Altun Ha vs. Xunantunich ruins

[allshouse15]

I'm a first time cruiser, going at the end of November on Carnival Miracle. After reading lots of reviews on here about some of the excursions, there are 2 that stuck out the most for port in Belize. The Altun Ha ruins and the Xunantunich ruins. I'm wondering which is the better trip? My boyfriend and I are interested in seeing the best for our buck, so I want it to be a memorable excursion. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!:)

[crewsweeper]

Here are a some threads from this board that may help you see what others have chosen.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1003602

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1074358

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1074455

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1069727

 

Choices boil down to go by river or by bus? All day or just most of the day? Either site is interesting if you've never seen Mayan ruins before.

 

We did Xunantunich because DW wanted to see the tallest structures and didn't want to battle the mosquitos on the river. But height of the tallest temple was her main criteria. The view was awesome. Others though seem to enjoy the river trip to Altun Ha. And private excursion there have good reps and are very cheaper than ship. Time and delays are always a concern on these excursions regardless of which oen you choose.

[jollycruise]

You can ago see Altun Ha without the river trip. We had an excursion through NCL that ended up being cancelled and we had no idea what we were going to do once we got ashore. Once you get off the tender there are a ton of tour companies offering tours. We wanted one but did not want to be on a bus or a minivan full of people. We found a great tour guide that gave us a private tour of Altun Ha. We left early and got to the ruins before all the buses had arrived, so we were able to get pictures before people were climbing all over the ruins. Our tour guide was great and gave us so much much information about the area. He even walked us into the rainforest and told us all about the animals, plants and so much more! I cant tell you which one to go see since we have only been to ALtun Ha. Have fun and enjoy your trip to Belize!

[2112]

In my opinion, Xunantunich is much more interesting and impressive. It is a much longer trip though. Here are some photos I took from both of them:

 

Xunantunich: http://www.pbase.com/2112/xunantunich

 

Altun Ha: http://www.pbase.com/2112/altun_ha

[StingRaysfan]

I have been to both... although it's been awhile (96 and 97). The first one I went to was Xunantunich. I was VERY impressed with it... climbing to the top of the large ruin was an awesome experience, and it is a memorable day. The following year I went to Altun Ha... and was a bit less impressed. Little stood out to me, and although it was still interesting it wasn't ruined for me with my experience at Xunantunich. I definately recommend Xunantunich over Altun Ha, even with a longer drive....