Things To Do in Retalhuleu
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Retalhuleu Attractions
My favorite thing to do in Reu is to grab a seat somewhere on the central plaza and people-watch. If you're not into sitting still, you can tour the church. Like the colonial-era churches around Guatemala, La Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua has undergone successive rebuilding following various earthquakes. Nonetheless, it's a pretty and well-kept church with a beautiful whitewashed facade.
The city's main attraction, Museo de Arqueología y Etnología (tel. 502/7771-0241), is quite small and relatively unimpressive. Located cater-cornered to the church and facing the central plaza, the museum has a small collection of ceramic, stone, jade, and obsidian artifacts, as well as a finely done scale model of the city's church. There's also a room with historical photographs. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30am to 5:30pm, Sunday 9am to 12:30pm. Admission is Q10 ($1.35/70p).
If you want to do any tours in the area, I recommend you contact Reuxtreme (tel. 502/7771-0443; www.reuxtreme.com). These folks offer a whole host of adventure, soft-adventure, and cultural tour options. Their strong suit is mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, and canopy tour adventures, but they can also hook you up with a guided tour to Takalik Abaj , or a dude-ranch type experience on a local cattle farm.
- Religious Site
Finca el Baúl
Even farther outside of the town sits Finca el Baúl. Set on a high hill in the midst of a working sugar-cane plantation, this place remains an active site of Maya ritual and worship. Still believing the site sacred, local Maya often come to a hilltop clearing here to make offerings,… - Natural Attraction
Las Piedras (Bilbao Stones)
Just on the northern edge of Santa Lucía sits a collection of massive carved stones. The largest and most impressive of these, Monument 21, has been copied in fiberglass and is on display at the Museo de Cultura Cotzumalguapa. The others have been severely damaged by time, the… - Theme Park
Xetulul
The local version of Epcot, this park is divided into several areas devoted to the architecture of the Maya world, plus those devoted to countries such as Guatemala, France, Italy, and Spain. Amusement park rides and adventures are interspersed with, or integrated into, miniature… - Theme Park
Xocomil
This is a large and well-designed water park featuring several high, fast, and exhilarating water slides, two wave pools, a "lazy river" float ride, several children's play pools, and everything else you might want or expect from a water park. I especially like some of the local…
Retalhuleu Nightlife
There is very little in the way of nightlife in Reu. Your best bet is to head to the Hotel Posada de Don José and catch the Trío Don José.
