Best Excursion in Belize?

[DGP1111]

This looks interesting, did you do this one?

 

 

Did my fourth visit there in February. Love it!!

 

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[CRUISING71]

We booked with the ship...Xunatunich...and we had a wonderful time. My DD (11) and DS (16) love the tour as well. It was amazing to climb all the way to the top of the ruin.

 

There are so much to do in Belize...if you are not comfortable going into town, book a tour directly with the cruise ship.

 

As for Cozumel...we also booked with the ship..>Secret River. You have to take a ferry to the mainland...and it was an awesome excursion as well.

[askimdog]

We found belize, this past January, to be one of our favorite stops of all our cruises. As usual we tried to do something I like, the wife likes and educate the kiddo ( age 7).

 

We had a private guide hired and had him take us to a local store to buy some local foods and some local liquor ( way cheaper than the Duty Free shops in the Tourism Village). Then for me, we toured the state of the art Belikin brewery in Ladyville. We than had the driver take us to his neighborhood in Ladyville and chatted with locals. Then we headed back into Belize City. Here we checked out great architecture, wandered some streets with our guide and then asked him to find us a place that serves gibnut. We found a nice little shack out of the way, a little open air diner which served the royal rat...fantastic. We also visited a local school.

 

Then we headed back to the Tourism Village, wandered around but it seemed well... touristy. Since my daughter and I studied Belize before the trip, we all wandered into town some more, chatted away with very fun locals. It looks a bit rough, but all were kind. I wanted to show my daughter how the city was since we live in a very rural location.

 

We want to head back to Belize, next time seeing ruins, jungles or beaches, but we did enjoy the city much.

[lizjoemom]

Thanks to everyone for the great info! Cant wait to go on this trip:)

[dancergrl608]

When we went to Belize, we did the zipling tour offered through Carnival. I would definately recommend zipling because it was a blast!! Also with tendering in to Belize, I liked knowing I was on a ship excursion, especially since it was my first time to Belize. The next time I won't be so worried.

[kawaiidmc]

I just booked cave tubing at cave-tubingdotcom. I'm excited.

[SingingPixie]

I love Belize (it's on the short list for our eventual honeymoon destination), but it is a bit more complicated as a port stop than many others, especially for a woman alone with kids. Even just being a tender port leads another step to the process which is an argument for a ship's tour. Also, while I feel perfectly safe in Belize, most of the worthwhile places to visit are far enough from the port that I wouldn't want to be on my own trying to get back with kids if something went wrong. That said, I'd either stick with a ship's tour, or a private vendor with a good reputation that meets you inside the port area. I absolutely wouldn't go as far as Lamanai or Xunantunich without a ship's tour (given your circumstances- I'm planning to do the private tour to Lamanai, but my boyfriend and I, in our late 20s without kids, would have an easier time trying to catch up with the ship in Cozumel than you would with little ones). I think the general question of what to do really depends on your kids and their interests. Cave tubing and ziplining are a blast. Altun Ha would be fun if they're into Indiana Jones movies, and it can be combined with a river boat ride or a trip to the Belize Zoo (which is really well done). I haven't been to Bacab Eco Park but it looks like a viable option too.

[MarkASparks]

We are sailing the Legend in August and pretty much know what we are planning for Grand Cayman and Roatan, but I was wondering what would be a good excursion to take in Belize. After reading info on these boards it seems like that in our case the best bet would be to take a ship excursion that leaves directly from the ship as I would rather not go into the port town as it is just me and my two kids. DH is staying back at ship. Any suggestions?

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for Cozumel that would be appreciated as well. Thanks!:)

 

 

Hello lizjoemom,

 

After much research my wife and i and two daughters will be doing the cave tubing with VIV tours.

 

Noticed you are on the same cruise as us, can't wait!!

 

http://www.vivtours.com/

 

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[Ruski007]

Took our familiy of 5 - 3, 5 and 15 year old kids and my husband and I... decided to do the ruins and monkey sanctuary tour. We had a blast. Nacho is very knowledgeable and we learned lots.... plus keeping it interesting for EVERYONE. We weren't up for shopping but wanted to sample the local fruits... so they stopped and bought some for us to try. Really treated us like family. I know they also do the more adventurous tours too. Nacho and Cynthia made the tour for us.

[Warmer Climes]

Best excursion we have ever done: NCL ship excursion to Lamanai. Incredible boat ride up the river and then the ruins were incredible- whoa I used "incredible" twice in one sentence! Our other trip to Belize we did cave tubing with cave-tubing DOT com which was a lot of fun. We are doing that again with them on our next cruise.

[rh3]

"Never again"-2 words. Our experience with cavetubing.com was first rate. Would do it again without reservation. Small group and now the tubes are linked so no feet/armpit action.

[Coralsugar]

I just did cave tubing with VIV tours and it was a highlight of our cruise for sure.

It was amazing and the guides were so much fun and did so much work to make us happy and relaxed. We also did Victor Bodden in Roatan but this was way better.

They had everything under control and knew exactly how much time we had and stressed all the way that we will be back in time. They even kept track of ship excursion busses to make sure we were always way before them.

Totally recommend and would be glad to go with them again.

