Is Cave Tubing really that much fun?

[AuTiger7]

We (Wife, 13 son, 16 daughter, and me) are torn between Cave Tubing and snorkeling in Belize. We have the Gallows Reef snorkeling tour through Eco Tours booked right now but everyone keeps flip flopping. We have snorkeled before but have not Cave Tubed.

 

Please help!!!!!

[amistad]

We (Wife, 13 son, 16 daughter, and me) are torn between Cave Tubing and snorkeling in Belize. We have the Gallows Reef snorkeling tour through Eco Tours booked right now but everyone keeps flip flopping. We have snorkeled before but have not Cave Tubed.

 

Please help!!!!!

AuTiger, We did the Cave Tubing in Belize in October one year so the water level may be better when you go in March, it is a little bit of a walk from the transportaion to where you actually tube and then you get on your tube go thru the caves and then down the river a way's, but the river was very shallow there so we would have to pick up our behinds or they would drag. It is ok, but if I had it to do again I would choose a tour that combined zip linning and tubing, I would really like to do one of the Indiana Jones type excursions, but we will have a 3 yr. old with us so it isn't an option this time around.

[World Gallery]

I think that cave tubing is just a matter of opinion, some love it and some do not. We have gone twice, once with our children and once without. I asked by son, 16, and he said that he thought it was one of the most unique excursions we have ever done and says that it is really "cool". Actually, all of my 5 kids really liked it, ages 8 - 16 and want to go again this upcoming cruise but my husband refused to go again. He thinks cave tubing is overated and that the water is too cold. We also did snorkeling with our kids in Cozumel last year and for them, it was just okay. The water was too rough. We did it in Cozumel on a private tour on a small boat. It was difficult to get in and out of the boat. I do think that snorkeling is great though if the water is not too rough and you have a good guide. I suggest going to youtube.com and search for these things. I did this and was able to show my kids the cave tubing from the Samantha Brown show.

[PnkyandtheBrain]

We really enjoyed our cave tubing excursion with Vitalino (cavetubing.bz) this month (2/4/10). Based on conversations with others who went cavetubing, but not with the same guide, the experience can really depend on the guide you use. Some rush you through, don't take time to explain the nature around you and really just want to get you in and out.

 

Vitalino and his guides are definately not that type of outfit. During our tube, the river was a little low, but still nice. There were about 4 "butt-up" sections of a hundred feet or so, but nothing to worry about. Water temp was about 70-75 I'd say, so not cold, but certainly refreshing (air temp was about 80-85).

 

If we'd been able to get off the ship sooner (NCL Spirit), many of our group were considering adding a zip-line or zoo tour to our trip. Vitalino is able to make these adjustments on the fly if requested. As it was, we took a little more time in the caves (Vital gives you 1 extra cave over the ship excursions usually), we ended up skipping the additional activites, went to their lunch location and had a great meal, followed by a nice drive back to the pier. We arrived back to the tender with about 30 minutes to spare, and were never worried about missing our ship.

 

I can't speak to the snorkel, as I've not done it anywhere. Choose a good guide for your cave-tube experience and you won't be disappointed (assuming the caves are not flooded). If you get to Belize and the caves are flooded, you should not feel shy about changing your plan to zip-line, or the zoo, or even snorkel. If you use Vitalino, they will be honest with you about cave conditions and can offer alternatives since they are a smaller operation and pretty flexible.

 

Brad

[GinDon]

I say go for the Cave-Tubing. It's a very unique experience, and thrilling. It's hard to tell if and when the water will be low. We went in late October a couple of years ago, and only had one "butts-up" moment, very briefly. I don't know of anywhere else that offers a big cave-tubing experience like this, but Belize. You can snorkel anywhere.

Don't book with the ship. There are several safe, reputable operators recommended on these boards. Pick one of those, and you'll be fine.

[curacao]

I have done both!! Both unique experiences. But I am a diver so it is diving in Belize for me.

[ftelah]

Curacao, where in Belize do you recommend someone to dive? Do you use a certain dive shop? Will they do just a 1 tank dive and if so do you know a cost? We are leaving in a couple of week on the Spirit and there are a few in our group that would like to dive on one of the ports and we haven't decided which would be best, if you have any other suggestions please let me know.

Thanks for you help.

[curacao]

Since I am on a ship this time, I have booked diving for Belize thru the ship. Want to make sure I get back to the boat! Wanted to dive the Hole, but not offered from ship at this time. think there are time restraints for that area with cruise ship hours. Living on Curacao for a year, got used to just "gearing up and walking straight into the water"!!

