How bad are insects and mosquitos on the Lamanai tour

[bladerunner6]

We are thinking of doing a Lamanai tour and I was wondering how bad the insects are on this tour.

 

Also, how comfortable is the boat ride?

 

Thanks.

[JimAOk1945]

We were there in December 2011 on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas which used to sail round trip from Galveston, TX. As I recall, we didn't have any trouble with insects or mosquitos. My wife is one of those people who seems to attract mosquitos wherever she goes, but she didn't get a single bite which surprised us both since she had forgotten to pack insect repellant.

 

You might enjoy seeing the slide show my wife made with pictures she took for her website. The link below will take you there.

 

Lamanai Shore Excursion

 

A cruise is a great way to celebrate your upcoming anniversary. Congrats on that!

 

Lamanai is fantastic! You will enjoy it.

Edited August 24, 2014 by JimAOk1945

[wdowns9]

My wife attract skeeters like ants at a picnic. We always carry non-DEET spray with us. It doesn't hurt not to carry something with you. just in case. As for the boat ride it is a nice ride up the river while looking at wildlife but the ride back is like an "E" ticket non-stop full speed ride. Many people forgot about this and when we took off they lost their hats. The tour is fun and worth the visit. If you do not plan to visit Belize again then I highly suggest taking this trip.

[biker@sea]

We did not notice any.:)

 

The back of the boat did get wet with spray .

[bladerunner6]

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

[Shela]

How much walking was there from the boat to the ruins and was it all on a level path?

[biker@sea]

There are a number of different ruin structures . Maybe a 1/2 mile total through the jungle on a well worn trail ,fairly flat with a good amount of roots .

 

Wear good hiking shoes it can be muddy and you can climb the structures .

[wdowns9]

Paths are worn into the jungle floor and we saw people trying to push strollers before they gave up. Those with limited mobility took their time and were not rushed. The paths can be wet and muddy with roots exposed. The walks are not bad between structures distance wise. Good shoes with tread helps plus you can climb the main Castillo which will take you to the top of the jungle canopy..

[Bilge Rats]

We visited the ruins in October of 2013. We had treated our clothes with permethrin and also brought some DEET for exposed skin. As soon as folks began getting off the bus, they began slapping mosquitoes. Perhaps it depends on time of year and weather (we visited during a rainy period). Night-flying mosquitoes in the region transmit malaria, and day-flying mosquitoes transmit dengue fever, so we came prepared!

 

 

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[KristyM79]

We were there September 2005 and the mosquitos were insane. I never experienced anything like it. We used Deet mosquito repellent. Folks that used regular spray were eaten alive. Literally mosquitos were flying in front of my face but because of the Deet they didn't bite. I suppose it has to do with the time of year as we were in the rainy season.

[Annie Morehead]

When is the rainy season? We will be there in February.

Ruth

[KristyM79]

I'm assuming it's similar to Florida, where I grew up, and the Caribbean. Rains more in the summer time (July-October)

[moingerson]

We were there middle of Feb 2013 in middle of the day wearing dresses and we didn't get bit at all

 

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[gardiner41]

We were there on the NCL Jewel in January. I am a sketter magnet and I forgot my bug spray and regretted it.

 

Definitely bring/wear spray. and appropriate clothing including footware.

 

We LOVED this trip. IT is like 4 in 1 and a lot of fun as well as informative, and beautiful.

 

Go prepared, knowing you will be in the jungle and you will have a wonderful time. Perhaps a highlight of your cruise. That and ATV-ing in Cozumel through the jungle were the two highpoints of that cruise for us.

[ElCiego]

Hey Bladerunner, I just got back from Lamanai. I was on the Navigator of the seas out of Galveston on Aug 24th. I sprayed myself down with insect repellent and did not get one single bite. I did not notice a lot of bugs buzzing around either and heard no complaints from the other people on the tour. I wouldn't worry about the bugs, but some repellent can't hurt.

 

I booked the trip through Island Marketing, so they might use different boats to get up the river than whatever you get if you book through the cruise. The ones we were on were 16 passenger boats with about 4 rows facing forward. The run through the river was a lot of fun. You do go pretty fast and the boat does leans through curves. It is not a leisurely boat ride but it is comfortable. There was no excessive bouncing around or being thrown around the boat.

 

we passed a couple small boats with groups of Amish fishing in the river. it was a surprise.