Cave Tubing

[a4ofspades]

I have been longing to go to a port that has cave tubing and was really excited to find that it is available in Belize. I do have concerns though as to whether or not this is going to be too strenuous for my husband.

 

I see that there is approx. a 1 mile (some say 40 min.) hike to the river. I think he can handle this as we walk 1 or 2 miles each days but is this a difficult walk??

 

How does one get into the tube? Hubby has some health issues and I don't want him to fall down and get hurt if it's a struggle and I think I read somewhere that you have to climb down some rocks to get in???

 

I have read that snorkeling is fantastic there and that is never a problem for him... are we better off doing that and shelving the tubing??

 

Any help and input would be very much appreciated!

[AnnePontuso]

yes, the cave tubing is VERY strenuous. First, you have to walk about 30 minutes to get to the water from the bus. You are carrying a big tube that is very awkward, although not that heavy. It is hot and you are sweating. And it is a difficult walk because the path is uneven and there are roots from trees that you can trip on...I did. Then, once you get to the water you are sitting in your tube with your arms and legs hanging over the sides. If you are short it's a huge problem getting your arms to reach the water because the tubes are so big and fat. Then you have to paddle with your arms moving backwards. While in the water, there are places that aren't very deep so you get your bottom stuck and have to push yourself off the rocks. Then, in other places, it's really deep. Sometimes the current will carry you along but mostly you have to paddle. Plus it's dark and you are wearing a head lamp which gets hot and sweaty. The headlamp got uncomfortable after awhile. The trip in the water is not a mile, but 2 miles. It takes a couple of hours to get to the end. I was totally exhausted by the time we had finished, and the guides had to rescue me a couple of times from the rocks. I was their problem child. I do have to say, I laughed a lot...what else could I do. But because I didn't have great upper body strength I found it a real workout The cruise line wouldn't let me do the scuba tour I had orginially signed up for because I had had back surgery a few months prior but they let me go on the cave tubing instead. Obviously they had no idea that cave tubing is at least three times more strenuous and a lot more dangerous than scuba diving. Go figure.

[btorlv]

I have been longing to go to a port that has cave tubing and was really excited to find that it is available in Belize. I do have concerns though as to whether or not this is going to be too strenuous for my husband.

 

I see that there is approx. a 1 mile (some say 40 min.) hike to the river. I think he can handle this as we walk 1 or 2 miles each days but is this a difficult walk??

 

How does one get into the tube? Hubby has some health issues and I don't want him to fall down and get hurt if it's a struggle and I think I read somewhere that you have to climb down some rocks to get in???

 

I have read that snorkeling is fantastic there and that is never a problem for him... are we better off doing that and shelving the tubing??

 

Any help and input would be very much appreciated![/q

We used cavetubing.com. The walk is not bad at all if you even look like you need help the guides carry your tubes. For the older or heavy folks one guide holds the tube and the another gudie helps you get in the tube. Dont miss the the tubing it was fun and super safe just did this 3 weeks ago.

[TahoeTraveler]

Is the water pretty cold? We'll be there the first week of January, and I had read that the water was in the 70's, so I bought a shorty thin wetsuit. I figure if I get hot I can always unzip it and pull the top down, but if it isn't worth the extra weight, I don't want to bother with the wetsuit.

[bubby49]

Boy am I glad I read your post, I wanted to do tubing and my husband has some health issues as well. We walk alot but if it is strenuous it will be to hard for him

[David_Zen]

Cave Tubing does not have to be as strenuous as Anne experienced. But that is how it can be with the ship's tours. If you want to have a pleasant cave tubing experience, I highly recommend that you do it with one of the independent professional tour companies that specializes in this activity. Their guides are better paid, better equipped and they will go above and beyond to ensure that you have a fantastic time. Best of all, their tours are almost half the price of what you would pay the cruise ship. But don't take my word for it. Just hop over to TripAdvisor.com and read Belize Cave Tubing Reviews.

[tidecruiser]

I agree that it doesn't have to be as bad as described above. The hike does have roots and etc. but it is mostly flat and the guides take it slow. If anyone has a problem carrying the tube, the guides will take care of that for you.

