Alta Hun/River Wallace

[cruisinginnov]

If you have forgotten, For tours in Belize, I highly recomend these guides that I had been with in Roatan and in Belize. Excellent guides, Cave tubing tour and many more, The cave tubing tour in Belize was the highlight of my cruise. So looking for a great time while on your cruise look up http://www.***** Desmond was my guide very friendly also a careful driver.

[mbisson]

Nothing personal but every one of your last 9 posts have had this same info. Is some shilling going on?

 

LOL

-Monte

[01Sweetpea]

Still waiting and hoping that we can pre-book this excursion. This is the only ruin excursion we are planning on doing, and the kids are really excited.

[mhool]

Can any one give coments on Xunantunich? I have see many coments about Altun Ha. Which one is largest or worth while to see? :D

[mnsawyer]

What was the time for this tour? The carnival website says 6 hours so assume it's an early departure. Do you meet at the dock or do they pick you up from the ship? Also, what about lunch...saw a post that says you stop somewhere and can purchase lunch? What is it and how much? I'm a little apprehensive about buying food locally. In thinking back on our Glory cruise, my DH ordered food right on Goff's Caye and didn't say a word...I was surprised since he's usually the one who worries about that stuff...we had a chicken kabob from a guy who was cooking them on the island - it was excellent!

[bandtaxi]

We took this tour in April. I believe our time was around 8-8:30 and we met in the Phantom Lounge with all the other Belize tours. They gave colored stickers to each group and then we waited for our excursion to be called. We then boarded the tenders and were taken to shore. They headed us (after the obligatory photo of course) to buses. When the bus was full the rest of us were taken to a boat. We did the river portion first. There were probably 15-20 people in our boat. We really enjoyed this excursion, although the tour guide probably has a lot to do with that. We had Joyce who was awesome as a previous poster mentioned. When we finished the river portion we stopped at a small outdoor market area where you could by wooden bowls and other stuff. You could also get a chicken/rice/bean dish. We didn't try it but others that did said it was good. When the bus arrived, the bus group got off, we got on and went on to the ruins. Again. . . very informative guide helps the bus ride as you travel down a very narrow, bumpy road part of the time. The ruins were interesting but it was HOT here and hardly any shade. The ride back in the air conditioned bus made us glad we had the boat ride early in the morning and the AC bus in the afternoon! We arrived back about 30-45 minutes before the last tender was scheduled to go to the ship.

[Cruisin Dave]

This is a great tour. Be sure to buy something at the outdoor market. Items at cheaper here than at the tourist village. Also, if you like dark beer try the local brew, Belikin, it is quit good. Take plenty of pictures but don't try catching one of the manetee, they are quit shy and only surface for a quick breath of air. If you climg the pyramid be careful of the high steps. Hope you have Marilyn as your tour guide, she is the best.

Dave

[idlewood4]

Planning on doing the Carnival excursion to Altun Ha and River Wallace. Any advice/suggestions from those who have done it before? What was the best part? Anything we should avoid? Would love to hear from folks who have done this one. We'll be a group of 4, 2 adults, and a 15 and 11 year old.

[Calvin & Hobbes]

River Wallace I have not done but Belize and Altun Ha are great. Altun Ha has vendors near the entrance and prices are quite negotiable. For the Altun Ha Ruins (and the Zoo and perhaps River Wallace) we highly recommend Margaret Montero (along with her partner Desmond Tillet), email: mdstourstravel1@yahoo.com and please mention that Chris from New Jersey sent you to her. Go to: http://www.*****/tours.html then scroll to the bottom of the page.

 

 

The actual Altun Ha Excursion alone 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 :cool: :cool: