Alta Hun/River Wallace

[happyRN]

Any reviews on this excursion? Couldn't find any.

[happyRN]

Anyone, please?

[Calvin & Hobbes]

For the Altun Ha Ruins (and the Zoo and other stops) we highly recommend Margaret Montero (along with her partner Desmond Tillet), email: mdstourstravel1@yahoo.com and please mention that Chris Wyman sent you to her. Go to: http://www.*****/tours.html then scroll to the bottom of the page.

 

 

The actual Altun Ha Excursion is 3-1/2 hours (Altun Ha is located 32 miles from Belize City on the northern road which usually takes between 50 and 60 minutes to get to Altun Ha). The prices quoted were $30 USD per person (group of 7 or more) OR $33 USD per person (1 to 6 people). The entrance fee to Altun Ha is included in these prices (there is a credit card service charge of 5% if payment is made that way). It also includes $5 USD per person Belize Tourism charge.

 

Margaret met us where the tender drops you off at the pier. She was standing near the gate with a sign with our group name on it and she was parked just around the corner. The van was a late model Ford with air conditioning. They also have a second larger van for really big groups and for emergency backup.

 

With Margaret as our guide, she took us past many local sights and explained all about Belize and its people and customs. She was also our personal guide at the ruins. On the way back she helped us to find reasonably priced local cashew wines and was willing to do whatever it took to make our stay in Belize memorable. In short, she was GREAT!!! Our party of eight was so happy with her that we tipped her an additional $40 above and beyond the cost of the tour.

We cannot give a higher recommendation. ~Chris Wyman :cool: :cool:

[cathcruiser]

This sounds like what I am looking for.I heard Altun ha is a small site.

Is there only one building? I am looking to see a little rain forest. want to see crocodiles,my 5 yr son likes animals.My idea is to see the Ruins.

I want to know if there any animals you can see on this tour.

Thank for all your experience you all share on this board.

Cath

[ute_fan]

We went to Altun Ha, but not the river. I loved Altun Ha, and did not find it all that small. Of course, I've never been to Chichen Itza, so I can't offer comparisons, but we thought it was well worth the money.

 

There are several ruins that have been excavated. There is only one ruin that you are permitted to climb on, and stairs have been built around the size of the ruin to go up. They weren't terribly easy for me to climb, as most of the steps are quite high, and I'm short and not in good shape, but I made it to the top. According to the gorp website, the site of Altun Ha is about 1 square mile and includes 500 visible structures and mounds.

[mbisson]

I took quite a few photos of Altun Ha and they are on my webshots sitel Check the folders for NCL Sun Dec '04. The address is in my signature block.

 

We were actually able to climb 2 temples, one of which is little more than a mound of soil with an alter on top, it hasn't been excavated. There also was a short walk through the rain forest to a reservoir that the Maya dug.

 

I thought it was an excellent excursion.

 

I booked through:

http://belizecruiseexcursions.com/

 

hope this helps and that you have a great trip

 

-Monte

[deejae]

We are also interested in the Altun Ha/RiverWallace tour offered thru Carnival. Has anyone taken this particular excursion?

 

Janet

[disneylynn]

I just booked this tour on the Carnival web site for my Dh,DS(12),DD(9),

I know my son will love this but do you think my 9 year old DD will like it?

I am not sure if she is to young for this.

Thanks

[stlrboo]

We are also interested in the Altun Ha/RiverWallace tour offered thru Carnival.

This is the tour we have pretty much decided upon, but none of the previous posters have mentioned the 'River Wallace' tour, which for Carnival is another 1 1/2 hour tour besides the 'ruins'. Anyone done this?? The Carnival tour is twice as much $$ as the one mentioned previously, but I don't believe that tour consisted of the river tour, too. Any help will be appreciated.. :)

[deejae]

Stirboo,

 

JudyF has posted info on this excursion, including the river tour. It's a few posts down on this page.

 

Janet

[Marie213]

We did the River Wallace/Altun Ha tour through Carnival last week on Dec. 30. My husband and I really enjoyed it. The boat ride was about 2 hours long and the ruins tour was about 45 minutes. That suited us just fine. We loved seeing the wildlife from the boat. We saw 10+ crocodiles, 2 howler monkeys, noses of manatees, a few dolphins, lots of iguanas (the males were bright orange since it was mating season), and some interesting birds, especially herons. At the end of the boat ride, we stopped at a little village for about 30 - 45 minutes where you can buy delicious chicken, rice, and beans for your lunch. There were also quite a few booths selling tshirts, wooden carvings, cashew wine, beads, etc. there. Then we got on a bus for a bumpy, but not too bumpy, ride to the ruins. We walked around some wtih the tour guide and then climbed to the top of one of them. There were also some craftspeople there, but there was not much extra time if you climbed up to the top to shop. We took photos of 2 little boys who had a parrot and a baby crocodile. There were restrooms there and at the other little village. Our boat guide and captain were great! The captain made sure we were finished taking photos before he moved on. They both helped us spot the animals in the trees since they were often very camoflaged! I also enjoyed just riding in the boat. They provided water (in a bag!) for us, too. We had perfect weather - not too hot or cold. I didn't come across any mosquitos in Belize at all.

