Lamanai Maya Ruin & New River Wildlife Adventure From Belize City

This was a great trip. The guides did their best so our group could see the temples without other groups there at the same time. It was more like an 8 hour trip rather than 4 hours as stated in the description. We recommend taking this tour.

Driver did not show up at 8 like scheduled then called at 9:30 to say he had an emergency. Fortunately, Viator refunded ticket. Disappointed we were unable to go.

To keep it brief-The company and I had some logistics issues.. As it was New Year’s Day, there seemed to be a few stragglers holding things up. This caused some delays and other problems. So we decided to request a refund. The refund was given. I gave it a 5 star because staff did try to make it happen but it just wouldn’t work for us because of time issues and they honored their side.

We enjoyed the Mayan ruins and the setting in the jungle was beautiful. However what was described to us as a river cruise to see local wildlife turned out to be a speedboat, so naturally we didn't see anything.

We had a wonderful time on the boat ride and at the ruins. However, we had to have another tour company contact Jose to confirm pickup because he did not respond to our message regarding exact pickup location. On the ride to the river, Jose was on the phone and cancelled with multiple customers for that day - telling him that he had been trying to get in touch with them (which we did not witness) and that he would just pick them up the next day. We travelled from San Pedro, so this would not have worked in our case. It was inconvenient at best and made it so some customers could not take the trip at all. When we arrived at the river, our guide and the boat ride were amazing. The guide stopped a couple times to talk about birds or plants. We didn't see any other animals. However, when we arrived at the ruins, our same guide gave us the tour and it was clearly obviously that when he did not know the answer to one of our questions, he would invent one - which he would then contradict later. I would've preferred he just say "I'm not sure." The tour ended with a delicious authentic Belizean meal.

There were several options to choose from ranging from $140/person to this tour at $186/person. I thought that the more expensive one would offer something nicer. So I choose that one for my wife and I. Big mistake!! The tour and boat ride were great. However, the tour and boat ride are done by someone else. So when signing up for the tours, you are just selecting the group that is going to take you to the actual tour guide. We had other people in our tour of Lamanai that were not affiliated with “Jose Tours Belize”. We got to the water taxi terminal after coming from Caye Caulker. There were several guys with signs for different tour companies. Jose was no where to be found. Some guys from other companies asked who we were waiting for. One guy knew our “guide” and called him. He told us that he was on his way. 15 minutes passed the time we were to be picked up and Jose arrives. He has to write out a thing for someone else that he was supposed to pick up later. So more delay. Finally we get to the van that is going to take us on our trip. It’s a mini van in horrible condition. One of the back chairs is broken and I had to sit reclined far back until I figured out a way to move it forward. It wouldn’t lock so when Jose accelerated quickly (which is did a lot) the chair would recline. It is about an hour ride to the start of the boat ride. Being so late, the van ride was rushed. Jose was racing through traffic and slamming on the breaks when he had cars in front of him. He was making calls to someone else to pick up whoever he was supposed to pick up later. He even told us that he was trying to call us all week, but couldn’t get a hold of us. We just booked the trip the day before. Much of his conversation was not very professional and he had a lot of political comments that we care nothing about. We finally arrive about 20 mins late to the boat. There we are handed over to Ian (who was actually amazing). He took us on an hour boat ride and gave us some history lessons as we toured Lamanai. Lamanai and the boat ride were wonderful. Highly recommend (just not with Jose Tours Belize). On the way back to the water taxi in Belize City, we informed Jose that our water taxi wasn’t until later. He even made a comment that there is no need to rush. However, his driving said otherwise. We recently traveled to India and Jose’s driving was pretty horrific. My wife told me that when we got to the water taxi that she wanted to kiss the ground. Jose Tours Belize is just a glorified taxi driver. We do not recommend him. Use another group to see the amazing Lamanai ruins.

This was a wonderful experience. From the Start when Jose, our driver, picked us up until we reached our destination. The van ride was a little over an hour from Belize City. Then we boarded a boat and met our guide Ian. Ion was outstanding. Very informative, knowledgeable about his homeland, and super friendly. Could not have asked for a better guide. The temples were amazing and the trip was definitely worth the price. I would highly recommend this tour.

Our guide was very knowledgeable, and the site is beautiful! The adventure was listed as 4-hours but coming from Caye Caulker plus the time it took to get to the river, it was an all-day event (~9 hours). That was fine with us because we had not made other plans for that afternoon. This was probably my 2nd favorite land activity in Belize, right behind the ATM Cave tour.

The next time we come back to Belize, Jose is my first call. I don't have adequate words to describe seeing Lamanai in person. This really is something you have to experience for yourself. The boat ride up the New River takes about an hour and our host pointed out local wildlife and plants we never would have noticed ourselves. Lunch was *delicious*. Our guide was a wealth of knowledge on the different parts of the ruins and components of the jungle. Bring bug spray!

It is a fascinating trip to visit Laminai ruins including an impressive mask temple, amazing nature and animals. On the way you can see quite a substantial part of the country. The trip takes at least 6 hours but it is worth doing!