joby

Hi,

we are going to be on a cruise with a stop in Belize City, January 28 from 7 am-- 4 pm (Belize time).

We are 3 middle aged people. I'm fit and love ruins (have been to Ek Balam, Coba, Chichen Itza and Tulum all in Mexico).

The other 2 in our group have never seen ruins and aren't as fit as I am.

We are rethinking our original plan of snorkeling in Belize and are considering a ruins trip now.

Does anyone have any private guides that have good reputations?

Which ruin might be a good fit for us and our time frame?

justshootme

Since you are interested in Mayan ruins, I'd see if Tikal is offered as an excursion (this will probably be by air and the excursion will be expensive). A friend was on a HAL cruise last year and Tikal was offered as a shore excursion it cost about $300. I can't remember if this was from the port in Belize or another port

If the Tikal excursion is offered by the cruise line, and the price is within your budget, I'd visit Tikal. I've been to Chichen Itza, Tulum, Tikal, Palenque and Copan. Tikal is the most impressive Mayan sight I have seen. The pyramids in Tikal are built in the Peten style and are similar to the pyramids you will have seen at Coba. The Tikal pyramids are the tallest that have been found thus far. If you are interested in Mayan ruins, Tikal is a must see.

joby

Thanks for the quick reply justshootme.

I would LOVE to visit Tikal someday! Our cruise doesn't off it and I think it's too far to go on our own without worrying about missing the ship $300 would be WAY over our budget too.

Hopefully, we'll find a reliable private guide that will get us away from the large groups. Hopefully to our chosen ruin before the ship's tours.

hopefulist

We used 2 guides last summer who worked out well for us:

Raul Marchand: 628.6438 [email protected]
Leonard Russell: 209.2055 or 625.9830

Phone numbers need 011.501 added to the front if you’re calling from the US.

joby

Thanks hopefulist,

I will email Raul.

Does Leonard have an email address? It would be very expensive for us to call Belize and talk for any length of time I'm sure.

hopefulist

No, Leonard (most people call him Russell) doesn't have email access - I asked. There are fairly inexpensive ways to call (we use a distance server called Hello World for our international calls unless we're skyping with relatives) but it feels better sometimes to have the confirmation of an email. Keep me posted!

joby

Thanks hopefulist.

Katie_Valk

Google Mark McField, an expert

joby

Hi Katie,

I have emailed Mark and gotten a couple of responses. Thanks for the lead