[disneylynn]

Marie, It sounds like you had a great time, I really want to do the river part of this tour. I don't care much about the ruins. I hope we get to see as much as you did on the river. Did you see children on this tour? I am taking my 9 year old and 12 year old. How many people were on the boat? Was the bus a coach bus? Sorry for so many questions

Thanks so much

Lynn

[Marie213]

Hi, disneylynn. There were 2 boys on our boat. They looked to be about 7 and 9. The younger one had a little bit of a hard time seeing some of the animals in the trees and grass. But he seemed to enjoy it. They had fun squeezing the water bags to use as water pistols! There were about 25-30 people on the boat I would guess. The bench seats lined the edges of the boat. Sometimes you could sit up on the side of the boat and put your feet on the seat. We started out all wearing the lifevest going across the sea to get to the river and then some people took them off. I sat on mine! My sister and husband had seats across the back of the boat. They didn't enjoy the trip as much as we did because they said they couldn't hear the guide talking above the motor noise. After a bathroom stop at the tender place in Belize City, they were the last ones onto the boat. We sat close to the middle by the driver and he really helped us see the animals. Most of them were in full view, if you knew where to look! The bus was an air conditioned coach bus. It wasn't brand new. It was cool. My seat wouldn't stay up straight, but that was OK because my husband switched with me and liked leaning all the way back. There was space to put backpacks up above and we felt safe leaving them on the bus during the ruins tour. (The driver stayed with the bus.) Once again, my sister sat at the back of the bus and said it was too bumpy for her. We sat near the front and were very comfortable. I didn't hear any noise from the boys on the bus. They loved climbing up the steps to the top of the ruin. I don't think they were out of breath at all! It felt good to relax on the bus ride and the guide taught us some Creole talk. I enjoyed looking out the window to see some of the family homes, etc. that we passed. I think you'll have a great time! Sign up early. I think there were only 2 tour groups going on this tour.

[disneylynn]

Thanks so much for your review Marie, I already sign up for this tour on Carnivals web site. Wish us luck!!!!

[Marie213]

Lots of luck, Disneylynn! I hope you and your family will see as many animals as we saw. Even the guide was excited. She told the driver we were not going to stop for another animal unless it was a "new" one that we hadn't seen yet- since we had get going to catch the bus ride. Her name was Joyce and we really enjoyed her information. I know ya'll will have fun.

[magicterp]

Just Back from the Carnival Miracle yesterday, and we loved our tour in Belize. Did the River Wallace/Altun Ha trip. There were about 20 folks on our river boat (including our 3-year old, who loved it too).

 

We saw pelicans, great blue herons, egrets, many crocodiles, many large iguanas, manatee, dolphins, and a troop of five black howler monkeys!!!

 

Awesome trip.

 

The ruins were amazing as well. You can even climb to the top of one of them (which you cannot do in Mexico).

[disneylynn]

Thanks for the great review Magicterp I can't wait till it's my turn to go!!

[happyRN]

This is awesome! Thanks for the reviews. We're booked with disneylynn on our cruise.

[01Sweetpea]

I've been following this thread since we are interested in doing this tour. Everyones reviews are so positive that I think we have found ourselves a ruins tour. July can't come soon enough!

[vannwec]

I am interested in the Altan Ha/River Wallace tour but want to explore booking the excursion with a private company (not Carnival) so I can compare prices. Does anyone have any info?

Thanks,

Libby

[stlrboo]

We tried again last night to book this excursion through Carnival, and the website won't let me do it! :(

Guessing our tour date may not have been 'loaded' into their system yet! The online site lets me check the passengers and enter my CC info, but won't give me a total price on the order, so it doesn't match the amount to be billed to the credit card. Error '5007'!

Darn, we don't want to miss this one..! Sounds like a great time. Thanks for the reviews and info!! :D

[disneylynn]

Vannwec,

I could not find a private company to take us on the river part of this excursion. There are a few that will bring you to the mayan ruins.

What I read about belize I think I would be safer going with Carnival.

 

 

 

Stlrboo, A Carnival rep told me that they will only fill up 1/2 of the excursion by booking it on line and the other 1/2 will be booked on the ship.

If you can't book it on line go to the excursion desk as soon as you get on board. Good Luck!

[caroliemarie]

I also did the Altun Ha/River Wallace through Carnival off the Miracle a couple of days ago. It was worth every penny ($69 per person I believe). We saw tons of animals on the river ride and our tour guides made sure that every single person spotted the animal before moving on. The best was watching the bottle nose dolphin doing flips in the air behind our boat. Altun Ha was amzing (considering I have never seen any other ruins). From the top you can see over the top of the forest for quite a far distance. We had Ken and Melanie for our tour guides and they were amazing. They talked the entire bus ride, answered every question we had and were great at spotting animals on the river ride. I think this tour is a must.

[disneylynn]

Caroliemarie, Thanks so much for posting a great review.

Now I know I have to take my 9 year old DD

[stlrboo]

I also did the Altun Ha/River Wallace through Carnival off the Miracle a couple of days ago.

Wondered if you had trouble booking at the Shore Excursion desk? Appears to be a very popular excursion, and I had hoped to book pre-cruise. I have attempted to book for April 22, but their 'site' won't let me. I came to the conclusion that the tour may not be available from the Miracle, but now I know it is, thanks to you, unless daylight savings time might make a difference on this date. Hmmm.m.m.m........ :rolleyes: