Independant Altun Ha tour questions

[novalab]

Its been ages since I have been on Cruise Critic.  Boy has the format changed!  I have a question about independent tours to Altun Ha.

I have some dear friends that are cruising the Caribbean for the first time.  They would like to see Mayan ruins so I recommended a

private tour to Altun Ha to them.  It has been several years since I have been to Belize.  We used a private tour company on our

last trip.  I'm out of the loop as it has been quite a few years ago.

Does anyone here have a recommendation as to a reputable tour company specializing in Altun Ha that I can foreward on to them?

A link or website address.  Hopefully that is still ok on CC?  

Many THANKS for any help or advice!!

Judy 

[ArmchairQB]

On 5/13/2019 at 2:17 PM, novalab said:

Its been ages since I have been on Cruise Critic.  Boy has the format changed!  I have a question about independent tours to Altun Ha.

I have some dear friends that are cruising the Caribbean for the first time.  They would like to see Mayan ruins so I recommended a

private tour to Altun Ha to them.  It has been several years since I have been to Belize.  We used a private tour company on our

last trip.  I'm out of the loop as it has been quite a few years ago.

Does anyone here have a recommendation as to a reputable tour company specializing in Altun Ha that I can foreward on to them?

A link or website address.  Hopefully that is still ok on CC?  

Many THANKS for any help or advice!!

Judy 

We booked with the following in early May, although the tour was with Ecotours.

 

https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com

 

The Belize City tour part is really just the drive out and in of the city.  The site tour was fairly good.  The transportation was very good.  One of those airport car rental buses.  Not crowded and the guide was interesting.  There is a quick stop to try some local exotic wine (e.g. cashew).

 

Most of the excursion is travel.  We spent about an hour at the site and climbed 2 structures. (from the side)

 

There is a cantina at the site, along with a number of local vendors.  We stopped at the cantina and had a snack and some beer before leaving.

[novalab]

Thank you!  I sent your information on to my friends.  You were very helpful! Much appreciated.🐈

[TMR2]

https://belizecruiseexcursions.com/ is amazing. We have used them for both Altun Ha and Lamanai Mayan ruins tours in Belize. 

[BarbinMich]

I realize you asked about private tours, but I wanted to mention that I was quite pleased with the ship's tour to that site (Caribbean Princess)--pretty sure a guide was included.  And I/we rarely do ship tours, especially in Europe, but we have done them in the Caribbean because it's usually to go snorkeling.   Finally, it's important to point out that Belize is a tender port with the ships anchored pretty far out so when arranging a private tour one needs to take the time the tendering takes.  Perhaps others who have done private tours there have helpful advice re this issue.

Edited June 5, 2019 by BarbinMich

[bstel]

We just did Altun Ha back in May.  We used King David with www.AlTourNativeBelizeServices.com.  Great tour.  We did the Altun Ha and Howler Monkey Preserve.  We did a private tour for just me and the wife so it was $115 per person, but felt it was well worth it.  Just the 2 of us and a driver.  He highly recommended being the first off the boat (tender port) and we snuck on one of the early boats and met our guide and were on our way within 10 minutes of hitting land (whereas everyone else is standing in lines waiting for the large groups).  We were literally the first people to Altun Ha so we got to have the entire place to ourselves for the first hour before another private guide showed up with a small group.  We were standing on the last pyramid when all the large groups starting arriving.  So we got all our pictures of the site and ourselves with no random people in them.

 

Then we headed to the local howler monkey preserve, that was great to go out and see wild monkeys.  The preserve is literally locally community run.  They take you to one area where the wild monkeys are a little more used to humans, but they are wild and not fed by humans or anything.  Got real lucky and the troop of monkeys was hanging out in someones back yard and got to feed the monkeys and have them sit on my shoulder.  Much different than caged monkeys.

 

Also had a stop at a local restaurant for an included lunch of chicken, rice and beans.  Excellent.

[teknoge3k]

On 6/7/2019 at 2:02 PM, bstel said:

We just did Altun Ha back in May.  We used King David with www.AlTourNativeBelizeServices.com.  Great tour.  We did the Altun Ha and Howler Monkey Preserve.  We did a private tour for just me and the wife so it was $115 per person, but felt it was well worth it.  Just the 2 of us and a driver.  He highly recommended being the first off the boat (tender port) and we snuck on one of the early boats and met our guide and were on our way within 10 minutes of hitting land (whereas everyone else is standing in lines waiting for the large groups).  We were literally the first people to Altun Ha so we got to have the entire place to ourselves for the first hour before another private guide showed up with a small group.  We were standing on the last pyramid when all the large groups starting arriving.  So we got all our pictures of the site and ourselves with no random people in them.

 

Then we headed to the local howler monkey preserve, that was great to go out and see wild monkeys.  The preserve is literally locally community run.  They take you to one area where the wild monkeys are a little more used to humans, but they are wild and not fed by humans or anything.  Got real lucky and the troop of monkeys was hanging out in someones back yard and got to feed the monkeys and have them sit on my shoulder.  Much different than caged monkeys.

 

Also had a stop at a local restaurant for an included lunch of chicken, rice and beans.  Excellent.

 

Another vote for David Castillo. He's wonderful!!!