Lamanai Belize Tours
Lamanai Belize Tours
5
Historical & Heritage Tours • Boat Tours • Hiking & Camping Tours
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The Best Tours to Lamanai Maya Ruins Archaeological Site in Belize. We cater to anyone including cruise liners. We offer a river adventure on the way to Lamanai, as you explore the mystic Maya world in an exciting way.
Belize City, Belize
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2022
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Lamanai Belize Tours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
524 reviews
Excellent
456
Very good
41
Average
11
Poor
7
Terrible
9
Vicki Barrett
Holly Ridge, NC9 contributions
Jan 2023 • Couples
So this was our first cruise and we were definitely hesitant to book an excursion that wasn’t through our ship. We were so glad that we decided to book this excursion. Not only was it cheaper than our cruise ship offered it was definitely way better!
This is a family run business led by a family of brothers. They took AMAZING care of us!
Elio was very fast to respond to all of our questions and gave us very clear instructions for meeting with our guides.
We traveled about an hour to the boat that took us to the ruins site, best part was that there were only about 10 of us in total and we didn’t have to share our trip with 60 of our new “best friends “ lol!
Elios brothers Julian and Havier were our guides for the day.. they made many stops along the way to point out crocodiles, birds, other local wildlife and to talk to us about Brazils people, history and economy .
We got to the site well ahead of the cruise ship excursions and Julian and Havier made sure everyone had water and got us out to the ruins when there was no one else but our small group.
Julian was very good at pointing out the local wildlife in the rainforest and had great knowledge of the history of the ruins. Word to the wise don’t get too close to the monkeys … they throw poop! Lol!
I am middle aged and asthmatic and although I am used to the heat and humidity I did struggle with the different pollens as everything in the forest was blooming. Julian was great at keeping up with the rest of the group but kept coming back to check that I was okay and to make sure that I didn’t have any questions about the ruins.
Lunch was awesome, a homemade meal prepared by their mom… no joke first time I ever saw my husband go back for seconds on rice and beans !
Elio had us back to the port in plenty of time. Absolutely the highlight of our trip.
I f we ever get the opportunity to return to Belize we will definitely hire this company again maybe for some river fishing or one of their other excursions. The people of Belize were beautiful, we saw amazing things, thank you to the Alvarez family! You guys were awesome!
This is a family run business led by a family of brothers. They took AMAZING care of us!
Elio was very fast to respond to all of our questions and gave us very clear instructions for meeting with our guides.
We traveled about an hour to the boat that took us to the ruins site, best part was that there were only about 10 of us in total and we didn’t have to share our trip with 60 of our new “best friends “ lol!
Elios brothers Julian and Havier were our guides for the day.. they made many stops along the way to point out crocodiles, birds, other local wildlife and to talk to us about Brazils people, history and economy .
We got to the site well ahead of the cruise ship excursions and Julian and Havier made sure everyone had water and got us out to the ruins when there was no one else but our small group.
Julian was very good at pointing out the local wildlife in the rainforest and had great knowledge of the history of the ruins. Word to the wise don’t get too close to the monkeys … they throw poop! Lol!
I am middle aged and asthmatic and although I am used to the heat and humidity I did struggle with the different pollens as everything in the forest was blooming. Julian was great at keeping up with the rest of the group but kept coming back to check that I was okay and to make sure that I didn’t have any questions about the ruins.
Lunch was awesome, a homemade meal prepared by their mom… no joke first time I ever saw my husband go back for seconds on rice and beans !
Elio had us back to the port in plenty of time. Absolutely the highlight of our trip.
I f we ever get the opportunity to return to Belize we will definitely hire this company again maybe for some river fishing or one of their other excursions. The people of Belize were beautiful, we saw amazing things, thank you to the Alvarez family! You guys were awesome!
Written February 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gloria209
2 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
We were on a Carnival cruise and had a port day in Belize. My sister in law had made reservations with Lamanai Belize Tours to take our group of 10 on a private excursion to visit the Mayan ruins. When we got off the ship, Elio (our tour guide) was waiting for us and after a bathroom break, we were soon seated in his van and away we went, through the Belize city/countryside. Elio was a very informative guide, telling us about Belize agriculture and school systems and everything in between! After an hrs drive, we got to a little dock and got in a small river boat and enjoyed an hour of beautiful river views while we sped along. Arrived at the ruins and Elio was able to tell us so much history as we walked the path through the ruins. After the hike, Elio and his brother Ian served us an authentic Belizian meal that was delicious!!
