Xunantunich, Lamanai or Altun Ha

cazz · #1 (**permalink**) January 15th, 2008, 12:34 AM

Really torn here...I was looking at Belize Shore Excursions and they had three tours that look really good. The Lamanai one looked great because they had a boat tour up the river to it. Problem with that one is that it takes 6-7.5 hours and I'm worried about getting back to the boat in time. Xunantunich looked like the coolest ruins but it's sort of far away as well and doesn't look like you get to see as much jungle. Altun Ha had a Jungle hike around the ruins for just a few bucks more. That looked like a good compromise maybe. Also the cheapest one. I know a lot of people say to go through the cruise line, but I can't stand spending so much more for the same thing when most people say that the independent tours are more fun anyway.

Would love to hear your experiences!
Thank you so much for any help!

Russell in MD · #2 (**permalink**) January 15th, 2008, 08:31 AM

Ive done the Xunantunich tour. I really enjoyed it. Its a long ride but it gives you a chance to see a large part of Belize. In fact you can see Guatamala from the top of the ruins you are so far inland. The ruins are very impressive.

R

Nicnme · #3 (**permalink**) January 15th, 2008, 09:28 AM

We did Xunantunich tour in 2005. We were able to climb to the top of the ruins. It was amazing. The bus ride there is kinda long (I recommend taking a snack). We stopped at a "resort" on the way back for an authentic lunch that was delicious. The ruins are kinda in the jungle/forest area. You have to walk up a steep road/path to get to the ruins. The tree coverage was nice, kept us a little cooler. We were surprised to see a large Amish community in Belize (as we are from central PA and see them everyday). Good luck with your choice. 8)

cazz · #4 (**permalink**) January 15th, 2008, 10:22 PM

Did y'all go through the cruise line for the tours or do it independently? If so, who did you use?
Thanks so much for your input!

Russell in MD · #5 (**permalink**) January 21st, 2008, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cazz

Did y'all go through the cruise line for the tours or do it independently? If so, who did you use?
Thanks so much for your input!

We done it through the ship.

R

longbeachlarry · #6 (**permalink**) January 21st, 2008, 05:12 PM

We did the Lamanai tour. The river boat ride was a great way to get to the ruins. It went a lot faster than we thought it would so it was more fun than just being on a boat lazying up the river. They pointed out a lot of nice things along the ride.

The length of the trip was a big issue. The river ride and ruins tour was only about 4 hours. The rest was riding in a coach bus for 1hr+ each way. That was the BIG drawback.

If there are others closer by, I would reco to try them and not feel that anxiety of making it back. Although the trip was booked from the ship and they say that they wait for their booked excursions to make it back if they run late. Still...the entire bus was feeling a little rushed when we made it back since we had to then get on a tender in time to make it back to the ship. (The tender ride was a good 10 min ride out).

cazz · #7 (**permalink**) January 21st, 2008, 08:58 PM

Thank you for sharing the experience. I think I'll go for Altun Ha this time, especially since I'm not going through the ship. Not that we couldn't carve out a nice little life for ourselves in Belize if we got left in the dust, but maybe not this time!

Anyhoo....
Thanks again!