Private ATM cave tour: the whole day at your own pace
Your party travels alone with one guide, the pickup is at 6:30 a.m., and the day runs 5 to 8 hours depending on how fast you move.
Updated 2 November 2026
In shortA private ATM cave tour runs for your group alone, with a 25-minute hike to the cave mouth and a minimum of 2.5 hours inside the Upper Cavern, where the Crystal Maiden lies. The day lasts 5 to 8 hours, starts with a 6:30 a.m. pickup and costs from $320 per person. The guide works in English, and the flexible length suits families with teenagers, slower walkers and anyone who wants the pace set around them.
5–8 htour length
from $320per person
★ 4.04 reviews
What the private ATM cave tour covers
The private version of the cave day runs for your party alone, which changes the thing people care about most: the pace. Pickup is at 6:30 a.m., with the guide waiting outside your pickup location holding a sign with the operator's logo, the same logo printed on your ticket. Total length is 5 to 8 hours, from $320 per person, and that price already carries GST, landing and facility fees, the fuel surcharge, the air-conditioned vehicle, bottled water, lunch, helmets, life jackets and headlamps.
Inside the cave, the destination is the Upper Cavern, the dry level above the stream that the operator describes as opening more than 300 yards and standing at least two storeys high. That is where the ritual material sits. The operator's listing counts 4 sets of skeletal remains there, along with ceramic pottery, stone tools and Maya hieroglyphs dated to 700-900 A.D. The best known of the remains is the calcified skeleton called the Crystal Maiden.
Geologists found the cave in 1989 and National Geographic later ranked it the number one sacred cave in the world. The day itself is physical: a 25-minute hike to the entrance, a swim, a minimum of 2.5 hours underground, then a picnic before the drive back. Ages on this tour are set as youth 8 to 12, adult 13 and over, and senior 60 and over, so it does not take small children.
Private Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM Cave) tour
Your group only, a 6:30 a.m. pickup, a 25-minute hike in and at least 2.5 hours inside the Upper Cavern. Lunch, bottled water, helmets, life jackets and headlamps are included.
Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM)240 min The guide hikes in with you for 25 minutes from the parking area, naming the flora and fauna of Belize along the way. You then spend a minimum of 2.5 hours inside, looking at the ceramic pottery and stone tools left from Maya ceremonial use and at the Crystal Maiden, whose skeleton is still in good condition. A swim and a local picnic follow before the ride back to your drop-off point.
Photos: ours and the tour operator's
What is included
Included
GST (Goods and Services Tax)
Bottled water
Lunch
Landing and facility fees
Air-conditioned vehicle
Fuel surcharge
Helmets, life jackets and headlamps
Not included
Gratuities (recommended)
Extras available for purchase
Meeting point, pickup and cancellation
Pickup: At 6:30 a.m your guide will be outside of your pick up location waiting with a sign that has the Royal Belizean Adventures logo on it. The logo is printed on your mobile or printed ticket.
Cancellation: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Ages: youth 8–12, adult 13+, senior 60+
Other private day tours compared
The two alternatives below are also private, both shorter and both cheaper. Altun Ha with cave tubing takes 5 hours from Belize City, from $170, and works for a group that wants a lighter day in and on the water. Xunantunich with Cahal Pech takes 6 hours, from $175, and stays above ground, which is the one to pick if somebody in the party is sitting out the cave.
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Private Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM Cave) tour (this page)
Put the cave early in your Belize itinerary and keep a spare day after it, since heavy rain can close the site at short notice. The booking page shows current dates, group sizes and prices.
