Mayan Ruins - Spirit

[AuTiger7]

We will be cruising on the Norwegian Spirit in a few weeks and I was wondering which port has the best tour for mayan ruins? Please help.

[dfwguy62]

We will be cruising on the Norwegian Spirit in a few weeks and I was wondering which port has the best tour for mayan ruins? Please help.

 

I would check out the individual Ports of Call boards at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

 

But I just did this cruise in January and did Mayan ruin excursions at all 4 ports. I chose to do all of them through NCL since I some of them were long days and included quite a trek from the port. I was also lazy and didn't feel like coordinating this trip. My personal favorite was probably the Lamanai and New River trip in Belize. It was a great boat ride and then the ruins were very cool in the middle of the jungle and you can climb to the top of the large temple. My second favorite was Chacchoben in Costa Maya. This ruin has been cleared a little more than Lamanai and is very maintained and beautiful. Finally, Tulum out of Cozumel was also very, very cool with its seaside location and views. My least favorite was Quigua in Quatemala, but it was not bad at all. Just probably not as interesting of a trip for me personally. But I would still recommend it to someone who is interested.

[CRUZIN TOM]

Now I really enjoyed the ruins at Quigula in Guatemala. About an hour drivce from the port. Telum out of Cozumel, about 90-120 minutes ride. Very nice. :)

[tb37]

i expected more out of chachoben, maybe ruins just aren't my speed. thought the bus ride was nice with the tour lady telling of the area.

[aray]

my brother did the Chacchoben ruins with David and Ivan (a private tour - thenativechoice.com) and said it was unbelievably cool. This tour company has received rave reviews all over these boards. We booked our family of 6 with them. It is a 4 hour excursion so no risk in being late. In Belize, the Lamania tour got great reviews as well but everyone said to book through NCL bc it is very long and just in case you are late, NCL will not leave since it is an NCL booked excursion (hoping not to be late and test this theory). Again, booked this excursion for my family of 6. I know I am a newbie poster, but hope the info helps.

 

just about 21 days to go.....can't wait!

[Don Haynes]

Lamanai in Belize has a fast boat ride to get to the ruins, as they cannot be reached by bus. I enjoyed this ruin site the most.

[aray]

We will be cruising on the Norwegian Spirit in a few weeks and I was wondering which port has the best tour for mayan ruins? Please help.

Hey AUTiger7 we are on the same sailing and have kids the same age (I have 2 14yr. olds - saw it on our roll call board). Let me know if you decide to do the Native Choice tour in Costa Maya and/or the Lamania trip in Belize.

[mellygo]

I have also used "the Native Choice" David Villagomez was very well informed, cheaper than the ship's tour, and a Mayan, so we felt that he truly had incredible knowledge of the ruin!

[coffeecat]

Another vote for Lamanai! Did this through NCL last April on the Pearl (I personally would not book this one through a local operator because of the travel involved...tender, bus ride, boat ride then in reverse). It was a long day but completely amazing. The time at the ruins is short but, because it is far away, there were very few people there. Someone else on this board said this first but since it was true for me I thought I would post it again - you will feel like Indiana Jones on this excursion!

 

Have a great trip and let us know what you pick.

 

Coffeecat

 

Edit: Also did Tulum (cozumel but tender to mainland). It was beautiful, amazing ocean views with time to hit the beach. More crowded. Lamanai, in comparison was an adventure. As someone pointed out previously, they let you climb to the top of a pyramid at Lamanai...which may not be allowed forever...just something to think about. Both were through NCL and both were great.