Lamanai vs Altun Ha

[Pebbs48]

Trying to decide which NCL excursion to take - Lamanai & The New River Safari or Altun Ha & The Old Belize River. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

 

[thatbloominplace]

lamanai is a full day. lots of pieces to it that are interesting, even the bus ride out there. the river tour is a lot of fun as they go at breakneck speeds. the lunch is a decent buffet and the ruins themselves are very accessible. i went with my wife and mother and a friend (both in late 70's) and everyone had a blast. also did altun ha but not as good an overall experience.

 

steve

[runner1909]

I can't compare the two as we have only been to Altun Ha, but we enjoyed it very much. I had had hip surgery recently and didn't want to do anything super taxing, this was just right. The ride out there was long (we did it in a van with Coral Breeze), but interesting to see the country. I would like to go to Lamanai next time, so I will be watching this for opinions.

[jcjky]

My wife and I did the lamani river excursion in december. It was the highlight of the cruise. One of the best tours we have ever done.

[bama8527]

Jcjky,

I'm glad to see you liked the Lamani river excursion. Did you book it through the cruise or someone else? Thinking of doing this excursion in May. Have lots of ages to please. Can you tell me what yall did? You can email me @ bama8527@aol.com Thanks Michelle

[bohemiaczech]

Hello I am going to Belize on 3/13/07. I like to go visit Lamanai ruins because I also want to see baboons.

Only scary fact is if I will be back on ship on time.( tour campany promise that I will be there lol).

My question is if somebody did this trip thru Island Marketing Ltd ?

[bohemiaczech]

Do you make it back on time? With who you did this tour??

I am leaving to Belize on 3/10/07.

[Zeno]

I can't speak about Altun Ha but we did the Lamanai and New River tour with NCL and defintely enjoyed ourselves. As others have said it is an all-day tour, has a little of everything (bus ride to Orange Walk, Speed boats on the New River with stops for any interesting animals - we saw a baby croc, lots of different birds and a giant termite mound). At Lamanai, there is a simple but quite decent lunch, a good little museum that unfortunately you won't have a lot of time for it (eat lunch fast and go to the museum - I regreted that we took our time with lunch and so only had a short time in museum before out tour began ). Our tour around the site was excellent but of course too short. We saw all the highlights (including a troup of howler monkeys). The carved faces were the most interesting for me. My husband liked climbing the pyramids. It's a long excursion (we made it back on time for the 2nd last tender) but worth the effort. The boat ride on the New River is fun.

[DonMar]

Hello I am going to Belize on 3/13/07. I like to go visit Lamanai ruins because I also want to see baboons.

Only scary fact is if I will be back on ship on time.( tour campany promise that I will be there lol).

My question is if somebody did this trip thru Island Marketing Ltd ?

 

I did this tour through Island Marketing Ltd and was very happy. Richard met us at the pier and took us to Orange Walk, then we boarded a small outboard motorboat went down the New River - at about 22 knots - hang-on. What a great ride!

 

We then walked around Lamanai and climbed one of the temples - a great thrill. We did see the howler monkeys.

 

Please note that there are no baboons as you would think of African baboons in this area (at least that I know of). I did find this information online -

 

Visit the fascinating Mayan ruins at Lamanai and the Community Baboon Centre where the 'baboons' are the black howler monkeys only found in this part of the world.

 

...Belize's Black Howler Monkey. These animals are locally called "baboons" or "saraguate" in Spanish.

We did get back to the ship with a little time for shopping.

 

Enjoy!

[sharecruises]

Hi Don.....which ship were you on ??

 

Carnival is not offering Lamanai on our cruise...I am afraid to miss the ship

 

I was thinking of booking Altun Ha thru Coral Breeze or maybe Island Marketing....

 

how was the time element?? How long were you on the river??

 

and how was the food there...where did you eat?

