Altun Ha

[FL LuluBelle]

Hi, has anyone been to the Altun Ha ruins lately? Are you still able to climb one of the temples? Could you tell me who you booked with and how the traveling to get there was? Thank you very much.:D LU

[dforeigner]

Hi, has anyone been to the Altun Ha ruins lately? Are you still able to climb one of the temples? Could you tell me who you booked with and how the traveling to get there was? Thank you very much.:D LU

 

 

There is a pyramid that has wooden stairs built for tourists to climb up to the top. At least this was true back in April 07. We booked through the ship. The road is bumpy. It is supposed to be one of their main highways in Belize. Although they told us this was a 2 lane road, it seemed more like a one lane road where vehicles pulled to the side in order to allow opposing traffic through. This excursion also involved a river cruise through their jungle back to the pier where we caught the tender back to the ship.

[FL LuluBelle]

deforeigner,

thank you for your reply. Did you enjoy the ruins? Have you been to any others for comparison? LU

[murphysmum]

Hi...

 

I've been to Altun Ha and enjoyed the ruins very much. We went by van and I wish I'd known that you could take a river boat back to port. It sounds much nicer. The only other ruins I've seen have been Tikal, which must be the most spectacular in the world...and Tulum, which underwhelmed me but had a lovely ocean front location.

 

I'm going back in February and I'm wondering if anyone has taken the boat tour to Lamanai and how that compares to Altun Ha? It looks like Crooked Tree Wildlife Preserve is very close to there? Is it possible to do both in one day with a private guide?

 

The ship hasn't posted their shore excursions, but often they seem to offer only one stop where two could be accomplished and enjoyed.

 

Thanks for any information you can provide.

 

Murphysmum;)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm also interested in hearing about Lamanai, since I think this is our best bet on our December cruise--the boat trip sounds nice. Tikal is an option, from Guatemala, but very expensive to visit, and quite a lot of travel is involved.

[EricaLovesCats]

We booked through the ship - the Altun Ha and River Wallace Tour. We had a great time! Most on here complain about ship tours, but I swear only 25 people signed up for this. So it was great!

[dforeigner]

deforeigner,

thank you for your reply. Did you enjoy the ruins? Have you been to any others for comparison? LU

 

My wife has never seen pyramids so we went to the ruins here in Belize and the ones in Costa Maya. The history behind these pyramids is awesome. Unfortunately, these are not as impressive as the pyramids in Teotihuacan. Altun Ha's pyramids are taller than the ones we saw in Costa Maya.

[Tribefans]

dforeigner,

My wife has never been to ruins either, and like you, I have been to Teotihuacan. Did your wife enjoy the visits? I have heard that some of the guides are excellent, even to the point of too much information. Did you use ship excusrions for each? Thanks for the information.

 

Phil

[dforeigner]

dforeigner,

My wife has never been to ruins either, and like you, I have been to Teotihuacan. Did your wife enjoy the visits? I have heard that some of the guides are excellent, even to the point of too much information. Did you use ship excusrions for each? Thanks for the information.

 

Phil

 

 

Yes she did. We had awesome tour guides. Also, since these were day long excursions, in order to play it safe, we booked through Princess just in case something happened and we were running late back to the ship. As a matter of fact, in Costa Maya, the bus we were on experienced a flat tire on the way back. We were literally the last group to board the ship.

[Tribefans]

Thanks. It sounds like you made the wise choice!

[MDSue]

We booked a combination jungle river tour and trip to Altun Ha through Princess Cruises. We had a great time- to me this was the way to go. We rode in a covered boat [a must on hot days] down the Olde Belize River and saw tons of wildlife in it's natural environment. Half way through the tour we stopped for lunch at a small local restaurant and then boarded a bus to the ruins. There is one ruin that you are allowed to climb. We bought a handmade wooden box at one of the local vendors there for much less than similar ones at the port. On our way back to town after the trip, the a/c was not working on the bus and it was getting quite hot for all of the passengers. The driver opened the emergency exits on the top of the bus to get some fresh air for us and within minutes of him learning that we were too hot had us boarded on another air conditioned bus [it seemed to show up out of nowhere]. It was a great trip, but yes the roads are bad going out there. I have a bad back and survived just fine. I think the tour guide did an excellent job, provided us with alot of history during the trip. I vote for the combo river and ruins tours- you'll see alot more of the country that way:)

[the_woodman]

Go here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=538812&highlight=altun

[FL LuluBelle]

the woodman,

Thanks for the great pics of Altun Ha. LU

[driftwood]

My wife and I have not yet visited Belize, but we are planning to visit for two weeks in January 2008. So I have been in correspondence with our hotel guest services personnel regarding tours for us to take while we are there. The single most highly regarded and enthusiastically recommended tour has been the "Lamanai--New River Tour." Allegedly the guest services personnel take it for their own amusement and enlightenment. It is a significant Mayan site, as is Altun Ha, but it is the only one that has elicited so much enthusiasm.

 

Don't forget the DEET!

 

We have already committed to taking it ourselves in January, so at the very least we will at least figuratively be in the same boat! :D