Ziplining in Belize or Roatan?

What does everyone recommend? Tell me about what you experienced. I looked the websites for Victor in Roatan and it loos like the zipping takes you over more of valleys than rain forrests. Tom's tour in Belize looks to be more Rainforrests which is more of what I am intersted in. Is it just the way it seems on the websites? Thanks for any feedback you can give me to help me make a decision.

I was also wondering the same thing, I just went to You Tube.com and you can see the footage other people have filmed while ziplining maybe that can help you make a decision.

We did the ZipLine in Roatan and had a great experience.

I am a bit puzzled at where in Belize they could rig a Zip Like?? It's pretty darn flat there.

In Roatan, we made some stops on the way for photos, and eventually came to the zip line. This was in 2005 so things may have changed, but it was a nice place. We booked with Victor Bodden, and his connections prevented us from having a long wait.

When our turn came, we strapped on our gear and headed out. It was like an obstacle course in the sky! It was not just sliding from tree to tree - there were some real challenges along the way.

If you want more info let me know, I have lot of pictures and stuff.

I think there are 3 or 4 different zipline operators in Roatan. The one that is actually at Victor Bodden's home isn't as high as the others. We were there in January and had a great time, but we are in our early 50s. I don't think our twenty-something sons would have found it exciting enough for them. I remember seeing a comparison chart somewhere for the Roatan ziplines telling you how high, how many ziplines etc. Possibly someone on the Ports of Call Board would know more.

I DID THE CAVE TUBING IN BELIZE in 2006 and it seems the bus took almost an hour mostly up a mountain to get to where we hiked up another hill to get to the caves. The ziplining is supposed to be near where the cabe tubing ends so it is not near sea level. Looked pretty much like a tropical forest to me up there. The Bodden tours seems to be more of a obsticle course which I think is more than my parents want to deal with. All of your feedback is appreciated so I can try to make a decision.

We did the Belize zip line in Dec. 09. You board a school bus & drive for over an hour, starting on paved roads & winding up on dirt roads. You end up at the edge of a mountainous area after crossing a savannah type plain. Our family enjoyed the excursion & everyone was very nice. I enjoyed the trip too & from, seeing the counrtyside.

Ziplining in Roatan was amazing!!! Check out South Shore Canopy thru roatanshoreexcursions dot com.

I hate these decisions, decisions, decisions!!!! You just have to pick one and hope it is the right decision

Ziplining in Roatan was amazing!!! Check out South Shore Canopy thru roatanshoreexcursions dot com.

I was just going to say the same thing. This is the one to do without a doubt.

Victor Boden has a nice set up. It is actually on his property at his house in Roatan. He also has the monkeys on his property. The zip line isnt all that big but still kind of cool. In Belize I would do Cave tubing and skip doing zip line in a heartbeat! The cave tubing can not be missed!! I am taking the 7 day western caribbean out of miami again this year mainly because we want to do cave tubing in Belize again

There is no way I would ever zip line on a cruise. Ever! Do you really think these lines are maintained?

NO WAY!

I think Dr. JD needs to live life a bit :D I have been to the Victor Bodden facility and can say they appear to be very safe and well maintained. You gotta remember...for small businesses like Victor Bodden Tours this zip line is their life...its their income. If they lose business they lose money. Ever read anything bad about their zip line facility? I havent.

Professionally, I was researching this week for an article on extreme sports.

Personally, I'll be on the Legend in December and have been considering excursions. :D

I ended up on the US Department of State site and found this.

Adventure Sports: Honduras's growing tourism industry attracts a number of people interested in adventure sports such as whitewater kayaking and rafting, scuba diving and canopy tours. Travelers should be warned that in addition to the inherent risk of injury and death in these activities, there exists little or no oversight of safety standards for adventure sports operators in Honduras. Five American citizens died in these sports in Honduras during the past three years. While many operators use good practices and attempt to meet internationally accepted safety standards, travelers should be diligent in researching potential adventure sports providers to make sure they are using internationally-acceptable or certified equipment, guides, safety measures and instruction.

I know we can't live life in a bubble, and I figure if you aren't living on the edge, you're just takin' up space! But it does make you think... :confused:

We are planning on using Clip and Zip right there at the Mahogany Bay cruise port area. The website says their equipment used is US standards. Check them out!

We just went ziplining last month in Belize. We took the Carnival tour. I did a review of our cruise (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1155491

Here is the snippet I did on the Belize tour. I'll add a couple pics for you, too. I know I had a hard time finding recent reviews of this tour when I was planning. As far as safety goes - I felt very safe, at all times on this tour. There was some climbing you had to do to get up to the top of the mtn/hill in the jungle to start the zips. There are railings. And as far as the equipment - it was very safe. It was all in good condition and there are several workers there. They do it all for you. I was nervous, but after getting geared up and realizing how secure it was, I felt fine.

DAY FIVE:

Belize - We took the zipline/canopy tour excursion through Carnival. The bus ride was long and very rough. I mean, you could seriously jack up your back on this bus ride! Our guide even made a joke about it saying "Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the complementary massage!" It was about an hour and a half on an old school bus. And a good portion of the bus ride is on a gravel road. I suggest sitting as close to the front as you can to cut down on the bumping. We were at the back of the bus and I literally bounced up off the seat a few times! Our guide Prem/Prez (can't quite remember!) was great. He talked nearly the entire way there about the country/people/culture/economy/history. It was great. He pointed out things all along the way. We got to the site, geared up, and headed up the hill through the jungle and stopped for a safety breifing. It was very thorough. The zipline itself was wonderful. I felt very safe and secure and it was so fun!! They offered complementary bottled water.

