NOT doing an excursion in Belize??

[blue_water]

... 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!

 

Excellent points happybooker1, we are like you and enjoy seeing the places we visit and meeting the people. Too many cruisers are crippled by the misinformation that is published here and in other public forums and miss those experiences.

We are doing the same excursion on our own that you described, thanks for your help with that!

[happybooker1]

Excellent points happybooker1, we are like you and enjoy seeing the places we visit and meeting the people. Too many cruisers are crippled by the misinformation that is published here and in other public forums and miss those experiences.

We are doing the same excursion on our own that you described, thanks for your help with that!

 

Oh you MUST have a LIZARD JUICE if you end up at The Lazy Lizard. Be warned! They are potent!

[BridgeMates]

Just curious. Have heard there is a shop that sells some nice Knock Off handbags.

Anyone know the name of the store or where it is?

[mcatmcat]

To be honest there is not much to do on your own at belize, I went there and yes they are living in a poor country but is not that scary. I was holding my camera so tight and a men from the country told me " don't worry nothing will happen to your camera". We were 4 and we walked to a famous church and eat lots of local fruits ( the banana oranges and corn was delicious ) I'm going again this month and my plans are the same, I won't get an excursion since I already have plans for Cozumel. Yes, you will find peor trying to sell you excursion ( just say no and they won't ask again) as soon as you exit the port make a left go over the little bridge and no more people bothering you.

 

 

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[Podie]

I just spent one week in Belize for scuba diving. We were about two hours south of Belize City. All of the locals at our resort told us to stay out of Belize City. When we arrived at the Belize City airport, we were warned to stay out of Belize City. I'm sure going across the street to the market is no big deal, but personally I wouldn't venture very far into the city. Go over to Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker instead.

[Playhouse05]

So I'm thinking we're going to take the water taxi over to Caye Caulker for the day. Does anyone know how far of a walk the taxi is from where the ship tenders drop off?

[eclue]

five minute walk to the water taxis

[blue_water]

So I'm thinking we're going to take the water taxi over to Caye Caulker for the day. Does anyone know how far of a walk the taxi is from where the ship tenders drop off?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1850173&goto=newpost

[UMKCMD]

Just curious. Have heard there is a shop that sells some nice Knock Off handbags.

Anyone know the name of the store or where it is?

 

The name of it escapes me, but it is in the shopping area/strip mall right when you complete the tender the process. The shop itself is located inside the mall, directly across from the pharmacy.

[sunheals]

I will be in Belize next week and would like to go to Caye Caulker. I was thinking about justing walking and getting a water taxi. I may be on my own, does anyone know if there might be any issues getting back to the cruise ship on time?