Bacob Eco Park

[PTN96]

Still trying to find something to do in Belize. We are really leaning towards just staying on the Legend but did see the Bacob Eco Park and kayak tour. We would only want the Bacob Eco Park to hang out at the Pool!

 

Is there a way to do this on our own and only do the Park?

[World Gallery]

We did Bacab last year. No, there is no way to go on your own. I researched that option and contacted them directly. I also contacted Nacho, a guy mentioned on CC for his tours (mainly Cave Tubing) and he said that it is impossible also. I think they have a contract with the cruise lines. Also, it would cost more to go on your own I would imagine. It is at least a 30 min. bus ride to get there one way.

The pool is nice but I want to warn anyone using it. The slide is very dangerous. There is something about it that isn't constructed correctly. It is made of concrete. My daughter was going down in a normal fashion and somehow hit her head pretty hard on the slide as she was coming off. We mentioned this to the staff and wrote about it on the comment card but they really didn't seem to care. Later I read one CC that someone else had warned about it being too fast.

We didn't do the Kayaking, only the pool with the Butterfly garden. Overall, it was okay but we would not do again.

[DrMrsRichardson]

After reading numerous posts on this and other sites I knew we needed to book an excursion for Belize and I couldn't have been happier with the one we chose! Since my husband and I love to ride our bikes (leisurely not hard core) we were excited to see that Carnival offered a bike riding tour through the jungle in Belize.

 

The tour guides (Marz and Lourdes) were awesome!! They were full of energy, information, and were genuinely warm and friendly (not to mention funny). You board a charter bus (w/ AC and comfy seats) at the pier and get a tour of the city including some history on the way to the Eco park. The people on the bus all had excursions in the park and it was broken down as follows (all numbers are approximate): 20 horseback riders, 10 kayakers, 8 bike riders, and a couple just hanging out at the park. Once we arrived we split into our respective groups and were offered free lockers to store our stuff (you had to pay either $5 or $10 deposit) and we were given in introduction to the facilities (bathrooms, showers, walking trails, pool, gift shop, restaurant, bar, etc).

 

Once we headed out on the bike portion of the excursion (about 10 minutes after arriving) we were led to the "bike shed" where we were to find the right bike for our size and were offered helmets. We had plenty of time to try the bikes out and decide if it was "right" or not. I was worried at first because all of the bikes I tried seemed to have less air than normal in the tires but learned after a few minutes on the trail that they were that way due to the terrain. So we start out and it seemed very easy but I was sweating quite a bit due to the warm and humid climate. Being that I am still carrying around a few extra pounds from my twin pregnancy (and being a tad bit hung over from too much fun in Cozumel) I worried that I had made a terrible mistake booking this excursion! Our tour guide must have sensed we were second guessing ourselves at this point because he said; "don't worry, once we get under the canopy it is nice and cool". And that it was! While we did not get to spy any howler monkeys that day it was a gorgeous, easy, and very enjoyable ride through the jungle terrain. At the very point my stomach started growling and my cruise trained brain started wondering about the next meal it was over. The jungle portion of the ride lasted just over an hour. When we got back to the main part of the facility they announced that lunch was ready for us. The dining room was awesome. It was outdoors, of course, with a huge and very tall thatched roof under which sat a bar and many tables at which to eat. Servers came around and offered us complementary punch/water as well as sodas and alcohol for a fee (not too high). I enjoyed the complimentary fruit punch and my husband enjoyed a local beer of the "stout" variety (cannot remember what it was called but it is the only local one they have). Lunch was a buffet of sweet fried plantains, beans and rice, delicious grilled and seasoned chicken, and potato salad (apparently a local favorite). Lourdes (one of the tour guides from the bus) told us about their version of nachos which she informed us were very good, so we ordered a small order of nachos from the restaurant and oh my goodness... my husband and I agreed they are probably the best nachos we have ever had! They make a white cheese sauce that is out of this world and the meat was seasoned to perfection.

 

After lunch we had time to use the other facilities. The pool was awesome complete with a water slide and lounge chairs in the water. There was a pretty nature trail and butterfly reserve (butterfly reserve was an additional $2 to go inside but you could see butterflies from the outside for free). There were hammocks and many options for sitting/longing around the water (pool, lake, or river). Oh and do wear bug repellant. I saw many a mosquito but heeded other's advice and slathered on the repellant and did not get any bites. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone going to Belize! Oh, they kayakers got wet but seemed to enjoy their trip, and I heard many of the horseback riders complain about being sore but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

[CaribbeanCrazy]

Thanks for the great review. DH and I were thinking of doing this excursion through Carnival for our Feb cruise. After your review I feel more confident booking it.

Thanks:)

[KroozFoolz]

Thanks for posting about your experience.

[txmomto1]

Thank you for posting your review. I'm thinking this would be good for my DH, DS and I next Thanksgiving. How much time after the bike tour and lunch did you have to spend at the pool?

[kwbound]

Thanks for posting this review. How long was the bus ride to the park? I'm having a hard time deciding what to do in Belize. We don't really want to do anything that involves a lot of travel time. We can go tubing all summer here in Texas, we've been to ruins and the beach options here don't sound that great. I'm going to look at see if NCL offers this as an excursion.