Altun Ha vs. Xunantunich

[jesskuhmarie]

I've seen some threads talking about all of the different ruins in Belize but nothing specifically comparing these two. Would love to hear experiences from people who have been to either one.

 

I am currently leaning towards doing the Altun Ha & River Wallace mainly due to the river part. I think it would be more interesting to have one river ride and one bus ride to see two different parts of the country.

 

However, I'm conflicted based on the fact that Xunantunich has better reviews on Carnival, and the fact that the actual ruins seem to be a bit better. Taking a two hour bus ride there and back seems like so much time wasted on a bus though that I'm not sure if I'd rather go for the better ruins or go for the more scenic route.

 

Anyone have any more insight into the two? Is Altun Ha significantly less impressive than Xunatunich?

[smyliecruising]

I have read that the bus ride is quite interesting with a guide giving interesting facts about the country. I am almost ready to purchase my tickets. I have read so many good reviews. I hate to waste a day on a bus!

Edited February 15, 2016 by smyliecruising

[jesskuhmarie]

I have read that the bus ride is quite interesting with a guide giving interesting facts about the country. I am almost ready to purchase my tickets. I have read so many good reviews. I hate to waste a day on a bus!

 

Does that mean your going with Xunantunich? I have read that also, and really the bus ride doesn't sound horrible because I'd love to see all different parts of the country, just doing it twice with it being that long, going up the river one way sounds even better to me.

[barrelracer89]

Does that mean your going with Xunantunich? I have read that also, and really the bus ride doesn't sound horrible because I'd love to see all different parts of the country, just doing it twice with it being that long, going up the river one way sounds even better to me.

 

 

We did Xunantunich in December of 2014. It was amazing. I climbed all the way to the top with a broken foot. I thought this is a one in a lifetime thing I have to do it.

[crewsweeper]

Both are great to tour and climb around on. Just depends on what else you'd like to do in Belize. Nothing else, Xunantunich. Combine with some thing else, Altun Ha.

[ABQrobin]

The bus ride is actually interesting if you enjoy learning about other cultures. We had 2 guides on our bus - each did an hour presentation, one on history of the country and one on present day info about the country. We really enjoyed it. The bus ride back many people napped as we had just had that fantastic lunch.

[ebay33]

We did Xunantunich in December of 2014. It was amazing. I climbed all the way to the top with a broken foot. I thought this is a one in a lifetime thing I have to do it. [ATTACH]376797[/ATTACH]. [ATTACH]376798[/ATTACH]. [ATTACH]376799[/ATTACH]. [ATTACH]376800[/ATTACH]

Great pictures! Really wanted to visit there last time in Belize, but none of the local tours would go that far without a group. Booking in advance next time to be sure not to miss it.

[turboteacher]

We are going to Xunantunich in March, I hope we made the right choice!

[cgaier]

Which tour operator are you booked with? We are coming April on NCL.... But I'd rather use a private tour

 

 

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[barrelracer89]

Which tour operator are you booked with? We are coming April on NCL.... But I'd rather use a private tour

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

When we booked we did it with Carnival which was a good thing our tour was 2 hours late getting back and the ship waited on us because it was a carnival excursion.

[turboteacher]

Which tour operator are you booked with? We are coming April on NCL.... But I'd rather use a private tour

 

Belize Cruise Excursions is a private company that you could use to do Xunantunich. But like others, I was too scared with the length of this tour, that we may miss the ship. I ended up using that website to price match (filled out the form for the "Best Price Guarantee" on Carnival) and got a $60 OBC for the difference. So we are using Carnival but got the tour for this company's price. :D

[lmgnpb]

We will be doing Xunantunich early in the morning and cave tubing after lunch. Tour guide and previous reviewers had no problem getting back to the ship. Very excited.

[lmgnpb]

I forgot to mention both tours for $100 pp.

[smyliecruising]

Does that mean your going with Xunantunich? I have read that also, and really the bus ride doesn't sound horrible because I'd love to see all different parts of the country, just doing it twice with it being that long, going up the river one way sounds even better to me.

 

 

We have decided to do this tour. The river does sound more exciting but I feel like these ruins look better. I will eventually do them both hopefully!

Edited March 7, 2016 by smyliecruising

[smyliecruising]

Belize Cruise Excursions is a private company that you could use to do Xunantunich. But like others, I was too scared with the length of this tour, that we may miss the ship. I ended up using that website to price match (filled out the form for the "Best Price Guarantee" on Carnival) and got a $60 OBC for the difference. So we are using Carnival but got the tour for this company's price. :D

 

 

I absolutely am going to try this! I would never use a private excursion going this far so the price match is awesome!! Thank you! I learned something new!

Edited March 7, 2016 by smyliecruising

[jonboy9756]

We will be doing Xunantunich early in the morning and cave tubing after lunch. Tour guide and previous reviewers had no problem getting back to the ship. Very excited.

 

Curious how long are you in port?

When we did just Xunantunich last year it took over 7 hours including tenders and travel time.

[lmgnpb]

Carnival Glory 8 to 5. I bought the "faster to the fun" because most of our ports are tendered. We are going through cavetubing.bz. The tubing doesn't take a lot of time.

[enki]

We did Xunantunich back in 2011. Not sure if anything has changed, but it was an amazing experience. The best part of the entire cruise. It was long (7-8 hours), but even on the bus ride the guides kept us entertained and we got to really see the country. On the way back we stopped for lunch at this little restaurant with outdoor seating and had a great meal (chicken, rice, beans, etc.). We were able to climb to the top of the ruins, which while awesome to experience was a bit scary at times with narrow walk ways and absolutely zero safety rails. From what I understand it's one of the few ruins you can still climb due to accidents.

 

We saw a lot of military patrolling the perimeter, but were told it was due to the close proximity to the border. It was very quiet and peaceful and you had a lot of space to just wander around and look at stuff.

 

Highly recommended.

[CruzKnitr]

We went in September. Because we are a little older and one of us had mobility problems we picked Xunantunich. The 2hour drive through the country was amazing and we learned a lot about the country, language, etc. My companion was driven up the last part so she was able to see the ruins without much discomfort.