Lamanai/New River Excursion

[J&B in GA]

We have been investigating visiting the Lamanai Mayan Ruins while visiting Belize. Has anyone done this recently with an independent tour operator ?

 

We have found two websites that offer this tour; Wet & Wild, US$65 p/p; and Belize Cruise Excursions @ US$75 p/p. Both get great reviews for Cave Tubing excursions. Some in our group are planning on using Wet & Wild to go cave tubing.

 

It's a long tour, around 6-1/2 to 7 hours, including lunch. The ship offers it for US$89 p/p, but we would prefer a good independent operator not only to save money, but for the smaller and more personalized service. Some are concerned about getting back to Belize City on time. Our ship is in port on 12/23 from 7:00am to 5:00pm, so we would need to be back NLT 4:00pm.

 

We have read "chesterh" detailed review and watched his video, GREAT VIDEO ! :D But we found no mention of the tour provider. Chester, care to share ?

 

Anyone used these two tour operators or any others recently to go to Lamanai ? If so, which one would you recommend and how much ? What did you think of the tour, lunch provided and the operator ?

 

Thanks for your input and suggestions.

J&B

[BobbieSu]

I am looking at this same tour. My understanding was that even the ship's excursions end up a decent size because only so many (max30?) can fit on the boats that take you up river, and you stay with that group at the ruins. Unless I hear differently here I will probably go with the ship tour due to the length of the trip and the security of getting back on time.

 

Su

[J&B in GA]

Just a little Bump !

Any tour recommendations for this Lamanai excursion ? We leave in a little over a week. :eek:

 

Thanks,

J&B

[maryannha123]

I would reiterate what BobbiSu said about booking a tour like this through your ship. You will be going quite a distance from the dock & into a wilderness area--if your bus or boat breaks down--you could be sunk (in a manner of speaking). With a tour booked through your ship, you know they will wait for your--with a private tour, they won't. The Lamanai tour is wonderful, so don't miss it!

[richtersl]

You're cutting it close time-wise by using an independent operator. It'll be fine if your trip goes off without a hitch, but if you have any delays, there is a risk of you not getting back in time for the last tender to your ship.

 

You do have one advantge with an independent operator: a smaller group and a smaller vehicle to transport your group. If you meet up with your tour operator on time, you will have a little bit of a head start on the ship's tours.

 

It's up to you whether you want to opt for an independent operator or go on the ship's tour.

 

Maryann and I were on the same tour. And she's right, Lamanai is WONDERFUL! Don't forget your insect repellent, though. :eek:

[J&B in GA]

BobbieSu, Maryann & Linda,

 

Thank you sooooo much for your recommendations. The ship price is not that much more, $89 vs. $75. We were more concerned with the quality of the ship's tour and the large tour size usually associated with ship's tours. You're right to share your concerns over tour delays due to breakdowns. It would be a real "bummer" to miss the ship after a long day in Belize ! :(

 

More than half our family group will be going Cave Tubing independently, but that tour is a couple hours shorter, so unless someone else recommends an independent tour operator they used for Lamanai, we will book this through the ship.

 

BTW - What did you think of the jungle trek from the boat dock to the Lamanai ruins and back ? I have knee problems, but can walk comfortably on level, firm ground. Too many stairs or steep hills may cause some problems and pain. How long a hike, more than a mile ? How strenuous ?

 

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.

J&B

[richtersl]

Overall, the trail through the jungle wasn't bad at all. There was one area where you had to walk up a small incline but it wasn't very steep or long and you were able to use the rocks as steps. The walk was not strenuous at all -- you spent more energy swatting away the mosquitos than you did walking. :p If I had to guess, the walk could not have been much more than a mile with 3 stops.

 

Maryann walks with the assistance of a cane. She moved slower than the rest of our group but she still got to see the complex and thoroughly enjoyed herself. I was concerned about her making it up that small incline to the first temple but when I turned around to look for her, there she was! :)

[pazandak63]

I am alos interested in this trip. Where can I find Chesterh's video and letter? Thanks. Karyn

[chesterh]

J&B - Glad you enjoyed the video. Every time I watch it, I relive the experience with a smile on my face...

