Belize: Sacred Maya & ATM Cave Unforgettable Quest

Our family had such a wonderful time on this tour with Ditmas! He told us so much about the area and culture. The site is about an hour drive from San Ignacio. Then we hiked for about 35 mins through the jungle with three water crossings. When you enter the cave, you will swim throughout the tour, climb, crawl, and duck through various openings for about two hours. The views were magnificent! The ancient artifacts were interesting to learn about. When we got out of the cave we were so grateful for the Snickers snack! After hiking back, we enjoyed a local bbq lunch before the hour drive to Xunantunich. It was so hot but we moved around in the shade while taking in the views. This tour was the highlight of our trip!

Amazing sites, great service, very knowledgeable guides. Can’t say enough about this excursion. Highly recommend

This tour is fantastic! Cayo Inland were extremely responsive to all enquiries and allowed me to join other groups as a solo traveller They were prompt, on time, friendly, reassuring and the food provided was delicious! As for the tour itself - WOW! The ATM is incredible and getting there is such a journey. I don’t want to spoil it (I think the surprise of not knowing was better) but expect lots of swimming, bouldering and going through small gaps. Our guide knew the inside of the cave like the back of his hand. No cameras allowed inside so no photos attached - but this has been the highlight of my trip As for Xunantunich, beautiful. Our guide clearly had a passion for the topic of the Mayan world and was able to answer all questions. You get there late in the day, and we had the place to ourselves!

Once in a lifetime experience!! It was fascinating ! Do not pass up on the opportunity to do this. Lots of navigating water but quite doable. The cave is stunning . You cannot take pics so I hope my memory holds up!! Quite an amazing experience to actually see remains from the Mayan time. Seeing the largest Mayan ruin in Belize was the cherry on the top for this excursion .

One of the best experiences of my lifetime and highly recommend Cayo Inland Expeditions as they are one of the earlier groups to get into the cave and it surely makes a difference! Awesome guide with great communication! You do need to be in good physical shape for this excursion and not be afraid of tight spaces!

ATM caves and Xunantunich Mayan ruins was one of the most amazing adventures we have had. Crossing the Mopan River three time to gain access to the caves and another three times after exiting the caves was pretty awesome! It’s about a one mile walk in each direction from the entrance of the cave to the end point (where no tourist is allowed to venture any further) through a running river. One cannot be claustrophobic (especially when navigating the tiny crevices with the river running up to you neck in the cave river) and must have a reasonable amount of fitness to walk and swim though the flowing river. In the ATM caves you will behold bones, skulls, and complete skeletons of individuals offered to the rain god Chac. Following your exit the caves, you’ll have lunch. Then, you will be driven to Xunantunich Mayan ruins where you’ll gaze at the architectural wonders created by the Mayans, a people with advanced knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, agriculture and irrigation. It’s a beautiful site and a beautiful sight to see! We highly recommend using Cayo Expeditions for the double header tour. I strongly recommend to Cayo Expeditions and any other tour operator who does this double tour in one day that they depart no later than 6 AM to prevent the drivers, tour guides, and tourists from feeling rushed. Departing at 6:45 AM is too late. Definitely do not start this tour any later than 6 AM. Also, forgot to recommend Wayne (driver) and Hector (ATM caves guide).

Cayo Inland Expeditions Review We did the ATM Cave and Xunantunich combo tour with Demas and Abner, and it was an unforgettable experience! The first half of the day was all about the ATM Cave, and it’s an absolute must-do. Demas was our guide, and he was incredible—knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and made us feel safe the entire time. The cave itself is awe-inspiring, and we loved learning about the Mayan history and culture while exploring. The hike to and from the cave was beautiful, and the whole experience at ATM took about 4 hours. Afterward, we had an amazing lunch of rice and beans, grilled plantains, chicken, tortillas, coleslaw, and drinks. It was the perfect meal after such a workout! The second half of the trip was led by Abner at Xunantunich. He guided us up to the top of the highest temple, where the views were breathtaking. Abner was very knowledgeable and encouraged us to ask questions, take photos, and dive deeper into discussions about Maya culture and history. Our group was two couples, all under 35 and relatively active, and we had an absolute blast. We learned so much, stayed engaged the whole time, and would highly recommend Cayo Inland Expeditions for an adventure-packed day!

I would recommend this tour to absolutely anyone interested in experiencing these two places. We got lucky and had a private tour with our awesome guide, Demas! He got us to ATM first, which was incredible. The cave was quiet, the waters calm, and we felt like the only ones for much of the exploration. However, there’s tight spaces, rock climbing, and it was nerve wracking at first. Then it became serene and we saw Mayan artifacts that have been naturally preserved for ages. After that, he fed us Belizean food and drove us to Xunantunich. It was later, so a bit hotter, but again we missed all the crowds. There’s an incredible view of Belize + Guatemala from the top and we learned a ton about the Maya. We saw plenty of wildlife and gawked at the once great civilization. Demas was super knowledgeable, friendly, and humorous. His experience gave him insight in how to plan the tour to maximize our enjoyment and miss the crowds. 10/10 would do again.

Demas was our tour guide and he was amazing. It was just me and my wife too so we got lucky. Many people have said you can’t do ATM and Xunantunich in the same day but it’s very easy to do. If you’re in shape it’s no problem. The ATM cave was so cool and a must do experience.

This is an amazing trip. Our guides Hector and Demas were outstanding. The first part of the day was spent crossing the river 3 times in order to get to the cave where the fun and learning begins. Prepare to swim inside the cave and do some serious climbing to see some sites that could only be described as unbelievable. You have to do it to understand how unbelievable it actually is. Describing does not do it justice.