Mayan Ruins

[Nuchi15697]

We are going on the Getaway in June to Roatan, Costa Maya, Belize City and Cozumel. Where are the best Ruins to visit? And the closest to the boat.

Thanks

[janymac]

I thought after seeing almost all of the mayan ruins, costa maya was the best.

My rating is from the ruins themselves, the guide and the amount of time it took to get to them!!

 

Second would be Chicken Itza but do not think any of the tours go there anymore...

 

Enjoy whatever ruins you go to...

 

janymac:p

[titangas]

For your itinerary.

 

In Coasta Maya - Chaccoben is a nice site to visit. You can get a great tour through Native Choice and would be my recommendation.

 

From Cozumel you can take a trip to the Mainland to Tulum but it is quite a long trip, it is another fantastic site but I wouldn't do it on a cruise.

 

There are a few other options as well

[Quincella]

For your itinerary.

 

In Coasta Maya - Chaccoben is a nice site to visit. You can get a great tour through Native Choice and would be my recommendation.

From Cozumel you can take a trip to the Mainland to Tulum but it is quite a long trip, it is another fantastic site but I wouldn't do it on a cruise.

 

There are a few other options as well

 

I agree with the bolded. We loved Native Choice, and our time at Chaccoben. We did the authentic Mayan village experience and would do it again if we go back. Excellent experience.

[Oldgoat61]

We have only been to Tulum, which is an hour (each way) by bus from Playa Del Carmen. From looking at other ruins in Belize and Costa Maya, it is by far the largest.

We plan on going to the ruins at Belize, and Costa Maya this month.

 

Hope this helps! :)

[titangas]

I agree with the bolded. We loved Native Choice, and our time at Chaccoben. We did the authentic Mayan village experience and would do it again if we go back. Excellent experience.

 

We did that as well, my family still talks about the lunch as one of the best meals we have ever eaten ANYWHERE!

[Cuizer2]

We are going on the Getaway in June to Roatan, Costa Maya, Belize City and Cozumel. Where are the best Ruins to visit? And the closest to the boat.

Thanks

 

The best ruins would be Chichen Itza, but it is nowhere near any of the ports you are stopping at.

 

So the best port to visit any ruins would be Belize or Costa Maya. Given the long tender in Belize I would recommend Costa Maya ...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/shore-excursions/excursion/63/

 

Belize City ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/shore-excursions/excursion/3603/

 

Cozumel requires a boat ride which I would not do as part of a shore excursion (but would do if I was staying at a hotel on Cozumel) ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/shore-excursions/excursion/2665/

 

If you want to see Chichen Itza then either go from a hotel in Cancun or take a ship tour from Progreso ...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/shore-excursions/excursion/4303/

[Mom2B&Z]

We've been to Lamanai in Belize and Tulum from the stop in Cozumel. Both are at least 1.5 hrs from port, but the experience is amazing. Tulum is very small, there are only two or three major buildings left, Lamanai is much larger but many buildings haven't been excavated yet. You can climb the structures at Lamanai, but not Tulum.

You can do some research on both of the sites before you go and decide from there. Both trips involve boat and bus rides, for this reason we did ship excursions instead of booking privately.

[roger001]

We've seen both Costa Maya and Belize ruins. Enjoyed them both.

[BirdTravels]

We are going on the Getaway in June to Roatan, Costa Maya, Belize City and Cozumel. Where are the best Ruins to visit? And the closest to the boat.

 

We liked Altun Ha Mayan Ruins in Belize (esp since Harvest Cay is not open yet).

[pspercy]

Another vote for Lamanai in Belize, it's an all day trip but fun.

We booked thru' the ship and glad we did as they had to wait for us !

[Mumblez82]

We went to Belize City last year and went to Xunantunich. I will say that this particular ruin will take most of your day to see but I think it's totally worth it. The views from the top of the ruin were amazing!

 

I will highly recommend Belize Exotic Adventures. They are a great company! Very professional and they take great care of you. Our guide Henry was amazing! Kind, informative and always made us feel safe.

 

We enjoyed it so much we are getting Henry again when we go back in May to go to Alton Ha ruins.

 

I will say that I tend to be the more adventurous type and am willing to put myself out there and that made all the difference in enjoying the excursion.

[biker@sea]

Another vote for Lamanai in Belize, it's an all day trip but fun.

We booked thru' the ship and glad we did as they had to wait for us !

 

Same here.

 

Lamanai was so awesome. We went twice. :D

The new river fast boats were thrilling.

Howler monkeys were there at the ruins too.

And lunch was interesting.

.

[evandbob]

If NCL offers a tour to Xanantunich or Lamanai from Belize, I would vote for those sites.

They are the largest that I've been to that are accessible from a port stop, even with the 1 1/2 hr bus ride. You can still climb the large structure at Xanatunich, amazing up there!

 

Chichen Itza is marvelous, but too far. Tulum is stunning and Coba is one of the oldest sites , but both are another long trip from Cozumel involving ferry and bus rides. Altun Ha is a small site and terribly patched up and restored, but close to Belize port. There are some small ruins outside of Costa Maya about a 1/2 hr bus ride away.

[nw gardener]

Another vote for Belize Exotic Adventures, used them last month to see Altun Ha ruins, we picked that ruin as it was relatively close [45 minute drive from port] and flat and easy walking [87 yr old Dad with us, very mobile but the boat ride to Lamanai would have been too much]. We LOVED our guide, Nickoli [one of the owners] who grew up nearby and we could not have gotten anyone more knowledgeable. It is a small site but you can climb the ruins there as well, plus he drove us around for some more sightseeing after that. His tour was the highlight of our trip, they offer other excursions on their web site other than ruins as well. You might want to consider seeing a ruin in Belize since it will be more difficult after Harvest Caye replaces Belize city.

[snorkelmom19]

Lamani

[LrgPizza]

We enjoyed the San Gervasio ruins on the island of Cozumel. They are much smaller and less magnificent than Tulum, but much more easily accessible, and nice for a tour.

[DMH15]

We did the Lamanai ruins and Riverboat ride last year in Belize. Very enjoyable.

 

I have done Tulum, Chitzen Itza and others. So, as a comparison, it works.

[spidybabe]

In January we used:

Victor Bodden fun & sun in Roatan.

Native choice in Costa Maya -Chaccoben ruins

Both great highly professional companies with wonderful tours and prices