NOT doing an excursion in Belize??

[zrxchic]

Hello all! My husband and I are first time cruisers. We leave on the Magic in about 25 days. We've booked excursions in Roatan and Cozumel, but decided to leave the port in the middle (Belize) open to do "whatever".

 

Now, my questions is.....what "whatevers" are there to do? I was thinking it would be nice to do a little shopping and just hang out. We are hoping to maybe hear some music or something.

 

Any suggestions? What if we decided we wanted to swim. Is there a good beach that we can go to if we are not booked on an excursion? I really am a newbie at this and want to have the time of our lives.

 

Thanks!!

Twyla

[chosbor2]

Belize is the one port I would recommend having an excursion booked. There is a small shopping area where the tenders come in, but since Belize is such a poor country, there is not much else. Cabs are not readily available like they are in Roatan and Cozumel and not sure I would trust them here anyway. Definitely research what you want and find a reputable tour company or use the ships excursions if you want to experience anything of Belize, including the beach.

[caribsun]

This is a tender port, you get on a small boat that takes 15 minutes to reach Belize City. This area is gated with shops, restarants and music.

If you want some beach time you can book a trip to a small island when on the ship.The cost is around 40.00 p/p to do this.

[skittl1321]

From my research, Belize is not a very good 'whatever' port.

 

Having been to Cozumel- it is a very easy port to do 'whatever'. Lots of things you could decide to do on the spur of the moment.

[JimAOk1945]

There isn't very much to do here unless you book an excursion.

[southerngirl07]

Hello all! My husband and I are first time cruisers. We leave on the Magic in about 25 days. We've booked excursions in Roatan and Cozumel, but decided to leave the port in the middle (Belize) open to do "whatever".

 

Now, my questions is.....what "whatevers" are there to do? I was thinking it would be nice to do a little shopping and just hang out. We are hoping to maybe hear some music or something.

 

Any suggestions? What if we decided we wanted to swim. Is there a good beach that we can go to if we are not booked on an excursion? I really am a newbie at this and want to have the time of our lives.

 

Thanks!!

Twyla

Hello

If you want to be safe and be with a trusted company

Go with experiencebelizetours

Allen the owner will take care of you, along with his sweet wife Leah

The know this island very well

I have used them each time we were in Belize

The last time was on spring break!

Allen I a very awesome tour guide, if you really want to know about the culture

 

Referred by Lisa/Michael

[mom2kids00]

Thanks for the info about experiencebeliezetours. This sounds perfect for us and not too expensive since we are a family of 5. It's less than 1/2 the price booking than it is thru the ship.

[CENTEX CRUISER]

The only thing is, Belize is not an island.

 

The know this island very well

[southerngirl07]

The only thing is, Belize is not an island.

 

The know this island very well

Let me say COUNTRY

[39august]

Yep, Belize is the one port on this itinerary that you really need to book an excursion, either private or ship tour. This is not a good walking around port. Outside the peir area is fairly scary.

[OCruisers]

Agree .... The one port of call you REALLY need to book an excursion is Belize!

 

