geeko1

expect it to be miserable hot and humid. cave tubing and snorkeling are your activities

use the LADOT website to track traffic

I think it floods most every spring, nothing new there.

1.3 million tourists go to Belize every year.  One or twp of them return home alive.  

there is an area they dumped some sands but that is it.  

get a bike and ride around

In July the heat/humidity will hellish oppressive, you want the cave tubing, 

walk Bourbon St at the crack of dawn, very cool

you dont need a tour. rent a kayak and paddle out to the reef and snorkel.  there are tie offs at the reef for the kayaks.

While the diving in Belize is great you will be a good distance from the reef so fly to a caye or dive elsewhere. 

Depends completely on what the rains have been

Lobster season is June 15th to February 14th

Okay folks, OP wants cheap/free stuff, not excursions to the cayes.

 

OP, your best bet is, unfortunately, to hang around the tender pier, called the Tourism Village. Shopping restaurants, a small chocolate shop. Just outside is a flea market with cheaper local goods than inside the Village. Also a small lighthouse and a colorful BELIZE sign.

 

You can walk, or take a taxi, to the Heritage Center, a cultural museum across from the Anglican church that used to be the home of the British colonial Governor. Get a map of Belize City. There are also museums and great local food restaurants in the Ft George area where the Tourism Village is located. Nice walk along the shore to them via Marine Parade (where the lighthouse is).

 

You can also take a 15-20 minute taxi ride to "Old Belize" where a manmade marina and beach called Cucumber Beach is located. Used primarily by locals in Belize City on the weekend. Haven't been there in a very long time so not sure what's available during the week.

It's going to be okay giving people options is always a good thing. I'm going to give the OPer credit for being able to sort through all the ideas themself. during a couple of small museums in Belize City and touring the rum Factory are also good low-cost options. I can't imagine telling somebody to stay in a tourist trap area.

Cannot speak about the excursion per se -

 

BUT will say that we went to shark/ray alley and Hol Chan while there on a land vacation - both very cool but very crowded, even on a day with no ships in port - wanted to go to Caye Caulker but could not find flight or boat there... next time

There are 2 airlines and a water taxi that go to CC. Hol Chan and shark ray alley are both on the reef at Ambergris Caye which is served by the same 2 airlines and water taxi.

Thanks for all the suggestions here so far. I am particularly interested in Belize. On our first stop here, we booked a small group open-boat trip to Caye Caulker. This was mainly for people snorkelling, but for non swimmers, we had the option of being dropped off on the Caye itself for a couple hours, then rejoining for the boat ride back. We chose this tour because the shuttle boat to Caye Caulker departed too early for our ship arrival including tendering time.

 

First, the tour operator was about 45 minutes late picking us up. On the way back, the boat broke down, and we had to wait for the guy’s buddy to come and get us in another boat. We barely made the last shuttle to the ship. Caye Caulker was nice enough but not very interesting. We rented a golf cart and drove around the very tiny community, which seems to be mostly made up of diving guys and gals and people seeking a laid back alternative lifestyle. The community is mostly small shacks and cottages. Both the boat and tender rides were very long and somewhat rough. This would be a bad day for someone prone to seasickness.

 

The excursion to the Mayan ruins sounds like a better choice for us. Caye Cailker - meh.

Ambergris Caye is much better

You do come off as condescending. Fortunately we can avoid your posts by skipping over them. This is supposed to be a way to share information, and not have attitudes when someone a asks questions because they aren’t as savvy about cruising and the ports.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Please. Go ahead and skip over them.

Cozumel in mid October yay or nay.? i have a cruise already booked for Cuba and coz in December week of my birthday.i was checking the carnival website because my grandson wants to go also and came upon the same cruise in mid October but with a stop in key West included so it would be 3 ports instead of 2 on a 5 day cruise.i like as few sea days as possible.the trade off is a ocean view in December for an inside in October so cost wise it's close.my worry is the weather .is the weather bad there during October? Like heavy rains or anything else that would put a damper on my cruise.thanks for any input.

The end of the rainy season is mid-october

I had an excursion booked with Coral Breeze to Caye Caulker while in port from 8:00-5:00 ship time (6:00-3:00 Belize time) They have cancelled my tour due to me being the only person booked as of now (16 days until cruise)

I began looking at options, including the water taxi. The Caye Caulker airstrip has just finished renovations, and Tropic Air has resumed flights as of a couple of days ago. Here's where it gets a little crazy: The outgoing flight leaves Belize Municipal at 7:25 am Belize time (9:25 ship time) and returns to Belize municipal at 1:25 (3:25 ship time) and I would need to catch a cab back to the tender port to make my return to the ship. Is this the craziest plan ever?

As a back up plan, I have looked into flights from Belize International to Miami, and they run around $150 one way... Worst case scenario, I get left behind by the ship and have to fly back to Miami in time for my flight back home to ATL...

ambergris key is a much more popular destination and you can fly there as well and much less likely you would have any tour cancelled.

As I recall, the grounds at Lamanai are less excavated. Thus more "jungle" feel, which many people like. The boat ride is a boat ride. Just setting a better mood for the tour.

 

As SchoolNurseMom says, Xunantunich is more like a state park. You can climb a really high temple and see across to Guatemala. IMO, the plaza grounds are probably closer to what they looked like when inhabited vs Lamanai.

 

If a boat trip is of interest Carnival may offer the River Wallace tour to Altun Ha. Boat up, bus back. It's closer to Belize City, smaller than Xunantunich, but equally as excavated and clean.

Leaves more time for other things.

You can also climb a pyramid at lamanai up above the Treetops

one has a boat and one doesnt?

The zoo is great

Cave tubing is fabulous

To get there from Coz requires a ferry ride to Playa del Carmen and then a long taxi/bus/shuttle ride - then you need to get back. To much to do/enjoy on Cozumel to spend that much time travelling to/from IMHO -- your cruise and your call. ;)

hence the if you have time comment, guess you missed it.

Whats something that you always make sure to buy while in Grand Cayman that can't be purchased in the states?

Grand Cayman isn't in Mexico