Altun Ha vs Chacchoben Mayan Ruins

[jackadapt]

We will be headed to both Belize and Costa Maya and really want to see the ruins at one of these stops.  To those who have done both, which do you recommend more.  Pros/cons?  At the port that we don't visit the ruins, we plan do some sort of rafting, whether it's cave tubing in Belize or visiting the 7 color lagoon in Costa Maya.  Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[crewsweeper]

If the choice is Altun Ha (not Xunatunich or Lamanai) I would say do Chacchoben and use Native Choice as the tour guides.

Altun Ha is very well maintained and there are no real excavations going on.  Pros are relatively short distance, no extreme climbing, good museum.  Cons are not your Indiana Jones view of Mayan temples.   Do cave tubing in Belize.

Chacchoben is much larger than Altun Ha. Very large city for the area. The area around Chacchoben is still not fully excavated and you can see what the jungle does to these ancient cities.  Native Choice offers tours that combine Blue Lagoon and Chacchoben, if your ship is in port long enough.  

Otherwise, Costa Maya is basically a beach stop, 

Edited August 15, 2022 by crewsweeper

[jackadapt]

I was leaning Chacchoben simply because Native Choice has so many rave reviews on here.  But you definitely shed some light on my decision with the differentiation of the 2.  I also read that Chacchoben has a more shade than Altun Ha which helps with us being from the foggy SF Bay Area.  80 degrees is considered hot in San Francisco!  Thanks for the input!