Xunantunich or Altun Ha

[Mel]

My husband and I and our adult daughters are going to be in Belize at Christmastime on the Carnival Miracle and are trying to decide which shore excursion to take. We would all like to see the Mayan ruins but don't know whether to go to Xunantunich or Altun Ha. Which are the most spectacular ruins? We have all been to Tulum - - how would they compare to that? My husband is also undecided as he would like to go scuba diving there as he has heard that Belize is the best place in the Caribbean to do this - - any comments from scuba afficionadoes? We will also be in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya if anyone has gone scuba diving there and has any recommendations. Any help regarding whether to use the Carnival excursions or local tour operators would be much appreciated.

[D4]

We were on the Miracle in June. We also love Mayan ruins. We had already been to Tulum twice and Altun Ha once, so this time we planned on Xunantunich and Chacchoben (Costa Maya).

 

However, DH ended up in the hospital less than a month before the cruise and we needed to scale back our plans to do less walking. So we went to Altun Ha instead of Xunantunich (which I think would have been more spectacular.)

 

Out of all those, I loved the Chacchoben ruins in Costa Maya the most. (Booked through David and Ivan.) They had an 'Indiana Jones' feel to them since they are in a rain forest. When you walk into Tulum you see everything in the distance. At Chacchoben, you keep discovering huge ruins you didn't see until you were close to them. They (and Altun Ha) weren't discovered until the 1950's or 1960's so there are still a lot of unexcavated ruins.

[tankersbabe]

We loved Xunantunich last year...it was a great tour!

 

You can climb the ruins here and see over into Guatamala from the top.

 

There are a few reviews on this board about them...one by me.

 

Have fun!

[2112]

I have been to both Altun Ha and Xunantunch, and I have been diving in Belize as well. Xunantunich is much more interesting than Altun Ha. Much of Altun Ha is under tarps for protection during restoration work, which makes it all a bit of a letdown. Xunantunich has a much larger structure and from the top you can see all the way into Guatemala. As for diving, Belize has some great diving. Unfortunately, you will not get to the good diving on a cruise ship stop. The great diving is out at Lighthouse Reef (about a 3 hour boat ride each way from the port). For experienced divers, the diving around Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker is nothing to write home about. The diving in Cozumel will be much better. If you are interested is seeing my Belize photos, check them out at http://www.pbase.com/2112

[Thoth]

Earlier this year I did Xunantunich and it was a wonderful trip. At the same time I heard good things about Altun Ha. Both seem to be worthwhile.

One thing that I liked about Xunantunich was that it's across the country near the Guatemala border, so the tour includes a look at the "real" Belize and a glimpse at how the people live. That tour was cultural as well as historical.

At the Xunantunich site you cross the Mopan River via hand cranked ferry and at the ferry ford is natives who sell handcrafted items. I purchased some hand carved slate tablets depicting the Mayan deities which look quit nice on my wall. The main temple at Xunantunich is perhaps still the tallest structure in Belize and I climbed to the top for a wonderful view. All in all this site is not as good as Uxmal in Mexico but is much better that Tulum, but the main temple compares well with any Mayan structure including the fine one at Uxmal.