LuLu

~~~

[Groliv]

Thanks for everyone's comments. This confirms that we are making the right choice in STAYING ON THE SHIP and enjoying the day that way!!:D

[marshhawk]

I am wondering what excursiony ou are planning in Roatan, as they provide such a lovely beach area where you dock, you walk right off and are at the beach, some of the best snorkeling we have done on our two Western Caribbean cruises. The reason I say this, is that to me it is important to get off the ship, and see something, Even if it's a small dot of an island in the middle of nowhere.

We have been to Belize twice. The first time we went to a small dot of an island and it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, The second time we got off, and took the tender to the port, and walked into town to see the museum. Which is 5 bucks and tells the history of Belize city and the hurricane that changed it forever. IT was interesting, but the city itself around the port area is scary, I never saw a cab, but plenty of people asked if we wanted one, or a horse ride, never saw a horse. There are no sidewalks to the left of the port, until you go about two blocks, and then the sidewalks are about a foot and a half high, riddled with wooden spaces, under which runs, sewage. This is a poor poor country. Hard, a word my mom would have used, and any money that we travelers can put into it is gratefully accepted. So even if it's a boat trip to a dot of an island, money is changing hands somewhere.

Have a great cruise!

Edited June 9, 2013 by marshhawk

[trebork]

Hello

If you want to be safe and be with a trusted company

Go with experiencebelizetours

Allen the owner will take care of you,

 

 

4. What is your Cancellation Policy?

 

You will receive a full refund less 10%

percent if your cruise ship does not stop in Belize for any reason, or if weather

conditions or other factors force you or us to cancel your reservation

 

So they get to keep 10% even if they are the ones that cancel your reservation ... that sounds like such a good deal.

[thescot123]

Have been to Belize many times before and usually do excursions. However, on two previous cruises I decided to venture outside the gates of the Tourism Village. It can be initially scary as you are met with people trying to sell tours and local stuff. A gentle "No" will stop them from bothering you.

 

With my sister and briother-in-law, we walked across the Swing Bridge into the town. Not once did we feel unsafe but like any foreign place it is still wise to watch who is around you. We ventured to "Government House" which was wonderful to see.

 

Not too sure if I would walk around this town by myself as there is safety in numbers. Was glad that we did brave the trek outside the gates as I always like to experience how other people live.

 

The Swing Bridge was interesting as it is manually operated. When going across you will see the water taxis that can take you to the small islands of Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye.

 

We did get approached by several people who tried to offer tours in their cars which we declined as you really don't know who to trust.

 

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_Bridge_%28Belize%29

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g291968-d313634-Reviews-Government_House-Belize_City_Belize_District.html

[PatnJudy]

Used to be a craft market across from the pier area. Also street vendors. Has that all been shut down?

[We-R-Off]

Thanks for everyone's comments. This confirms that we are making the right choice in STAYING ON THE SHIP and enjoying the day that way!!:D

 

I personally would think it a great shame to stay on the ship during a port call.

 

We found Cozumel a great place to shop, but last time we regretted not going to any Mayan sites. We've never benn to Belize & we plan to go to Lamanai on the ship's tour & get a taxi in Cozumel to visit Gervasio on our own & then perhaps explore a bit.

 

We enjoyed walking around in Cozumel last time, it is very easy to wander around. I think you should do your sopping in Cozumel & do some great activity in Belize there are many exciting things to do for every taste.

[bguppies]

Hello all! My husband and I are first time cruisers. We leave on the Magic in about 25 days. We've booked excursions in Roatan and Cozumel, but decided to leave the port in the middle (Belize) open to do "whatever".

 

Now, my questions is.....what "whatevers" are there to do? I was thinking it would be nice to do a little shopping and just hang out. We are hoping to maybe hear some music or something.

 

Any suggestions? What if we decided we wanted to swim. Is there a good beach that we can go to if we are not booked on an excursion? I really am a newbie at this and want to have the time of our lives.

 

Thanks!!

Twyla

 

Belize is definitely the one port on the Western Itinerary that you should book a ship's excursion.

 

The pier area you tender into, is the oldest, run down one on the western itinerary. (much easier to just wing it at Costa Maya, Cozumel, Roatan or Grand Cayman. Much nicer and safer places within walking distance of pier.)

 

The Belize city outside the gates, is the least safe of any of the western itineraries. (very, very poor city)

 

Belize city is the only port with no beaches near the pier. Most beach excursions there are to islands nearby. (plus after seeing all the garbage in the water, on our 20 minute tender ride in, I wouldn't want to swim near the city)

 

Definitely do an excursion in Belize and get out, away from the pier/city area.

 