We were really sweaty!! It was hot in the jungle and it's a very active, activity! We had a blast! I was glad we wore longer pants, but lightweight pants. Short shorts would not be a good idea. We also used plenty of bug spray, but there weren't any bugs! I'm sure that was a fluke, though!

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These are just a couple of our pics...

We just went ziplining last month in Belize. We took the Carnival tour. I did a review of our cruise (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1155491

 

Here is the snippet I did on the Belize tour. I'll add a couple pics for you, too. I know I had a hard time finding recent reviews of this tour when I was planning. As far as safety goes - I felt very safe, at all times on this tour. There was some climbing you had to do to get up to the top of the mtn/hill in the jungle to start the zips. There are railings. And as far as the equipment - it was very safe. It was all in good condition and there are several workers there. They do it all for you. I was nervous, but after getting geared up and realizing how secure it was, I felt fine.

 

DAY FIVE:

Belize - We took the zipline/canopy tour excursion through Carnival. The bus ride was long and very rough. I mean, you could seriously jack up your back on this bus ride! Our guide even made a joke about it saying "Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the complementary massage!" It was about an hour and a half on an old school bus. And a good portion of the bus ride is on a gravel road. I suggest sitting as close to the front as you can to cut down on the bumping. We were at the back of the bus and I literally bounced up off the seat a few times! Our guide Prem/Prez (can't quite remember!) was great. He talked nearly the entire way there about the country/people/culture/economy/history. It was great. He pointed out things all along the way. We got to the site, geared up, and headed up the hill through the jungle and stopped for a safety breifing. It was very thorough. The zipline itself was wonderful. I felt very safe and secure and it was so fun!! They offered complementary bottled water.

 

We were really sweaty!! It was hot in the jungle and it's a very active, activity! We had a blast! I was glad we wore longer pants, but lightweight pants. Short shorts would not be a good idea. We also used plenty of bug spray, but there weren't any bugs! I'm sure that was a fluke, though!

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These are just a couple of our pics...

Who took these pics? Nice. So, capris for a women not shorts. Why? What about for men? Knee length shorts??? Or pantsl

There is no way I would ever zip line on a cruise. Ever! Do you really think these lines are maintained?

 

NO WAY!

I live in CA. The freeways are much scarier.:eek:

Who took these pics? Nice. So, capris for a women not shorts. Why? What about for men? Knee length shorts??? Or pantsl

The zipline place took the pictures. You can take your camera up with you, but I didn't. I just took it as far as the gearing-up area. I didn't have anything to put it in. If you have a little pack you can hook onto yourself, you can bring your camera. That's what I would do next time. They put all the pictures on a cd - the put both mine and my husbands onto one. It has probably 30 pictures of us zipping on the various ones. It was 25 dollars.

Oh, you could wear shorts, but just make sure they won't creep! :) Those harnesses are really snug and if they make contact with bare skin - it would be uncomfortable! So, for men cargo shorts would be just fine. There were some girls with shorts on our trip and they kept complaining about getting wedgies! lol!

Here are a few more pictures that I took as we entered. I'll have to post them in a new post...won't let me put them here...

Little bridge you walk across to get into the jungle...

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You go through this cave into the jungle opening where you gear up. This is also the place you end up at the end of the zip tour.

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It's beautiful!

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We just did the same tour as the previous poster in Belize and it was fantastic! We had the most amazing time. Everything was well maintained and their staff was wonderful. As for the poster who said Belize is very flat, it definitely wasn't where we were. We've been on the cave tubing excursion in Belize too and felt that the zipline blew that experience out of the water. If you go on the Carnival offered too, hope you get Elvis as your guide. He was excellent!

I've never ziplined in Roatan but after the wonderful time we had in Belize, I'd probably go again there before trying Roatan. JMO

Does this happen to be the one where you look like you are inside a cave?

TIA

Thank you all for your input. It's nice to have the benefit of your information on these boards!

I just did the cave tubing/zip line in Belize a couple weeks ago. I went through Jaguarpaws. They were great. I felt very safe. The lines went from tree house to tree house above the jungle canopy. Sooo much fun!

Does this happen to be the one where you look like you are inside a cave?

 

TIA

The one I went on in Belize starts in a cave-like area, where you gear up and walk up the hill into the jungle area. Then, the last rappel is back into the original cave. Is that what you were wondering?

Belize has so many interesting things to do on excursions, But Roatan was fascinating to explore on your own. I do not know how adventurous you are but we rented a scooter and just explored pretty much the whole island on our own. We ended up Ziplining at a place we just bumped into, they were amazing. They held our stuff for us and transported us back afterwards to our scooter (yeah we WERE a bit trusting ,but our motto of the day was have faith) Hmmm thoughts are going too quick so please ignore the grammar The whole island was beautiful and the people amazing....Was by far my favorite day of the whole cruise...Orphanage....Beach...Ziplining...and just exploring every nook and cranny....Roatan is beautiful...Forgot to tell you the zipline company we used was the same for carnival excursions....