Private tour or Carnival excursion, Altun Ha & River Wallace

[miro10]

Can anyone tell me what the difference in price is for the Altun Ha & River Wallace tour is between a private tour operator or CCL? Is a private tour reliable and will they get you back to the ship on time? What private tour operator did you use? I want to do this excursion, but a little worried about

private tour operators in Belize. Thanks for any input you have.

[MDSue]

Can anyone tell me what the difference in price is for the Altun Ha & River Wallace tour is between a private tour operator or CCL? Is a private tour reliable and will they get you back to the ship on time? What private tour operator did you use? I want to do this excursion, but a little worried about

private tour operators in Belize. Thanks for any input you have.

 

I'm not sure about a private tour guide, but I did the cruise sponsored tour for this trip and really enjoyed it. The added benefit of it being a cruise sponsored tour is that when the a/c on our bus broke and it got uncomfortably hot on the bus [i almost got sick as a result], our driver was able to quickly switch us to another bus.

I do a variety of cruise sponsored and private tours, but I'm glad I did a ship tour that time.

[chadci]

I did research before I booked this tour through Carnival... why? Well, it looks like it often runs long. If you're on a private tour, the ship proably will not wait for you if you're tour is late getting back.

[2McCormicks]

This port is a pit! I would do an excursion and this would be the ONLY port I would do an excursion through the cruise line. We are stopping here on our cruise but it may be a ship day. Lots of threads about violence in Belize on tourists. I have see it and will never go into the city again.

 

Happy Sailing!:)

[crewsweeper]

This port is a pit! I would do an excursion and this would be the ONLY port I would do an excursion through the cruise line. We are stopping here on our cruise but it may be a ship day. Lots of threads about violence in Belize on tourists. I have see it and will never go into the city again.

 

Happy Sailing!:)

While I agree that doing long excursions from this port using the ship excursions is a good recommendation, I disagree about the lots of threads about violence in Belize on tourists. I and I know others have walked around Belize City without any hassles once a block passed the Toruist Village. And even there you're just encountering vendors trying to make a living. They are NOT ATTACKING TOURISTS!!!

[gsxr_moe]

I was wondering the same thing about private tour vs. Carnival Excursion. I haven't really found any private tours that had any type of reviews from other cruise ship passengers. My wife wants to do see the ruins and I know my daughter would love the river portion of the trip, so I'm really interested in this tour....but I don't want to pay ship prices...

Any info would be appreciated.......

[pjpu]

I was wondering the same thing about private tour vs. Carnival Excursion. I haven't really found any private tours that had any type of reviews from other cruise ship passengers. My wife wants to do see the ruins and I know my daughter would love the river portion of the trip, so I'm really interested in this tour....but I don't want to pay ship prices...

 

Any info would be appreciated.......

 

JMHO - we took the city and ruins tour by bus (thru Carnival) and I'm glad we did, it hotter than hades there, I think they said 105 that day! From what I understand the river tour boats are not covered, as in you're in the sun the whole time. We had a nice ac bus! The city tour was very informative (we had Marasole as our guide) so we enjoyed that, then it was quite a ride out to the ruins, and part of the road was not in good shape - but still nice/interesting scenery. I can only imagine that it gets hotter from here out.

[terryde]

We did the Altun Ha/River Wallace through Carnival, and we rarely do ship tours. We usually book our own, but due to the length of this one and tendering, didn't want to risk being late. It really seemed worth the money to us.

[David_Zen]

The truth of the matter is when you book the ship's tour you are still going to be handed off to a local tour operator. You'll still get a local guide and a local driver on a bus that has been serviced by local mechanics. The biggest difference is in the price you pay. If you book a tour like Altun Ha and River Wallace with a credible tour operator you don't have to worry about missing your ship. If you want to book an Altun Ha trip book directly with a local operator. You can't go wrong.

[PCDIVA]

The truth of the matter is when you book the ship's tour you are still going to be handed off to a local tour operator. You'll still get a local guide and a local driver on a bus that has been serviced by local mechanics. The biggest difference is in the price you pay. If you book a tour like Altun Ha and River Wallace with a credible tour operator you don't have to worry about missing your ship. If you want to book an Altun Ha trip book directly with a local operator. You can't go wrong.

 

 

Price is not only the difference. If you book your tours thru Carnival they are 100% responsible for you vs booking thru a local tour operator. Carnival keeps in contact with the tour operators they use in the event of an emergency or the tours being late they will hold the ship IF and ONLY IF you are booked thru Carnival so to me that is a big big difference and also a relief to know that if you tour is late and you booked it thru Carnival they CANNOT leave you there....hope this helps

[Tokyo Mom]

For those of you who have done the Altun Ha and River Wallace tour through Carnival what is the lunch stop like? We are on our own for that, correct? Just wondering what kind of food (thinking of my kids here) and how much to budget. Thanks! We sail in one month! Michelle

[Biffer1997]

This was posted in a similar thread by erinmarie:

We stopped at The Black Orchid for lunch. There were two choices for a meal and they were both $8.00. One choice was a chicken or beef cheeseburger and the other choice was a traditional Belizean meal of chicken (a thigh and a drumstick), rice and beans, cole slaw, and fried plantain. We each had the Belizean lunch and it was very delicious. They also have sodas for $2, local beer for $4 and local (cashew) wine for $3. I had a couple beers and DBF got some cashew wine. They also have wine sampling outside the restaurant and some local artists selling their work. We bought a few bottles of wine for $10 each and I got a handmade trivet for $4.

 

If neither of those options appeal to you you will want to bring some energy bars or something else to eat - the only other food you will run across will be chips and soda at Altun Ha, and that will be at the end of the tour.

 

Erin

[regana]

CCL tour has a minimum age of 4. I have a 3 year old. Some other posts have talked about bringing younger kids on the tour. Did the rule change or is there a private company who will do the ruins with boat?

[bcs819]

don't do the River part, it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. The ruins, however, were amazing.

[ADL3]

At the last minute, because of sunburns the day before at Roatan, we switched from the Altun Ha & River Wallace combo to the Altun Ha and Belize City tour combo, and I am so glad we did. We saw the boat, and those people were packed in there. I don't even know how it was safe. Plus, like a previous poster mentioned, it was hot! We loved Altun Ha, minus the guy on our tour who thought he should be able to get a clear shot of the entire area without people in his shot. I think he needs to book a private tour next time! haha!