Anyone done the Lamanai tour in Belize with children?

[Mom2B&Z]

Before you tell me I'm crazy (!), I have our family booked into NCL's Lamanai tour for our stop in Belize. The kids love pyramids, the boat ride sounds like an adventure in and of itself, and I'm not at all concerned about the 2x2hr bus/boat rides.

I realize that this tour is not aimed at children, although there are no age limits on the tour.

I would like to hear from someone who has done this or a similar tour with children in the 4-6 yr old range.

TIA

(PS Mods, I posted here because I want a family-oriented review, I've already read the ones on the Belize forum ;))

[bus man]

I've done this tour, but not with children. But my oldest is almost 5, so I can envision what it would have been like to have him along.

 

Obviously, you know your kids, so you'll have to decide how they'd do on a one-hour bus ride up, and a one-hour bus ride back, with not much in the way of scenery. And there's the boat ride, again one hour in each direction, on which you are looking at trees and river banks and not much else the entire way. Note that there are no restroom facilities on the boat, and I don't recall there being any on the bus, though I could be wrong about that. There are bathrooms at the place where you transfer between the bus and the boat, and again at the place where the boat lets you off, at the entrance to the ruins.

 

As for the ruins themselves, it's a good deal of walking, though it's on fairly level terrain. Don't be surprised if your kids want you to carry them for at least part of the way. The guides will warn you about looking down and not stepping on the red ants, and I would definitely drill this into your kids' heads; apparently, the ants' bite is pretty nasty. There are also lots of howler monkeys in the trees, and though they're not going to attack you or anything, their loud, shrieking cries could be unnerving to younger kids.

 

The steps on the temples are steep, and yes, you're allowed to climb them; but at the ages of your kids, I wouldn't let them go up too high. Climbing up is not the problem; coming back down is! :eek:

 

Having said all that, Lamanai is an amazing place; my favorite of the three Mayan ruins I've visited thus far. It's an experience unlike anything they've ever done, unless they've seen other Mayan ruins; and even then, it's not the same. (Lamanai has a jungle-y, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" feeling to it.) If you aren't used to physical exertion, my advice would be to take your kids on a walk in the woods for two hours, and see how they do. But if they can handle it, and if you think they'd do OK with the bus and boat ride, then go for it!

[Mom2B&Z]

This is exactly the type of advice I was hoping to receive. I think your suggestion of going for a hike is a great plan, we will try it out this summer when camping so the weather is similar to Belize. Of course, so will the bugs, just not red biting ants ;)