock formation in the middle of the showroom for good luck!
    A delicious lunch is included that will consist of homemade tortillas and other traditional Guatemalan food. Watch first-hand how the tortillas are made and learn about the importance of the traditions and history that is rooted in the country’s food.

A delicious lunch is included that will consist of homemade tortillas and other traditional Guatemalan food. Watch first-hand how the tortillas are made and learn about the importance of the traditions and history that is rooted in the country’s food.

  • Casa Santo Domingo - Continue on to Cathedral Church and the ruins of Santo Domingo Convent. This monastery was edified in 1529 and today some of its post-earthquake remains have been converted into a hotel.

  • Marina Pez Vela - While in the city you will have time to browse the shops and admire locally hand crafted items. Pick up a souvenir or two before your return back to Quetzal Cruise Port.

  • La Merced - Stand outside the 17th century Church of La Merced with its twin bell towers and graceful yellow and white facade.

What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • 1 natural beverage
  • Lunch
  • Driver/guide
  • Port pickup and drop-off
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
  • other Drinks
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Depart from Puerto Quetzal and enjoy the amazing Antigua Guatemala. This city is outstanding and the best-preserved colonial city in Latin America. Tourists visit Antigua, Guatemala every year from around the world to enjoy its natural beauty and historical monuments. The Spanish Colonial style permeates every part of the town: its houses, churches, squares, parks and ruins, also its traditions and folklore as well. Antigua is a city of charm and color where you can see and buy an overwhelming variety of attractive, handmade products that honor the traditions of generations of artisans

  • At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
  • May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
  • All departure times are based on the GUATEMALA LOCAL time in port. Ships sometimes do not adjust their clocks to the local time in port, so it is very important to make sure you meet your tour at the correct local time.
  • Please search for the Gray Line representative , we will be outside with our Gray Line Logo.
  • To find pictures of our experiences, search us on Instagram as @graylinetoursgt
Location
Puerto Quetzal
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.0
(20 Ratings)
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Stvcab
May 1, 2023
Awesome Eruptions with City Tour!! - This was a very good tour. Juan Pablo was a very informative and entertaining guide. Bus was very comfortable with AC. Tour is a bit rushed, due to group of 20 needing to be “herded” like lost cats. Lunch stop was incredible all food provided was delicious, especially the hand made tortillas. Ride to Antigua is really 80-90min long, but travel scenery was good (Volcanos, with one erupting!!)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M_c
Mar 31, 2023
Great tour to a beautiful city - This was a great tour and very worthwhile. The guide Adolfo was very good and very informative. We learned quite a bit about the country and it’s history. The only negative point was that the tour did not allow any time to do a bit of browsing and shopping on your own. This I think should be included to improve the experience.
Review provided by Viator
Harold_c
Mar 25, 2023
Antigua is a very beautiful place - Our guide Adolfo was amazing and shared so much history of the area! Ben was a excellent driver over the rough roads and got us safely there! The lunch that was provided was very delicious and a great taste of local cuisine!❤️
Review provided by Viator
Inspiration555738
Mar 19, 2023
great day in Antigua! - Comfortable bus ride with excellent information about the land and culture followed by an interesting tour that gave us a good view of Antigua and a delicious lunch before heading back to catch our ship in plenty of time. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ronald_e
May 1, 2023
Nice tour, but I would... - Nice tour, but I would have liked to visit the churches we saw. Really no free time to wander and the tour could have been a little longer to accommodate this.
Review provided by Viator
Galinak894
Feb 2, 2024
Panoramic Antigua tour from the cruise - On December 13, 2023 our cruise Celebrity Eclipse arrived to Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. My wife and I purchased Panoramic Antigua tour. Cruise ship arrived to the port at 9:30 am and at 10:30 am we came down to the busses. To our surprise we found three buses numbered 34 and all passengers had stickers numbered 34 as well. It immediately created confusion and I tried to figure out how they going to navigate the crowd of about 120 people when we eventually will reach the Antiqua - Capital of Guatemala. On the about two hour very busy road to Antiqua we observed frequent eruptions from two active volcanoes and passed village abandoned due to the devastation of prior big eruption. Otherwise, all you will see is a good display of many varieties agricultural products growing in this area. Our guide did his best to keep us interested by taking mostly about agricultural exports and the economy of the country. On the first stop we were unloaded to the small entry of the jade museum. It would be a good informative stop, but not with about four buses with 40 passengers each and the most tourists running to the restrooms at same time. Do not do it. Wait about 10-15 minutes and lines will dissipate. Since we had about 35 to 40 min overall for the visit minus the restroom stop and about 15 min jade lecture, not much time is left to explore the museum/store and run back to find your group with all three groups tagged with same number 34. Eventually we were directed to small busses with about 15 people capacity. Here we come. Tourists from larger busses should settle in small busses with their travelers from the big bus, but it all get mixed up between same group with #34 tags. Very comical and at sad view at same time when many elderly and some overweight people tried to squeeze in and out of the small busses seating and tried to locate the proper bus. Small busses transported us to the center of Antiqua for about 40 min sightseeing. Same variety of souvenirs were sold on the plaza, but I was looking for a shot glasses as I collecting over the many years of travel. Apparently, there is a very large selection of souvenirs selling mall with narrow entrance not really visible from outside. Guides were not providing this information so most tourists were purchasing souvenirs from the street sellers. So, to finalize - this is not the trip to consider for people with limited ability. Good Travels
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mjones609
Apr 3, 2023
Colonial Antigua City Highlights - Adolfo was a good tour guide however the bus we traveled on had extremely small seats and the air conditioning was not cool enough.
Review provided by Viator
Marsha_f
Mar 25, 2024
Guide totally unprepared! - Bus ride there was terrible. Bus had no shocks! Once we arrived, our guide had no plan. It was Palm Sunday and there was lots to see but our group missed it all. Getting back to the boat early was the highlight!
Review provided by Viator
Beth_s
May 3, 2023
Don’t book - Bad operator. Left half hour early stranding 7 people at terminal without a tour. Tour was supposed to leave at 7:30 according to our ticket. We got there at 7:15 and were told they left at 7:00.
Review provided by Viator
Michael_c
Apr 19, 2023
Stay away from Gray Line as an operator - Our ticket clearly stated 730 am, I emailed Gray Line Guatamala to confirm 48 hours prior, just as I was instructed. The ship docked at 0600. At 0715 I, along with three other couples and a solo, were all where we were instructed to be. Gray Line has already left. When contacted, they said the ship docked early and passengers approached them, so they took them. They left all of us high and dry and scrambling to book another way to see Antigua. If you see Gray Line as an operator, run, don’t walk, to another excursion. This only happened yesterday. I emailed Viator, got the response they’re looking into it. I don’t expect any type of resolution until we get back home
Review provided by Viator
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