Belize Mayan Ruins with young children - your thoughts please

[Momarazzi]

Hi All,

We will be cruising on RCL Navigator in a few weeks. We are wondering about doing the Mayan Ruins by bus, but are concerned about toddlers in our group.

Our concerns are:

1. The tender seems especially long - 45 minutes. I am concerned about antsy toddlers and our fellow passengers for such a long boat trip. Also concerned about appropriately sized life jackets.

2. The bus trip seems long and we have the same concerns regarding comfort of fellow travelers.

3. Overall, the day seems better enjoyed by those who can explore and have a memory of the experience.

Our family is still discussing this - no one really wants to be left behind, but we are wanting advice from those who have done this tour before.

Should we go with toddlers, or have someone keep them on the ship.

Thanks in advance!

[notentirelynormal]

Hi All,

We will be cruising on RCL Navigator in a few weeks. We are wondering about doing the Mayan Ruins by bus, but are concerned about toddlers in our group.

Our concerns are:

1. The tender seems especially long - 45 minutes. I am concerned about antsy toddlers and our fellow passengers for such a long boat trip. Also concerned about appropriately sized life jackets.

2. The bus trip seems long and we have the same concerns regarding comfort of fellow travelers.

3. Overall, the day seems better enjoyed by those who can explore and have a memory of the experience.

Our family is still discussing this - no one really wants to be left behind, but we are wanting advice from those who have done this tour before.

Should we go with toddlers, or have someone keep them on the ship.

Thanks in advance!

 

I haven't done the Belize ruins but I have done the one in Mexico. I can tell you that is was a long day. A long ride both ways and it was HOT. Really really hot and tiring. The tender ride will be fine. Kids like that but for the rest of the day I think they will get nothing out of it and so will be cranky, wrecking everyone's day. If you have someone you can leave with the kids on board, that is the way I'd go. Remember the ruins are a bunch of rocks. That's what a toddler will see - rocks. Not history and what the building used to look like. I cruise with my kids and now my grandkids so I'm very toddler friendly. We took a long ride with my then 2 YO DGS in Australia. I ended up taking him into the bathroom to calm him down because I didn't want his crying to bother others. It was not happiness.

Edited December 3, 2013 by notentirelynormal
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[Kerry's Girls]

If there is a group of you, can you hire a private tour? My girls have done great on long tours, but we always go privately so they can have their electronics, snacks, etc., and I don't have to stress that they're bothering others. A private tour is often about the same cost or less than the ship tour depending on how many you have with you. Then you can also go at your own pace, etc.

 

I'm in favor of taking kids most everywhere, but at the same time, my rule for success is to have reasonable expectations of them - and being well-behaved for extended periods of time confined on a bus or tender is not a reasonable expectation for most toddlers. I would leave them in the kids club.

 

Best,

Mia

[russianmom]

I took my son to Altun Ha the week he turned 5. This is my experience only. The tender ride was no where near 45 min. He enjoyed it immensely. The bus was hot but not as bumpy as others described. No judging but he had a giant lollipop and his iPod for the ride so I could hear/enjoy the guide.

 

He loved walking around, exploring and enjoyed when the guide played Mayan music.

 

The whole trip was only 4-5 hours and we were back on board for a late lunch.

 

My son has travelled extensively though so that is a factor.

[Mom2B&Z]

We went to Lamanai with our boys when they were 6&4 yrs. This is the longest tour you can take to ruins in Belize, it was at least 7 hrs. Our boys loved the excursion even though many (all?) people on cc warned me not to do it. They did well for a few reasons, opt hey are used to being in a vehicle for an our at a time to and from a place, they are used to being on boats, and they love history. The bus trip to the ruins was long but doable. The boat trip to the ruins is just over an hour, but that's because they are looking for and stopping to see wildlife along the way. The ruins themselves are not stroller friendly, so you need to either carry them in a carrier or they walk. My youngest fell asleep on the boat ride back :). You don't eat lunch until after you've toured the ruins, which was 1:30pm iirc. We brought prepackaged snacks for our boys, although bottled water was provided.

Would I do this with toddlers? Probably not, mainly because of the late lunch factor and need to carry them most of the tour. But I would do it again with my boys at that age, they both have surprisingly vivid memories of this excursion and we love looking back at the photos :)

[Gardeneroflove]

Hi All,

We will be cruising on RCL Navigator in a few weeks. We are wondering about doing the Mayan Ruins by bus, but are concerned about toddlers in our group.

Our concerns are:

1. The tender seems especially long - 45 minutes. I am concerned about antsy toddlers and our fellow passengers for such a long boat trip. Also concerned about appropriately sized life jackets.

2. The bus trip seems long and we have the same concerns regarding comfort of fellow travelers.

3. Overall, the day seems better enjoyed by those who can explore and have a memory of the experience.

Our family is still discussing this - no one really wants to be left behind, but we are wanting advice from those who have done this tour before.

Should we go with toddlers, or have someone keep them on the ship.

Thanks in advance!

 

I refuse to do another tender port with a toddler. That's me though. DD was 14 month, the wait back was long, it was hot, she wanted milk, didn't understand why we she had to wait, wanted sleep. She did great on the way out, it was going back to the ship that was the issue. In part, she was tired. We headed back in time, we thought, but didn't count on the long wait, then longer wait to fill up!

 

We're still not 100% on booking anything, some seem ok, but really, I don't want to be stuck, kwim? We'll do our own thing, no big deal.

 

(I haven't done the ruins, just commenting on the Tender.)

Edited December 4, 2013 by Gardeneroflove

[Marie51]

I did the Ruins excursion in Cozumel. It was a very long, hot day and I was eaten by mosquitos. The tour took the entire time in port......8 hours. While I believe children should have many different experiences this is not one of them.

[092306]

We did Xunantunich pre baby and though we enjoyed it, we'd never take our 3 year old. It's extremely hot, buggy, long bus ride and not much that a 3 year old would find entertaining. It would be him in a stroller the whole time or chasing him around to stop him from climbing on ruins. The tour is long too. Everyone will have their own opinions on what their kids can handle, but I know I wouldn't do it until he was at least 7 or 8.