Lamanai/river with 2 year old?

[AlyJa]

This excursion sounds like so much fun & my dh, 11 and 8 year old would love it. Am I crazy to bring a 2 year old? She is a great traveler - we just drove cross country with her, but I am more concerned with her safety (boat ride, bus, food, bugs) & her possibly annoying other people on the excursion. I would appriciate any advice.

[Toyz711]

we had a couple with a young boy. they had a back-pack carrier and he was great. we talked to them, on the way back, they were hikers and the young boy went everywhere with them. he was a great traveler. otherwise, we had no kids on that tour.

the boy was allowed out of the carrier when we paused at sites, his mom watched him, as dad climbed. you just need to be careful and not allow any running around. there are snakes in the area, you don't see them but our guide said she sees them every trip.

just remember, it's an hours drive to the boat launch area, restrooms are only so-so. then an hour boat ride to lamanai, restrooms are better at the rest stop. take your own toilet paper and germ wipes. (as well as bug spray). it's a mile hike around the site, over stone steps, tree roots and mud...it's very undeveloped, which is part of it's charm. it's not the normal tourist trap tour. more howler monkeys then tourists.

[World Gallery]

We did this tour years ago without our children. The big drawback for me would be the travel time. Like mentioned above, it is about a one hour bus drive, then another one hour boat ride so you are looking at a total of about 4 hours of travel time in one day. Personally, my kids would not have enjoyed that but each child is different. A two year old may do better than school age children if you bring them something to do, snacks to eat, etc. My children now, ages 9 - 15 probably would not like it because of the long trip to get there. Also, I remember the boat ride as not being very enjoyable. It was very fast and my eyes were totally dried out. I was completely wind blown. We didn't see any wildlife as described in the tour description. I guess there are pros and cons to every tour! On another note, we did a mayan ruins tour in Costa Maya with about a 30 min. bus ride only and my kids did enjoyed it. Not their favorite tour but it kept there attention and they learn new things.

[2112]

We felt that it would be too much for my 3.5 year old son so we left him on the ship. If your 2 year old at all gets anxious and wants to move around, don't bring her. My son is a very good traveller - we take him to museums and just about everywhere else, and drove 2,200 miles in 8 days with him last month, but just felt that he would have a hard time keeping still on the fast boat ride and didn't want to risk him annoying the other passengers. I think the recommended minimum age on this tour is 8 years old, and that sounds like a good recommendation to me.

[AlyJa]

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it. I think we will probably end up leaving her on the boat with my mom. Just hate to have my mom miss out on the excursion.

[Barbiegator]

Think thkis is a good idea. We loved the trip but long for a 2 year old.

[Deemuch]

This excursion sounds like so much fun & my dh, 11 and 8 year old would love it. Am I crazy to bring a 2 year old? She is a great traveler - we just drove cross country with her, but I am more concerned with her safety (boat ride, bus, food, bugs) & her possibly annoying other people on the excursion. I would appriciate any advice.

 

 

I would say it would depend on how you feel she would do? I personally have never considered NOT doing or going somewhere becuase of my children's ages. I have travelled with both my kids since they were 6 months of age, and they are teenagers now, and they have always done well with whatever situation we were in. We went to Chichen Itza, took a 8 hr bus ride there & back, my daughter was 18 months old, and the other 5 yrs old. Brought a fold up stroller along w/attached umbrella to use on the grounds, as i had read it was very very hot, and we had a great trip. Keeping them busy on the bus, having some snacks etc...and it was never a problem.

 

Again, not every child is the same, but I think the only person who can answer your question is you. You will know if you think you 2 yr old would be able to handle the trip. If it was me, I would say, go for it. I have also been on the Lamani Excursion, but my kids were 8 yrs & 11 yrs. They loved it. It did rain the day we were in Belize, so the boat ride was freezing because of the breeze...otherwise when the boat stopped it was nice... BUTwe got wet & we were cold. Recommend bringing jacket or sweater in case, and those cheap plastic raincoats. Ended up buying 4 of them for $5 or $6 each or more at site in one of the shops... at home they were .99 , so next time I would come more prepared. It was nice at all our other ports and even when we got off, I never thought it would rain...so it caught us off guard, and i didnt haul any extra's...( my fault ).

 

 

The grounds at Lamanai are a bit rough in the sense its like nature and not nice walking paths. We enjoyed it emensly, even though it was raining most of the time. In the jungle it was hot though...so it was nice..a bit muddy from the downpour, but we managed. If you dont have rain forcasted, then I would just bring a fold up stroller and this way she wouldnt have to walk all the time...

 

 

Make sure you climb to the top of the large ruin, its steep & high BUT SO WORTH the view of the whole river & rainforest,....breathtaking!!

 

My 8 yr old did not climb becuase it was too steep for her, so my husband stayed with her, while me & my 11 yr old did. It was so beautiful, I felt bad for him to not see it....so i rushed down to swap so he could have a turn...but the group started to leave & move on. So wish we had more time....but it definetly is worth the view.

 

anyways...good luck on whatever your decide..