Tulum, Altun Ha or Xunantunich (which ruin is best?)

[Bekachan]

Hello all. I am new to cruiscritic and have a question. My huband and I are going on a cruise next week that stops in Cozumel and Belize. We would like to go on 1 tour to see ruins but I am having a hard time figuring out which is the best. Any recommendations? Thanks so much!

[jcjky]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=461739

[DonMar]

I have been to all of them and I would say Xanantunich mayan ruins tour is better then Tulum and you can climb the main temple. Lamanai was amazing too

 

I second Lamanai!

[driftwood]

. . . or your cruiseline offers the tour, you will see wonders at Xunantunich: but it is "inland far," beyond Belmopan near San Ignacio, and makes for quite a day--but one to treasure for a lifetime. The adventure "Lamanai and New River Cruise" is extremely popular with tourists and tour operators alike--some have described it as a sort of "Indiana Jones" experience, although perhaps missing the rolling ball and the usual defying of death. Altun Ha is described as a "well manicured park" by the Belize Tourism Industry Association, and is perhaps the easiest to get to from Belize City--probably quite safe for a "short" tour day, or for those who feel not quite up to much exercise.

 

All three are significant ruins of Mayan civilization, and if you would like an excellent and beautifully illustrated paperback book about Mayan ruins and civilization in Belize, you can order Dr. Jaime Awe's Maya Cities and Sacred Caves: A Guide to the Maya Sites of Belize, 2nd. edition January 2007, for $20 US, from Cubola Productions, 35 Elizabeth Street, Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize, Central America (or on the Internet at http://www.cubola.com email to Cubola Productions cubolabz@btl.net). I have a copy myself that I bought "sight unseen," but I wish I had ordered a half dozen or so as gifts for friends, as it is really first-class! It is true that mail from Belize to the United States is not the best, taking up to a month for delivery--my copy took three weeks to arrive.

[mmacdcc]

We'll be there in Jan - so far it's between Lamanai and Xunantunich. Since we'll only have time to do one of them, which would be your choice and why?

 

Both of us are in relatively decent physical shape (don't run marathons or anything like that, but walking for an hour isn't a challenge). I'm not crazy about heights, but I can climb things if I have to (or really want to).

 

For those that have been to both, what are the differences, and which did you prefer?

[saraisarai]

Did you stop for lunch or have a sack lunch?

[mafig]

Its been a while for Xanantunich, we were there years ago. But here goes. I think the ruins are a little more impressive and more to see then in Lamanai but it was longer by van. I have never seen larger iguanas then the ones by the hand drawn ferry that went across to the site ( is it still there? ).

 

 

 

 

 

We were there last week and the iguana (boy is he big) is still there.:eek:

[Toyz711]

yes, you can still climb the one temple at lamanai. the howler monkeys were all over the place (up in the trees). saw baby crocs, iguana, jacuana birds, a "night owl" (don't know what it really it). we didn't see as many wildlife as some have, put it's still a interesting boat ride. the ride back is fun...WHEEE! only had 1 other tour, it was before us...saw a couple of small private tours of 4 people or less.

we had this kid with us, i thought he was with the boat driver. but he follows our guide, helped a few over the uneven path..i think he was our protector /security officer to protect the group from wildlife? he is a sweet kid, when one person started having trouble climbing the temple, he ran up the stairs to help the person and stayed with him until he got down.

we were on the NCL spirit 12/2 to 12/9, this year.

[dsnyfan62]

We are just back from our cruise (12/17 NOS) We did Xunantunich and had a wonderful experience. The almost two hour drive goes by quickly, we heard a lot about the country and the area we were going through. The ferry was really neat but the van ride to the parking area of the visitor center has something else. The driver must have been trying to take flight and on wet roads at that. The ruins are fantastic, if I figure out how I can post some pics. We made it to the top and back down (going down is much harder). Lunch was nice and we had about 15 minutes to shop before tendering back to the ship.