 

Once on the water, if you use an independent tour, you will be linked together and the guides will keep you off of the rocks and in the current moving, so that you don't have to do all the paddling. Of course, some of that depends on the current, if it hasn't rained in a few days, the current will be slower. If it has rained recently, there is a stronger current and less paddling involved.

 

It sounds like the previous post used the cruise ship tour, which in my opinion is not safe. The cruise ship tours let everyone go and do not go through as many caves. I would totally recommend a private guide, they are safer, keep you together and watch out for everyone and it is cheaper.

[TahoeTraveler]

Yes, but is the water cold????

[shellondra]

we did the cave tubing just last week. At the start, once you get going, you have to cross the river to get from the "camp" to the other side where you start your jungle walk. The water was not fast but it wasn't calm and the ground is all rock and very uneven. And carrying your tube makes it awkward. The water wasn't very cold (mind you I live in Canada and am used to boating in cool water). But I agree, while its not super strenuous, it can be awkard.

[a4ofspades]

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies!! Told hubby there would be assistance with carrying his tube if he needs it...he said he'd carry the tube but he would want them to carry HIM!!! :eek: LOL

 

Again, thanks so much. :)

[btorlv]

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies!! Told hubby there would be assistance with carrying his tube if he needs it...he said he'd carry the tube but he would want them to carry HIM!!! :eek: LOL

 

Again, thanks so much. :)

Have a great time you going to love it. Use cavetubing.com and you will be safe butts up.

[masch100]

DW and I just got back yesterday from the western Caribbean cruise on the Liberty (RCCL). We did the cave tubing and zipline tour with Nacho and Cynthia (ncqadventuretours dot com). We are both in our early 50s and had no problems with either activity. Nacho and Cynthia are absolutely the best. I highly recommend them. Read on for the why's.

 

When you go with them, they will ask that you get off of the ship on the first tender. They will be waiting for you at the port and off you go. By going out early, we were the first tour on the site. Ours was the only van in the parking lot when we arrived on a day where 800 people were expected, most of them from ship tours and the large local independent tours with big the big bus. Needless to say, being early made things go very smoothly. We had the ziplines all to ourselves with two guides (a catcher and a pusher) dedicated to us for the entire time. The ziplines included two short (less than 5 minutes) hikes from platform to platform but the guides would stop at several places along the way to point out interesting flora and fauna as well as answer our questions. Normally, with the big tours, there is a guide placed on each platform and you get passed from guide to guide with no guide on the short hikes through the forest. This part was very exhilarating and downright fun. There's something about flying through the rainforest 100 feet above the ground on a 600 foot cable that gets your blood flowing.

 

Following the zipline, it was off to cave tubing. We changed into our swimwear on site while Cynthia hooked us up with a local guide. Normally she does the tour herself, but she's had a back problem and her doctor has told her to not do it for six months. Anyway, the cave tubing requires a 30 minute hike through the forest to get to the river. Again, it was just DW and I along with our personal guide. It was a very informative hike over fairly easy terrain with lots of short stops along the way to look at plants and animals. There are some protruding roots, but they are easily missed if you are paying attention. You are hiking gently uphill for most of the way but it is not strenuous. You get a chance to walk through a grotto and see some of the cave formations before you get to the river. You are carrying the tube, a ski vest type life jacket, and a helmet. The tubes have handles so they are very easy to carry. About half way through the hike, the guide offered to carry DW's stuff in trade for her carrying his single smaller tube - an offer she couldn't refuse. Once we got to the river, mounting the tube was easy. We walked into the river which was cool but not cold. The guide held our tubes in place and we just sat down into them. After a couple of minutes you get accustomed to the water temperature as it is only your butt really in the water. The river was up a little bit so the guide tied our tubes together as a safety precaution. From there, all we did was ride and enjoy the scenery. The guide did all the work of paddling our tubes to the right places and getting us faced the right direction. The cave tubing was as relaxing as the zipline was exhilerating. We floated through a very large cave (about 45 minutes) and then on the open river back to the hike starting point. It was so relaxing, we didn't want to get out but the guide told that if we didn't, it would take about three days to float to Belize City.