Do "whatever" at any other port.

 

Bill

Edited October 5, 2013 by bguppies

[ohhhmycher]

I was just in Belize this past week on the Dream. The Flea Market across from the port is still there. I really enjoyed going out of the gates and seeing the market. Everyone we came in contact with was very nice. Sure they ask if you want to tour, hair braided, ect. but they are not overly pushy like I saw some in Haiti. If you told them no, they just said their name and told us if we changed out our mind to let them know. They had really interesting crafts there too. Different then some of the other ports.

[D & S]

Someone just mentioned to use experiencebelizetours instead of booking with the ship. Is it safe to give them a credit card in advance. Everything I have read seems a little scary and sketchy.

[Sfdtiller]

Someone just mentioned to use experiencebelizetours instead of booking with the ship. Is it safe to give them a credit card in advance. Everything I have read seems a little scary and sketchy.

 

Just checked there website and it says you can pay cash when you get there. I would just hold off with the card if you feel uneasy.

[CaribbeanCrazy]

Being DH and I have been to Belize twice before we thought we would skip the tours and stay around the port. First time we were there we did cave tubing, second time we did the ruins (forget the name) and river wallace tour. Nothing really sounds that good to us so we figured we would take our time getting off the ship and just walk around and stop for a beer or two. Maybe do a little souvinier shopping.

We would like to venture out of the tourist area and into town. From reading some of the post about how scary it is I was leaning toward not doing it. But after reading thescott123's post and watching the you tube video (if you haven't watched it you really should) from the link he posted I think we will be perfectly safe. From the video it looked like mostly Belizians going about there everyday lives. There was also some tourist walking around not being bothered. I think as long as you don't do something foolish like taking back roads and alleys where there aren't any people or hopping in a car with someone you don't know you would be perfectly safe. Plus it's during the day. I wouldn't venture outside the gate after dark unless I was with a large group. But us cruisers don't really have to worry about that being we are back on the ship before it turns dark.

I'm not going to Belize until January but when I get back I will try and remember to post what our experience was like for those of you that would like to venture "Beyond The Gate":D

[happybooker1]

... I hate to read all the "doom sayers" discouraging people from exploring Belize or warning about leaving the port area. ("It's SOOOO dangerous/dirty/uncivilized, etc.)

 

We were just on the Magic last week and spent T'giving Day in Belize. No excursion. Perfectly safe. It was my son, 16, and me, his mother. We walked down to the Water Taxi place, caught a taxi over to Caye Caulker, had a lovely visit with some other tourists doing the same thing while we were traveling.

 

Got to Caye Caulker and walked down to the Split, did some snorkeling & wading, ate & drank at The Lazy Lizard bar right there at the Split. My son wandered back down the street (YES, by HIMSELF) to buy a couple of necklaces. Nothing happened to him, except one shop owner tried to sell him some Cuban Cigars and he politely declined. When he got back to the bar, he struck up a conversation with a local Rastafarian (called Hippies in my day--LOL), which he thought was great.

 

When we got back to Belize City, we stopped a local guy and asked where a pharmacy was. He hailed us a taxi & took us to his friend's place where we got the antibiotics I wanted. At no time was I 'afraid' of the taxi driver, the guy who took us, or the pharmacist. I tipped the guy who took us $10. Then we went back to the Water Taxi area to get a snack. There's a local restaurant we saw there and we stopped in (YES by OURSELVES) and ordered a burger & fries to split. At no time was I "afraid" of the men talking at a table outside, the 2 women working in the restaurant, or anyone else I encountered. (Burger, fries, and cold slaw was $6 US and it was DELICIOUS!)

 

The ONLY way to enjoy a country is get out and EXPLORE. People are people and there is good and bad everywhere. I live north of Houston Texas and I would NOT go in certain areas ever! Same with other countries. Use a little common sense and believe in people and you'll be FINE!

Edited December 4, 2013 by happybooker1

[shives]

I cannot imagine staying on the ship at Belize. It is one of our favorite ports and the reason we booked a cruise there. I agree== Definitely need to book an excursion. We had a private excursion where we went snorkeling, swimming with the rays, had lunch on Caye Caulker and were able to spend time there. It was awesome and have booked there again!

[eclue]

It is totally safe to venture out of the gates in Belize. We have been there several times. If you walk out of the gate and to the left, continue to the bridge and turn left, you can walk to the down town area. Along the way are street vendors and all the local people are just plain nice. Sometimes they will pester you to take a cab ( would not ) and then they go away.

There are some souvenir stands outside the gate that also offer better prices.

Unfortunately there is not much to see or do on your walk, other than get a tiny taste of Belizian way of life and it is very hot and humid usually so if you walk, take a water bottle.

eclue:)