Belize with a 22month old

[vgoad76]

This will be the first cruise we take our children, ages 14 and 22 months. We are trying to find a toddler friendly excursion in Belize. Any suggestions? DH has emailed Bottoms Up cave tubing and they said she is allowed there but not so sure have kid friendly it is? Also we dont want to have to carry a carseat around with us so suggestions on that as well. We will be going in April. TIA

[cb at sea]

I would not put a 22 mo. child on a cave tubing excursion.....maybe that's just me!

 

Buses/shuttles usually have no need of car seats...so that's what I'd be looking for.

[wampuscat7]

I've seen lots of recommendations for the zoo in Belize. I haven't been cave tubing in several years, but the water was pretty chilly. It was an October cruise.

[vgoad76]

I've seen lots of recommendations for the zoo in Belize. I haven't been cave tubing in several years, but the water was pretty chilly. It was an October cruise.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. I saw quite a few people that said the Zoo was a neat experience and a few that said it wasnt worth it. I guess you will always have a few naysayers in the bunch. I will check it out :) :D

[vgoad76]

I would not put a 22 mo. child on a cave tubing excursion.....maybe that's just me!

 

Buses/shuttles usually have no need of car seats...so that's what I'd be looking for.

 

 

Yeah, I'm not feeling too comfortable with it regardless if they are saying its ok. From what I've seen its also a pretty long excursion and she is a very curious, fearless child and I think it would get old quickly. Just needed more folks agreeing with me to convince the hubby its a no go :p

 

We've never been to Belize is there anywhere that you can walk to and enjoy without taking a taxi/bus/shuttle?

[Sooner-Cruisers]

Starfish island may be a decent option.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Sooner-Cruisers

[kitkat343]

My husband and I both liked the Belize zoo, which we saw before we had kids. If you choose to go cave tubing, please do not under any circumstances take a ship's excursion. The ship tours had long, long lines of people and it looked really dangerous - adults have drowned in the past on the cave tubing excursions (when you cave tube you are linked to the person in front of you, and there are guides on the front and back ends of the link to rescue people if there is a problem. The ship tours had the longest links of people, and were therefore much more dangerous than the private tours run by independent operators). On some days (like the day we went) the water was so low they kept saying "buts up" to us to tell us not to get stuck because there was so little water. However, the tour operators did inform us that there were certainly days in which there was a lot more water and this was a lot more dangerous.

 

The tours also generally separated the kids from the parents and put them on very small lines surrounded by guides. It might - depending upon water conditions- possibly be safe for a young child, but you won't know what the water conditions are like until the day of your tour, and even then you are depending upon the tour operators to be completely honest with you about the conditions. I honestly wouldn't take my 5 year old, who is a fairly decent swimmer, cave tubing yet. But that is entirely your call.

[vgoad76]

The company that responded said that she would sit in one of our laps but I have decided against it. I told my husband if he insists on doing it the baby and I will just stay on the ship but I'm against her going 100%

 

I read that it costs between $75-100 just to get a taxi to the zoo? Is that accurate?

 

I think we have decided just to shop around in Belize since there isnt much to do and spend our $ on the other ports that have more toddler friendly excursions!

 

Thank you all :)

[Love.NCL]

This will be the first cruise we take our children, ages 14 and 22 months. We are trying to find a toddler friendly excursion in Belize. Any suggestions? DH has emailed Bottoms Up cave tubing and they said she is allowed there but not so sure have kid friendly it is? Also we dont want to have to carry a carseat around with us so suggestions on that as well. We will be going in April. TIA

 

We did Goff's Caye Beach with our son who was 14 month at that time. There were other families with babies there as well. i think it was a 30min ride out to the island. You had the option to go snorkeling once you get there (its included in the package) but we didn't.

[wampuscat7]

I'm sure it's changed a lot since I was there. I don't remember much in the way of shops around the port.

[NMLady]

This will be the first cruise we take our children, ages 14 and 22 months. We are trying to find a toddler friendly excursion in Belize. Any suggestions? DH has emailed Bottoms Up cave tubing and they said she is allowed there but not so sure have kid friendly it is? Also we dont want to have to carry a carseat around with us so suggestions on that as well. We will be going in April. TIA

 

Keep in mind that in April the Belize stop will be at Harvest Caye, not at Belize City Marina. Since the Harvest Caye port stop won't be finished until mid-February, no one has yet experienced excursions from there.