 

Following the tour, we had a nice buffet lunch on site and then back to the city tour with Nacho and Cynthia. Here's an example of how far they will go to make your day enjoyable. When we got back to the port at the end of the tour, Nacho asked if we wanted to do any shopping as he could take us to a market with better prices than those inside the port. We mentioned that we were only interested in picking up some Belizean rum. He said no problem. He took us back into the city to a little market where he shops and had Cynthia go into the store to pick up the rum for us! She came out with a bottle of rum and some of the famous cashew wine and we were on our way.

 

If you want a really great tour with a lot of personalized service, Nacho and Cynthia are the way to go. No large groups, no big buses, and great service. What more could you want? Just google "nacho cynthia belize" and they pop up at the top of the list.

[bride928]

Something about tubing through dark caves is giving me serious 'don't do it' feeling...like a gut feeling in my stomach. I've been river tubing in Ochos Rios, but it wasn't pitch black and I never felt like I was taking a big risk w/ my life. I think I am fearful because of the cruise passenger that died awhile back while on this excursion. There will be eight of us in my personal group. How safe is this tour? Is it completely black in the caves? And if so, are there spiders, bats, snakes, or anything? And how deep is the water? Sorry for all the questions. I just would like to get info before I sign up to do it.

[ciship]

My biggest worry is getting back to the ship on time.

[Colorado Kat]

We did a private tour with Major Tom. We had about 15 in our group. The walk was just that - a walk. There were other large groups with 60 people in them. If our group got too close to something like that, our guide would stop and explain something about the rain forest to us.

 

Once we got to the water, he had us link up. We got towed thru the water - definitely no paddling.

 

The caves are dark, but not totally black.

 

A very pleasant excursion. Kathy

[nh22]

We used this company and they were awesome and I highly reccommend them!! http://www.cave-tubing.com/ They picked us up right at the port and made sure we got back to the ship in time. Yhonni even called a tender captain and told him to hold the tender for some passengers who were cutting it close on another ship, we had plenty of time tho. The hike was not that bad and they do help you with your tubes if you need it. Getting on the tube was not that hard either. The guides are very helpful!! :) The best part is that they do all the work....we just hook together and the guides push and pull us through the caves. And they tell you "butts up" when appropriate. As has been said, I was very happy I used this company over the cruise line. Thank you to Cruise Critic for all the info!! :)

[rednsassy]

We took the cave-tubing dot com excursion and had a great time. It was a very reasonable rate and an even better value when you added the ATV option. We have 2 teenage boys and another couple were traveling with us with their teenage son and all of us had a blast. You do get muddy doing the ATVs, but then you can rinse off before going tubing.

 

There is a goodly walk from the bus to the water (since you go to the other side of the cave, then float in your tube back). I would recommend tennis shoes that you don't mind getting wet because the walk was not really easy wearing water shoes. One person in our party tripped over a tree root, but the guides were available to help carry tubes. The water was... shall we say refreshing. I live along the warm Gulf of Mexico, so I don't really get much cold water, but I found it to be great after the walk to cool off. We did not have to paddle in the caves, as the guides had groups link together, then they would pull us through the caves.

 

There was a delicious lunch back at the palapa where we rode the ATVs earlier in the day. We got back in plenty of time to shop at the port shopping center, so no worries!

[ciship]

WE will be there in late July. I wonder if it will be too dry and the waters will be too low to really enjoy them then?

[Beth Shaughnessy]

We did the cave tubing a year and a half ago. I was really apprehensive. I' m over 50, over weight, out of shape and claustrophobic. We booked with major tom. Our guide was great. He helped me with my tube during the walk. It was as tall as I am. The caves are dark, but everyone has a light. The water was cold, but you get use to it. I really enjoyed the day and recommend it. I would only use major Tom because they keep you together as a group. On some tours you are on your own in the caves. If I can do this, anyone can!

[caribbean dreams]

Something about tubing through dark caves is giving me serious 'don't do it' feeling...like a gut feeling in my stomach. I've been river tubing in Ochos Rios, but it wasn't pitch black and I never felt like I was taking a big risk w/ my life. I think I am fearful because of the cruise passenger that died awhile back while on this excursion. There will be eight of us in my personal group. How safe is this tour? Is it completely black in the caves? And if so, are there spiders, bats, snakes, or anything? And how deep is the water? Sorry for all the questions. I just would like to get info before I sign up to do it.

