Belize Ruin Tours

[I Luv Crusin]

I'm curious of those who have sailed CARNIVAL and have taken a Ruins tour from Belize, what is the time and costs involved?

 

I think the last time I went we just did a beach day but my husband and sister are interested in seeing the ruins.

 

Thanks

[jeff92k7]

We did a tour of Lamanai two months ago. We all really enjoyed it, but it involved a lot of walking, so we were very tired by the end of the day. Most people in our tour group actually napped on the bus ride back to the port. The total time was about 6 hours, so we had a little while for souvenir shopping at the port when we got back. The weather was pretty hot that day, but Lamanai is mostly shaded which helped quite a bit. I've read that the other two big ruin tours are mostly in the open with lots of sun, so that's a big reason why we chose Lamanai.

 

I don't remember the cost per person. You should easily be able to find that on Carnival's site. It included all transportation, as well as a hot lunch at the resort after the tour. The tour guides were great and Adrian really knows his stuff (he was our main tour guide).

 

In the end, all four of our family who went said we really enjoyed it and it was well worth it, but now that we've seen the ruins, we'd do something more relaxing next time. I definitely recommend seeing the ruins at least once.

[dmdiver]

We did the River Wallace & Altun Ha tour through Carnival. Don't remember the cost, but it was the first week of May and hot, hot, hot! Once person in our group was really feeling bad due to the heat. We had plenty of water, but it really was miserable. And we live in Texas, so it's not like we aren't used to the heat.

[cruzeluver]

We also did the Lamanai tour through Carnival (this past February). Fabulous tour! Cannot recall the exact cost but well worth it. Any of the ruins tours are going to be a healthy distance from the port. Lamanai is a full day, but includes not just the motor coach ride, but you must also take a high-powered speedboat to reach the ruins which was a blast. The included lunch was very good. The tour at the ruins was fascinating! If you decide to book, try to get on the first tour of the day. That will give you a bit of time at the port once you return. Also, tour guide Elvis usually does the first tour of the day and he is one of the best guides we have ever had anywhere! If you read the reviews of this tour folks rave about him and he really is that good!

[I Luv Crusin]

Thanks for the information. This is for a cruise for February 2019, so I'm planning ahead and wanted to get an idea of the cost for planning purposes.

[summersigh]

We also did the River Wallace & Altun Ha tour through Carnival ... but we went in the winter in the US so we didn't have any problems with heat down there. It was shorts and t-shirt weather in Belize.

It was an all day excursion and whatever the price (can't remember either) it was worth it to us. We had almost 2 hours in the boat (90 minutes on the river plus time to get to the mouth of the river). Then we were able to purchase an authentic Mayan lunch where the river part ended. Next was an air conditioned bus to the ruins - maybe a 30-45 scenic ride.

The Altun Ha ruins were very interesting and better because the tour guide explained the history of the site. We were even allowed to climb to the top of the largest pyramid.

We have a personal rule that if we're going out into the country where we can't grab a cab if there's a problem we take a ship excursion. In our case this was good because the ship was scheduled to sail at 5pm and at that time we were sitting in our air-conditioned bus in traffic in downtown Belize City. Our tender and a CCL staff member were waiting for us when we got to the dock.

[buddylover]

We did the River Wallace & Altun Ha tour through Carnival. Don't remember the cost, but it was the first week of May and hot, hot, hot! Once person in our group was really feeling bad due to the heat. We had plenty of water, but it really was miserable. And we live in Texas, so it's not like we aren't used to the heat.

 

We signed up for this excursion on our upcoming Magic cruise next week....got great reviews of both the rain forest trip up/down River Wallace and of the Altun Ha ruins. Hoping it is not as HOT when we go in a few weeks.

[whaletaillover]

We did the Xunantunich ruins tour and really enjoyed it.The tour last all day with close to a 2 hr bus ride there and back but on the way there the guides taliked about Belize and the ruins and really made it seem shorter than it was,on the way back a lot of us napped.The ruins were fantastic and you could climb the big pyramid and the view from the top was beautiful.The lunch was at a local restaurant and the meal was very good.A must is to try some of the hot sauces as they are WOW so good.You need to wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat(we were there in Oct.and it was very hot)also be sure and take some water with you to drink on the walk to the ruin site and at the site.There are some nice clean restrooms and a small shop there to buy something to drink as well as a few souveniers .

[Trishlo73]

We did Altun Ha and Xunitunich. They were both pretty much all day. Altun Ha was smaller, and going down was scary. Xunitunich was amazing and I'm not afraid of heights, but it is much higher and worth the climb. I have rheumatoid arthritis and I climbed both. Xunitunich was scary.

 

 

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[I Luv Crusin]

We signed up for this excursion on our upcoming Magic cruise next week....got great reviews of both the rain forest trip up/down River Wallace and of the Altun Ha ruins. Hoping it is not as HOT when we go in a few weeks.

 

How much was it?

[shermak1]

OP, I know you're curious about pricing. I just booked the Lamanai excursion for my upcoming cruise, and the cost was $116 per person. I think the others we looked at were $15-$20 less per person. Hope that helps with your budgeting!

Edited November 2, 2017 by shermak1
typos

[Homosassa]

Just a hint for anyone planning to take an excursion that involves transportation on boats.

 

Take at least one beach towel and leave it on the bus.

 

If you get caught in a tropical shower on the way back, you will be very glad to have the towel.

