Review - Cave Tubing with Wet-N-Wild

[The_Griswolds]

Marvin and Wet-N-Wild were great. We highly recommend them.

Like most everyone else, we were late for our scheduled tour. We had to wait for all the people that booked through the ship to get off before we could leave. (We were on the Elation) Our tour was supposed to leave at 10:00, but we didn't get to the pier until 11:15. Marvin was still waiting, but just barely.

There were 14 of us in the van. We drove an hour into the countryside, then 15 minutes down the roughest gravel road I've ever been on (and I live in Arkansas ). We picked up our tubes and minor lamps and walked 45 minutes through the jungle to the launch point. We wore cheap Wal-Mart water shoes which worked fine for the walk and the tubing. The walk is fairly flat, but the jungle is hot and the tube starts to get heavy after a while. However, I am 44, slightly overweight, and don't exercise much, but I had no trouble with it.

We were given the choice of dropping off a 2 foot ledge into the river or jumping off a 15 foot rock. The water was crystal clear and just the right temperature. We drifted through two caves and along the open river. The caves were pitch black. The second one had an opening half way through with the jungle growing into it. There were a few bats and some small rapids. We paddled with our arms for part of the trip and Marvin pulled us along for part of it. He was very concious of the time and did this to speed things up a bit.

We were on the river about an hour and a half, then had a short walk back to the van. Lunch was included which was barbequed chicked and excellent. Marvin got us back to the dock with about 30 minutes to spare before the last tender.

Why is Marvin better than a ship excursion?
1. Only 14 of us verses 35 or more on each ship excursion.
2. We paid $60, ship charged $95.
3. Free delicious lunch.
4. We went through two caves, they only went through one.
5. We got to jump off a cliff, they just walked into the water.
6. Marvin stopped along the jungle path pointing out termite nests, avacado trees, pineapples, etc. and even caught one of those lizzards that walks on its hind legs.
7. Marvin made sure we rode the correct path through each set of rapids. We saw many people with the ship groups walking along the shallow areas while we never had to get out of our tubes. He also got between us and the hazardous rocks to make sure no one was injured.
8. He waited for us at the pier and then adjusted our schedule along the way to make sure we would get back in time. We were hurried in some places, but that wasn't his fault.

Note, many of the above would probably apply to the other private tour operators.

[Cloudmaster]

Thanks for the info. We will be in Belize this coming February and are interested in the cave tubing.

[NICOLE628]

GRISWOLDS-

i am cruising in january on the elation. i went ahead and booked my cave tubing with marvin but here is my concern- after all of the rave reviews he gets, i have not recieved confirmation of my reservation and deposit since i made it almost two weeks ago. i have contacted him twice via his email address from his homepage and i still have not heard or seen anything? did this happen to you? if not then why me??

i am a little nervous about the whole thing now and i hate to admit it, but i am starting to regret doing it. any suggestions???

[gengen]

I did cave tubing with Action Belize (www.actionbelize.com). Because there was 8 in our group we qualified for the group discount of $ 49/person. This did not include food, but if time permits, Roberto (the guide) will stop for authentic food of chicken and rice for about $ 5/person. Roberto was very sensitive to our needs. He paid special attention to the time to make sure we fit in an authentic Belizean lunch. He took us to a restaurant where the cruise goers do not go. During the hike, Roberto was a good guide and pointed out special vegetation and insects. We had a fabulous experience and definitely recommend Roberto!

[NICOLE628]

I emailed this morning saying I was a little concerned because I have not recieved confirmation from Marvin at Wet-n-Wild. I emailed him this morning and he called me from Belize to tell me that he tried to send me an email and kept getting rejected. I did not realize that and I apologize to Marvin and everyone at Wet-n-Wild for getting testy. Let me tell you, after we figured out what was going on, I got my confirmation in 10 minutes. Thank you Marvin for being patient with me!! I recommend to anyone who is looking to do this excursion to use them- Marvin is a very nice man and will work very hard to please you. Just make sure the email address you are sending your information from is the correct address for Marvin to get back in touch with you.

[mattyboy]

Can you please post Marvins website for all of us future Belize travelers

[NICOLE628]

MATTYBOY-

Marvin's website is belizecavetubing.com

He is very nice and I can't wait to meet him in person. When are you cruising?
Just curious-it seems nobody is cruising on the Elation 01/16/04.

Let me know if I can help you with anything else

[mattyboy]

Nicole

Thank you very much for the site

Now all I have to decide is who to make my res. with. Everyone loves who they are planning to use. REggie, Marvin, etc.

We are planning on either the NCL Dream or Carnival Valor for Jan 9th, 2005

[chuibaca]

does any one know? How good of a swimmer do you have to be to cave tube?

[spfar]

You could pretty much be a non swimmer to cave tube. Much of the water is very shallow ( when they say "butts up" they mean it!) There are life vests available for any who wish to wear them, and you are always in your tube.

[cruisinhs]

Thanks for all the great information guys! We also booked with Marvin thanks to your reviews. However, I forgot to ask one question. How do we find him? Anyone know? Can't wait!

[CM2J2R2S]

We were considering leaving our four year old and six year old on the ship and just taking the four eldest kids. Since the water is shallow, could the younger kids come? They are seasoned hikers....