Rio Dulce Good for Kid Boat ?

[Blue Kai]

I'm new to the forum and looking for advice about where to spend hurricane season. We have 2 young kids on board, 4 and 7, and are considering spending hurricane season in the Rio Dulce. We will be living aboard and are wondering how kid and family friendly the Rio is during the summer. What kinds of activities, trips, outings, etc. do families participate in? (I will post this on the Chisme site as well.)

Also, I would appreciate any insights into what daily life looks like there during the hurricane season. I've reviewed many forums and sites related to the Rio, but it's hard to get a sense from websites about how people spend their days/months there. For example, do most liveaboards during the summer live at anchor or in a marina? Are trips inland common? I know that all cruisers are different, but I am just trying to get a sense of what it would be like to spend 6 months there. FYI, we have cruised from Florida to the Dominican Republic twice, so if any comparisons can be drawn between the Rio and places between north Florida and Luperon (including Georgetown), that would be meaningful to me.

Thanks in advance!

[Thumbs Up]

We spent last summer in Rio Dulce and will leave our boat there this summer while we travel. It is very hot and humid. You might want to bring along an air conditioner or two if you don't have them on your cat already. Most people stay in one of the many marinas. It is possible to get a dock, pool, showers etc. for a cat for only $150 a month but some places charge twice that. You will have to pay a lot for electricity though (.35-.55¢ KWH) Not a lot of cruisers with young children, but there are lots of Guatemalan kids around. Our 17 year old son was pretty bored. Inland trips are fun, Lake Atitlan is nice and much cooler up there. Marios Marina has volleyball games every afternoon but it is mostly a bunch of old farts although the population probably varies year to year. A lot of the marinas have restaurants and bars but you can eat tacos up on the street in Fronteras very cheaply. Not a lot of variety at the food stores but you can always find good cheap produce. Maybe see you there?...

[belizesailor]

I live on the Rio most of the year and have several cruiser/resident friends with kids here. Not a lot of kids aboard, but there are some. I have some friends with young kids who keep their boat here. A couple of years ago they rented a house up at Lake Atitlan and put their kids in school there temporarily. Great experience for the kids, exposure to another culture (mostly Mayan around Atitlan), and they pick up language really fast. Atitlan is a breathtaking beautiful place (as are many places in Guatemala) and has a much cooler climate also.

To have more ashore space for the kids they have kept their boat at both Nana Juana and Tortugal. I expect that Catamarans, Tijax, or Marios would be good locations for kids too as all have a bit of land around them. Tortugal, Tijax, and Catamarans also have hotel accommodations so they might meet tourist kids to play with as well. Catamarans is currently one the best deals going, one of the lowest rates on dockage in the Rio, and one of the nicest facilities (pool, tennis courts, hotel...).

The average Guatemalan is a wonderful person with close family ties and most would readily accept your kids as playmates. It is not unusual to see cruising kids, or tourist kids, playing with locals.

[Kettlewell]

It would be tough if you weren't in a marina with an air conditioner. We put a household one in through a hatch, and it was still very hot and humid in May. I personally would try to get further south to Panama and the San Blas Islands for the summer--no worries about hurricanes down there. We spent most of the summer--really called the rainy season down there--in the San Blas and there were a fair number of kid boats around, and every Kuna village has lots of kids, various interesting things to see, festivals, etc. However, it is the luck of the draw how many cruising kids you will find. In the San Blas you can do all the usual fun cruising stuff like swimming, snorkeling, island exploring, dinghy sailing, etc. There is usually a pretty good sized international kid cruisers group over in Cartagena, Colombia, where you are also safe from hurricanes. We found the best policy was to hook up with other cruisers with kids around the right ages and then stick together.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

......no worries about hurricanes down there...

Just to clarify: No worries about hurricanes here on the Rio either. While the Rio is in the hurricane belt, it is surrounded by mountains and there has "never" been a hurricane find its way into the Rio. At least not based upon NOAA records or in the experience of people I know who have lived here all their lives.

The closest on record was Mitch which seemed to be trying to find a way in. The remnants of Mitch actually circled the Rio area on its route over land. One of many things Mitch did that hurricanes are not supposed to do.

[annk]

The Rio is certainly a safe place for your boat during the hurricane season. You won't find many kid boats there though...As Kettlewell says far more to be found down in Panama and Cartagena, due to those heading for the panama Canal and a circumnavigation.

Most liveaboards will be found in marinas, a very few come out occasionally and do a short cruise around lago Izabel or the Golfete. The age group definitely is more in the retired sector! Therefore activities are organised towards that age group! A few of the marinas organize inland tours but again you will find yourself with a much older group. However it's easy to organize independent travel around Central America.

Mario's marina has a pool, as do Bruno's, Catamaran, Nanajuana and Mar. The kids will appreciate that in the heat. Many of the marina's are inaccessible other than by boat so you probably want to avoid those if you need somewhere to exercise the kids!