Altun Ha or Ruins in Costa Maya???

[sharecruises]

I will ask this on the CM board also <grin>

 

Which do you think are better...ruins in CM or Altun Ha?

 

The ruins in Belize look a bit more "substantial"?? and tho I hear the

guides are great/natives in CM I am also concerned it may be a lot of lecture and not all that much to actually see? My boyfriend might get bored if we have to stand around a whole lot and just listen. We are a bit more independent, would probably enjoy a bit of climbing the stairs etc

on a ruin, walking around a bit by ourselves which Belize seems to offer

 

I am not really that interested in the River Wallace/Altun Ha trip

 

I live in Florida, my SO has a boat, we go in Ocala Nat forest, have been fishing ft lauderdale area a lot too...seeing alligators and ignuanas is not a big deal to me, the boat just does NOT appeal to me.

 

I was thinking of horseback riding in jungle, but the "monkey bite" story has scared me, I do wish I knew which horseback trip has "Pancho" the mean monkey ?? I also thought of Maruba Jungle Spa, but not sure that would be interesting enough for my SO, plus plan a massage in CM or Cozumel.

 

I have seen some threads here on private trips in Belize that included a nice lunch, one place was Mayan Wells Restaurant, which tour guide uses that?

and another idea is that I am emailing the owner of Smuggler's Run since his site says he also does ruin tours ...the food and atmosphere look really cool there

 

Sorry but cave tubing is NOT my thing LOL>>> so maybe the ruins, but with which tour guide company...??? Thanks for any ideas

 

*and would you prefer these Belize ruins or the CM..which and why ?? thanks again

[vmom]

We were there last week. We did the Altun Ha ruins in Belize and the ruins in Costa Maya with David and Ivan. We really enjoyed both. The ruins in Belize, Altun Ha allow you to climb up the largest one. The view is great. We just booked it at the port after we got off the ship. If you go to the far right (facing the pier) there is a small stand. We did not go to any restuarant and frankly after driving by was not interested in eating at any of the establishments we drove by.

 

There were 5 of us in a mini-van, $35 per person which included the ruins and a city tour. We really enjoyed it. Very personal service. I'd recommend just getting a bite to eat at the restuarant at the pier.

 

We also enjoyed the ruins in Costa Maya. You can't really climb them far, just a few steps up, but they are quite interesting. The tour guide we had gave alot of lecture info that was very intersting and we did not find boring at all. If you BF does not want any type of lecture, then this might not be the choice for you. Frankly, the ruins were so interesting and the jungle setting was beautiful that I loved it.

 

The roads in Costa Maya were much better than the roads in Belize. Both rides to the ruins were about an hour or so.

[RizzoLee]

We did Biking In Belize through Carnival... It included a city tour, biking through the jungle, Altun Ha and the Mayan Wells luncheon.

 

Great value, and we had a really great time. Guide was fantastic as well! Do Altun Ha, go drinking/beaching in CM.

[sharecruises]

Thanks, vmom your description is very helpful..

 

if they are pretty much "equal" I do agree that Belize may be the place we should do the ruins since Costa Maya seems very "easy" to do on your own, beach bars, shopping, get a massage! Belize seems to be the type place NOT good on your own, better to do some sort of tour

 

Rizzo, that tour sounds good except I would not enjoy the biking LOL

 

Did you enjoy Mayan Wells?? The website looked cool, I do think that SOME tour guide takes people there...I am also looking into a tour of the ruins thru smuggler's plantation people with a lunch there afterwards, that would be cool

 

The other option I guess is do the ruins tour and then have food/drinks at the "port" village, have seen stuff about the "Wet Lizzard"...has anyone eaten there ??

 

thanks...any other ideas on the ruins *both ports...Mayan Wells ...indepedant tour guides to the ruins in Belize much appreciated

[RizzoLee]

Honestly, the biking was so simple it wasn't funny... We rode for about an hour, stopping frequently to check out the jungle. They provide tons of water.

 

A Long Island couple was joining us-he was a lawyer, she a stay at home mom who hadn't ridden a bike in about 20 years. She spent the entire trip there whining about how she would never be able to make it, etc. (literally, lol), but she had absolutely no problem whatsoever.

 

Mayan Wells-the food was quite yummy! I'm a little anal about not having native foods, so I miss out on a lot unfortunately, but have only ever gotten ill while at a resort in Cancun, so I'm doing something right. :) I've never had fried plaintains before, or beans and rice, but it really hit the spot! You can purchase some of Belize's homemade cashew wine there, which we did, and Carnival never confiscated it, so we had it in our cabin that night. Still have a bottle of it too.

[vmom]

Our table mates ate at the Wet Lizard and really liked it. They recommended it. I remember them saying they had conch fritters and some kind of fish.

 

The eating establishements we passed by in Belize did not look appetizing to me and I questioned how their standards of cleaniness are.

 

I would not have any hesitation about eating at the pier since the cruise companines that support the pier can't afford to have any one get sick on the ship.

 

Definately plan to do an excursion while at Belize. If you don't plan one in advance, there are several very good ones available at the pier after you got off. Just get off early enough to make sure you have enough time.