Lamanai Belize Tours. — Local services in Orange Walk District

Fantastic tour of some amazing ruins!

We booked this as a private tour, and it was 100% worth it. We had a great experience and felt very safe for our entire tour. Take advantage and enjoy this site without the cruise ships crowds while you still can. Javier was our guide and did a great job telling us about all the interesting parts of this site. We had visited other Mayan ruins in Mexico last year, so it was cool to see the similarities and differences. Make sure to listen when he talks about the liquid mercury that was found on site! A side note for picture lovers - I am always nervous to book guided tours because I want to make sure I have time to stop and take pictures. Javier was great about this! He included plenty of time for us to stop and take pictures of the two of us, even wandering around so we didn't feel pressured to be quick. This is a little thing - but something I really appreciated.

Some tips to help you enjoy your tour: It was 1.5 hour bus ride (bumpy roads, so be prepared), and then a 1 hour boat ride winding through the mangroves. Beautiful boat ride, they stopped when there was an interesting bird or wildlife. They provided cushions, but I suggest bringing a very lightweight blanket if you burn easily to protect your legs since even through the top is shaded the angle of the sun won't always protect you. There are bathrooms at the start of the boat ride (clean), and when you get to the ruins (also very clean).

Bring snacks & water. As with any tour you should be prepared and bring enough supplies for yourself! They did have some snacks and drinks for us on the boat ride back, and then we ate lunch in the bus on the way back (this was to allow us the most time at the ruins so we didn't mind the late lunch at all!).

The ruins have 3 sites, which are also the 3 main pyramids. There are wide flat walking trails in between them. We only climbed to the top of the High Pyramid since it was hot out, and this one gives you the best views (you can see the river your boat came in on).

We saw multiple groups of monkeys, which was very cool.

This group went above and beyond, they picked us up from a hotel not in Belize City, were able to store our luggage throughout the trip, and then dropped us off at the water taxi port. I really appreciated their flexibility in addition to their knowledge...

Our party of 8 took the tour through Lamanai Belize Tours. We arranged it through their website with Elio, the owner. He was responsive and informative via email before our trip.

Just the facts: We were met at the cruise port and taken by comfortable, clean, and air-conditioned van to the river (45-minute ride). We boarded a small riverboat with a canopy and enjoyed a 1-hr ride to the site, which is stunning. We had 1.5 hours on site then went back by river, had lunch, drove back, and had plenty of time to re-board the cruise ship.

What made it great: Foremost, two excellent tour guides were dedicated to our van's group - Abner and Julian. Abner chatted throughout the van ride about Belize's history and culture, and he was our guide at Lamanai itself. His information was detailed and accessible. At Lamanai we learned quite a bit about Mayan culture, including the archaeological discovery and excavation of the site. During the van rides we learned about Belize's economy, politics, geography and geology, family life, religion, and education. Along the boat ride we saw egrets and herons, several small crocodiles and one large one, and monkeys. Walking from the river to the site our guides pointed out trees and plants with cultural, medicinal, historic, or natural importance. Abner was attentive to every member of our group, encouraged questions, and waited for and took photos cheerfully. Julian drove the van and piloted the boat (the latter very skillfully). He has a great eye for animals and paused to show them to us. We were pressed for time since our ship docked a little later than usual. Julian kept up a good enough pace to ease our anxiety, but we never felt rushed. We enjoyed a home-cooked lunch of rice and beans (truly delicious), bamboo chicken (ditto), homemade pico de gallo (spicier than I expected, delicious), and fried plantains.

This was a well-run tour at great value, made exceptional by our tour guides...

This was an experience, that no one can fake, or even feel without being there. These staff are amazing and well knowledged. They drove to the ruins of Lamanai, which are secluded in the jungles along the New River. It's about 90 minutes on the boat ride there, as they take there time to show us all the wildlife that we come across. It was about 30-40 minutes back, as it's with the current. We had Javier as our guide. He was well aware, and knowledgable about the surroundings. He was always sharing facts, and going out of there way to give us an amazing opportunity. We felt as if we were getting a personal tour of the place. We only had 5 people including Javier, so we had 1on1 experiences. They served us homemade lunch, made my Javier's own mother. It was amazing! They even brought water, and coke products to. I would reccomend this service to anyone, as they are amazing, and care about you as a group. They make you feel at home, and with the culture. I would go back again and again. Just for the experience. Its 75 USD for adults, and 60 USD for kids. This is an experience no one can replicate, as it's just...