This day was definitely a great experience! A highlight of the whole cruise vacation!! Definitely recommend!!
This day was definitely a great experience! A highlight of the whole cruise vacation!! Definitely recommend!!
Written December 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dr B
2 contributions
Dec 2021
My colleague and I did a tour with Lamanai Belize Tours in December 2021 to scout out the potential for bringing our group of university students on the same tour in 2022. I am glad we did! The tour was excellent! The boat ride down the New River to Lamanai was fun and we had opportunity to encounter a number of unique bird species on the way. The tour at the Lamanai ruins was interesting and informative. The team of guides provided by J. Avila & son did a great job in explaining the Mayan history and navigating the boat up and down the river. They also provided a great lunch! We will definitely be bringing our group of university students on this tour during our class trip to Belize in 2022. I expect this tour will be one of the students' favorite excursions during our time in Belize.
Written December 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katherine D
Cambridge, MA215 contributions
Nov 2020
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 of the sites!
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 of the sites!
Written December 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maps792792
196 contributions
Jan 2023 • Solo
No complaints regarding the agency. They were readily accessible (only) on Whatsapp for rsrvation, efficient, polite, reliable. The tour was conducted well; good guide. The site itself is more 'authentically' foresty-wild than Xuna. The only thing I didnt like was 90 (!) mnts for lunch and souvenir shops; way tooooo much.
"Not worth it" - bcs of circa 50 mnts boat sail each direction. Other than spotting two iguanas, small croc and a few birds (all from afar), the novelty wears out very quickly; especially on the way back.
Lamanai itself is worth a visit, but not in such a time consuming manner.
"Not worth it" - bcs of circa 50 mnts boat sail each direction. Other than spotting two iguanas, small croc and a few birds (all from afar), the novelty wears out very quickly; especially on the way back.
Lamanai itself is worth a visit, but not in such a time consuming manner.
Written February 4, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bbadams
1 contribution
May 2023 • Couples
This was the best way to start our trip to Belize. Elio was amazing at communicating all the details for the tour and made booking reservations so easy. He was very patient with my group of 6 and we appreciated that. He was on time to start our 8 am tour, we started with an air conditioned van ride to the boat that took us to the Lamanai temple. When we got onto to the boat , Elio took his time to point out various birds and other wild life native to Belize. We loved how knowledgeable he was and was able to answer all the questions we had for him. It was a very smooth boat ride. When we started the tour, Elio gave us great history on certain things that helped us better understand the mayan culture, we loved that. He let us take our time for photos and didn’t rush us at all. The tour included lunch which was so delicious, the best part was the pico de gallo. Oh my ! My group still talks about how good it was. Thank you again Elio and his family for providing us such a great lunch and cold beverages. I will definitely recommend this tour to everyone I know planning a trip to Belize. The whole experience was amazing and unforgettable !
Written May 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StevenDavidBeekeeper
3 contributions
Dec 2021 • Family
The tour guide met our family group of 7 (parents and 3 adult children and 2 teens) at the cruise terminal and quickly had us in a spacious van riding through the Belize countywide on our way to the boat portion of the trip. Boat portion was relaxing and fun - just under and hour. Much more personal and informative than the standard cruise booked excursion. Lunch was authentic home cooked and very tasty. Elio and his brother Javier were great. I will use them again when I return Belize.
We were returned to the cruise terminal in plenty of time to catch the tender back to the ship.
We were returned to the cruise terminal in plenty of time to catch the tender back to the ship.
Written January 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Renee
Athens, AL2 contributions
May 2023 • Family
We enjoyed this excursion so much. Our tour guide, Julian, discovered we were interested in seeing specific birds and went out of his way to help us spot them, slowing the boat at crucial areas. He was very knowledgeable about all the wildlife, birds, plants and the history of the site and ruins. Julian allowed us plenty of time to tour the ruins even with some longer birding stops. Lunch provided was delicious and gave us a chance to try a traditional belizean meal. I highly recommend booking with Laminae belize tours. We had an awesome day.
