Altun Ha Cave Exploration: A Journey to Ancestral Underworld with Kayaking
4.8
12 Ratings
Embark on a thrilling expedition to Altun Ha Cave, exploring ancient dwellings and uncovering sacred ceremonies. Kayak through crystal-clear rivers, marvel at stunning formations, and enjoy a refreshing swim. Book your adventure now!
Duration:
6 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Nohoch Che’en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve - This tour will give you the opportunity to see the Ancient Ruins of Altun Ha and the caves at Nohoc Chen Park - see the mask of gods and climb to the top of the Temple, float thru the cave system led by experienced tourist guides, sightseeing natural formations,
What's Included
- Cave safety with monitored river conditions
- Equipments including headlights, helmets, and jackets
- Private tour guide and transportation
- Choice of kayaks or tubes for your adventure
- Lunch included
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Dating back thousands of years, caves served as homes, places of sacred rituals, and food storage for our forefathers. We invite you to this extraordinary journey into the subterranean world. We supply everything from headlights, helmets, life vests, kayaks, and a knowledgeable guide. Equipped with gear, the guides escort you along a forest trail, offering insights on local flora. At the cave’s entrance, the guide provides details about the seven cave configuration, getting accustomed with kayaking equipment and the kayak trail. You will encounter enormous cave entrances with pristine rivers coursing through. As you navigate, you will explore a sequence of caves packed with intriguing formations. The guide will suggest rest stops for a rejuvenating swim. The kayaking adventure unfolds within this cave network until the end where the sunbeams shimmer off the water and the melodious chirping of birds resonates from the riverbank. After packing up our equipment and taking a break at the facilities, we ready ourselves for the trip back. Secure your spot now.
- A moderate amount of hiking is involved
- Inclement Weather Concerns: we get hourly weather updates as to the condition of water levels at the rivers.
- bring cash for both archeological park admissions 10.00 per person, a reusable water bottle, disposing of empty plastic bottles is not allowed
- bring towels, change of clothing, swimwear, insect repellent, footwear with thick soles used to walk on gravel path and do the river crossing.
- cruise guest stay on ship time and arrive early, checkin with us as soon as possible , play more , arrive early
- for helmet cam use, Go Pro, bring helmet attachment
- participants must know how to swim
- restaurants, river shoe rentals, available at the park
- we pick up at the Cruise Port, airport, water taxi, hotels
- Water level contingency Option, for those that choose kayak, should the water level be too high we recommend doing the cave-tubing
- NOT available from NCL Harvest Caye Port
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(12 Ratings)
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Carla_m
Apr 29, 2024
Belize made memorable by Frederick! - I will start with the fact that Frederick was absolutely INCREDIBLE of a guide. We booked this tour as our on-shore excursion from a cruise ship. The 7 hour window was tight given the distance and completion time of activities and he immediately informed us that if we wanted to get the best experience, we would need to be on "athlete mode". It should be noted that my partner and I are in EXCELLENT physical health and are highly active. Those that are not in this health/fitness category (or that prefer a more leisurely pace), it might be helpful for the company and for potential clients to make specific mention that this exact combo excursion would not be possible from a cruise ship with the narrow time allotted on shore. One or the other, absolutely! But the combo was ambitious.
With that said, WOW! Frederick was impressively professional, fun, engaging, informative, and one of the kindest people we've met. He's a tremendous asset to V.i.V. and as a hosted guide/company on Viator.
He utilized drive time to maximize our experience at Altun Ha, which was an impressive archeological marvel. We were able to gain new insights and perspectives from Frederick that we found highly valuable.
The experience we had kayaking was excellent, albeit fast, as time was a coveted commodity. He was very clear on how to navigate the small rapids and how to paddle the kayak in 3 inches of water. Despite the truncated timetable, we had an absolute blast. The kayaking area was absolutely spectacular. The "hike" to the entry point was so lush and stunning, we could have stayed there all day looking around. The river and the caves were absolutely spectacular. There was plenty of height and width during the kayak that feeling closed in wasn't an issue!
My partner and I are more than satisfied with this experience, enough to ideally return to Belize in the (near) future. Thank you again!
