Which ruins and what company?

[billyjimjeffbob]

Which ruins do you think are the best and what company did you use to visit them? Thanks

[wdowns9]

We went to Xunantunich (shoo-NAHN-too-nich) with NCL as it is a full day (80 miles west of Belize City). We got back with an hour or so to spare for shopping. These ruins are on the border with Guatemala. The main castillo is the 2nd largest in Belize at 130ft. It was an easier climb to make then some of the others. We had lunch on the way back which was really good then took a nap before arriving to catch the tender. Road to the ruins was very smooth and enjoyable as you see the country side and how people live.

[mrsneurotic]

I agree with wdowns9...Xunantunich was a great excursion. We did our trip there through Carnival. Lunch was great at a ranch with parrots and other animals. Beautiful scenery. Nice.

[Toyz711]

i did lamanai and the river safari...through NCL. we had a great tour guide, it was an hour bus ride with an hour boat ride..both ways. lots of nature with possible wildlife sightings. i have photo in my webshot link, if you can see my signature.

lamanai has 3 sites, one you can climbe. they are in great shape with jungle and howler monkeys all around.

http://www.belizeexplorer.com/cgi-local/explorer.cgi?db=explorer&uid=default&Category=Mayan+Sites&view_records=1&nh=6&mh=1

lunch was provided at the site. what i like most...we had time to stretch our legs between the bus and the boat ride. the views along the river were a lot more interesting then just a highway ride.

[Casey2]

We went to Xunantunich with RCCL and had a great day. We climbed El Castillo and were treated to spectacular views of Guatamala. We also saw the other ruins in the area. We had lunch a famous hotel whose name now excapes me. It was a great day. I strongly urge you to take the ship's tour as both Xunantunich and Lamanai are quite a distance away. We were late getting back and they had to send an extra tender for us.

[akachop]

I too have been trying to decide which ruins to see. We have a cruise booked with NCL. I will definetly use their excursion to see ruins so as to not miss the boat on the way back! Problem is I can't decide between Lamanai or Xunantunich. Any thoughts? We have seen the ruins in both Chitzen Itza and Tulum. I understand that they allow you to climb the pyramid at Xunantunich. That sounds pretty cool. When we went to Chitzen Itza we were short on time and only got to go inside the pyramid before we had to leave. And now, they no longer allow you to climb the outside so I am kicking myself for having forever lost out on that opportunity. I love the idea that you can hear the howler monkeys at the Lamanai site. Anyone know if there are monkeys at Xunantunich, or is it too much of a clearing? Clearly, I could use some opinions on this.

[Toyz711]

monkeys and you can climb the tallest site at lamanai. it's the only one i have been to, but would recommend it. DH said it was one of the best tours we have been on. if you can see my signature, i have my link to webshots with photo of lamanai in the belize file. we booked it through NCL, the tour guide was excellent..as was the bus driver and boat ride. but the bus was something else, it ran well..but the seats were awful. thank goodness the bus ride wasn't that long and the boat ride was wonderful.

[wdowns9]

Here is a link to the site I'm hosting some pics so you can make your choice: http://wdowns9.smugmug.com/ The ruins are in an open area and you will not see any monkeys. I would say its a toss up of which one you want to visit as I knew I would go back to see the other site. I did not want to miss the opertunity because you never know when you'll go back. We had around 3 1/2hrs on site with plenty of time to see everything. Look pics from both sites then make a choice as you can not go wrong. It hard to choose between the two so I can only relate to Xan while I will be going to Lam in Dec.