Written May 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Suzie
9 contributions
Dec 2022
This tour was the highlight of our entire trip! Elio was an excellent guide. He met us at the cruise port and then after getting everyone comfortable in the van gave us a detailed history of Belize as we drove through the countryside. Next came the exciting ride up the New River. The scenery was amazing! When we got to the site, we walked through the jungle, saw and climbed amazing pyramids, and enjoyed learning about the local plants and animals. After exploring, we were served a wonderful lunch of traditional Belizean food. I definitely recommend this tour with Elio.
Written December 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angie A
Wausau, WI10 contributions
Feb 2023 • Friends
I booked this excursion for our day in Belize from our cruise. So glad I did not do the cruise ships excursions, we had just 8 of us for the day vs the cruise ships tours of 50 or so people. Ian and Julian were our guides and captain for the day. The boat ride was awesome. Very fast down the river 20 miles to our destination.The ruins were very interesting and we were able to climb the jaguar temple.
We did a short walk through the jungle and did see a howler monkey and lots of cool trees and plants. We had a delicious lunch made by their mom before heading back.
I would definitely recommend this tour. We had a great time.
We did a short walk through the jungle and did see a howler monkey and lots of cool trees and plants. We had a delicious lunch made by their mom before heading back.
I would definitely recommend this tour. We had a great time.
Written February 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Visitor7
Newark, DE529 contributions
Aproximately how lomg is tour and how much time is at the ruins?
Usually what time would we meet at port if ship lists 7:00AM - 5PM
Katherine D
Cambridge, MA215 contributions
About 8 hours for us. The time at ruins I didn't keep great track of, but I want to say 1.5-2 hours. Which I felt was the right amount of time to see everything. We climbed 1 of 3 ruins, and watched some monkeys for a while. The boat ride is about 45 min each way and I kind of consider that part of the tour. I would guess an 8am pickup for you guys - and they had us back at the port at 4pm for our water taxi departing at 4:30pm. The drive out there is definitely long, I recommend bringing some sort of entertainment, then they lock it in the van.
What is the price per person?
Elio A
Belize City, Belize
The price is 75us each person,Best price in Belize, and they grantee to get you back on time of your ship or they will pick you up at the hotel or water taxi,
Kak tuda dobrat'sia iz Beliza?
Elio A
Belize City, Belize
google map lamanaibelizetours
Danny
San Francisco, CA1,633 contributions
Is there an email where we can get a hold of this company to book an excursion? We will be on a Royal Caribbean Cruise and wanted to see one of the Mayan Ruins as well as a city tour.
_created_4_purpose_
Washington DC, DC4 contributions
Hi Danny! You’ll definitely enjoy this tour. If you like, you can download WhatsApp and phone Elio directly. The number is found on their website under “Contact.” Wear tennis shoes!
Marialucianocerino68
Castello di Cisterna, Italy11 contributions
Ragazzi io devo partire il 5 maggio e volevo sapere se a Elio lo trovò fuori al porto o lo devo contattare da casa e quanto costa l’escursione
Grazie in anticipo
purcy03
Cagliari, Italy49 contributions
devi contattarlo prima
Marialucianocerino68
Castello di Cisterna, Italy11 contributions
Ragazzi io devo partire il 5 maggio e volevo sapere se a Elio lo trovò fuori al porto o lo devo contattare da casa e quanto costa l’escursione
Grazie in anticipo
Marialucianocerino68
Castello di Cisterna, Italy11 contributions
Buona sera come faccio a contattare Elio ?
purcy03
Cagliari, Italy49 contributions
vai sul sito direttamente da TripAdvisor nella sezione contact us chiedi ciò che ti interessa e lui ti risponde all' indirizzo email che indichi tu.
carlacarini61
Corteolona, Italy5 contributions
Ciao, carlacarini61. Cosa desideri sapere su questa attrazione?volevo sapere se il tour e' solo in lin gua inglese graziee
Maurizio Il Barba
Milan, Italy101 contributions
Ciao Serena, saremo a Belize City il 28 agosto 2018, quali indicazioni mi puoi fornire per l'escursione che hai fatto? un nominativo da contattare, il giro che avete fatto, il prezzo e cosa comprendeva l'escursione, la guida parla italiano? per il pranzo?
Grazie ciao Maurizio Arnoldi
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