[bakersdozen12]

We just did the River Boat Safari and Lamanai Ruins excursion through Carnival two days ago and we LOVED it! Our tour guides, Edgar, Elmer and Eva (the “Triple-E’s”) were amazing and made it very memorable. Edgar in particular was so knowledgeable and gave us the most informative tour throughout the site. At this one, you can still climb the highest temple which was both scary and incredible at the same time. We never felt rushed.

 

There is some walking involved, and the “safari” is more of a speedboat ride through the river, not a tour of the river like I imagines it would be. The included lunch was pretty good. Definitely splurge for a pina colada at the bar. It was the best I’ve ever had in my life!

 

Another tip: book through Carnival and then price match to the Belize Cruise Excursion’s tour. I think their price is $75 pp, so we ended up with about $45 pp in OBC.

 

 

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[evandbob]

The 2 best Belize ruins tours are to Lamanai and Xanantunich. They are all day affairs and a lunch is included. Both sites are well excavated, and one can climb the tallest structures at each. As already noted, the Xanatunich ascent is not for the faint of heart, but it is well worth it for those who accomplish it. When I visited these 2, I was able to picture a Mayan town in action, as there are enough buildings and land space to foster that idea.

 

I also went to Altun Ha, and I enjoyed the limited conversations I had with the local artisans, as well as the return river trip. However, I found the ruins to be small, inexpertly patched up (I wouldn't call it restored) and to be truthful, fairly insignificant.

 

If someone has never visited any Mayan ruins, Altun Ha can serve as a very basic introduction to that culture. But to appreciate the interrelation of building science with counting time and the seasons, religious and political power and Mayan societal norms or to marvel at the ingenuity used to erect these cities, one should visit Lamani or Xanantunich from the Belize port.

[carrieluvsgreg]

We took the ruins tour on our very first cruise with Carnival back in 2003, so the price wouldn't help much now, I am sure. I am only chiming in here because I was a bit "underwhelmed" with the experience. I guess I expected to see some big temple like they had in the backdrop of Survivor once upon a time. Because we were "newbies" we booked the tour with Carnival so it was crowded. The boat ride was nice and we saw some manatees. The lunch was pretty cool too- authentic food cooked in a very basic kitchen. The ruins themselves were the part that I was most disappointed in. I was also shocked that they were reconstructing the ruins. I thought that kind of defeated the purpose of ruins.... if I wanted to see replicas, I could do that in an amusement park... but then again, one entire temple was covered with dirt and grass making it just a weird hill. I know now there are some really cool ruins out there, but the ones we experienced in Belize just did not give me the "wow" factor.

[evandbob]

Carrieloves Greg, you took the Altun Ha tour, I'm guessing? You described it better than I did, thanks.

[buddylover]

How much was it?

 

We booked thru CCL as this vendor has contract with CCL and won't allow 'private' bookings.....(but we mostly book independent when we can, but this tour got nice ratings). It was $85.99/adult, $69.99/child. You can find it under 'excursions' on your "Cruise Manager".

[Number12]

We're booked on the Lamanai excursion through Carnival. I found the excursion at Belize Cruise Excursions and tried to submit a claim form as Bakerdozen12 suggested but keep getting a message that says "the url you submitted is not in the correct form". I've tried several different versions, but none seem to work. Can you give me an example of what will be accepted? Thanks

[evandbob]

Wouldn't the URL be the web site of the Lamanai tour at Belize Cruise Excursions? I would just pull up the page where it gives the Lamanai particulars, such as length of tour, price, lunch, name of tour operator etc. and copy and paste that URL into Carnival's form.

 

Remember, everything has to be an exact match between the independent and Carnival's tour. I lost out one time because the independent tour was a 1/2 hour less than Carnival's, everything else was the same. Good luck submitting the form.

[Number12]

I removed the slash at the end of the url I copied from the website and it was accepted. Fingers crossed for the obc.

[jessykaw]

We did a ruins tour through the ship. I prefer using independent vendors at most ports, but for something like this I would not risk it. It took the whole day and we got back just in time to get onto the last tender back to the ship. At least with an excursion booked through Carnival, they won’t leave you behind if the tour runs over.

[dabear99211]

I'm curious of those who have sailed CARNIVAL and have taken a Ruins tour from Belize, what is the time and costs involved?

 

I think the last time I went we just did a beach day but my husband and sister are interested in seeing the ruins.

 

Thanks

 

I did the Altun Ha tour with a private cab driver that I hired off the pier, for myself and 2 others it was a great day and cheaper than it would have been for 3 people doing the ships excursion, and it ended with us buying him and us a late lunch at a local place when we got back to town.

[Number12]

Thank you Bakersdozen12 for the great tip. My request was accepted and we will be getting the obc. This is the kind of information that makes reading these boards so valuable.

[shelbydrinkyourjuice]

I removed the slash at the end of the url I copied from the website and it was accepted. Fingers crossed for the obc.

 

Hi! Wondering if your request was accepted? I submitted a price match request (providing a different private vendor) and was denied. Guest services said they could get us there 30 mintues faster, so it's not the same trip. Yet someone going on the exact same cruise, same excursion, submitting same private vendor as I did was accepted. So frustrating!

[travelchic3]

We also did the Carnival excursion river Wallace and Altun Ha ruins and it was great, did this one twice. On the river part saw manatee, crocodiles, monkeys etc . On the bus part we had two armed guards with us, so don't venture outside the port on your own.