 

We took the ship's tour, and I have no complaints. As told in the story, we did experience a bus breakdown and it was handled quite well. I imagine that small operators would not have the resources to deal with such a situation -- you do not want to be stranded 60 miles from Belize City. As it was, we were the first to leave the ship in the morning, and the last to return -- one hour after scheduled departure. The ship's captain was kind enough to wait.

 

Karyn, the story and video are here in the Belize forum -- at last sighting, it was near the bottom of the first page of posts: Belize, Lamanai and the New River Safari -- The Complete Story and On-line Video

 

Bon Voyage,

chesterh

[Clay Clayton]

Great video....almost sold on doing this rather than cave tubing! Can someone tell me how long you are actually on the boat vs. how long at the ruins?

 

Thanks,

Clay

[chesterh]

Thanks, Clay. Here is the tour timeline, as well as I can remember:

Tender to Belize City: 20 min.

Load bus: 10 min.

Bus to boat launch: 75 min.

Load boats: 10 min.

Boat ride to Lamanai with pauses for natural things: 75 min.

Lunch at Lamanai: 45 min.

Walking tour: 2.5 hours

Non-stop fast return boat ride: 45 min.

Shopping (and beer) at riverside pavilion:20 min.

Bus to Belize City: 75 min.

Tender to ship: 20 min.

chesterh

[J&B in GA]

Chester,

Thanks for posting the times for this excursion. Adding it ALL up, it totals over 9 hours ! WOW ! :eek:

As we are only in port 10 hours, we have decided to also go with the ship's tour ! We don't want to chance a breakdown and missing the ship !

 

Thanks again !

J&B

[calflamesgirl]

Good choice on picking this tour, we did it last Thursday. Would also advise you to do it with the ships tour, we got back about 45 minutes before the last tender. Wouldn't want to chance it. My DH and I both loved this tour and were fortunate enough to see a group of about 6 howler monkeys when we were at the big temple. Have a great trip, you wont be disappointed with the tour.

[Dr S]

Another vote for using the ship's excursion. Traffic was bad and out drive back to Belize City was longer than expected. We were on the last tender but could easily have been stranded with an independent operator.

[Clay Clayton]

Well we booked this for our trip through NCL...can't wait..can't remember what day we are there between Jan 1-8th but will post a review when i return.

 

Happy Holidays!

Clay

[N.O. lady]

This is a wonderful excursion and great for all ages. I had one 8 year old and two 10 year old and they loved it. I would suggest booking it through the cruise ship because we made it back for the last tender to the ship. We had no time to shop and was very disappointed over thast but I would have been even more disappointed if I had missed the ship! I would have been anxious if I were on the excursion booked outside of the cruise line...but knowing that the ship would wait on us if we were late was great comfort.

 

 

My 61 year old sister was with me and could not make the hike...she has good mobility but suffers from very high blood pressure and the physical exercise was a bit too much. If you can make the walk, it is so worth it to see all of the ruins.

I do suggest comfortable walking shoes and bring a wind breaker...the ride on the river was chilly...may not be that way all of the time...we had a cool front coming through. We were very miserable on the river boat ride.

[J&B in GA]

We just returned from our cruise and the Lamanai/New River excursion in Belize was awesome ! :D

The temp was 88F last Thursday, so very HOT and Humid ! The hike around the site was a little more than a mile, mostly level, with a few hills, with rocks and tree roots. Many steps on the paved paths around the visitor center where you eat a local Belizian lunch and visit the museum. A little strenuous for me, but my nephew, a young adult, was a bit more energetic than most and ran ahead. By the time we arrived at the highest temple, 33 meters, he was standing at the top ! Later he literally ran down the steep steps, using the rope as sort of a hand brake. :eek: I only wish I had a video camera ! :D

 

The howler monkeys were very vocal around the ball court and the mask and jaguar temples were just magnificient. The Lamanai site is only 8% excavated so it should continue to be a wonderful site for many years to come. The fast river boat trip back down the New River was just what we all needed to cool off. We took this trip through our cruise ship and were glad we did. We were on the last tender back, with no time to stop and shop in port. We did buy some nice wooden birds signed by the artist, at the small shop at the New River boat dock. If you stop in Belize, we highly recommend this excursion.

[richtersl]

I'm glad to hear that you did not pass this excursion up because of your knees. And I'm even happier to hear that you fared well, even up that one little incline.

 

These ruins ARE magnificent, aren't they? They only down side is that you don't get to spend enough time there.

 

Linda