We took the Rio Dulce excursion which is a 40 minute boat ride to the mainland (we liked the ride but it's nothing fancy), then a one hour bus ride through Guatemala (past the poverty areas again). It does show you the countryside of Guatemala (sad) but I wanted to be there on a mission than as a tourist after seeing all that. The destination port to take a small (crowded) boat over to the castle was fun but the boat is quite low to the dock and we saw several older people fall as they tried to disembark. At 60 years old, I had no problem but handicapped people need a lot of help getting in and out of this boat. Then it's a little bit of a walk uphill and several older people couldn't make it. The castle is worth seeing and the surroundings are beautiful. The lunch was authentic and the vendors there were not pushy and we enjoyed our time there a lot. Then it's a long haul back to take the small boat to small port, bus to big port, big boat back to cruise ship. It's long and hot - we were glad we did it but be aware of these conditions.

We took a river tubing experience in a "jungle" but it was not really in a jungle that we expected, there were very few wildlife (we saw 3 iguanas - which were big indeed, one pink-legged bird, and a few other unexciting birds). The floating goes about 1 mile, takes about an hour, and the guide does their best to explain the area but I would recommend something else in that port. The bus ride was long and the experience a bit boring.

There's so much to do here....this is just a great port. 5 stars says it all. Look up ahead of time what you are in the mood for because there's a LOT. The BEST burger in all of key west is at Fisherman's Cafe near the water....it's a hole-in-the wall, no seats inside - but we are burger experts and theirs is the BEST. Beats Margaritaville by 10 times. They also have GREAT daily fresh fish. Across the street from Sloppy Joe's is a nice easy bar that usually has one guy playing guitar....great relaxing spot.