[A&Jfamily]

We did Goff's Caye Beach with our son who was 14 month at that time. There were other families with babies there as well. i think it was a 30min ride out to the island. You had the option to go snorkeling once you get there (its included in the package) but we didn't.

 

We did this with our 2 and 8 year old sons. The oldest got to snorkel with me from the boat while his dad stayed on shore. It is a very tiny island and there is great snorkeling from the beach. It is also a an active kid paradise because they can run and explore, watch hermit crabs, find shells etc.

[Coolwhip82]

This will be the first cruise we take our children, ages 14 and 22 months. We are trying to find a toddler friendly excursion in Belize. Any suggestions? DH has emailed Bottoms Up cave tubing and they said she is allowed there but not so sure have kid friendly it is? Also we dont want to have to carry a carseat around with us so suggestions on that as well. We will be going in April. TIA

 

 

I am having this same issue. We are also going to Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatan. I have found toddler friendly activities at all of these, but Belize continues to perplex me. I have no interest in the zoo, he is too young for the adventure activities, and I am not sure how he would be on a 30+ min boat ride to one of the beaches...

[travelhound]

We've been to Belize several time, both before dd and after. Before, we did cave tubing twice and a reef snorkel once. Never in a million years would I take a small child cave tubing. I know people do it, but I wouldn't. Both times we did ship excursions and we were not tethered together, so we didn't have that problem. However, we had to hike through the jungle carrying a huge tube for at least 30 minutes. Then either jump from a cliff (if you're crazy - my dh did that) or jump a little bit into the river. We then sat on top of the tubes and floating down river with headlamps. The water is a bit chilly and that may freak a toddler out and it gets really dark in the caves. If everything went perfectly it could work to have dd sit on your lap but that's a big if. The second time we went it had been raining a few days before and the hike was really muddy and the water was rushing really fast. We had to get out of the river at one point and walk around because the water was too fast. My dh's tube flipped is a swirl of water and went into the cave. They tried to grab his hand and he was going to fast. There was a last resort rope strung across and luckily he caught that or he would have been in the cave with the rushing water and no tube. Scary. What if he had a kid on his lap? Our dd is now four and can swim but I still wouldn't bring her cave tubing yet. Just my opinion.

 

We've been there once with dd, when she was just 3 and we did a ship's excursion to a private island beach. The cat we took picked us up at the ship and returned us there too so we didn't have to take the long tender ride in. (If you're at Harvest Caye, I don't have experience there.) It was a private island experience with lunch. They had a great little playground and we spent too much time there. :) But it was a nice day in calm water with beach chairs and good food. If your dh really wants to cave tube, a day at the beach will be a big bummer, but with a 14 month old your options are limited.

 

If you don't want to do a straight beach day you could also do a catamaran/snorkel adventure. We've done those several times with dd and she loves it. If the water is calm enough she could do in or your could take turns staying onboard with her.

 

Whatever you do be sure to bring a life vest for your dd that you know fits. Her first cruise was at 21 months and we had the puddle jumper. I'm not sure if that will fit your dd, but they are great. We're leaving in another week or so and even though our dd can swim now, we're still bringing it for the ocean and snorkeling.

 

Coolwhip82: Your ds may love the boat ride. We've been on both tenders and cats with our dd and she loves them. Usually on the way back she falls asleep. Then you just have dead weight kid to drag back to the ship.

Edited January 22, 2016 by travelhound

[PGPrendy]

We did a Taste of Belize tour with Coral Breeze Tours when our son was 25 months old, and it was fine. The company had other tour options as well, but that was 3 years ago, so I'm not sure of what's being offered now. While the adults did the Belizean food and drink tasting, our son did not... we made sure to have sseparate snacks for our toddler as he enjoyed the drive around the island.

Edited January 22, 2016 by PGPrendy

[tinkr2]

It is interesting that they said they would take you, my tour guide who we have used twice said you must be 6 as it is like a national park with rules.