Review of Lamanai/New river safari

[zazu]

We were met on the pier by our tour guide. He took us to a clean and modern bus to begin the bus portion of the excursion we bought thru RCCL. He was very informative and answered all questions that we gave him, while our bus driver paid attention to the narrow highway. When we got to the river, our guide was the captain of the boat we took. The boat held about 20 of us tourists . Also on board was a "boat captain in training" who used binoculars to spot wild life for us to see. There was a security guard on board too. The boat went along at a pretty good clip untill something of interest was spotted. The boat then would stop for us to look and take photos of crock's, termite nests, birds, monkeys ,etc. We got to the ruins right at noon so lunch of chicken, rice, and a very tasty coconut tart. Bottled water and coke were suppied at no cost also.

The land part of the excursion was made very interesting because of our tour guide. He told us of the areas history and as we moved along the jungle path he explained some of the medical and other uses of the trees and vines we were seeing. After getting to the ruins we were allowed to take our time and look them over. A troop of howling monkeys were a pleasent distration. The trip back on the water was a repeat of the first leg of the trip, stopping when something of interest was seen. The bus got us back in time to catch the last tender to the ship. It is a long excursion about 8 hours so all in our group was tired at the end of the day. To sum up : Worth the money, and would recommend. ( From what I seen going through the city, I would not try and do any shopping away from the pier.) Larry ronimwl@aol.com

[lynninsc]

Thanks for the review. My husband and I are considering this excursion. A couple of questions if you don't mind...did you have the opportunity to do any shopping, I have seen on some of the threads where people on this excursion had the chance to shop at a little village. Also, do you remember your tender times? We are scheduled for Belize from 8-5. Thanks.

[zazu]

We got back to the pier just in time to catch the last tender, I think our time in port was the same as yours. They did have some vendors at the wboat dock and at the sight of the ruins, we did but some of the local crafts and also a couple of bottles of the local beer to drink on the bus ride back to the pier. We have been on 13 cruises and this was one of the best excursions we have taken. larry

[lynninsc]

Thanks, I think we will definitely do this excursion!

[TrinaLC]

me too, and this sounds like it is a must done through the cruiseline rather than privately ...

[ontheweb]

We did this same tour through Royal Caribbean in the summer of 2004. First, let me say that we were more impressed with the ruins at Lamanai than we were with those in Cozumel that we had seen the previous day. Our main regret was that there was not more time at these ruins. Much of the 8 hour tour was taken up by the tender, the bus, and the river (though that part was also worthwhile.)

 

Our guide in Lamanai was very enthusiastic and knowlegeable.

 

The only negative on the excursion was that the people running the boat on the river managed to run out of gas. We were within sight of the bus back. They had more gas on board and did eventually get the motor running agin. But, it was not funny.

[Maxsea]

My husband and I were thinking of taking this excursion. My husband has knee trouble and walks with the assistance of a cane. Is the trek from the river to the ruins strenuous and about how long does it take? We don't want to slow down anyone, so if this is a lot of walking, we'd forgoe this.

[kirbmeister]

We did this last summer and our only real complaint was the heat with the humidity (not the best excursion for July). Otherwise we loved this excursion. The walking was not overly taxing, unless you want to climb the ruins. The vendors at the boat dock were friendly and not overbearing as in some areas. We have a couple of nice pieces of woodwork sitting on our piano now.

[ontheweb]

My husband and I were thinking of taking this excursion. My husband has knee trouble and walks with the assistance of a cane. Is the trek from the river to the ruins strenuous and about how long does it take? We don't want to slow down anyone, so if this is a lot of walking, we'd forgoe this.

 

Between the tender, the bus, the river ride, and time for lunch and shopping at Lamanai, there was probably less than an hour spent actually exploring the ruins.

 

Except for the people who tried to climb one of the taller ruins, it was not exceptionally strenuous. If you did fall behind, you would catch up waiting for those who did that climb to finish and climb down.

[Maxsea]

Thanks for the input. I've talked my husband into this one. Sounds great.