 

some people on the recent Glory cruise did NOT like the carnival altun ha/river wallace excursion at all...complained of the place they took them to eat, and also the boat trip was hot and uncomfortable

 

I am sort of looking for just an Altun Ha tour...just don't know which one or other logistics...

thanks.

[DonMar]

Hi Don.....which ship were you on ??

 

Carnival is not offering Lamanai on our cruise...I am afraid to miss the ship

 

I was thinking of booking Altun Ha thru Coral Breeze or maybe Island Marketing....

 

how was the time element?? How long were you on the river??

 

and how was the food there...where did you eat?

 

some people on the recent Glory cruise did NOT like the carnival altun ha/river wallace excursion at all...complained of the place they took them to eat, and also the boat trip was hot and uncomfortable

 

I am sort of looking for just an Altun Ha tour...just don't know which one or other logistics...

thanks.

 

I was set on exploring Lamanai. First let me say that we DID go to Lamanai and it was the very best thing I did on the entire 8 day cruise (Legend). It was also one of, if not the most beautiful place I have ever been to.

 

Secondly, be warned, it is not a quick trip. There is a very high risk of not making it back to the ship. Because this was our last port of call we took the risk - bringing all of our travel documents just in case. We DID make it back thanks to our two tour guides - Richard for his Indy driving and Jr. for his expert boat handling skills on the New River.

 

A few things to know about if you want to go to Lamanai:

 

1. Belize is a tender port. You must get out on the first or second tender. I found that cruise ships like to get their excursion passengers off first so make sure to speak to the Purser's Desk and confirm the tendering procedure. On the morning of arrival, make sure to be in the gathering location early and be politely firm about getting off the ship.

 

2. You will need a print out of your confirmation with tour time - make it as early as possible! The cruise ship will ask for this as proof of an early tour.

 

3. Have your travel documents with you just in case you miss the tender. The ship leaves ON TIME.

 

4. The drive from the pier to Orange Walk is at least 1 1/4 hours. The you take a boat ride 24 miles down the New River. We traveled at about 22 knots the entire time so it took us about another hour or so. Then you have to do it all over again to get back!

 

5. Traffic in Belize City can be tough mid day.

 

6. If you go bring bug replant and wear good hiking boots/sneakers and pants. There is a lot of mud in areas and if you climb any of the temples you need to have really good footwear and pants.

7. The lunch we had was back at Orange Walk at a picnic table at the dock. It was not glamorous, but it was authentic. Chicken, veggie rice and potato salad - Belize style. I am not one for glitz and glamour when I travel, I like to immerse myself in the culture, so this lunch was great. We ate with Jr and we had some time to learn more about his Mayan roots and Belizean culture.

 

8. This is not a trip for the passive sightseer. This is an adventure. The boat ride is not in a luxurious speed boat, it can be bumpy at times and we were not hot at all on the boat as we were traveling at 22 knots! (It was hot at Lamanai.)

That being said, I wish we had more time to explore this beautiful place. Because we left so early we were the only ones at Lamanai and it was WONDERFUL. This is a site that does not get a lot of cruise traffic - just what I like. I can not wait to go back to Belize and spend a number of days at Lamanai.

 

I contacted the Belize excursion company and they booked the trip for me. Even though they had all of our cruise info - they were not as cognizant of our time constraint as I thought they would have. Because we were nervous out the excursion, we e-mailed the company from the ship and moved the start time up one hour. (E-mailing from the ship is expensive so get your ducks in a row before you go.)

 

Richard our land based guide drove us to Orange Walk with the speed of a Puma. What a great job.

 

Jr. took us down the New River with a few stops along the way to see wildlife - including crocodiles. He was fantastic. Jr. also took us around Lamanai and was very knowledgeable. He encouraged us to climb the largest temple - so we did. Know that I am home I can say that I was glad that I did it. What a thrill!

 

This is not a fancy cruise tour. This is a real experience.

 

Tip: If climbing the temple -leave your backpacks on the ground but take a camera.

