Altun Ha/River Wallace with young kids?

[supercrunch]

We will be in Belize in November and are considering the Altun Ha/River Wallace excursion.

 

We have an 8 year old and a 5 year old, and when asked about it, they seemed really interested, but I keep seeing posts warning that kids can be bored on this excursion.

 

Has anyone had an experience with young kids enjoying themselves on this excursion?

 

Our 5 year old son is a big Indiana Jones fan, so I think that is what fuels his interest...and our 8 year old daughter is the type that just has a love of learning about anything and everything she can.

 

I am guessing it would be quite hot and we would need sunscreen, hats, and bug spray.

Any reports on the restroom situation?

Are there facilities before getting on the boat or bus?

 

Thanks for your help!

[GTJ]

Altun-Ha is a small, but nonetheless quite interesting, Mayan ruin site. It is hard to say if they'll get bored; I imagine some of that will depend on how your guide leads you all. Nonetheless, the site is such that you should be able to leave your guide and climb the ruins with the kids on your own (just check with your guide where and when you should met up). There are vendors and restrooms near the entrance. Overall the development of the area is not much different from going to a county park in the United States.

 

Take sunscreen, hats, and bug spray. Wear long sleeve shirts and long pants (I found some very nice lightweight long sleve shirts at Orvis). When we were there it appeared as though some of the others on our excursion had decided to go there at the last moment, and did not consider that they would be in the jungle. Needless to say the young woman in a short dress, flip-flops, and no bug spray was constantly swatting and probably received mosquito bites where no woman would ever want to get them.

[geochick73]

My daughter was 5 when we took that excursion. She said that Belize was her favorite port of the entire cruise. She liked the ruins (esp. climing to the top) and she really loved the River Wallace trip...seeing the crocodiles, bats, monkeys, iguanas, etc. It was really hot that day, so definitely bring sunscreen & hats (and bug spray).