Belize City wildlife: sanctuary or river safari?
Belize City wildlife outings offer a choice between the Community Baboon Sanctuary and a New River boat safari with a visit to Lamanai. These are different excursion areas. The sanctuary is connected with the Belize River Valley, while Lamanai stands on the New River in the Orange Walk District. Choose the landscape and activity you want rather than assuming that every river outing reaches the same place.
The sanctuary option is a private trip combining howler monkeys and Altun Ha. The New River programme combines wildlife viewing from a boat with archaeology on foot. For a closer look at those Maya destinations, see Altun Ha and Lamanai. Belize Zoo is a separate visit, with its own admission and visitor timetable.
Wildlife outings
Choose the sanctuary visit with a wildlife guide or the New River boat safari for wildlife viewing. Animal sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Hand-picked tours, booked through GetYourGuide and Viator. Prices are indicative starting prices in US dollars (as of October 2026). Tap a tour for live availability and the current price in your currency.
Private sanctuary and Altun Ha visit
- Wildlife expert guide
- Belizean Local Lunch
A local guide accompanies this private outing.
Check availability →
New River wildlife safari and Lamanai walk
- Traditional Belizean lunch
- Round-trip air-conditioned van transportation
- Certified licensed archaeological tour guide
Wildlife viewing is part of the guided boat safari; sightings are not guaranteed.
Check availability →Howler monkey sanctuary and New River outings
Choose a private sanctuary-and-Altun-Ha trip or a New River safari with Lamanai; the forest visit and riverboat programme offer different ways to explore the mainland.
Community Baboon Sanctuary and howler monkeys
The Community Baboon Sanctuary visitor centre is on Bermudian Landing Road in Bermudian Landing. Its animals are black howler monkeys, not baboons. The sanctuary describes a conservation setting involving 7 communities in the Belize River Valley. That local setting is useful context for the visit: this is a community-linked forest experience rather than a general city attraction.
The private excursion from Belize City includes a local Belizean guide, transport, a guided visit to Altun Ha and a sanctuary visit with a wildlife expert guide. It also includes a stop in Sand Hill Village for fruit wine tasting and a Belizean lunch. The listed duration is 5 hours. This combination suits a day focused on both Maya archaeology and the sanctuary, with a private format throughout the excursion.
Guided forest walk and respectful observation
The sanctuary lists guided forest walks among its activities. It also describes canoe trips on the Belize River, guided night walks, birding and a Kriol cultural programme. Treat these as separate programme possibilities rather than extra inclusions in every sanctuary excursion. The private trip described here has its own defined itinerary; choose it for the sanctuary and Altun Ha combination.
Let the guide lead wildlife observation. Animals move through their surroundings, so a visit is not a promise of a particular sighting or close contact. Plan to observe rather than expecting handling or feeding. If your main interest is a forest walk, keep that interest distinct from the river safari, where a boat journey is an essential part of the experience.
New River safari with Lamanai
The New River programme has a listed duration of 8 hours. It includes a guided scenic boat safari with wildlife viewing, a guided walking tour of Lamanai Archaeological Reserve and a licensed archaeological guide. Return travel is by air-conditioned van from Belize City, with hotel and ferry-terminal pickup and drop-off in the city. A traditional Belizean lunch and a non-alcoholic beverage are included.
Lamanai brings a different setting to the day, with Maya buildings, remains of Spanish churches, a sugar mill and a boat landing. The guided walk connects the river journey with an archaeological destination. Choose this programme when that combination interests you, rather than treating it as a sanctuary substitute. Its ferry-terminal pickup is a meeting arrangement on the mainland, not an included island crossing.
Belize Zoo: plan a separate visit
Belize Zoo is at Mile 29 on the George Price Highway. The operator’s undated visitor information gives international adult admission as 20 USD and admission for children aged 3 to 12 as 5 USD. These are zoo entrance prices, separate from the sanctuary and New River packages. If the zoo is your priority, build your day around that visit instead of expecting either excursion to add it.
Published opening hours are Monday to Saturday, 08:30 to 17:00, with last admission at 16:00. Sunday hours are 08:30 to 16:30, with last admission at 15:30. The zoo closes on Good Friday and Christmas Day. Parking and lockers are free according to the operator. The shorter Sunday timetable matters when arranging your journey, especially if you have already used part of the day for another activity.
Arrival planning and travel advice
For a cruise visit, use the ship’s tender instructions and return deadline before selecting an excursion. A city pickup and the tender journey are different stages. See the cruise port guide for that distinction and the private tours page if you want to compare the private sanctuary programme with other private activities.
For current security information, consult the UK FCDO Belize travel advice and US State Department Belize travel advisory, reviewed for this guide on 7 November 2026. Read their current guidance when preparing your journey.
Choose your next planning page
Altun Ha
Understand the Maya destination in the private sanctuary combination.
Lamanai
Explore the archaeological destination reached via the New River.
Cruise arrival
Connect the ship’s tender plan with your excursion meeting point.
Wildlife questions
Does the sanctuary have baboons?
The name refers here to black howler monkeys. The Community Baboon Sanctuary is in Bermudian Landing in the Belize River Valley.
Does the New River safari visit the sanctuary?
The New River programme combines its boat safari with a guided visit to Lamanai. Choose the private Altun Ha combination for the sanctuary visit.
How do I include Belize Zoo?
Plan it as a separate visit with its own admission. Allow for the shorter Sunday timetable and the published last-admission time.