More Info

Location:
http://www.hotelbackpackers.com/index1.html
"The backpackers Hostel  is run by Casa Guatemala, a non-profit orphanage on the Rio Dulce. All proceeds from the Hostel including the $10 per night boat slips benefit the orphanage and they have enough space available in their common areas to make it the perfect venue for workshops. The work shops shall be free for contributors and hostel guests (4.50usd per night) and something like 20Q (payable to the orphanage) for day time only participants. Sponsorship, donations, and fundraisers should cover workshop materials. "


For customs information on Guatemala and other countries: (things change quickly and information is not totally reliable)
http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/

Rio Dulce Cruiser's Online Magazine:
http://www.riodulcechisme.com/


Weather:
http://www.passageweather.com


Flyer Images (for printing and distribution):

Travel Info from Margaret S/V Drummer:

INFO FOR BOATS CHECKING INTO MEXICO:

I have checked into Mexico by boat twice, both times in Isla Mujeres this is what is involved to the best of my memory. there are other websites that might have more or different info.

-When you arrive in Mexico you can either go to a marina and pay an agent to take you through the check-in process, or you can put on your walking shoes and go ashore with your paper work and do it yourself.

- Bring passports for everyone aboard, the people themselves will only have to come with you as far as the quarantine office and immigration then they can go off and have fun while you spend the rest of the day walking between offices and the photocopy center.

-Bring at least 4 copies or your boat paperwork (i think registration is enough), your zarpe, and your crew list. (they say to do this but they seem to make you fill out a standard crew list form anyway) and possibly fumigation certificate or receipt(?).

- All boats checking into Mexico from any country including the USA need a dispacho or zarpe (paper work that says you legally checked out) from the country they have just left . you did not used to need one if you were coming from the usa, but that has recently changed and last year we were threatened with a 60 000$ fine for not having one.

- Also last year we were told that starting in 2012 each boat needed a certificate stating that it had been recently fumigated (for pests). Boats not having said paper would have to pay to be fumigated in Mexico by a company recommended by the harbor master and that could cost 80usd$ i have no idea if this is being enforced. ill ask around.

- First you visit the port captain. He looks at your paperwork, makes you fill out his crew list form, and sends you to the quarantine office. stop on the way and make photocopies of everything he gave you.

- Bring your people and all your paperwork to the hospital where there is a small quarantine office. they will look at your paperwork, sign and stamp things but not charge you any money. then go to immigration with your passports.

-The people at immigration are nice. they smile and stamp your passport. you have to give them 26$ either in usdollars or pesos. if the office isn't open they send you to the bank and you pay at the bank and bring your receipt back.

- Now is a good time to go back to the port captain he may send you right away back to make photocopies or he may want to sign and stamp things first i don't quite remember.

- You also meet up with customs at the port captains office. I think the port captain calls them on the phone, and they usually want to come out to your boat. they arn't very impressed by row-boats, and usually find someone with a launch or motor dinghy to take them instead. they come out to your boat and ask polite questions and usualy say nice things about your boat. they are there to make sure your not smuggling guns or whatnot.

-Then you go back to the port captain, (you might have to make more photocopies first i cant remember) it costs 20$ to check in and 20 additional $ for the use of the anchorage.

If you stay in Mexico longer than 10 days you need to "import" your boat. you can only do this in bigger cities. if you are in Isla Mujeres youll want to go to Can-Cun. theres nowhere appealing to anchor or leave your dingy over there so its simplest to take a ferry from Isla Mujeres. There are several classes of ferries. The ferries for locals are cheap but slow. the super-go-fast-light-up-the-water tourist ferries are 7$ and run all day. Bring all your paperwork with you and 50$ usd or a bank card, I don't think you can use pasos for this at all.

From the ferry terminal you can walk to the banarcito office. you will need new photocopies of each thing including the final paperwork from the port captain with its stamps (photocopy both sides). The crew list form you filled out (both sides) and the visas you were given at immigration (both sides) then you can ride the ferry home and you might see a spotted eagle ray.

CHECKING INTO GUATEMALA
We only did this once last spring.

