A boat trip down the lush gorge of Río Dulce (literally translation: ‘sweet river’) is an absolute highlight in the far east of Guatemala.
I wouldn’t say it’s worth like days of travelling just to do this, but if you’re thinking about going to Livingston from any other destination in Guatemala (apart from nearby Puerto Barrios), this river trip will be included in your itinerary anyway. However, it’s also possible to visit the riverside on a day trip, even without an overnight stay in Livingston, but only if you’re in for a double trip through the jungle :).
Note that Río Dulce both refers to a town ánd the long iconic river. This hub of Río Dulce itself really isn’t that interesting. It’s located at the foot of a giant bridge that spans the river and is mainly a centre of commerce for all the nearby lodges. The lodges have to get there ingredients and furniture somewhere after all. But whether you like it or not, if you come from any other destination in Guatemala or Honduras, you’ll most likely pass through it.
Right under the bridge you find the dock from where you can start your trip to Livingston. The boat to Livingston costs 125 GTQ / $16,5 USD. Personally I only did a one-way trip the other way round -from Livingston to Río Dulce- and I think going through the channel once is enough. But if you have to go back anyway, taking this ride again is no punishment either.
The port of Río Dulce at sunset
Note that the boat only leaves a couple of times per day. At the time of my visit (November 2018) I could either take the boat at 09:30 am and 2 pm from Livingston to Río Dulce.
But check in advance with one of the local ho(s)tels. Often there are extra possibilities is you ask around in the dock. For example, during my stay there was another boat leaving at 4 pm.
Once you’ve passed the Río Dulce bridge you’ll very soon be in the wild. And that is quite cool, since the contrast with the hustle and bustle of the ugly and polluted city of Río Dulce couldn’t be bigger.
You’re absolutely exploring the wild side of Guatemala in here. Egrets (white birds) are flying all around, the jungle is showing off in fifty shades of green and close to Livingston channel the river suddenly becomes narrower with towering cliffs on both sides.
It reminded me slightly of the national park of Tortuguero in Costa Rica. It has the same lush channel although you can spot a lot more wildlife in Costa Rica. But perhaps the boat was just racing too hard through the waterways.
As the boat is merely just a waterbus, it stops at several places along the river, depending on where your fellow travellers will go. And that’s absolutely great, as you’re able to check out several of those beautiful lodges. There are a lot of great places to stay on the banks of the riverside, famed for their isolated feeling.
Staying at one of these hotels has its downsides too. You’re pretty much stuck in here and if the place isn’t to your liking, you might have a very unpleasant time.
As was my case, as I had some bad luck myself in here. I stayed at Hotel Kangaroo, which was at first glance fairly great; it was close to the town of Río Dulce – which was convenient for me as I needed to head out the next early morning to catch my bus to Honduras -, the building looked great, the hotel had a nice terrace and a restaurant with fairly priced dishes.
But unfortunately I wasn’t to pleased about the staff. Upon arrival they were quite rude to me and I didn’t felt welcome at all. I also discovered cockroaches in the dorm, a rat in the bathroom and the water wasn’t heated as promised. Later on I read the same kind of reviews on Tripadvisor. It’s a shame, because this hotel has so much potential. With a friendly face at the start I would have tolerated all of the downsides.
Luckily the views very pretty.
Anyway, don’t stay there.
Later on I heard better stories from other travellers about Finca Tatin and Hotelito Perdido. So if you’re travelling on a budget I would check out one of these for sure.
My boat actually passed by Finca Tatin and at first sight it look lovely indeed as well. The only downside of both these places is that you won’t have any wifi connection in here (that’s the reason why I didn’t stay there – I needed it at the time). But apart from that, I’d say go for it!
Finca Tatin
Here’s where to find that river in Guatemala! ↓
