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at the boat launch of Eco-Tours in Orange Walk. Price: Free when booked boat trip to Lamanai ($ 50 pp).
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Great spot, it was our backup location, primary spot was not reachable due to ferry failure. Arrived late, got a warm welcome and host did not even want any payment for one night emergency stay. We decided to get few beers in a bar located on premises as a thank you. Great service in the bar, perfect view.
If you have a dog, make sure dogs on premises are chained.
One word Horrible! We met Errol, the owner randomly in front of supermercado and this was the worst thing that could have happened to us.
We did not go for the boat tour, but spent 2 nights and did other tour. We spent 2 nights and did a tour with Errol's friend, apparently a 100% great hunter and amazing tracker and 4x4 rider, so the goal of the overnight tour was to spot jaguars, the guide said "will not be a problem".
So I spent 1 night in area and 1 on "tour" and my wife and daughter 2 nights at site. Nights at site were horrible, noisy, dusty, full sun and both days at 3.30am local cocks from Errols "farm/workshop/restaurant/landfill/parking start their concerts and you are 100% guaranteed no sleep at all after 3.30am.
But the tour was the real problem. We agreed on the price of 150usd (not expensive in my opinion, if it really was all night searching) and Landy James (the super hunter) claimed the price is also because he needs to take 2 helpers to clear the track and that we are talking about serious 4x4. At 1pm we left, no helper, as he suddenly changed his mind and did not need them "but their salary remained and price did not change", of course. Firstly we visited their 4x4 workshop, they had a modified Ram 1500 and I could not believe my eyes, everything they touched was screwed up totally and on top of that was that rear leaf springs were mounted upside down so they were bent upside!! and the limit leaf worked as a bow!. I just stared and couldn't make a noise than ehhhh. This should have been an immediate stopping point for me, but I so much wanted to see jaguara after searching for months that I was blind.
Then we left to forest in a Mitsubishi Montero 1 mile away from scrapyard. The car was barely moving. Landy required more money for gasoline as this car eats more than the truck he wanted to take originally but somehow wasn't available. I said ok and off we went. Track was simple, no offroad at all, and after a few hours he decided to take a spot as a camp. We parked, set up chairs and binoculars etc and I asked about schedule. Answer was we wait until dark and start walking and searching. The real dark was about at 8pm so I asked what is next. He replied that actually the best time is when the moon sets down which is 2 am, nothing to see now and told me to take a nap (6 hours nap! on night tour).
And then he just went to sleep and slept until 2 am snoring so much that any jaguar would run away. I was circling around with a headlight but couldn't do much. At 2am we went searching. After 15min of walking, he claimed this is a great spot and we need to wait here a little. He laid on the ground and slept until sunrise. I already knew that this was 'game over' long ago so I just did nothing. In the morning at around 6am he claimed this is the best time and we walked for about 30min. And that was it.
He slept 9 hours out of night tour. I didn't even believe it was possible but in 16 hours including daylight we did not see a single! animal except birds. Of course no jaguar, but nothing, not even a mouse! 😃 He even tried to convince me that tracks of something with paws roughly 2cm was an ocelot while the paws were half of our home cat.
Not a single sorry, nothing. Maybe the biggest disrespect to the client I have ever witnessed in my life. From the minute he took his money he didn't even think about searching jaguar, but only about how to somehow pass the night, get rid of me and keep these 150usd.
By the way Mrs Errolls Eco tours property is a landfill covered by mud. Eroll explained to me proudly how he got the land for free and only covered the landfill with soil and started his "business". Below you while heading on tour or enjoying your drink is 5 to 10m of pneumatics right in the jungle river. And he uses 2 stroke engines with 3mpg on some of his boats, explained to me by mechanics, proudly.
So the word "Eco" in his tours name departing from landfill burned deep in river and heading for adventure with 50x higher emissions than standard 4strike engines is, in our opinion level infinity of hypocrisy.
So after 2 sleep less nights, 1 lost day and 150 wasted usd we are finally leaving this place and it feels sooo good!
Report Check-InThe vibe at this place is wonderful! Great owner! The bar keeper Pete is a legend! Take the tour, it is worth every dollar. Great place to stay, good food, good drinks, great music!