Review provided by Viator
B3589ddsamg
Apr 27, 2024
Kayaking was amazing! - We had an unBELIZEable time, as it was put for us from our fantastic guide Sharon! We really loved this experience. Sharon was amazing. She was knowledgeable, engaging and became our friend! We would definitely take another tour with her. She made the experience better than it would have been without her. The tour itself was beautiful and relaxing. I would definitely spend my time doing this on another trip. Thanks Sharon! And thanks Abner for driving us to and from the event!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ethanby3837bz
Apr 2, 2024
Unforgettable Family Adventure: Cave Kayaking with Rock and Nos in Altun Ha - Our family had an incredible time cave kayaking in Altun Ha with Rock and Nos! From start to finish, the experience was unforgettable. Rock and Nos were not only knowledgeable about the area's caves and Mayan history but also warm and engaging, making the adventure feel personal and special. Their attention to safety and genuine enthusiasm added an extra layer of enjoyment to our journey. If you're looking for a unique and exciting family adventure in Belize, we highly recommend booking with Rock and Nos.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fearless56012571342
Mar 5, 2024
Trip of a lifetime - (Fabulo) was waiting for us when we got off our cruise ship took us straight to get photo opportunity in front of the sign. We first went to cave tubing where he was very informative on his City and culture. Then we went to the Mayan ruins where we hiked and learned a lot. We couldn't ask for a better guide and we had a wonderful trip would come back in a heartbeat.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tamika_c
Jun 25, 2023
Queen of the kayak. - My friend and I signed up to Kayak for this excursion and had a wonderful time. Our guide was very knowledgeable and shared as much information as he could while driving us to the river. Once we got to our destination our guide took his time to make sure everyone was safe on their journey to and through the river on the kayaks. I thoroughly enjoyed all the site and sounds while kayaking through the rivers of Belize. It was a little crowded with other tours, which slowed us down and made things a bit hectic at times. We then set out to see some mayan temples afterwards in the afternoon. Since most tours go to the temples in the morning we were the only tour guide at the site when we got there around 2pm. Our guide quickly and gladly took our pics. and gave out more information. He made sure we departed on time so everyone arrived back at their drop point at proper time. I would definitely sign up for this tour again. The views alone of Belize make it 10/10. The only thing I wish this tour included was lunch since it is a full day tour.
Review provided by Viator
Carolinagirl27
Jan 29, 2023
Family tubing and Altun Ha excursion - First of all, I've asked a lot of questions before booking, and VIV tour representative did an excellent job answering the questions in a timely and informative manner. That was a good sign and turned out to be the correct first impression.
As soon as we got off the ship, it was easy to locate the company representative. We were a party of 4, 2 adults and 2 elementary-aged kids. Both our private driver, Narciso, and the tubing guide, Barry, were very hard-working, friendly, and knowledgeable. If you book through VIV, you do not need to carry the tube to the cave, and they not only take you through the cave (like a tour from the cruise ship) but offer an extended ride down the river. We were a bit concerned about the coolness of the water since we visited in January, but it was not bad at all. Definitely bring hard-soled water shoes and a change of clothes. Make sure that the vest and helmet fit well right away not to fumble with them later.
Altun Ha was a great experience, too. Narciso was very knowledgeable about the history of the pyramids, as well as overall local history. Seeing a rare jabiru bird on the drive back was a special treat.
We left the cruise ship on the very first tender and returned on the last one, so I would not recommend doing 3 activities if you are thinking about fitting in the ziplining, too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrewticknor
Aug 4, 2021
Un-Belizable!!!! - We had a great time with our tour today! The first leg of our journey was the cave tubing led by Marco! He really worked hard to make the experience Un-Belizable! Then we left him and went with another guide to Atun Ha! It was a great drive as our second guide was so knowledgeable. We spoke forever about the region and the history of the Maya. I can't seem to remember his name though. Both guides were really fantastic. He left at 10 am and made it back to the water taxi with time to spare! Definitely use these guys.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Manoj_p
May 31, 2021
Belize - Good guide enjoy and have good knowledge enjoy and good tour guide good tour company will recommend this to friends and family to get this guide Fabulous
Review provided by Viator
Karenjamieson
May 2, 2021
Kayaking the Caves - Our guide was fun and had a great sense of humor. He knew a lot of interesting facts and was very knowledgeable about the Mayan site. Our afternoon was a great kayaking experience. Guide had a great sense of humor, shared fun fauna knowledge. I highly recommend doing kayaks! It was fun and we got a little exercise too!
Review provided by Viator
Keisha_d
Aug 2, 2021
Great tour, miscommunication of float type - Jeremy was awesome & patient with us. Tour was unique, an experience & un-Belize-able! Jeremy was knowledgeable & wonderful about answering our questions of the city of Belize, the cave elevation, rock formations, history of how the caves were used by the locals, etc. The views of Belize & their caves were amazing & the clear freshwater was so refreshing to swim in. Highly recommend tour, especially during hurricane season as you'll be getting in the water anyways! no need to worry about the downpouring rain!
Only complaint was the lack of communication as we were supposed to get kayaks for our tour rather than tubes. So we were only able to go thru 1 cave (altun ha)
Review provided by Viator
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