 

 

The water is not deep, some places you have to pull your butt up as to not scrap it on the botton. It is not dark, you can see the light from the enterance & exit, plus there is light coming in from above, not like you will be floating in a pitch dark cave for miles. you will see spiders on the walk to the river and could see a bat ot 2, i did have a preying mantis (sp) land on my knee while floating down the river...lol.

Trust me, i was just like you the first time around...I loved it and have gone again & again, will be going yet again in 2 months.

 

Oh and the walk was just about all flat except for a few rock steps that we climbed to get to a dry cave. River was very swift where we had to cross but guide tied a rope and helped us all across....have fun:)

[nlond]

We went cave tubing last week with cavetubing dot bz. They were great. The ride is long - about an hour and 15 minutes but one of the guides gave us some information on the island as we drove. We did get off the ship on the second tender and that made a big difference. When we were walking to put our tubes in the river, we did not see another group. Note that the walk is about 45 minutes and the path is rocky (bring good sandals or sneakers - my husband rented the beach shoes and his feet were killing him). There were just 4 in our group with a guide so he let us free float down the river (no linking up with other tubers). As we floated along, we saw groups of 20-40 getting ready to get in. Our guide was friendly and knowledgable. After the tubing they take you to lunch (included in the price) and then back to the ship in plenty of time. I highly recommend using this company.

[murphfam4]

We went cave tubing last week with cavetubing dot bz. They were great. The ride is long - about an hour and 15 minutes but one of the guides gave us some information on the island as we drove. We did get off the ship on the second tender and that made a big difference. When we were walking to put our tubes in the river, we did not see another group. Note that the walk is about 45 minutes and the path is rocky (bring good sandals or sneakers - my husband rented the beach shoes and his feet were killing him). There were just 4 in our group with a guide so he let us free float down the river (no linking up with other tubers). As we floated along, we saw groups of 20-40 getting ready to get in. Our guide was friendly and knowledgable. After the tubing they take you to lunch (included in the price) and then back to the ship in plenty of time. I highly recommend using this company.

 

We are scheduled to use them in Feb. how old were the people in ur group? what time was the tender u caught and wat time did u get back to ship?

[doc2dock]

We did cavetubing.com over Christmas and had a blast. We did the ATV and tubing combo, which also included a good lunch. All that for about what just the tubing cost if we had gone through Carnival! There is some walking, but not too bad, and they carried my wife's tube for her - kept calling her "momma" - she enjoyed the attention. We're both 60 and didn't think much of the journey to the river. The first little drop of your butt in the water gets your attention, but was used to it in 10 seconds. It was a leisurely float with all of us together, plenty of room in the caves, and plenty of guides around. AND nobody taking photos trying to sell them for a bunch of money! We gave them our cameras while on ATVs and they got a bunch of good photos for us - didn't mind and didn't ask for money. Enjoy!

[mumzy1]

We used this company and they were awesome and I highly recommend them!! http://www.cave-tubing.com/ They picked us up right at the port and made sure we got back to the ship in time. Yhonni even called a tender captain and told him to hold the tender for some passengers who were cutting it close on another ship, we had plenty of time tho. The hike was not that bad and they do help you with your tubes if you need it. Getting on the tube was not that hard either. The guides are very helpful!! :) The best part is that they do all the work....we just hook together and the guides push and pull us through the caves. And they tell you "butts up" when appropriate. As has been said, I was very happy I used this company over the cruise line. Thank you to Cruise Critic for all the info!! :)

 

NH22,

It is great to hear that you had such a good experience with Yhonni and his group. We have a group of 8 that I booked with them also for April 2011. I have communicated with him through email back and forth and he sounds very personable. When did you go?

[ciship]

We are scheduled to use them in Feb. how old were the people in ur group? what time was the tender u caught and wat time did u get back to ship?

 

Will you please give us a review of this excursion when you return this month? Thanks!