Xunantunich and Cave Tubing Combo Tour from San Ignacio

Jose, our guide, went above and beyond and gave us a very in-depth cultural history of Xunantunich and then an absolutely amazing and adventurous tour of the caves. Highly recommend it, ask for Jose.

Wow! The caves are so beautiful and the water is exceptional. This was the best time spent here in Belize!

Our Xunantunich Maya Ruins and cave tubing adventure was one of the absolute highlights of our Belize trip, and that was largely because of our guide, Edward. He was exceptional from the moment we met him. Before we even reached the cave tubing, Edward took us through the Maya ruins, and that experience alone was incredible. He didn’t just walk us through it—he brought it to life. He explained the history, the culture, and the significance of everything in a way that was fun, engaging, and easy to understand. He made learning exciting, especially for the kids. What impressed me most was how he interacted with my children and made them part of the experience. He asked them questions, got them involved, and made them genuinely want to learn instead of just listening. That takes a special kind of guide, and Edward was excellent at it. When we moved on to the cave tubing portion, he continued to make the day seamless and enjoyable. Traveling with kids—especially with my energetic 8-year-old son—can be a challenge, but Edward handled everything perfectly. He created the right balance of fun, adventure, and structure so everyone felt safe, relaxed, and excited. He was kind, patient, funny, and incredibly knowledgeable. By the end of the trip, he honestly felt like part of the family. We even ended up spending more time with him afterward because he was just that genuine and enjoyable to be around. Great tours are memorable, but great people make them unforgettable. Edward absolutely made this experience unforgettable. Five stars all the way.

5 star review specifically for Carla! A fantastic, knowledgeable, wise, and enthusiastic guide who helped provide history, context, and nature tidbits for a wonderful full day tour

We booked through Captain Jaks in Plancencia, Belize. Christian (Chris) was our guide. He arrived at our VRBO 20 min early, was very friendly. The trip we planned was a private tour, we had the Van to just the 4 of us. Chris gave us a history lesson the entire trip to the Ruins. Very knowledgeable, funny and full of energy. We toured the Mayan temples, which was amazing. Then we had lunch at an amazing restaurant. Then we were off to do the Cave tubing. It was one of the most beautiful places we've ever been to. Chris was great from start to finish. If I could, I would give him 10 stars!

Did this tour from San Ignacio - 30mins to Xantunich ruins, another 1.5hrs to the tubing - 4hrs seemed quite a lot of driving in one day. Having said that - the caves were incredible - make sure you ditch the tubes and walk around with cliff jumping too.

Jose with St Leonards Tours was an absolute treat. We had the pleasure of having him take us to Xunantunich and cave tubing. Unbeknownst to us we were the only ones on the tour so we had our own private time with Jose and we yes to everything that he offered. He showed us the flora and Fana of the area. was very knowledgeable about the history of Belize and the Mayan sight. When it came to cave tubing, we had an amazing experience with him. If you have the chance, say yes to the extended cave tour. We had an extraordinary traditional meal as well, and he even stopped so that we could grab coffee on our way back from the tour. If you have the chance, take advantage of this family owned business over the larger more corporatized tours. We will definitely be reaching out to St Leonards in the future when we go back for some of the other tours. Thank you again, Jose.

Amazing Day . The guide knew so much about both the Mayan site and the caves, and the knowledge made the trip so enjoyable.

Jose was the best guide we’ve had traveling all over S America (more on him later). It’s a 35min drive to the Mayan site. Climb as much or as little as you want. The structures are impressive with panoramic views from the top. From there the drive to the river & caves is longish (1.5hr). About a 30 min walk up the river and then leisurely tubing down through huge caves. Tubing through the caves was phenomenal made even more enjoyable by our guide Jose. He shared interesting details about the caves, their evolving nature and intricate passages one could take if one wanted to. Jose was full of interesting little details of the flora and fauna of the region which he learnt growing up in the area. Above all he enjoyed the work he did and spread the joy to our party freely and frequently. I highly recommend him and the tour company he works for (sorry cannot recall the company’s name).

This was a long and fun day! We were picked up at 7:30am and dropped off just after 7pm. Carla was a lovely and friendly guide. Pros: The van we were in was air conditioned and Carla gave us a good idea of what the day would be like. She definitely knew her archaeology and gave many details about the ruins. And she was an amazing cave guide! She had to work so hard to get the group of 6 of us moving on the slow moving river- she is small but mighty! She also led our group to explore and swim through the Crystal Cave, which was an incredible experience that our whole family (kids aged 10&12) loved! On the way home, Carla had watermelon and local plantain chips to snack on. She was pleasant and very knowledgeable. The only suggestion I’d give is to make the ruins tour a bit more beginner friendly. My kids and I had no prior knowledge about the Mayan culture so felt a little lost. It would have been helpful to have an overview of the culture, and comparisons to cultures today, to help us understand. But other than that, I’d recommend St Leonard’s wholeheartedly- the communication, the customer service and the actual tours were awesome!!