Pros and Cons of Altun Ha and Xunantunich

[erinmarie424]

We are trying to decide between two Carnival excursions for our upcoming cruise. We definitely want to see some ruins at this stop and we are definitely going to book excursions at this port with the cruise line due to the travel time involved. Our choices are Xunantunich, which includes lunch, or Altun Ha, which includes a ride on the river, but not lunch. Both excursions cost the same amount (the fact that we would need to pay for lunch on the Altun Ha tour is not enough of a deciding factor...)

 

Can some of you that have been to these places or on these Carnival excursions give me some pros and cons to consider when we make our final decision?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Erin

[Chelly]

We are trying to decide between two Carnival excursions for our upcoming cruise. We definitely want to see some ruins at this stop and we are definitely going to book excursions at this port with the cruise line due to the travel time involved. Our choices are Xunantunich, which includes lunch, or Altun Ha, which includes a ride on the river, but not lunch. Both excursions cost the same amount (the fact that we would need to pay for lunch on the Altun Ha tour is not enough of a deciding factor...)

 

Can some of you that have been to these places or on these Carnival excursions give me some pros and cons to consider when we make our final decision?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Erin

 

I'll be in Belize in Oct and have the same question. Hope someone has the answer.

C

[Rocket_man]

We were in Belize last March with NCL. Went on Altun Ha and River ride tour that also included lunch. After a dozen cruises we rank it as one of the best or the best tour. No one else at the ruins, but us the the 8-10 people we came with. Really in the jungle, but well excavated temples. River ride had LOTS of wildlife (monkeys, alligators, etc) and exited into the ocean where Manatees were floating around. Interesting trivia was that much of Apocalypse Now was filmed on that river and Francis Ford Coppola has a house in Belize.

 

Don't know about the other Mayan site mentioned.

[Mandypup]

Also interested in a comparison of the two - thanks for any info!

[erinmarie424]

Rocket Man thanks for the details about Altun Ha and the river - was it the River Wallace? Your little tidbit about it being the setting for Apocalypse Now might have just tipped the scales for us - we are HUGE movie fans!

 

Erin

[Rocket_man]

Erin,

I think the river we were on was called the Belize River. Now I've seen posts about the "New" River, "Old" River and now you throw in Wallace River, which I've never heard of. If you look on a map, the river I was on was north of Belize city, but south of Altun Ha. It dumped into the bay (Ocean) just north of Belize City and the dock where the tenders were. The boat we came down the river on was bascially a big outboard which dropped us off right at the pier where the tenders were. After idling past the Manatees it was a rough and windy ride at speed from the river to the tender dock, but very convenient!

We'll be back in Belize the end of next month (March) and have no idea what we'll do so that's why I'm watching these boards.

 

Hope this helps,

RM

[terryde]

We also enjoyed Altan Ha and River Wallace (although if you look for it on a map, locals call it the Belize river). Note that you don't have to purchase lunch when we stop, it is a quaint place and nice to stop though. You can eat a meal, a snack, or nothing and just walk around the grounds. We loved the ruins and the river and it was a full day.

[erinmarie424]

Well we are now about 90% sure that we will do the Altun Ha and River Wallace aka Belize River excursion. I should have asked before - are the bugs bad on the river? We intend to bring insect repellent - just wondering how aggressive they are.....

 

Also thanks for the tip on lunch!

 

Erin

[LoveTravel23]

Thanx you guys now I know what to do when I go to Belize in May.

[GTJ]

I've been to Altun Ha and I've stayed a few nights in San Ignacio, the community located closest to Xunantunich (but we were these to see different archaeological sights in the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave that was used by the Maya, an activity you won't have time to do during a one-day shore excursion). Nonetheless, I am somewhat familiar with Xunantunich.

 

As a sight itself, my vote would be for Xunantunich. The ruins are more impressive and there's a neat hand-operated ferry near the entrance. But, the journey there is quite long (about 2 hours each direction), and depending on the time in port, you may not get as much time there as you would like. On the other hand, Altun Ha is much closer, and you'll have more time to explore. I would go to Xunantunich only if the time in port is at least 7 hours. Otherwise, Altun Ha is fabulous.

 

In either case, bring insect repellent, sunscreen, good shoes, long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a hat.