When we arrived in Livingston Guatemala we hailed the port captain on the radio. it was very early in the morning and we were really tired, i dont remember exactly what order things happened in, but a little while later an entire launch full of people came out to the boat. I believe it was customs and immigration and quarantine and everybody all together. they were not very interested in looking in the boat and all sat in the cockpit and took turns asking polite questions and writing things down on paper. one guy was named Raul and he is an agent he offered to take care of all our entry paperwork for 20 bucks. he was super nice and friendly so we said yes and he told us to come ashore and come to his office in 40 minits. we did that and his office was easy to find and the air conditioning very cold. we stopped at a bank machine on the way but i dont remember exactly how much it cost to check in. the initial check in fee comes with a 3 month tourist permit. In order to leave the boat in the rio over the summer i had to get a 12 month extension which Raul has also taken care of all via email in the intervening months. all very simple except that the 12 month extension cost 450$ that I didnt have to pay until I got back.

MORE INFO: (folks traveling by land etc)

Passports: YES, you need a passport. you need a passport to travel to Guatemala or any other country in Central America and you need a passport to get back into your home country.

Inoculations: Guidebooks like lonely planet may suggest various inoculations like hepatitis A&B, yellow fever or carrying malaria pills etc. Many people travel in Central America without getting these vaccinations and are fine. If you are Canadian and in Canada you can most likely get any vaccinations you might want cheap or free and as they are generally valid for your lifetime so you may consider it worthwhile. However, all vaccinations come with their own risks.

Drinking Water/Intestinal problems: Do not drink water unless you know for sure where it came from. if you do come down with intestinal problems medical care and antibiotics are usually cheap or free.

Money: Guatemalan money is called Quetzals after the national bird. there are approximately 8 Quetzales in a us dollar. or each quetzal is approximately 12.5cents

Buses: buses are cheap in Guatemala.  there are both bigger greyhound style "first class" buses and traditional chicken buses. both are fairly cheap. chicken buses are usually cheaper but go shorter distances and necessitate frequent stopping and switching buses. there are also collectivo vans/buses in and around towns.

Dogs: Yes, Many people travel with dogs in Guatemala. (although i have not) You will need up-to-date veterinary papers and i reccomend as many shots as possible. I have noticed that the regular booster shots given to dogs in the southern (warmer) united states include vaccinations for many things that are not included in booster shots in (colder) farther north.

Dogs on buses: dogs can usually be brought on the "chicken buses" and in the smaller "collectivos" though there may be a small additional charge. Dogs can also be brought on the major buss lines too but will need to be in a box and in the luggage compartment under the bus. there is an additional charge.

Bikes: Yes many people bicycle tour in Guatemala. Some of the roads are narrow/windey/steep and have enraged speeding chicken buses on them for company. bikes can also be brought on buses, chicken and first class, often for a small additional charge.

Hitchhiking: yes its possible to hitchhike in Guatemala, though the buses are so cheap its not necessarily worth it...

Dental Work in Guatemala: Ill let you know when I find out.

Telephones; I got a no contract telephone for under 20$ (usd) that came with 100 minits, additional minits are approx 1.8Q each within Guatemala or 1.9Q to the USA or Canada. expensive but sufficient for meeting up with folks and making plans. text messages within the country or to the USA or Canada are .75Q  about 10cents

Spanish Schools: There are many cheap and good Spanish language schools in Guatemala. usually they are set up as week-to-week classes. For 40-75 $(usd) you can work one-on-one with a Spanish teacher 4-5 hours a day for one week (5 days) look for schools in:
-lago de atitlan; schools are cheap, the towns are full of hippies
- Xela; nice old city with interesting stuff going on. teachers are often university educated Spanish teachers
- Antigua; more expensive, touristy

Arriving in Guatemala city by air: there are only two major airports in Guatemala, one in Flores which is small and generally expensive to fly to, but slightly closer to Rio Dulce and one in Guatemala city. some people my want to fly to Mexico city and take buses or fly to San Salvidor which might be cheaper. as far as flying into Guatemala city this is what i know: Guatemala city is big and considered fairly dangerous. you can still find nice hotels or hostels for 10usd or less. The small part of the city Ive seen seemed busy but nice, not intimidating, there are probably parts that are. if your not interested in spending the night in the city you can get a taxi at the airport for less than 10usd to one of the major bus lines. if you plan to come straight to Rio Dulce there are three that i know of that each have several buses a day that come out here : litigua, linea dorada and fuente del norte. the 6 hour bus ride to rio dulce cost about 9usd. an additional 5usd for a bike. in Rio Dulce the bus stops right down town near the base of the bridge and within short walking distance of the backpackers hotel and many other useful things.

