Castillo de San Felipe 2026: Q75 Entry, Hours and How to Visit the Río Dulce Fort

The Castillo de San Felipe de Lara is the Spanish colonial fort at the point where the Río Dulce meets Lake Izabal, in Izabal. Entry is Q75 for foreigners (Central Americans included), Q25 for adults and Q10 for minors aged 12 to 17, and it opens every day, per INGUAT, the tourism institute that runs it (read 24 September 2026).

INGUAT’s guide describes a small fort you can see in an hour to an hour and a half, with walls, towers and cannon positions aimed at the water. It sits inside CONAP’s Río Dulce National Park, and the same INGUAT guide says many travellers visit it before or after sailing down the river to Livingston.

Quick summary

Fees, hours and contacts from INGUAT’s page for the fort, in its list of attractions run by INGUAT, read 24 September 2026.

What you pay

INGUAT’s table has three lines: adults, minors aged 12 to 17, and foreigners “Incluyendo a los Centroamericanos”. It does not say whether the Q25 and Q10 rates are for Guatemalans only. Guatemala.com’s March 2026 guide lists them as Q25 for nationals and Q10 for national children, and says the ticket covers the whole fortress and the recreational areas inside the grounds.

Payment: guatemala.com reported that from March 2026 the fee can also be paid by credit or debit card. INGUAT’s page does not mention payment methods, so carry cash as a backup.

Hours: the published versions differ

INGUAT’s page says Monday to Sunday, 08:00 to 17:00. Guatemala.com’s guide, updated 31 March 2026, says 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day. A third, undated listing on the Central America tourism portal (visitcentroamerica.com) gives 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Sunday; its fee line is out of date, so we do not rely on it. INGUAT runs the fort, and arriving before 16:00 fits every version. CONAP lists 7:00-16:00 for the national park.

Getting there

• By road from Río Dulce town. The Central America tourism portal’s directions: take the CA-9 Norte, continue to Río Dulce, cross the Río Dulce bridge and follow the tourist signs to the castle — about 15 minutes, on a road it describes as in good condition year-round.
• From Guatemala City. CONAP puts Río Dulce 276 km from the capital, about 4 hours: the CA-9 (Atlantic highway) to the fork at kilometre 245, at La Ruidosa, then the turn-off to Fronteras, Río Dulce.
• By boat. CONAP lists water transport from the docks at Fronteras, El Relleno, San Felipe de Lara and Livingston, and from the municipal dock at Puerto Barrios. From Livingston, INGUAT’s guide says the usual way is by boat up the river, with the castle as a stop on the river route.
• Seen from the water only. INGUAT’s guide notes that if you are short of time you can see the fort from outside as you sail past — but it recommends going in.

Our route pages cover the trip to Río Dulce: Guatemala City to Río Dulce, Flores to Río Dulce and the self-drive guide.

What you are looking at

INGUAT’s page walks through the fort room by room:

• Why it exists. Built by the Spanish to protect themselves from English pirates raiding the Caribbean. The first fort, from the mid-17th century, had palm-leaf roofs; pirates burned it in 1686, and it was rebuilt under the direction of Andrés Ortiz de Urbina.
• The Bustamante tower looks over the narrowest part of the river, where a chain was stretched across the water to control ships coming in from the sea. The cannons had a range of only 300 metres, per INGUAT.
• 19 cannons remain today; INGUAT says two are solid bronze, taken from English privateers in battle, and they sit in the north tower, where you can see the English crown and the fleur-de-lis.
• The storeroom is now a small museum of objects recovered from the lake and river: pieces of wooden boats, a Spanish-era anchor, a cart wheel used to haul goods to Antigua Guatemala, and the chain itself.
• Dormitories, chapel and prison. Four dormitories, each for 14 soldiers, one kept for the chaplain; a chapel with three niches; and a prison, used as one from 1655, per INGUAT, which says prisoners received one cup of corn atole a day and the cells flooded in the rainy season.
• The old door, sealed in 1672 to keep out floods; you can still see its bolts and hinges.
• The walls. The original perimeter wall is limestone brought from Gualán, Zacapa, and coral stone from Caribbean reefs, bound with mud, lime and sand.
• The best view is from the last bastion tower, where the commander watched for pirate ships, INGUAT says.

The Central America tourism portal adds that the fort also served as a prison and customs post, lists it as a national historic monument and says guide services are available.

Outside the walls, guatemala.com’s March 2026 guide describes a large lettered sign at the entrance, swings, children’s play areas and rest areas, plus parking.

Where to sleep: Río Dulce

1. Visits start there. INGUAT’s guide says visits to the fort are organised from the Río Dulce area, which has accommodation, restaurants and tourist services.
2. It is close. The fort is about 15 minutes by road from the bridge (visitcentroamerica.com).
3. Río Dulce is the base for the river. The boat to Livingston leaves from the town, and Siete Altares is at the other end.

CONAP notes accommodation and food options across the Río Dulce National Park area at a range of budgets.

Live availability around Río Dulce:

A workable half-day from Río Dulce

More around Río Dulce and Izabal

• Río Dulce to Livingston by boat — the boat trip from Río Dulce town (Fronteras) down the canyon to Livingston.
• Siete Altares, Livingston · Livingston · Izabal department.
• Protected areas and CONAP · all activities.