Explore the ancient Mayan ruins of Lamanai, one of the top sights in Belize. Cruise along the New River, spotting exotic wildlife as you make your way toward the awe-inspiring archaeological site. A short jungle hike will lead you to impressive temples, plazas, and stone carvings buried deep in Belize’s rainforest. Round-trip hotel transport and lunch by a tropical lagoon are included in this full-day tour.

Full-day excursion to the Lamanai Mayan ruins
Wildlife-spotting cruise along the New River
Short jungle hike to the Lamanai Mayan site
Lunch by the lagoon
Free time for rainforest sightseeing
Pickup and drop off from most Belize City hotels

What's Included

Lunch
Refreshments
Hotel pickup and drop off from select Belize City hotels
Local taxes

Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:00 am

Pickup details

We pick up from all hotels and Air B&Bs in Belize City.

What To Expect

Discover one of the most important and impressive Mayan sites in Belize with this full-day guided tour of Lamanai, which means “submerged crocodile” in Maya. After pickup from your Belize City hotel, you’ll pass through local villages on the drive along the Northern Highway. At Tower Hill, you’ll hop on a boat for a cruise along the scenic creeks and lagoons of the New River.

Keep an eye out for many native bird species, including falcons, hawks, kites, and elegant jacanas treading on lily pads. Tropical orchids, bromeliads, and hardwood line the riverbanks, making for a beautiful journey toward the New River Lagoon. Here, you’ll get your first glimpse of the impressive stone ruins of Lamanai rising out of the jungle. After stepping back on to land, tour the site museum for some background on the ancient Maya and view artifacts found at the ruins.

From here, a 1.5-mile (2.5km) hike will take you deeper into the jungle to the heart of the ancient city. A cluster of ceremonial structures appear through the lush rainforest, while the call of birds and howler monkeys provides a soundtrack for the mystical scene. You’ll see the Jaguar Temple, the well-preserved mask of the Mayan Sun God Kinich Ahau, carved stone stelae, the Mask Temple, and the imposing High Temple, which rises above the treetops.

After touring the ruins with your guide, enjoy lunch on the side of the nearby lagoon. You’ll then have some time to explore the site on your own before making the journey back to your hotel.

Lamanai Archaeological Reserve

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Cruise port pickup and drop off not available
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed

Near public transportation
Most travellers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 200 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Reviews

4.5

79 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 79 reviews

Very nice

Cassandra_J, July 2023

Looking at all the temples and taking pictures of the large trees. The driving was great.she was very knowledgeable and helpful

Lamantai tours are well worth the money and time.

Douglas_L, Apr 2023

Out guide was also our driver. He was extremely knowledgeable about the countryside we drove through as well as the archeological sites. The boat trip was fast and exciting. Saw a large number of birds and other animals.

Massive disappointment

Carly_A, Mar 2023

I’m so sick of these companies only catering to larger groups. I’m a solo traveler and I had 5 days in Belize City with my main goal being to see the Mayan ruins. Most of the companies here have 2 person limits. I found 3 or 4 who were willing to let a single traveler book. EVERY SINGLE DAY my tours would cancel on me at the very last minute (between 4am and 6am) without explanation (not weather related) and giving me no time to look for anything else. This particular company canceled on me twice. Both at the last minute. Though they did explain why the second time. Supposedly other people who had signed up canceled. So the company canceled on me. I contacted them and asked them to reconsider, any other options available etc, so that I could see Lamanai—the only reason I stayed in Belize City—and was ignored. This is completely ridiculous and unacceptable.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Sorry, we could not get you on the Lamanai tour. We do have a minimum we need to run this tour and that has been fully disclosed to Viator. I was hoping you could go with two other guests who unfortunately cancelled without explanation. The cancellations were simply because we did not have the minimum needed to run the tour and not out of malice. Every time the tour was canceled through the Viator system the issue of the minimum was cited.

One of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommend.

Tyler_C, Dec 2022

Beautiful experience in a beautiful part of the world. River magnificent and our guide was both a wealth of knowledge but also great at spotting animals, birds, etc. Mayan site was incredibly preserved.

No notification of cancellation - very poor communication - EXPECT A FULL REFUND

Tim_G, July 2022

The trip was cancelled, we weren't notified. We had to pursue them to find out. We expect a full refund. We had to figure out on our own how to do a tour. Fortunately, we were able to do so. Very disappointed that no one called us to let us know what was going on. Thanks to some very nice Belizean people, they helped us to have a great experience.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

This review was posted incorrectly as it was meant for another tour operator. Unfortunately, we are unable to remove the review.

Our guide was great! He...

Bonnie_R, Apr 2022

Our guide was great! He was very knowledgeable regarding history and plants and animals. He was kind and courtesy as well.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed your tour

Worth It.

Dexter_W, Dec 2021

The trip started with an hour boat ride to the ruins. We saw wildlife and other villagers during our travel. Once we arrived at the ruins, we were able to receive background information on the temples and climb them. That was a great exercise.

Response from Host, Dec 2021

So glad you enjoyed your tour, thanks for sharing.

