Xunantunich And Cahal Pech From San Ignacio

Great tour with and an excellent guide. Peter was knowledgeable in the rich history of the Mayan culture. The ruins are well preserved. We went in a week day and it wasn’t busy at all. Lunch was a tradition belizean meal at a local restaurant and probably one of our best meals on the trip. Highly recommend this tour.

Rod was very knowledgeable. We started at 8am and with the early start there was almost no one there at Cahal Pech which made it very intimate and unlike Chichen Itza which felt more like a tourist trap in Mexico. This felt off the beaten path and hard to believe that it was just us there. Rod was an excellent host and I would recommend this tour. He also took us to a nice local restaurant after.

Rod (Rudolph) was an amazing guide, perfectly combining his experience as an educator and his passion for sharing the Mayan culture and his beautiful hometown. So knowledgeable and kind, I highly recommend Rod and his staff for any and all tours you want to do in the San Ignacio are

We had a wonderful guide (2/1/2025), who was able to give us interesting background, respond to all our questions, and make the trip just what we wanted. Cannot recommend this company and trip enough

Both sites were quite different in a good way Peche Cahal more compact but had some interesting passageways. Xuanantich was larger and had a larger central pyramid. Our guide, Jose, was incredibly knowledgeable and had a great personality. I would go on any tour he was guiding.

We loved this combo tour! Go in the morning, when it's a bit cooler and less crowded, and a must is to wear comfortable walking/hiking shoes because I was immensely glad I packed good shoes, if only for this specific tour; I don't think my Teva strap sandals would've sufficed. It's a steep climb at both sites, and slippery from the moss, but worth making it to the top of these structures to feel like how the Maya royals felt surveying their land! The sites are beautiful, but mostly we want to praise our tour guide with San Ignacio Resort, Cruz!!!!! Absolutely lovely man who is so incredibly knowledgeable about everything at these sites. He told us he has over 20 years experience and it shows! He gave us indepth insights and information, and is genuinely passionate about the history and recovery efforts at these sites. Gave us information about surrounding areas during our drive, information about Flora/fauna of the area. We can not say enough how much we loved this tour guide. Ask for him when you book this tour or any other! You will have zero regrets!

Rod and Carla were the best most knowledgeable tour guides on earth. They are incredible and we connected with them. We learned a lot and enjoyed the tour. We highly recommend.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and pleasant and helpful to plan for the next adventure. The view was spectacular!

Incredible Mayan sites, we had a great day with Karla, she was very professional, friendly and she knew all the history and answered all our questions. Lunch was also delicious! Thank you so much Karla for the excellent service!!

We had a marvelous time. Our guide Rod was so knowledgeable, he took the time to help us understand not only the Mayan culture at the time, but the people of Belize. As well, we learned of the plant life. Then we had the most incredible lunch. A truly amazing day.

Ellio, our guide, was incredibly funny and knowledgeable. He made the whole experience fantastic. He helped us get some amazing pictures - which is nice otherwise it’d all be selfies and you’d miss how big the ruins are.

A great day trip with a very knowledgeable guide! Our guide showed us around Cahal Pech before it got too crowded and then over to Xunatunich to climb the ancient structures. Delicious lunch spots, as well.

Wonderful experience! Elio was knowledgeable about so many subjects it made for a great trip. Not only did we get interesting information about both the Mayan sites he also showed us local plants including Allspice, cilantro, and many more. We saw spider monkeys, black and green iguanas, bats, and a scorpion spider. My wife and I are in our mid 60’s and Elio was very patient as we made our way up to the top of the temples. The lunch (included) after the tour at Benny’s Kitchen was just delicious!

Edgar was an awesome tour guide filled with lots of amazing information. He knew all the spots to take you to on the property. It really felt like a 1on 1 tour and the restaurant he brought us to after the 2 ruins was amazing!