[runningradical]

We just visited Xunantunich on our recent Legend cruise. We had a great time and it one of the best excursions I have ever did. This is the first ruins I ever visited. We booked the excursion through Carnival and we were on the first tender to leave the ship. We did get back to the ship after four but because it was a ship excursion we had no worries about getting back to the ship on time. Because of the distance I would only do this excursion through the ship. The tour guides pointed out interesting things ,facts and talked about the culture of Belize along the way and also on the way back. It made the bus ride go very fast. There was a lot of climbing at the ruins but once you get to the top the views are incredible definately worth the climb. I brought along bug spray but it was not needed. It could have been the time of the year but we were not bothered by bugs. If you go wear good walking shoes I wore shorts and a tank top and I was fine. When leaving the ruins by the river you get an oppurtunity to buy crafts from the locals very reasonably priced. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant which consisted of chicken beans and rice and coleslaw which was very good and large portions. We had a great day.

[mystone99]

DW and I were on the Legend in December and visited Xunantunich.

 

Pros - We had a great time and the site is very interesting. You can climb to the top of El Castillo, which the guides said was second highest building in Belize. There are some amazing fresco still intact. You also get to see more of the country outside of Belize City, which we enjoyed. People were very friendly, and the stop in San Ignacio for lunch is very nice.

 

Con - It is a long busride, and if you have a bad tour guide I can see where it would be very boring (We had a good guide, Marta, who was very enthuiastic about her country). And it eats up your whole time in Belize. You have be to on the first tender over, and then we were on the last tender back to the Legend.

 

DW and I would do it again because we enjoyed it so much the first time.

 

ErinMarie, I hope this helps.

[busdriver161]

We went to Xunantunich last week. We were on the Valor. We did not use Carnival. We went through belizecruiseexcursions.com. They were absolutely wonderful. Yes it was a long day. We got the first tender available for non carnival excursions and made it to the mainland in plenty of time. There were only 8 of us on the excursion. We were in a van. The guide was JP and he was excellent. He totally emerged us in the culture and answered any questions we had about there culture. We were never scared about missing the ship as JP knew what the carnival bus looked like and made sure we were in front of it. We had a local lunch that was delicious. This is there business and they are going to make sure you are back to the tenders in time. This has been the best excursion we have taken and it was because of JP. We learned so much about Belize and the Mayan Indians. He ran out of time as we could of stayed there much longer because he was so full of information. He told us about herbal medicine and had us try some of the different leaves at the ruins. I don't think anyone else got this kind of information. Also this was cheaper than going with Carnival. Next time I am in Belize I will go with them to another ruin as they are excellent!

[erinmarie424]

Thanks so much for all the information - this is not going to be an easy decision, but I can tell no matter which one we pick we will have a great time!

[CruiseLover824]

My friends did the Xunantunich ruins trip last year. They said it was really interesting and they enjoyed the ruins. They did not like that it took almost 2 hours to get there! I opted for a city tour because I didn't want to spend a total of 4 hours on a bus!! Here are a few pics from their adventure:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy the pics!

 

One thing I remember people saying about the River Wallace and Altun Ha tour was that the boat was not covered....the sun shines directly onto you for the entire boat ride.

Edited February 24, 2010 by CruiseLover824

[songbird1329]

We did Altun Ha/River Wallace. booked it through Carnival. the ship arrived late, and all the excursions left late, so we felt a bit rushed. we did the river cruise first, then had lunch and headed to the ruins. other groups did the ruins first, then the river. our 30 minute lunch break turned into a 45 minute break, which when added to the late arrival, I felt we didn't have enough time at the ruins.

[Caribbean_Dreamer37]

We went to Xunantunich last week. We were on the Valor. We did not use Carnival. We went through belizecruiseexcursions.com. They were absolutely wonderful. Yes it was a long day. We got the first tender available for non carnival excursions and made it to the mainland in plenty of time. There were only 8 of us on the excursion. We were in a van. The guide was JP and he was excellent. He totally emerged us in the culture and answered any questions we had about there culture. We were never scared about missing the ship as JP knew what the carnival bus looked like and made sure we were in front of it. We had a local lunch that was delicious. This is there business and they are going to make sure you are back to the tenders in time. This has been the best excursion we have taken and it was because of JP. We learned so much about Belize and the Mayan Indians. He ran out of time as we could of stayed there much longer because he was so full of information. He told us about herbal medicine and had us try some of the different leaves at the ruins. I don't think anyone else got this kind of information. Also this was cheaper than going with Carnival. Next time I am in Belize I will go with them to another ruin as they are excellent!

 

 

I read some information on the website for 'Belize Cruise Excursions' and it's half the price that Carnival charges for the same excursion. I'm sure everything went well for you, but how far in advance did the tour company return you to the ship port? I'm a little nervous about missing the ship.

Edited February 25, 2010 by LuvOfTravel

[busdriver161]

We did not have much time when we got back. We had to go right to a tender but as I said our guide knew where the Carnival bus was and made sure we were in front of it because they know that they wait for the Carnival bus. Also it said the last tender for us was 4:15pm but we got on one after that as there were many people trying to get back. JP our guide will make sure you are back and he gave us such good info I would go any other way!

