Jungle River Tubing or Lamanai?

[hpjmom]

My hubby & I are going on an RCI cruise in September & are trying to decide between the Jungle River Tubing & Mayan Ruins OR the Lamanai & New River Safari. I've read a ton about Lamanai, but does anyone have any suggestions?

 

BTW--this is our first cruise. We are planning to do excursions from the ship, since we are newbies.

[cruiser620]

Welcome! You will LOVE cruising. I guarantee that after your first cruise you will start planning for your second! As veteran cruisers, we don't usually do a ship excursion because most of the time you can arrange something on your own that is better and less expensive. As you are a new cruiser, though, I recommend that you do stick with ship excursions (at least for your first cruise) so you will feel more comfortable as you learn how things work when you come into a port. When we were in Belize 2 years ago on the Explorer, we did choose to go on the ship's excursion to Lamanai, and we were very glad we did. It was a great tour and a good value for the cost. The trip along the river was very interesting. Our guide "Captain Chino" stopped along the shoreline several times to show us various plants and explain their medicinal purposes, and he also pointed out lots of wildlife like monkees, toucans, and even a tree covered with bats. It was very interesting and informative, and the boat ride was enjoyable. Upon arrival at Lamani we were served a lunch of traditional native foods which was quite good. The walk to the ruins also had many things to see. I remember our guide poking a stick into a hole and watching a tarantula come out. The Mayan ruins were also quite fascinating with giant carved faces. On the way back down the river to return to the ship, though, the motor on our boat quit. It made for some anxious moments as Captain Chino and his helper tried various things to get it started again. Everyone on the boat started to really worry since we were out in the middle of nowhere. He did finally get it started, but we were late getting back to the ship. This is the best argument for taking a ship sponsored excursion -- they won't leave without you!

 

No matter what you decided to do in Belize, I know you will have a wonderful time! These boards are a great source of information, and on next year's cruise you can find out everything you need to know about venturing out on your own. Have a great cruise! :D

[hpjmom]

Thanks for the reply! I've kinds of figured that anything we choose to do in Belize will be terrific. We considered the Aerial Trek & Cave Tubing, but we think that the ruins will give us a better feel for the country than ziplining.

[kmacht]

I highly reccomend the Lamani and New River Safari. We went on it last September and also had Captain Chino. It was the highlight of our trip. My wife and I are in our mid 20's and were looking for something to do in Belize that was different. My wife was 23 weeks pregnant at the time so some of the more adventrous tours were out of the question. This one seemed to fit perfectly. There is about a 30-40 minute bus ride to where you get on the boats. Our guide spent almost the entire time talking about Belize and its history which was very interesting. Once at the boat launch we were given a little time to use the restrooms if needed. There was also a woodcarver there that had some really cool carvings for fair prices. I do recomend bringing bug spray. They sold it at the boat launch but it was very expensive. We did not bring any so we just stood next to other people spraying it on themselves. It must have worked because we diddn't get bitten once. The boat tour was great. The group was split up into two seperate boats and each went at its own pace. We stopped many times along the river to look at various wildlife and plants. Captain Chino narrated the whole way up the river. He kept it informative but also injected some humor. It would be hard to be get bored on the boat ride. Once at the ruins we were given lunch. It was grilled chicken, some rice, bread, soda and some other good things that I can't remember. After lunch we started the tour of the ruins. There is a significant ammount of walking between the different ruins but we went at a slow enough pace that nobody had trouble keeping up. My wife being pregnant at the time of the tour had no problems except for getting over heated a little bit while climbing the large central ruin there. Along the walk our guide stopped frequently and talked about the different trees, found a baby boa and picked it up to show us, and coaxed a very large spider out of a hole in the ground. I am a little freaked out by spiders and snakes but did not feel at all uncomfortable during the tour. Our guide had to chase the snake way off the beaten path in order to catch it. If you stick to the paths and with the group there is very little chance you will encounter something unintentionally. Anyways, after the walking tour we headed back to the boats for a trip back. The ride back went quicker as we didn't stop as often but that was ok because we were all tired and the cool air blowing in the boat was a nice relief from the heat. We made it back to the ship about an hour before we were scheduled to leave. I would highly reccomend this tour if you are looking for something different than just the standard ziplining or snorkle tours that seem to be at every port now. I would definatly suggest you book it through the ship if possible as it is a full days tour without a whole lot of time to spare. If something went wrong such as the bus breaking down or the boat not working I would want that safety net knowing that the cruise ship would wait to leave port until we were back on it. Hope this helps.

 

Keith

 

P.S. Look through the old posts on Lamani. There used to be one posted that had a link to a video. The video was one that a cruiser made and it shows all the highlights from the tour.

[hpjmom]

Thanks, Keith! That's exactly what we are looking for. We really wanted to get a feel for the country & see the country. I think the boat tour will be more informative than the river tubing. We booked the Lamanai excursion yesterday. I can't wait!