Xunantunich Mayan Ruin and Cave Tubing from Placencia
Placencia, Belize
- 9 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Take a break from beach combing and water sports to explore the ancient ruins and mysterious caves of the Cayo district on this full-day combo tour from Placencia. Visit the remnants of a once-mighty Mayan city at Xunantunich — where you can see all the way to Guatemala from the top of a pyramid — and then float through an underground network of caverns on a cave tubing adventure.
- Combo Xunantunich and cave tubing tour from Placencia
- Explore some of Belize's most impressive ancient Mayan ruins
- Take in spectacular views from the top of a ceremonial pyramid
- Hike through the jungle to reach an extensive cave network
- Float among enchanting caverns on an underground river
- Great way to experience highlights of the Cayo district in a single day
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Local guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
- Gratuities
- Lunch
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Operating hours.6:00 am
Itinerary
After morning pickup at your Placencia hotel, relax and enjoy the scenery as you travel up the coast and along the scenic Hummingbird Highway for about 3.5 hours to reach the heart of the Cayo district. Cross the Mopan River on a traditional hand-cranked ferry on the way to the hilltop archaeological site of Xunantunich. An important ceremonial site during the classic Mayan period, Xunantunich was the first such site in Belize to be open to the public and is among the country’s most impressive and well-preserved ruins.
Imagine the mighty city that once thrived here as you explore remnants of the plaza, royal palace, ball courts, and administrative buildings with your guide. If you're up for the challenge, hike to the top of the main temple for panoramic views of the Cayo and neighboring Guatemala. You may even see the trees below shaking with the movement of howler monkeys.
Then, take a voyage through what the ancient Maya considered to be the underworld on a cave tubing tour, one of Belize’s most popular adventures. Hike through the jungle to reach the mouth of an extensive cave network, and then float along an underground river on an inner tube. Watch the light from your headlamp flicker across mysterious rock and crystal formations as the gentle currents carry you along. After emerging back into daylight, relax on the return ride to your Placencia hotel.
Imagine the mighty city that once thrived here as you explore remnants of the plaza, royal palace, ball courts, and administrative buildings with your guide. If you're up for the challenge, hike to the top of the main temple for panoramic views of the Cayo and neighboring Guatemala. You may even see the trees below shaking with the movement of howler monkeys.
Then, take a voyage through what the ancient Maya considered to be the underworld on a cave tubing tour, one of Belize’s most popular adventures. Hike through the jungle to reach the mouth of an extensive cave network, and then float along an underground river on an inner tube. Watch the light from your headlamp flicker across mysterious rock and crystal formations as the gentle currents carry you along. After emerging back into daylight, relax on the return ride to your Placencia hotel.
1
Xunantunich
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Nohoch Che'en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 3 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not wheelchair accessible
- The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day and traffic conditions
- Most travelers can participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
based on 5 reviews
Aida_T, Jul 2024
Our Tour Guide Robin was very knowledgeable and entertaining. He made this tour so much fun . We would love to go to another tour with him being the guide. The pyramid site was magnificent and took our breath away. The cave tubing was amazing.. we were are awe from beginning to the end. Thank you Robin
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your experience on TripAdvisor! We're thrilled to hear that Robin made your tour both educational and fun—he truly has a special way of bringing Belize’s history and beauty to life.
We’re glad the pyramid site took your breath away and that the cave tubing experience left you in awe from start to finish. It means a lot to us that you’d love to tour with Robin again—we’ll be sure to pass along your thanks!
On behalf of all of us at Private Belize Adventure, thank you for choosing us. We hope to welcome you back soon for another unforgettable adventure!
Amy_P, Jan 2024
It was nice to be able to see both the temple and do cave floating in one day. Driver was fast, but safe. He did a great job explaining the Mayan history. The guide for the float was wonderful as well.
ZackH, Feb 2020
First of all, we can't say enough good things about our tour guide, Cus. He was punctual picking us up in Placencia and gave us so much interesting information about Belize and the culture on our way to xunantunich ruins. The drive was so relaxing, fun, and the 3 hours passed quickly. Once there, it was a short walk to the ruins. So majestic and amazing views from the top!! Watch out for rogue iguanas! Lol we spent over an our there checking it out and we saw and heard some howler monkeys! We got back in the car and drove 1.5 hours to the cave tubing site. We got rum drinks inside fresh coconuts and started the adventure. It was a 30 min beautiful walk through the jungle to the cave entrance. The caves were so large and incredible, much grander than we ever pictured. At that point we enjoyed a leisure float through the cave systems...so cool!! Once emerging from the caves, we continued floating back to the area where we started the walk so no walking back. The river was so beautiful and clear with beautiful green blue colors where it was deep. We decided to swim and truly enjoyed the refreshing water. The whole experience was definitely a high light of our honeymoon and we could not recommend it more. Thank you again Cus for an amazing, informative time and for the laughs too!!!
Deborah M, Sep 2017
Our guide was awesome and entertaining with good knowledge to share. Will definitely use them again on the next trip.!
John H, Jun 2017
Very good tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the everything we saw, including local facts along the drive to the ruins. We felt well taken care of at each set of the process. The ruins themselves were awesome. We also had a great tour guide for the cave tubing. He made every aspect of the tour interesting. Our guide brought use to a fabulous restaurant for lunch. I wish I could remember name of the delicious meal he recommended. overall I rate this tour - fantastic.
From $395.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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