Altun Ha ruins - what level of fitness is required?

[cruizinnj]

My mother in law would like to see the ruins on our upcoming cruise, but she is not in that good of shape, has a bad leg, and has difficulty walking on an incline. Will she be able to do this excursion? Please let me know how good of shape you should be in to take a tour to the ruins. Thank you!

[crewsweeper]

There are several videos on You Tube that'll give you an idea of the terrain. Here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vst0vgDnfr4&feature=related

[CasinoQueen]

I contacted Belizecruiseexcursions dot com and they explained it to me. We are looking at Altun Ha, Lamanai or Xanantunich. We are consider a ship excurison or one with Belizecruise excursions. Lamanai has a large hill/incline that you have to go up in order to access the ruins area. Xanantunich is a large site that requires walking and some stairs. Where you enter the site there are stairs that bring you up to the main area 10+ stairs and throughout the site there are stairs taking you from structure to structure but smaller groupings. Altun Ha has no stairs that you have to climb and is the best for small children and older adults.

[cruizinnj]

Thank you both for your responses. They were very helpful!

[jollycruise]

Altun Ha has ruins you can climb up but it is up to you if you want to. The rest is pretty flatfooted area to look around the ruins. There is a slight incline walking to the ruins but it is very slight. The biggest thing for us was the heat and humidity.

[fuzzywuzzy]

There are several videos on You Tube that'll give you an idea of the terrain. Here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vst0vgDnfr4&feature=related

 

 

Wow, youtube has some amazing videos of a number of the excursions for a good overview. This has helped make up our minds as to what excursion to book on our Belize port of call. We were trying to decide between the airboat adventure or the Altun Ha and Belize City tour from the HAL cruise next month.

[margincall]

My dw and I went to Altun Ha 2 years ago(wow is it that long ago?)

anyway--the terrain is flat-and they give you a chance to catch your breath-we both have athritis-i in the leg-her badly in the knees-she had to sit at times but you can on rocks and steps--it was no problem for us--i started to climb but halfway up gave up-but the walking around should be fine

[hillside]

We're going to Altun Ha on a HAL trip. What would you consider appropriate attire? We'll have sun hats, sunscreen and a tropicwear shirt that is wicking. Would you wear long pants or shorts? :)

[fuzzywuzzy]

We're going to Altun Ha on a HAL trip. What would you consider appropriate attire? We'll have sun hats, sunscreen and a tropicwear shirt that is wicking. Would you wear long pants or shorts? :)

 

Good question. I think because it might be very hot and humid? that I will wear capri pants and a cool top, hat, walking shoes. I have heard that you need to take good mosquito spray/bug repellant because this is a malaria prone destination. We just went to our local blood donor clinic to donate blood today and they told us that after visiting Belize, if you go beyond the city, that we cannot donate blood for a year after because of the malaria concerns. Yikes.

[GTJ]

We're going to Altun Ha on a HAL trip. What would you consider appropriate attire? We'll have sun hats, sunscreen and a tropicwear shirt that is wicking. Would you wear long pants or shorts? :)

 

A good start. Wear a long-sleeve shirt and long pants to minimize opportunities for insects. Orvis has some nice light-weight long-sleeve shirts that have worked well for me. Use insect repellent. I use picaradin (15 percent) on the skin, and permethrin on the clothing. Use good shoes that provide some support while walking or climbing (not necessarily hiking boots, but certainly not flip-flops). Visit your doctor to see if he or she recommends malaria phophylaxis.

 

Clothing http://www.orvis.com

Picaradin http://www.cutterinsectrepellent.com

Permethrin http://www.sawyerproducts.com

[STARFISH*4]

finally...i found this THREAD again i knew i read about some EXCELLENT info on these ruins.....THANKS for the input...this all helped me decide on this tour thru NCL ......THANKS AGAIN:)

[jollycruise]

We're going to Altun Ha on a HAL trip. What would you consider appropriate attire? We'll have sun hats, sunscreen and a tropicwear shirt that is wicking. Would you wear long pants or shorts? :)

 

We were there in November and boy was it hot and humid! I was in a small spaghetti strap tank and shorts. I have never had so much boob sweat in my life! Lol :D. If I could have worn less clothes I would have. I almost wore capris that day and boy was I glad I didn't. We did have bug spray on and we didn't have any problems with the bugs at all. I have never been so happy to take a ice cold shower when we got back to the ship.

 

Happy sailing!