Lamanai Review: I took the Lamanai tour on May 5th through Tanisha Tours. It was an incredible experience, but you must be prepared for a long day. The tour boat picked us up at our hotel's dock at 7:10 a.m. and we were dropped off at the dock at 6:00 p.m.

Sunscreen is a must-had no problem with bugs or mosquitos. The first leg of the tour is in an open bow boat. Stopped to watch and photograph dolphins on the way to the river. River tour through the mangroves and ends at Bamboa village. Depart boat and board a bus for an hour+ bumpy ride. Although bumpy and dusty, still has some interesting stops and sites along the way.

Board a river boat, which does have a tarp to shade you from the sun. Given all the stops to view birds, plants, wildlife, etc., it's about a 2 hour ride.

Lunch is served and then the tour is about another hour and a half. Rum Punch, Belikin's, sodas, and water flow freely on the way back to your hotel.

It's a long day, but well worth it.

I took the Lamanai tour with Tanisha on May 8 and went to Altun Ha when I was staying at Maruba Spa on May 13. Lamanai has much more to see than Altun Ha. Given that you've seen the other larger Mayan sites, I think you'd be happiest seeing Lamanai.

I'd choose the Lamanai tour,...it's a real adventure,....plenty to see along the way,...both inland and on the River. Take the bug spray, good walking shoes,...and something for the monkeys to snack on when they climb in the boat with you,....oh yea,...lots of film too.

You folks have me talked in to the Lamanai trip when I'm there in July. how much $$$is it roughly and how about the bugs that late in the summer? Thanks Cherie

Lamanai. Not just for the ruins, but for the entire tour. What an adventure! Long day, but worth every minute.

Laurie

The lamanai trip was $125 US and that includes everything-breakfast, lunch, the boat rides, the bus rides, guides, etc. Well worth every penny. I would do it again. We went with Daniel of Tanisha-very nice and very informative.

Forgot to tell you-we went beg.of April and I didn't find any problem with bugs but I've heard that it gets worse in the summer-I would definitely take insect repellant-deet is good. When we booked our tour, we were advised to bring binoculars, insect repellant, good walking shoes, a hat to protect your head from the sun and plenty of film if you're planning on taking pictures. In addition I would recommend a nylon parka in case it rains (it did for about 10 minutes while we were in the boat with no cover overhead to protect us-we got soaked but then the rain stopped and within minutes we were all dry. Also on the way back it got a little cool. You return around 6:30 pm but that was April.

When we visit Ruins we usually wear light hiking boots, shorts and a tank top. We spray on Off Deep Woods and that works very good. We also bring an extra t-shirt or tank top because it feels great to get off the sweaty shirt and put on a fresh, dry shirt.
Have fun!!!

Great, thanks for the advice..I've got one of those "emergency" ponchos, so that should take care of rain, and have my "deep woods" off with plenty o deet.