Yes, there does appear to be a Spanish language school in Rio Dulce, i am under the impression it is quite small, (not many teachers) so anyone interested in studying one on one with a teacher should contact them soon, or possibly if several students want to pitch in together and do a group rate for a week before or after the meetup, Im sure that is a possibility. the school is called Xhalaja and the website is : xalaja.com rates and everything are listed on the website in English and Spanish.

Other Info

american airlines charges 150$ to fly with your bike but you can get chinese built huffies with sticker on them that say "maya tour" for 125$ or so, and possibly used bikes here and there for less...

there are bikes to rent in some bigger cities but we haven't found any here yet.

also a project some folks may be interested in in San Andreas Itzapa (in the mountains, not near here): www.mayapedal.org/  gets donated bikes from the United States and fixes them up to sell, or cuts them up to build pedal powered machines for various projects.

Check in Info for Belize

Boats entering Belize can clear customs and immigration atSan Pedro (Ambergris Cay), Belize City, Placencia, Dangriga, or Punta Gorda

Where ever you check in, anchor with Q-flag. In Belize City you can dock up at Fort George Marina (Radisson Hotel dock) for free if you leave by 1800 hrs. This dock is tricky to leave due to shoaling and currents unless you can get the T finger which sometimes has big live-aboard dive charter boats tied to it. Officials will come to the dock and complete formalities.
Captain may go ashore to notify officials of arrival. I went alone and was told that the other crew should have come too to present themselves to immigration with their own passport. Go figure.
We however checked in at San Pedro. There's Customs who want to know about your boat and what's on it, there's Immigraton who wanna know who's on it, and there's Belize Port Authority who just want yer money. Most boat will pay $5 BZ ($2.50 USD) per day, but since our boats over 45' we got to pay $10 BZ/day ($5 USD). All in all with dealing with these 3 branches we were checked in in about 2 hours.
I forget how much our visas cost- maybe around $50BZ per person, then it was $40BZ boarding fee to have the Customs guy come aboard and check the boat out (very cursory search). Then we payed one 1 month's worth of a cruising permit which set us back $450BZ. I think there was a 1-time fee of $150BZ then $10BZ/ day. However much longer you remain in Belize waters over the time you payed you stay, you pay the difference when you check out.
There was also a health certificate which the boarding customs guy gave us. We checked in with our dog Bella, and a fake vet certificate of health went over just fine.
All in all we felt rather thoroughly shaken down by our Belize check-in. Set us back around $400. Smaller boats than 45' will get off easier, but it's still a shock.
Another pain in the ass is that you must renew in person, each month, your visa and your boat's customs papers. You can only do it for 1 month, in the beginning, and in succeeding months. We were not charged a fee. They don't like it when you're late.
Have ready your boat's official documents, clearance from your last port of call (even if USA, very important), 4 copies of crew list, 3 copies of cargo in ballast (list of ships stores). They may not ask for all of these things, but they are supposed to, so have 'em!
30 day extensions are obtained at any of the check-in locations. Recommend San Pedro to check in. Small enough to be easy on the nerves. At the end of 6 months visitors must leave the country for at least 24 hours.
All in all, officials are professional and friendly, but the cruising fees are hefty, and the need to re-up every month is a royal ass-pain.
Oh yeah, and they really want you to fly a Belize flag, so if you don't have one when you get there, get one quick-like.

other notes on belize check in:

We just checked into Belize at San Pedro 4 days ago. Long story short, everyone aboard must report to immigration, then the captains must clear the boats at customs. The fees for the boarding was 70 USD, then there are port captain costs of 50 USD and 5 USD per day. There is a 7.50 USD fee per person for leaving Belize, and you must check out at one of the previously listed ports of entry when leaving the country. This is just a short note for a 29ft sailboat checking it, all the above info is accurate. Also, you should have seen the faces on customs when i handed them a paddle to row the dinghy with us. They flagged down a motorboat.