My dive in Belize is about $150.00 for a 2 tank dive. Probably get it cheaper off ship, but did not do that, as I am dealing with a teenaged diver also.

 

enjoy!!

[Spankytree]

I think that cave tubing is just a matter of opinion, some love it and some do not. We have gone twice, once with our children and once without. I asked by son, 16, and he said that he thought it was one of the most unique excursions we have ever done and says that it is really "cool". Actually, all of my 5 kids really liked it, ages 8 - 16 and want to go again this upcoming cruise but my husband refused to go again. He thinks cave tubing is overated and that the water is too cold. We also did snorkeling with our kids in Cozumel last year and for them, it was just okay. The water was too rough. We did it in Cozumel on a private tour on a small boat. It was difficult to get in and out of the boat. I do think that snorkeling is great though if the water is not too rough and you have a good guide. I suggest going to youtube.com and search for these things. I did this and was able to show my kids the cave tubing from the Samantha Brown show.

 

What company would you recommend to go cave tubing with?

[Relaxing on the balcony]

We have been snorkling and cave tubing in Belize. Both were a lot of fun. We are returning this year with our son and we are cave tubing again. We figure it is a great way to do something different, see some of the country (important to teach the 12yo about the way others live) and sneak the history of the country in. To us, learning about the country and culture was great and Maj Tom and his crew gave us a good history lesson and joked around and made the trip fun. The tubing was fun but the people were the highlight for us.

Whatever you do have a great time and enjoy the beautiful country!

[Spankytree]

Thanks!

Just curious, which cave tubing to recommend?

 

Major Tom? or Cave Tubing bz with Vitalino?

 

Thanks

Spanky

[Morebeer]

Hi All were on the Valor this coming May. Having a hard time deciding between the different Cave Tubing companies. Have read positive comments about CaveTubing.com, Cavetubing.bz, and Major Tom's Cave Tubing. Also see where Carnival offers a cave tubing excursion on there website. Have heard it's a long tender process in Belize any comments would be greatly appreciated as to which independent company to go with or due to that long tendering if should just pay the extra for the piece of mind with the Carnival tour? Thanks in advance for any responses.

[StartrainDD]

Our group of 8 CC'ers in November '09 went on the cave tubing and lunch ($45) with Jaguar Paw. Our guide, Miguel, was terrific. He showed us where the big operators park and people start their walk... We drove on for at least another 1/2 mile to their private resort within the park (they owned the land before the area became a park).

 

The walk begins with a "Wet" river crossing as you ford the river with your tube. It was refreshing. We walked the trail for about 45 minutes, and saw no one else the entire time. The reason this took 45 minutes is we stopped and asked lots of questions about the plants and trees. Miguel showed us termite nests and tunnels, and I was taking photos of the flora. If you didn't stop, the walk is about 1/2 that time.

 

We entered the river in a most wonderful setting between two caves. For the first 45 minutes or so in the cave system we were the only group and we could float free or in small groups. As we were nearing the end of one cave we could see the masses coming into the river from the big operators. At this point Miguel told us to all link up so we would stay together.

 

Right after this point we all went down some minor rapids (it was a lot of fun) and the middle of our 8-person chain fell apart. No problem for Miguel though, he had it under control.

 

At the end of the cave system we exited and were right back at the resort, it's not more than 100 yards from the river. We changed into dry clothes, had a great indoor bug-free lunch at the resort, bought the neatest T-shirts (you HAVE to buy one of these) and Miguel gave us a tour of the resort. He had us back to the pier by 3:00 and the last tender was at 4:30.

 

This was the BEST SHORE TRIP WE HAVE EVER DONE, PERIOD!

 

Suggestion: Unless your heart is set on the zip-lining, do that somewhere else. That's offered elsewhere. Cave tubing isn't. I think (but can't swear it) that Miguel mentioned if people do both, the cave tubing part is shorter. Missing the first part of the cave tour (when no one else is around) would be missing a lot, in my opinion.

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[texancruzer]

We did a cave tube with cavetubing.com while on our trip to Belize and had a blast. Was on this cruise with my daughter and she talked me into it. I am not a cave person. But it was not like going down into a cave in the ground as the river has carved out the caves.......

 

I am a diver and avid snorkler but this experience was definately up there with snowmobiling to the top of the Continental divide and riding the donkeys up in Santorini and a few other "fun" things I have done.