Beautiful tour. Elio is super friendly, funny, and extremely knowledgeable. I love that he incorporated some fun facts about the local plant life too. This is actually the the second tour we’ve done with him and would come back again! Caution: it’s hot and there’s lots of fun climbing, so come prepared!

We had a great time on our tour with Edgar! He was incredibly knowledgable about the Mayan sites themselves, but also about the overall history and culture of the area. We learned a ton. He went out of his way to make sure we got all our questions answered. Edgar was also very knowledgable about local birds, and flora/fauna (and their medicinal properties!) He even went out of his way to get our names, write them in Mayan, and send them to us. Highly recommend.

Tour guide picked us up at hotel and gave amazing insightful tour. So much local knowledge really helps make it pop

We booked this tour through Viator and St Leonards Tours provided our tour. Our guide was Elio. He was very informative and ver knowledgeable. We have gone to a few Mayan ruins in Mexico several years ago and we would be in bus loads. It was just me, my husband, my daughter, and Elio so it was nice to have a small group where we could ask so many questions. We first got to see Xunantunich ruins which is the 2nd largest ruins in Belize. The views are amazing and it was interesting to learn about the Mayan history. We went in the morning around 9:00 so it is the best time to avoid the crowds and get lots of photo opportunities. The tour company will pick up at any hotel that is within the San Ignacio area. Pick up time is around 7:45am. After we went to Xunantunich we then headed to Cahal Pech ruins. The Cahal Pech Mayans had a very unique architectural style built for an elite Mayan family. It was nice to be able to climb and go inside the ruins. Elio was very detailed in explaining to us the history of the ruins. Elio also talked about the plants common in the area. After touring the ruins we had lunch at Benny’s Kitchen which is included in the tour. The food was very delicious. I highly recommend St Leonards tours.

I have traveled extensively and taken tours around the world (including 6 other Mayan sites) and this was one of the best tours and companies I have used! Xunantunich & Cahal Pech are fantastic and easily accessible ruins. Before the trip, I did my research and read the reviews. St Leonard's had the best review I could find. I emailed and Carla quickly responded, answering all my questions. As the trip got closer, I emailed with other travel/Covid concerns and Carla again eased my mind and was very helpful. Once in country, I called Carla and hammered out the details. This was our second trip with St Leonard’s, so we knew what to expect. Because we had a long day the day before, Carla pushed back our pickup time. Its seldom that you find a tour operator so thoughtful. Rod picked us up at the hotel for the very short trip across the street to Cahal Pech. While we could have walked across and toured on our own, we wanted and experienced guide to share more than we could have read about on our own. Wow, we really lucked out getting Rod as our guide! He is an incredible and experienced guide. Having worked with local archeologist for years, he had more firsthand knowledge than most. It was exciting to hear of his personal experience with each site. He brought the ruins to life with not just tails of art, architecture and finds but of the everyday lives of the Maya. Next, we went to Xunantunich to see the wonders of this Mayan city on the hill. Along the way we stopped at a smaller site seldom visited by tourist and got to learn of the everyday maya. You spend a lot of money getting the San Ignacio and have traveled many miles, so don't miss out on this amazing Mayan cities. Book a guide to make the most out of your travels. I can honestly say that St Leonard's Tours has been one of my best travel experiences. I came away with not just amazing memories but with new friends. Thank you Rod, Carla and Elio. We took 2 tours with St Leonard’s - the combined tour of Xunantunich & Cahal Pech and Caracol (see separate review). I highly recommend both. I WILL l travel with them again. At this point, I would take any trip they offered.

My wife and I had a great time today with this tour. The guide Edgar was great and he has lot of knowledge about the culture and the site. Met the owner Karla also, very nice lady and we had great conversations and laughs. Highly recommended!

The Guide was fantastic- Elio! He was extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. I would recommend this tour to people busting Belize.

This is our second time doing tours with St Leonards. Absolutely the most knowledgeable and interesting guides around. They provide the personal touches that really make a difference in the overall experience. The best!!