[Caribbean_Dreamer37]

We did not have much time when we got back. We had to go right to a tender but as I said our guide knew where the Carnival bus was and made sure we were in front of it because they know that they wait for the Carnival bus. Also it said the last tender for us was 4:15pm but we got on one after that as there were many people trying to get back. JP our guide will make sure you are back and he gave us such good info I would go any other way!

 

The tour I want to take will be to Altun Ha (I forgot that Xunantunich is farther away), and it says the Altun Ha tour lasts approximately 4 hours.... seems like we'd have enough time without too much worry about missing the ship. There's such a big difference in pricing, where Carnival charges $58 and the tour company charges $42.50. Thanks for sharing that link.... it helps me to make my decisions.

Edited February 25, 2010 by LuvOfTravel

[StingRaysfan]

Hope it's not too late to add my 2 cents....

 

I have been to both sites... neither on the Carnival excursions though. I was in Belize in 96 and 97 on mission trips with the private high school I attended, and I can give pretty awesome reviews for Belize as those were experiences I will never forget. The people there are truly amazing, and I still have a little ceramic picture frame a little girl gave me with her picture in it before we left.. it brings back some great memories of the people i met there. It really is a beautiful country when you look past the poverty.

 

Anyway, the first year we went to Xunantunich, and it was spectacular! Climbing to the top of the large temple was amazing and absolutely impressive. The view was gorgeous, and I got some excellent pictures. I was so throughly in love with my experience!

 

The second year I went to Altun Ha, and I guess I expected the same thing... but I have to tell you... I felt kinda let down. Altun Ha is a series of smaller ruins, the largest of which felt to be an eigth of the size of the large temple at Xunantunich. It was not nearly as impressive to me.

 

We are going on the Valor in May, and my husband wants to do ruins in Belize. I have to tell you... that River Wallace thing is the ONLY THING that would make me even consider going to Altun Ha honestly. I wanted my husband to be as impressed with the trip as I was 14 years ago, so we are going to end up booking Xunantunich. I am not looking forward to the bus trip... but it seems really worth it to me to return there.

I do wish Carnival offered Lamanai though... as I would love to see something different and from what I hear those are quite impressive and interesting.

 

On a side note.. even with the price difference I would not book these excursions that take all day outside of Carnival. You are taking a huge risk.... chances are it will be ok.. but there is also a decent chance that something will go wrong... break down, flat tire... etc. and you will already be cutting time close.... I like the piece of mind that I will not be left behind.

Edited February 27, 2010 by StingRaysfan

[mbrown02]

The consensus we learned from local guides is that Xunantunich has the tallest temple and the highest view, so that's why we chose it. The bus ride was actually pretty relaxing and the lunch in San Ignacio was unhurried. We had about an hour and a half left in port when we got back (sailed on Royal Caribbean).

 

Here is a link to some pictures I took at Xunantunich. They might help you decide if you want to do this excursion. You don't have to be an FB member to be able to view them:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055545&id=1494320070&l=e59967f52a

[TigerStar]

We are most likely going to do the Altun Ha tour through Carnival. This is our first cruise and am concerned about the distance to the ruins.

 

One question - the Carnival tour gets back by 1:00 but the ship doesn't sail until 5:00 (I assume we will need to be on board by 4:00). What is there to do in the port area for a few hours instead of going back to the ship?

[mrpayroll]

We are most likely going to do the Altun Ha tour through Carnival. This is our first cruise and am concerned about the distance to the ruins.

 

One question - the Carnival tour gets back by 1:00 but the ship doesn't sail until 5:00 (I assume we will need to be on board by 4:00). What is there to do in the port area for a few hours instead of going back to the ship?

Nothing to do except shop.You are in an area surrounded by walls. We found a bench and just people watched for a while..It is a nice view of the water..:rolleyes: Look up Island marketing for Altun Ha trip. You do not do the river part but lunch is included and you are in van of only 8 to 10 people. Cheaper than Carnivals trip also..

Edited March 19, 2010 by mrpayroll

[Darcy8]

I am wondering if the Carnival tours to Xunantunich travel in coach type busses? I read somewhere on a thread about a tour on school busses. I cant remember what tour that was. I would not want to be on a school bus for 2 hours even if it was air conditioned.

[elkaholic]

What is there to do in the port area for a few hours instead of going back to the ship?

 

Go have some coconut shrimp at the Wet Lizard. It is in the port area near the tender docks. You can sit outside on the balcony and people watch while enjoying a tasty treat.