Joe M

GfeMjoem, Jan 2020

Excellent. Temple superb, walk thru jungle excellent. Staff knowledgeable about history, animals, fun.

Response from Host, Jan 2020

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a great time.

Special experience- overpriced

Nomad57112720900, Mar 2019

Beautiful experience we booked in advance of travel to Belize. Would advise all travelers to book upon artival: tour operators are many and many good ones plus a lot you can arrange on your own. Nearly $250pp for this outing was too much. Find a river transportation and learn about Lamanai by reading and park rangers.

River safari

Diane M, July 2018

Our guide for the Mayan ruins walking tour was extremely pleasant and knowledgeable. The boat captain on the river was as well. Very worthwhile tour!!!

Our first adventure did not...

Paul S, Mar 2018

Our first adventure did not disappoint. The river trip guide was very informative and stopped along the way to point out a variety of animal life including crocs, bats, and birds. The Lamanai temples are pretty amazing but due to the growth surrounding them it was hard to imagine how the whole complex functioned and fit together. We were expecting lunch close to the ruins so were quite hungry when we finally completed the trip and returned to the starting point restaurant for lunch, so bring snacks!

Highly recommended - an adventure...

Mel R, Dec 2017

Highly recommended - an adventure. The van to pick us up was on time and comfortable for the trip to the boat landing. The trip up the river was on a smaller boat which provided the ability to stop and get close to the shore to view birds and iguanas. We saw one small crocodile. At Lamanai we heard a very loud troop of howler monkeys - then later had a troop of a dozen or so spider monkeys cross over the path between pyramids. The lunch was homemade food and was very good. Would go again.

the day was interesting and enjoyable...

Anthony F, Nov 2017

the day was interesting and enjoyable completed with a grand meal by the new belize river

Traveling as a group of four and...

Philip B, May 2017

Traveling as a group of four and staying in Belize City, we were excited to tour the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. We booked our tour online with Viator before traveling to Belize. The trip was very well organized. Our particular tour operator was Discovery Expeditions and our tour guide/driver to the New River was Vel. Two others in our group booked their trip while in Belize through another company. So it seems to be random which tour operator you are assigned. Vel picked us up in a van at our hotel and drove us to the New River about an hour and a half ride where we joined several other groups and different tour operators on the boat to Lamanai. The boat was very crowded with the various guides and different groups. The boat operator was outstanding. He stopped to point out crocs and birds during the 1 1/2 hour ride to Lamanai. Once at the ruins, our group was led by Vel who gave us an informative and well guided tour of the ruins. His presentation was fun and he was very knowledgeable. We hiked to four or five different temples and ruins and were allowed to climb them if we wished. I opted to climb several of the temples that had regularly built staircases. But I truly appreciated the beauty of the sites and the wonderful explanation that Vel gave about each of them. After we had toured the sites, the boat operator set out a traditional Belizean lunch for all who had been on the boat. The food was delicious and abundant. It was a nice surprise to get such a great lunch -- it exceeded our expectations. The boat ride back was shorter -- 45 minutes. And then Vel drove us back to our hotel in Belize City. We really enjoyed our trip. It would have been 5 star except I think the boat was a little overcrowded which made it tight to sit for a long period of time and after lunch, we were only given about 15 minutes to tour the gift shops and the museum and use the facilities. It seemed somewhat rushed at the end of the day. I would definitely recommend the trip to those wishing to see Mayan ruins.

What a great experience! Make sure...

Ronald N, Mar 2017

What a great experience! Make sure to take your camera. You'll want to record the wildlife and the history. A beautiful country with wonderful people. We had the time of our lives.

Great trip! Loved all of the...

Verne C, Jan 2016

Great trip! Loved all of the aspects of the tour with one exception. The boat ride back can be quite windy as you are at full tilt on the jet boat. Loved Lamanai and all of the wild life we saw. Our tour guide Vel was great.

The trip was great! The river ride...

Jacob R, Jan 2016

The trip was great! The river ride was a lot of fun, and Lamanai was amazing. The guide, Vel, was ery enthusiastic, and a lot of fun. The only thing that could have been better is he could have told us more about the Mayans and what we were seeing instead of getting off on crazy tangents that didn't make much sense. All in all, a great trip, and I highly recommend it.

Vel - our tour guide, was friendly and...

Deborah P, Dec 2015

Vel - our tour guide, was friendly and very informative with the history. Great tour.

Our guide,Vel, was fun...

V, Jan 2015

Our guide,Vel, was fun, knowlegeable, and interesting. He informed us about wildlife as well as Mayan culture and history. The river cruise was very pleasant, and the bus transportation and boat were both comfortable. We would do it again!

I was not informed when I scheduled...

John S, Sept 2014

I was not informed when I scheduled the tour that the reservation was only a TENTATIVE reservation dependent on whether enough other people signed up for the tour. When I called after arriving in Belize to schedule a pick-up point I was informed that the tour would not occur because no one else had signed up. I had to scramble to find someone who would schedule a CONFIRMED reservation since I had left a day empty on my schedule for for this tour. It is a total lack of courtesy on your part accept payment and fail to inform the person making the reservation that the reservation is tentative, not confirmed . I am not happy with Viator in any way.