Altun Ha or Lamani?

I'm taking a Western Caribbean Cruise with Carnival in January. We really want to do a Mayan Ruin Tour in Belize but Xunantunich is wayyy too far. Altun Ha or Lamani both sound amazing! Which one is better? If you did go, did you go through the cruise ship or through a private tour company? How long did it take (and transportation)? Thank you!

If you scroll down this page just a bit, there are several current and active threads about this very question that you may find useful.

If you scroll down this page just a bit, there are several current and active threads about this very question that you may find useful.

Thanks! I've already looked through all of those before posting this thread. They didn't really have the answers I was looking for. And Carnival doesn't provide a Lamani excursion so that's why I was looking for a private tour company that did and how much they charge. But thank you anyway!

I'm taking a Western Caribbean Cruise with Carnival in January. We really want to do a Mayan Ruin Tour in Belize but Xunantunich is wayyy too far. Altun Ha or Lamani both sound amazing! Which one is better? If you did go, did you go through the cruise ship or through a private tour company? How long did it take (and transportation)? Thank you!

Altun Ha would be easy. It's close by so you could do a private excursion.

I went to Lamanai and took a private excursion. It's a multi-pronged event with a bus trip of 45 min or so and a river cruise of an hour or so. The site is several miles past the middle of nowhere. You'll be okay if nothing goes wrong, but you are vulnerable to the unexpected event - breakdowns, traffic jams, etc.

That being said, I got back fine and most people do. Lamanai is probably my favorite excursion.

Altun Ha would be easy. It's close by so you could do a private excursion.

 

 

 

I went to Lamanai and took a private excursion. It's a multi-pronged event with a bus trip of 45 min or so and a river cruise of an hour or so. The site is several miles past the middle of nowhere. You'll be okay if nothing goes wrong, but you are vulnerable to the unexpected event - breakdowns, traffic jams, etc.

 

 

 

That being said, I got back fine and most people do. Lamanai is probably my favorite excursion.

Thank you!! I really wanted to go to Lamanai but since Carnival doesn't offer any excursions there and since it's so far we probably won't go in that case. That seems pretty far and since we have to tender back to the ship, Altun Ha seems like the better option. Thank you so much for your help!

We are also going to Belize in January and I have booked a Lamanai tour through Lamanai Belize Tours. It includes a boat ride to get to the ruins a Belize lunch and the tours. I have seen only good things about this company on Trip Advisor and they guarantee to get you back to your ship on time. I am really looking forward to this excursion.

We were just on the Valor and visited Xunatunich through a private excursion through belizecruiseexcursions. It was fabulous! The five of us in our party traveled by van with our guide and were able to ask any questions we had. No large groups. The last tender back to the ship was at 4:15pm and we were back to port by 4pm. We ended up eating our lunch in the car as we drove back, but it was so worth it for such a private tour.

Altun Ha would be easy. It's close by so you could do a private excursion.

 

I went to Lamanai and took a private excursion. It's a multi-pronged event with a bus trip of 45 min or so and a river cruise of an hour or so. The site is several miles past the middle of nowhere. You'll be okay if nothing goes wrong, but you are vulnerable to the unexpected event - breakdowns, traffic jams, etc.

 

That being said, I got back fine and most people do. Lamanai is probably my favorite excursion.

We took a cruise in January 2015 on the Carnival Glory. When we stopped in Belize City, we did a Carnival excursion, which included a speed boat tour up the Wallace River. We saw manatees, bats, monkeys, alligators, and HUGE iguanas up in the trees, on the river banks. We also got to see many of the homes and people along the bank. That lasted about an hour. Next we stopped for lunch, choice of a local cuisine or burger, and then transferred to a bus (about 30 minute ride) that drove us to Altun Ha. We loved it. It was not too big for me (being way out of shape and all) to climb. There were a few different ruins you could choose. The tallest, Temple of the Sun God, is about 50-ish feet. I climbed this one. My husband climbed with me and then went off on his own to climb two others. We had the choice to follow the group and listen to the history, or walk around on our own. We followed the group for awhile, but when we saw that the largest ruin had no one near it, we ran over to take an uninterrupted photo op. Last we had some time to shop at the little stalls near the entrance. Everyone got back on the air conditioned bus and rode back to the dock. It was really cool from start to finish.

I'm taking a Western Caribbean Cruise with Carnival in January. We really want to do a Mayan Ruin Tour in Belize but Xunantunich is wayyy too far. Altun Ha or Lamani both sound amazing! Which one is better? If you did go, did you go through the cruise ship or through a private tour company? How long did it take (and transportation)? Thank you!

We're going in early December, and I've booked Lamanai with Lamanai Belize Tours. They have been very responsive and easy to work with, and the reviews on Trip Advisor are great. If you're interested, I will post a review when we get back.

Just a thought - will you be visiting Cozumel? Coba is fabulous!!! We have been to Lamanai and Coba - both - INCREDIBLE!

We took a cruise in January 2015 on the Carnival Glory. When we stopped in Belize City, we did a Carnival excursion, which included a speed boat tour up the Wallace River. We saw manatees, bats, monkeys, alligators, and HUGE iguanas up in the trees, on the river banks. We also got to see many of the homes and people along the bank. That lasted about an hour. Next we stopped for lunch, choice of a local cuisine or burger, and then transferred to a bus (about 30 minute ride) that drove us to Altun Ha. We loved it. It was not too big for me (being way out of shape and all) to climb. There were a few different ruins you could choose. The tallest, Temple of the Sun God, is about 50-ish feet. I climbed this one. My husband climbed with me and then went off on his own to climb two others. We had the choice to follow the group and listen to the history, or walk around on our own. We followed the group for awhile, but when we saw that the largest ruin had no one near it, we ran over to take an uninterrupted photo op. Last we had some time to shop at the little stalls near the entrance. Everyone got back on the air conditioned bus and rode back to the dock. It was really cool from start to finish.

Loved reading this. We will be doing this excursion in January and can't wait.