Altun Ha and The Olde Belize River Tour

[canuckcruiselover]

Would love to hear from anyone who has been on this tour and if it was good. Also, where do they stop for lunch? We'll be on the Mariner soon and we're thinking of doing this tour.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Would love to hear from anyone who has been on this tour and if it was good. Also, where do they stop for lunch? We'll be on the Mariner soon and we're thinking of doing this tour.

 

They will prob move this to the ports of call board since that's where this goes.

 

I did this one and also the Lumania one.

 

Personally, I thought the ruins at Lumania MUCH better!

 

Both have a river tour with lots of wild life.

 

shoot me at e-mail aeryn_s_crichton @ yahoo and I will send you a link to my snap fish photos of the Lumania tour if you want. I don't have any for the olde river as I did that one a couple years ago, the Luamani I just did back in April.

 

Meg

[CGBCruiser]

We did the Old Belize River tour and the Belize Zoo. The river tour was too long and too hot...25 miles up the river. After that we stopped at a hole in the wall place on the river and they fed us lunch. A chicken thigh and some rice and beans w/a soft drink. You will be doing this same routine. When the people from Altun Ha got off the bus to eat their lunch, we got on to go to the Zoo. Anyway, we were gone for 7 hours, most of that trip going down the river and waiting on the bus at the Old Belize River tavern. No way would I do both of those on the same day again.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

We did the Old Belize River tour and the Belize Zoo. The river tour was too long and too hot...25 miles up the river. After that we stopped at a hole in the wall place on the river and they fed us lunch. A chicken thigh and some rice and beans w/a soft drink. You will be doing this same routine. When the people from Altun Ha got off the bus to eat their lunch, we got on to go to the Zoo. Anyway, we were gone for 7 hours, most of that trip going down the river and waiting on the bus at the Old Belize River tavern. No way would I do both of those on the same day again.

 

I forgot about that.

 

I think the Lumanai tour has a better boat and it's fast (except when they stop to see a creature) The lunch was also better- still chicken and rice and beans but bread and salads and some dessert of some sort. It's a 7 1/2 tour, the whole time basically. A bus ride a long way, then bathroom break and cookies and drink and you board boat. Then it's about 45 min as they stop and show you wildlife, then off boat and tour the ruins (bathroom break/shopping before and after- not long though) then a fast boat ride back-lunch, bathroom and back on bus. I liked it better- though word to the wise- if you have low blood sugar like me- pick up some chips or crackers as it's a long time before lunch and some hiking.

[digital_curator]

We also did the Lamanai River/Ruins tour and LOVED it. I am an archaeologist and asked a colleague which site he would recommend (he used to work in Belize) and he suggested Lamanai.

 

It did take the whole day. We were on the bus for about 1/2 hour, then at the river's edge long enough to go to the bathroom/buy a drink/look at the crafts being sold before getting on the boat.

 

I wasn't looking forward to the boat trip (my husband wanted this part, I just wanted to see the ruins) but it was amazing- we saw dozens of types of birds, aligators, bats, etc. They would slow the boat down so that we could get excellent shots.

 

When we arrived, we had lunch. It was excellent and made by local women- chicken, rice and beans, guacamole, salads, dessert and water/local pop.

 

We had time to look at the museum before our guided tour. Our guide spoke excellent English and really knew his stuff. We had lots of time to climb the buildings and got to see monkeys in the jungle.

 

It was hot and humid and we covered a lot of ground, so make sure you are up for a hike. When we were done, we had time to look at the little shops on the property.

 

The boatride back was QUICK- they really speed.

 

Do take the ship's tour. One of our boats broke down and we got back just before the ship was scheduled to leave.

 

I know this isn't Altun Ha, but I would recommend this tour if it is available to you. Only ship's tour we have ever taken (I'm big on independent tours) but it was one of my favourite in 5 cruises.

 

Cheers,

[satxdiver]

We did the Altun Ha and boat trip several years ago and enjoyed it. The Mayan ruins are close to Belize City so the bus ride was fairly short. I did like the ruins but it is small. I have been in larger ones. The bus then took us to board the boat. There was a snack shop there where you could buy drinks and some food. Some locals had set up shop there selling their wares similar to what we saw at the ruins. The boat ride was in an open boat of course so we had complete views of the river. We saw crocs, iguana, monkeys, birds and other nice animals. The captain would stop, maneuver as close as possible and point out the animals giving us time for pictures. Belize is hot and humid and you are on the river so plan accordingly. Wear loose fitting clothes, hat and use sunscreen. Bring your own water and have fun. We did enjoy the excursion and recommend it.