Report Check-InAs described Nice tour in the river to go to the Maya Ruins, Wonderful with monkeys around. not So many crocodiles, they pass maybe a little fast… 125 us$ for 2 p. You can stay for nights
Report Check-InWe had the same experience here. They let us park our tent and bikes on the property for two nights while we did the boat trip to the ruins and back in the day. Good food and drink available at the bar. Highly recommended.
Report Check-InErrol and his team are very welcoming. As described before, the tour is excellent (us50$ p.p.) And you can stay there for free before and after the tour. The place is on the river bank and it's great to have a beer there at sundown. Highly recommended.
Report Check-InIn addition to have a fantastic experience in Lamanai thanks to a fantastic guide, the spot for camping is very good.
You can either camp under trees or right onto the amazing river. Sunset are magic !
There is a bar with good music, friendly
people, toilets and WiFi. Owner is lovely, welcoming you.
You can also fish or enjoy sunset. Very quiet, overall very good. Accessible for big rigs (our 30Ft & 3,60high)
Tours start early morning (around 8 / 9 am), great food and beverage provided. Amazing experience !
Report Check-InA very recommended place for camping free and for the Tour. Also a place to fish with the owner and a boat.
The owner is very friendly and give you all you need for camping. He even lets us use it personnal canoe for free all the afternoon..
The tour is ok, 50 us pp and 25 us for childreen under 10 years.
we spend 2 nights.
great spot to spend the night before and after taking the tour to lamanai ruins.
still same deal : 50 us $ per adult and 25 us $ per kid over 5yo.
the tour was really nice, our guide Carlos made it very interesting.
Errol the owner said that we could stay for free as long as we wanted.
highly recommended.
Still the same deal. They allowed us even to stay more than two nights for free. Nice area to camp. There are some hammocks, good wifi and now they have as well a shower. Errol, the owner, and the other guys from the Eco-Tours are very nice & the tour was just great.
Report Check-InVery nice family who run this business. When you book a tour to Lamanai for 50 US Dollar per adult, 25 US Dollar for our 6 years old son, then you can stay for free the night before and after the tour. Its very quiet, the toilets are very clean, there is water but no shower. Wifi next to the office, not at the camping area. There are a palapa with hammocks.
Report Check-InVery nice place, free to stay overnight if you book a boattrip to Lamanai, $50 pp. With the first boat trip in the mornig, you see more wildlife along the riverside. There are iguanas, spidermonkeys a lot of birds. In Lamanai you will find howlermonkeys and tukanes.
Report Check-InReally great place run by Errol who is super friendly. We booked a boat tour BZ$100 pp to the lamanai ruins which was amazing, and were allowed to camp here the night before and the night after the tour. No showers but nice clean toilets and wifi near the office. Great palapa with picnic tables and hammocks.
Report Check-InArrived in the afternoon and booked a tour for the next day. Very, very friendly staff! Very clean toilets, nice palappa with hamocks and tables, quiet at night. Tour was great, we (couple) had a boat and guide for us alone. Guide gave us really good information about the animals and the vegetation, explained many interesting things. Highly recommanded to book the tour here: 50US$/person, including lunch and water during the trip, free overnightstay.
Report Check-InNous sommes arrivés de nuit à Lamanai Ecotours. Errol nous a proposé de nous installer en nous disant qu'on pourrait toujours décider le lendemain si on voulait faire le tour en bateau ou pas. Accueil vraiment très chaleureux. Wifi, toilettes, hamacs...
Le lendemain, nous avons fait le tour en bateau pour les ruines. 50$US par adulte, 25$US pour les enfants. Cela comprend le tour en bateau (2x1 heure), l'entrée des ruines et un repas. Nous avions le bateau et un guide rien que pour nous (nous sommes une famille de 5). Il connaissait tout sur la faune et la flore locale. En plus des ruines qui sont très bien, nous avons vu des bébés crocos, des petites chauves-souris, un singe araignée, un singe hurleur, un serpent d'eau. Magnifique journée ! Nous restons une nuit de plus ('aussi longtemps que vous voulez')
Really nice people. We stayed here 2 nights : the night before our boat trip to Lamanai and the next night. A very quiet place with super clean restrooms and free wifi!
We stayed there for free after buying our tickets to Lamanai (50 USD per person).
at the boat launch of Eco-Tours in Orange Walk.
Price: Free when booked boat trip to Lamanai ($ 50 pp).
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