Tour guide Elio clearly loves the Mayan culture and has a passion for what he does. Other companies' tour guides at the ruins went faster past us with little explanation. Elio had a very thorough explanation of history, culture, connections to current Belizean life. It's date specific and in-depth. The tour company had mini-van air conditioning cooled, water and snacks ready. He stopped specifically in the SHADE of a tree for his cultural sharing and gave us breaks when needed. He has an eye to spot rare birds, and we also saw howler monkeys up close, male howling. The lunch locale he chose had excellent food, he opens doors for you, and knows exactly where the HAND size red tarantula lives! Safety was a priority. 5 stars plus!

Absolutely amazing time with our tour guide extraordinaire Carla! Her knowledge and passion for Mayan culture and history is second to none. Worth every minute! We would have given her 10 stars if that were an option. Forget booking through the hotels. Support small family owned businesses!!

Do this tour!! Our tour guide Carla was amazing. You can tell she had a passion about her hometown and the ruins. We got extremely lucky with us the two of us on the tour so it was really a personalized tour. We could ask all the questions and go at our pace. Definitely try to do a smaller tour. We saw another tour company that had like 20 people and the level of service we had compared to theirs was obvious. They provided a couple of bottles of ice cold water which you definitely need. We ended the tour at Bennys which is included in the price so that also makes it all worth it.

We had a brilliant day with Carla! She was so friendly and extremely informative at both sites! Her enthusiasm for these two sites, and history in general was contagious! My husband Luke likes to take his time and ask lots of questions. She was so patient and was able to answer his one million and one questions! We had a wonderful day and the restaurant we were taken to had delicious food!

The guide was extremely polite and professional. He was very knowledgeable about the Ruins and history of the Mayan. Thanks my guide Rudolpho Juan my sister and l now have a better understanding of our family’s Mayan History. I would definitely repeat tour again with my other family members. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who is adventurous, loves historical sites and wants to learn about the Mayan’s Contribution to History.

Carla is amazing!!! She was very knowledgeable and made our tour very fun! She was sensitive to the needs and limits of our group. She made us feel at home and comfortable.

Rodolfo was one of the best guides that we have ever had. We really enjoyed our day with him - learning about his life in Belize - and the ruins. He was incredibly fun to be around and informative. I would highly recommend any chance you get to spend with him. Thanks for taking us around Rodolfo! - Kara, Jordan, Laura & Carl

Had an amazing day with tour guide Jorge Lozano. He let us spend as much time as we wished at each ruin. He was very knowledgeable and passionate about Belize and the ruins and I learned so much. Lunch at Benny's was great too.

My friends and I were guided by Jorge Lazaro through the Cahal Pech and Xunantunich ruins. It was amazing and Jorge made it extremely engaging and interesting. Jorge is passionate about the history and ruins of the Maya and it made the entire experience even better. Both ruin sites are beautiful and full of history and Jorge had many interesting tidbits and pieces of information to add. We were even lucky enough to see a couple species of monkey! Good vibes. Highly recommended!

Rodolfo led our personal day trip to Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. He was knowledgeable and informative; a great guide.

This tour was definitely made 'fantastic' due to the obvious enthusiasm of the Tour owner and guide - CARLA! She made the tour very personal for the 2 of us, walking us through the sites showing us the trees, the plants, the birds, and of course the sites! The sites are very do-able for a half day + lunch and were not crowded at all - we often had the area to ourselves. The lunch was excellent at a popular, local restaurant. We wished that we could have put Carla and her passion for all things into our packs to have along for the whole trip :)

Carla was an excellent, knowledgeable guide who shared interesting details and took great care of us older folk (68 years)! She drove us to the special Mayan ruins of Cahal Pech and Xunantunich, took time walking slowly with us so we could see howler monkeys, iguanas, special birds. Afterward we went to a local restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious meal. The potato salbutes, like a tostada cousin, were one of our all time favorite foods.