The Xunantunich Ruins in Belize – A Shore Excursion

I got the opportunity to visit the ruins in Belize, when I booked a cruise on the beautiful Navigator of the Seas cruise ship. I have written this review before, many years ago, but it has been stolen from the internet, so now I get the opportunity to completely re-write it once again in my own words again. This was my experience about this shore excursion, and mine alone.

This shore excursion was a very long one. It was the longest that my wife and I have ever been on. We got up early that morning and was off the ship by 8:00am. We didn’t wait long for our charter bus that was waiting shortly by the dock to allow us to take our seats.  It took us 1 1/2 hours to arrive at the ruins. I didn’t think we were ever going to get there. When we arrived, there were vendors there selling things that they had made. I still regret to this day not buying a really cool looking Mayan calendar plaque that I seen there.

After being broken down into smaller groups when we got off the bus, we then got on a ferry sort of bridge that moved while someone manually cranked a handle that pulled the bridge from one side of a river to the other. On the other side was several mini vans, awaiting our arrival. Our group squished ourselves in one of the vans, and at a very fast speed, we shot up a hill. When we arrived at the top of the hill, the driver of the mini van parked, and we all got out.

Now at this point you would think we were at the very top of the hill, but we actually weren’t.  We then had to get out of the van and walk to the entrance of the ruins, which was like climbing Mt. Everest. It was uphill all the way. If you have any sort of immobility, this is not a shore excursion for you.

Once you get to the ruins, you’ll find yourself standing among the remainder of your group, while your guide will explain to you all about the history of the ruins and the culture that the Mayans lived.  This will take about 20 minutes of the hour that you’re visit is going to be. After about 20 minutes, you’ll have about another 30 – 40 minutes to do as you wish.  If you want, you can head to the top of the El Castillo ruins, which is a really long and tall climb. There’s really not much to do here, other than to climb El Castillo. My wife has a fear of heights, so she chose to stay in an area with some of the other people in our group, that chose not to go to the top of the ruins. I, on the other hand, climbed the stairs to the top, and oh what a site it was.

When our visit at the ruins was over, we walked to the bottom of the hill where the van was parked, got in the van, and then headed further down the hill to the ferry-like bridge with the manual crank, and ended back up on the other side where the charter bus was waiting for us.

Most shore excursions have transportation that will take you back to the ship, however, this was not one of them. After another 90 minute drive, the bus stopped at a marketplace and then we were told we would have to catch a taxi back to the port where our ship was. This was one of the things that I did not like about this particular shore excursion.

There are lots of taxis at the marketplace, because they know that everyone needs to find transportation back to the ship, and the walk was way too long, so you pretty much don’t have a choice, but to pay the $5.00 a couple, plus tip, to take you back to the ship. Unless you can walk 10 miles, the taxi is definitely the way to go.

This is a shore excursion that I would say is one of those once in a lifetime trips. Because once you go one time, there really isn’t any need to want to go back. At least it wasn’t for me. However, it’s still a nice adventure that you can talk about later down the road, and say “I remember doing that.”