[wafflestoo]

Hi,

My family of four is on the same cruise as your family. We actually did this cruise last year, as well. In Belize we booked Cave tubing dot.com. It was fine, but we are looking to do something different this time. I am thinking the ruins and river trip... In Cozumel we went to Paradise Beach. I have two boys aged 12 and 16 and they loved the water toys in the ocean. I loved the pool, and chairs in the shade. We ate a pretty good lunch there, as well. We are going to do Paradise Beach again this year.

[lizjoemom]

Hi,

My family of four is on the same cruise as your family. We actually did this cruise last year, as well. In Belize we booked Cave tubing dot.com. It was fine, but we are looking to do something different this time. I am thinking the ruins and river trip... In Cozumel we went to Paradise Beach. I have two boys aged 12 and 16 and they loved the water toys in the ocean. I loved the pool, and chairs in the shade. We ate a pretty good lunch there, as well. We are going to do Paradise Beach again this year.

 

Hi Wafflestoo,

 

I just read this post (I know its been awhile), and its awsome that you have two boys around my sons age! Joe will be 13 when we go on the cruise and I also have a nephew that is 12 that will be on the ship as well :) I havent decided yet if we are doing the eco park or the cave tubing but thanks to everyone who gave their input! Cant wait to go!

[jordan.leona]

One ship excursion often overlooked but totally teriffic . . . .

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http://www.bacabecopark.com/

 

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This place looks awesome, is it usually really crowded tho.

Also, are the tours offered through them very expensive (i'm lookin at the horseback riding the most!)

[ratherbtruckin]

We were on the Carnival Legend Jan. 2011 and did the River Wallace/Altun Ha ruins trip. We loved it and both felt it was the best of all excursions we've ever been on. The boat ride up River Wallace was incredible. About 1/2 way up the 20 miles it gets quite remote and we felt like we were in the Amazon. There was even a guy poling an actual dugout canoe along the edge fishing. Loved the iguanas, crocs, and howler monkeys we saw. The lunch, at a resort where you transfer from the boat to the bus, was a really neat experience, and cost about $6 person. We walked around the resort (Black Orchid Resort in Burrell Boom) and it was beautiful. We'd love to go stay there. The bus ride to Altun Ha (about 1/2 hour) and then back to the city after Altun Ha (about 1 hr) was amazing. It was really something to see the houses, markets, roadside stands, and schools. Especially loved the armed checkpoint we had to go through. Glad we were on the ship sponsored shore excursion at that point. The ruins were really awesome and we spent about 1 1/2 hrs. there, which was enough. I could have explored a little longer, but it was fine. What an experience!! Can't recommend it enough.

[kruisingkouple]

We just returned from our cruise the first week in June and we used Nacho and Cynthia (NCQADVENTURETOURS.COM) for zip lining and cave tubing in Belize. We had a really great time and my MIL broke the record for the oldest person to zip line (74). She loved it and can't wait to go again. The day was first class all the way! The tubes for cave tubing are very comfortable with a bottom and headrest. Nacho and Cynthia's knowledge of Belize is amazing and he will entertain you both to and from the zip line and cave tubing destination. They are very accommodating and make sure to keep an eye on the time so you get back to the dock on time. Everyone in our family, from 15 to 74 can't stop talking about what a GREAT time we had with Nacho and Cynthia in Belize and can't wait to go back again.Make sure to provide Nacho with a phone number when making your reservations as he personally calls everyone to confirm.:D:D:D:D

P.S. We used a large company for the same excursion previously and had a HORRIBLE experience, so we HIGHLY recommend the personal attention of Nacho and Cynthia.

[Njbosoxgirl]

What is nacho & Cynthia? Do they only have cave tubing?

[kruisingkouple]

They are a wonderful couple who run NCQADVENTURETOURS.COM. Please visit their website posted above as they have many wonderful tours available like the zoo and the ruins. I'm sure that they would customize a tour for you too.

[coopbax]

I'm a little clausterphobic so I'm concerned about the cave tubing. Does anyone thing this will be a problem for me??

 

Thanks,

Shelly

[reno3]

I'm a little clausterphobic so I'm concerned about the cave tubing. Does anyone thing this will be a problem for me??

 

Thanks,

Shelly

I am clauserphobic also and did this a couple of years ago. I did not have any problems at all ....I was having too much fun to even think about it :D

[Thebox]

Of course, I don't know your tolerance level, but IMO it's not a problem. The caves are very large and you see sunlight ahead or through breaks in the cave. It's not like you are surrounded on all sides. Enjoy!

[Njbosoxgirl]

I heard that when u tube you are hooked feet to armpit? Is this fact or fiction? Also anyone ever do the baboon sanctuary?

[sjmbruce]

Check with Maruba Resort and Jungle Spa in Belize. They might be able to do The Belize Zoo or Altun Ha Mayan ruins, then take you back to their beautiful, fun and secluded resort for a gourmet lunch or amazing spa treatments before a dip in their pool or mineral springs hot tub.

maruba-spa.com

 

 

I know a lot of cruise ships also offer tours of Altun Ha and Lamanai. I have been to both and they are incredible. As an added bonus, there were sightings of howler and spider monkeys at Lamanai. Both also have opportunities to shop for souvenirs from tshirts and jewelry to coffee and hot sauce.

 

The cayes are also amazing. Shark alley is a once in a lifetime experience and snorkeling the reef was also incredible.

[noodlebrain]

Try tubing in the Belize river and the Community Babboon Sanctuary. We took this tour with Dave's Eco tours. The kids will love feeding the Howler Monkees cashew fruit. Amazing how soft their hands are!