Although it’s easy to feel like Antigua [1] is landlocked, thanks to its mountain backdrop, the Guatemalan Pacific Coast [2] lies just a few kilometers away and is an easy one-hour drive from town.
With this in mind, whale-watching outfitters operating out of Puerto Quetzal have begun scurrying visitors to the Pacific Coast on day trips. Pacific Whale Watching (tel. 4017-0174, www.whale-watching-guatemala.com [3], $150 per person with transport from Antigua, $135 without transport) operates a six-hour trip onboard a 38-foot Jupiter.
In addition to whales (humpback, short-finned pilot, finback, and whale sharks), you can expect to see bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, and manta rays. Trips leave on weekends from December through April (at 6:30 a.m. from Antigua) and the cost includes a lunch of gourmet sandwiches, fresh fruit, and cookies.
Tickets for children are half-price; you can also charter a boat with a minimum of eight people on weekdays.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/guatemala/antigua
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/guatemala/the-pacific-coast
[3] http://www.whale-watching-guatemala.com