Best Ruins in Belize??

We leave on the Magic 5/25 and will stop in Belize. Of the two ruins - Altun Ha and Xunantunick- which one would you recommend? We want to tour one of these but wanted to ask which one cruisers would recommend. TIA:)

We leave on the Magic 5/25 and will stop in Belize. Of the two ruins - Altun Ha and Xunantunick- which one would you recommend? We want to tour one of these but wanted to ask which one cruisers would recommend. TIA:)

I would recommend Xunantunick. I was not impressed with Altun Ha.

I would recommend Xunantunick. I was not impressed with Altun Ha.

I agree. We did an AI there once and toured both. Later when we cruised there in 2008 we revisited Xunantunick.

What did you like about Xunantunick?

I also have toured both and agree completely! Xunantunich is incredible. There are amazing ruins to climb, the setting is beautiful. I usually book independent tours, due to the distance and time, I booked with Carnival. We had a great tour, the guide was knowledgeble! I really would do this tour again.

Teri

Thanks everyone for your help

What did you like about Xunantunick?

I shot some video of our entire tour to Xunatunich, you can check it out here, from tender to the top of the big one. This should give a pretty good idea of how the trip goes:

I would definitely go with it! The ride does not seem that long at all and we did enjoy the food at the stop on the way back. Two quick things for the timid, lol, not to freak you out but look out for tarantulas. We only saw 2 and not sure if it is common or not. I took it as a bonus as they were really cool to see in the wild (they are not your pet store variety and pretty big!). Um, the other thing is, and I guess this is just me getting older, but when we got to the top of the big one I sort of had a panic attack, lol. Mainly because the tour guide kept standing right on the edge pointing things out to us. The view is amazing though and sorry I do not have too many shots in my video of the top! This is mainly due to the fact my pulse was about 170! Gosh getting old stinks! 10 or 20 years ago I would have ran up and down this thing! It took them about 10 minutes to baby me through getting down from the top! :)

But yes, I would definitely spend the time on the Xunantunich trip! As tsj said, the setting is beautiful!

Just wanted to say thank you for uploading your video. It was just as I remembered it. My pictures didn't do it the justice your video gave it. It sent me right back into the moment I was on top as well. :) Much appreciated and perfect music to go with it!

We're definitely going to Xunantunich and have decided to go with Carnival because of distance. Has anyone done the Belize City Tour with the ruins? Just wondering is it worth it or should we spend longer at the ruins?

Fiona

I found the city tour a waste of time. Nothing to see but crummy areas, one after another.

If you've been to ruins, Altun Ha is not much to see either.

I found the city tour a waste of time. Nothing to see but crummy areas, one after another.

 

If you've been to ruins, Altun Ha is not much to see either.

Thanks for that. Have booked ruins on their own.

Fiona

was a great trip!

I agree! It was a fantastic experience and less touristy than the others we have seen. I highly recommend it. My wife loved it and took tons of pictures.

I shot some video of our entire tour to Xunatunich, you can check it out here, from tender to the top of the big one. This should give a pretty good idea of how the trip goes:

 

 

 

I would definitely go with it! The ride does not seem that long at all and we did enjoy the food at the stop on the way back. Two quick things for the timid, lol, not to freak you out but look out for tarantulas. We only saw 2 and not sure if it is common or not. I took it as a bonus as they were really cool to see in the wild (they are not your pet store variety and pretty big!). Um, the other thing is, and I guess this is just me getting older, but when we got to the top of the big one I sort of had a panic attack, lol. Mainly because the tour guide kept standing right on the edge pointing things out to us. The view is amazing though and sorry I do not have too many shots in my video of the top! This is mainly due to the fact my pulse was about 170! Gosh getting old stinks! 10 or 20 years ago I would have ran up and down this thing! It took them about 10 minutes to baby me through getting down from the top! :)

 

But yes, I would definitely spend the time on the Xunantunich trip! As tsj said, the setting is beautiful!

Awesome video..Thank you for sharing.. You really climb high... Any wildlife there?

Quick question, we are considering doing this tour and was wondering about the time. We have FTTF and can get off the ship with the first tender. Is the "tour" found in the port area or do we have to meet the tour group on the ship and get off with them?

I was only asking because I've never been and at other ports there are "Carnival" excursion areas at the port. I was really hoping to have 30 minutes or so before the tour started to check out the port area.

Thanks!

Quick question, we are considering doing this tour and was wondering about the time. We have FTTF and can get off the ship with the first tender. Is the "tour" found in the port area or do we have to meet the tour group on the ship and get off with them?

 

I was only asking because I've never been and at other ports there are "Carnival" excursion areas at the port. I was really hoping to have 30 minutes or so before the tour started to check out the port area.

 

Thanks!

Grab the first tender you can. There will be someone on the pier when you get off the tender with a sign or signs of where to meet. Usually it's right at the same "terminal" or end of the pier. You can ask about how much time you'd have before the tour left. Probably not much. But they'll wait until all cruisers who signe dup are there. Might take a couple of tender arrivals. If you're shopping, wait til you get back. If you just want to walk around a bit, won't take you 10 minutes. Early in the morning a couple of places with coffee may be open and Mojo's Chocolate Factory. But not a lot else to do.

Quick question, we are considering doing this tour and was wondering about the time. We have FTTF and can get off the ship with the first tender. Is the "tour" found in the port area or do we have to meet the tour group on the ship and get off with them?

 

I was only asking because I've never been and at other ports there are "Carnival" excursion areas at the port. I was really hoping to have 30 minutes or so before the tour started to check out the port area.

 

Thanks!

Hi,

We just did the tour with the ship on Wednesday and this is how it worked. We were told to be in the Toulouse theatre for 7.30am and were assigned a number that meant all of us on that tour were on the first tender off. We were taken straight to the bus and it took 2 hours to get to the ruins. We had about 2.5 hours at the ruins, then lunch about 45 mins, then 2 hours back. We didn't reach port til after 4, the time the last tender was leaving but there was a lot of people queuing and it took at least a half an hour before we were all on the tenders so if you're quick and one person from your party is in the queue at all times you can fit some quick shopping in.

Hope this helps,

Fiona

Thanks, Nancy, I enjoyed your slide show of Tulum!!

Ruth

Thanks, Nancy, I enjoyed your slide show of Tulum!!

Ruth

I'll tell my wife you enjoyed it. Happy cruising wherever you go!

We are going to Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel in February on NCL Sun. My husband wants to go places that are photogenic, and your wife's photos of Tulum certainly are beautiful. Any other suggestions for excursions in those ports?

Thanks,

Ruth