Lamanai & The New River Safari question

[ehamp23]

Booked this through ship on our January cruise. Read about taking insect repellant, and am wondering if our group should wear pants or shorts.

 

Any suggestions, thanks

[SingingPixie]

Personally, I'd wear shorts and just load up on the bug spray (buy the kind w/ 100% deet) as it can get quite warm in the jungle. The malarial mosquitoes aren't out during the daytime (only dawn/dusk), so the worst you're risking by wearing shorts is uncomfortable bites. I wore 100% deet on a jungle excursion in Belize and had no bites whatsoever- and I'm normally a mosquito smorgasbord.

[adams.580]

We went on this excursion in April last year and LOVED it! Belize has a government mosquito eradication program, so malaria is not a big problem there. Also, the dry season in Belize is Dec - May, so the mosquitos numbers are going to be way down. We wore Off Deep Woods, which is comes in a small 1 oz. pump spray. It is easy to pack even in a carry-on and you can stick it in your pocket if you feel you need to reapply on the trip.

 

With that said, I might recommend pants or a sweatshirt for another reason. The boat ride down the river was speedy and very windy, with some water spray and shady spots. It took almost an hour, and by the time we got to Lamanai I was a little chilly. Once we got to the jungle and started our tour, I warmed up - so a jacket or pants that zip-off into shorts would be okay. By no means was it hot though, so don't worry about that. I would say it was around 70 tops.

 

Enjoy your tour! And definitely wear some sturdy gym shoes if you are planning on climibing the High Temple. The view from up there is great! :o

[Toyz711]

for us, it was in the high 80s (mid december) and it was very hot under the trees. we had shorts and were glad we did. i had the bug spray, but didn't need it for lamanai.

some people, on our tour, were cool on the boat ride back. take extra water, they give you some but you may need more. enjoy the adventure, lamanai is outstanding.

[2112]

We wore shorts but took long pants in a day pack. We also took insect repellent but never needed it. In fact, we never saw an insect. Our trip was in mid November.

[Froufie]

Was there early November - boat ride was fast and windy - but it was a very hot day so no chance of feeling cold. The actual jungle was very very hot - esp the climb up the temples - no shade at all.

 

We definitely needed insect repellent - applied before getting there - and reapplied as we were being 'attacked' quite often on our walk thru the jungle. I wore capris, socks and runners and a shirt that had sleeves that could roll up (and button) for 3/4 length (elbow) or down to the wrist if required..... We were there however right at the tail end of the rainy season which may explain the hungry mosquitoes?

[karen327]

This was the bests excursion were were on for our two cruises so far. The only negative we found was sitting on the back of the boat, the engine was loud and smelly.

[rslex]

We took this excursion through NCL at the beginning of last February. I didn't notice any issues with insects. (O.K., maybe a couple of mosquitoes, but being born and bred in Central Florida, I didn't think much of it at the time.) The weather was warm and many people there were in shorts. We did spray down with sun screen. That might have repelled the bugs somewhat.

By the way- It was by far the best choice we made for the whole cruise. I highly recommend it!

[spoonful]

We went on this excursion in April last year and LOVED it! Belize has a government mosquito eradication program, so malaria is not a big problem there. Also, the dry season in Belize is Dec - May, so the mosquitos numbers are going to be way down. We wore Off Deep Woods, which is comes in a small 1 oz. pump spray. It is easy to pack even in a carry-on and you can stick it in your pocket if you feel you need to reapply on the trip.

 

With that said, I might recommend pants or a sweatshirt for another reason. The boat ride down the river was speedy and very windy, with some water spray and shady spots. It took almost an hour, and by the time we got to Lamanai I was a little chilly. Once we got to the jungle and started our tour, I warmed up - so a jacket or pants that zip-off into shorts would be okay. By no means was it hot though, so don't worry about that. I would say it was around 70 tops.

 

Enjoy your tour! And definitely wear some sturdy gym shoes if you are planning on climibing the High Temple. The view from up there is great! :o

 

totally agree. Do use bug spray if you want to avoid bites. Use a sweater for the speedboat if you are the type who gets chilly easily. You will sweat and be very hot while at the ruin site. You will be totally burning up and drenched in sweat if you decided to climb the ruin so shorts and T-shirts are a good idea for the actual tour.