 

Hope this helps.

[happy cruzer]

I have done a boat tour and Lamanai tour combined. And also a bus to Altun Ha. Don made great points here some things I would consider as well.

 

How many boats in boat? Sometimes as many as 8. Do you have to tender? yep. So I choose a ship tour for ease and security. You get early tendering. We were in the first groups because we had a ships tour.

 

I preferred the boat ride to the long bus ride. The tour with the boat ride costs about twice the bus. The boat ride is interesting and much smoother than the bus ride. The roads (they are Belize major highways but still in bad shape) to Altun Ha were VERY rough. Very narrow with big areas of potholes. The tour guide called it the free massage. Not funny if you have a bad back; they will definitely cause a problem. So I recommend as short a bus ride as possible. Do most of the travel by boat if possible.

 

The Lamanai ruins where more impressive to me, larger and more spread out. Altun Ha has a few very nicely restored ruins and a couple that you can climb to the top and look over the tree tops to a great distance. It's been too long since I did Lamanai so I am not sure if you can still climb the ruins there.

 

Both tours require walking. For an average person, it will be fine. However, anyone that cannot walk on uneven surfaces in the heat for about 1 mile should not try the tour. On both tours we had seniors that had to not walk the ruins.

 

I preferred Lamanai but Altun Ha is great too! Go with the one that is offered with the best conditions on your ship. Alot will just depend on the weather and your tour guide.

[Lard Greystoke]

I did Lamanai on 2.27.07. There were 5 in the group plus 2 guides, so definitely not overcrowded. The ruins are in a spectacular setting in deep forest by a wide lagoon. We did climb the High Temple. There is a troop of howler monkeys which waited to vocalize until we were atop the big pyramid. The view is outstanding. Myself and tourmates got to the the terminal early, so we made it back to the ship with an hour to spare. (Probably could have stayed at the ruins a bit longer, but we played it safe).

 

Some points to consider:

 

1) You have to be energetic in getting an early tender. Make your needs known to the pursers/social hosts. If you can contact your tourmates and emphasize the importance of an early start, so much the better.

2) The van ride and boat ride (on my trip) were cooled by AC or wind. The site itself is a bit muggy, particularly if you're active.

3) The climb to the top of the big pyramid is strenuous and not without risk - no guardrails (the experience is spectacular though).

4) You probably won't have quite as much time at the site as you'd like.

[snlvr]

Who did you book your Lamanai trip through?

[JoeTx]

Just got back from our week on the Grand Princess. Just the facts on Lamanai...

 

1) Booked through Princess to guarantee making it back on time.

2) Princess is very organized when it comes to getting you on the first tenders and getting your tours started on time.

3) I clocked our boats at 32mph via my GPS.

4) The boats held 40+ people on our tour, and they were full, but once your touring the site, it doesn't seem like a lot of people.

5) We had lunch of grilled chicken, rice, cold slaw and coconut tarts onsite. They also had yummy chips and salsa.

6) The main paramid that you can climb is STEEP! If you are afraid of heights, I wouldn't climb it. There is a rope to help you up and down, and you'll need it.

7) We made it back to the Belize City pier with 15 minutes to spare to the last tender time.

8) We saw several monkeys playing in the trees while there.

9) Wouldn't recommend for those with mobility problems. Lots of walking and the pathes are hilly with lots of rocks to stumble over.

10) It was an awesome experience...

[Lard Greystoke]

Who did you book your Lamanai trip through?

 

I booked privately through Belize Cruise Excursions. Small group, 5 in a van plus guide, then a guide for the boat. Very nice. Made sure to get off the ship early.

[A Sixth?]

We too really enjoyed our trip to Lamanai. We have been to Chacchoben and Kohunlich, and would say that while Chacchoben is still our favorite for shear "ah" factor, Lamanai had the wildest ride. Here's a video of the mangrove speed boat ride to the site....

 

 

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