Am I making a mistake?

[ddy123]

Hi everyone. I'd love some help with this. We are traveling on the Voyager to Belize, Roatan and Cozumel. For snorkeling, I think I am leaning towards Roatan at the Banarama resort but wondering if I am making a mistake and should snorkel in Belize instead. I think I want to stick with a cruise excursion in Belize. If not snorkeling in Belize what would you do? Is cavetubing a good option in February. I heard it is not that good unless rainy season but not sure when that is. How about the Belize zoo? My DH and I are traveling with our DSs ages 11 and 14 so ziplining is out due to a minimum age of 12. Appreciate any thoughts! Thank you!

[crewsweeper]

Bananarama is a great place to snorkel right from the beach. the reef is only about 20 yards or so off shore. In Belize you will snorkel off a boat, so most likely would be doing an excursion.

 

In February, water levels could be low for cave tubing as February and March are the "dry" seasons, but temps should be in the 80s. The Belize zoo is like a game preserve. They basically rehab native animals. It's worth a visit to see some "natural" habitat and the worthwhile work they do. But it's not a full day type excursion. Mayan ruin tours to Altun Ha might be of interest. Tunankunich and Lamani ruins are full day excursions with long bus rides and might not hold a tweener's or a teen's interest. Check out the "Captian Your own River Boat" excursion, for wildlife and seeing some mangroves, it can be interesting and is only about 4 1/2 hours long.

[Will in sunny FL]

If I were you guys, I'd snorkel in all three stops & rest up when I got home !

In Belize, look into Coral Breeze Tours for a super snorkel trip right off of Caye Caulker, just inside of the reef, then a stop to feed the rays & then a local lunch on Caye Caulker with walk around time.

Look up their web site for the info.

In Rotan, your choice is great, but we do the ships tour to Tayabana Beach which is where the reef is which includes a ride to & back chairs & shade.

In Cozumel you can snorkel about anywhere there.

Enjoy Belize.

Bill in FL

[marshhawk]

Check out Goff's Caye in Belize. A boat takes you to the island, and you swim from the island.

Don't know if this is offered through your cruise, we did it with Carnival, and they pick you up from your ship.

[ddy123]

Thank you for the responses! I think we are leaning towards a non snorkeling excursion in Belize because we have beach days and snorkeling planned in Cozumel and Roatan. Was concerned though that I my choice of Roatan over Belize was the wrong way to go. Haven't heard anyone come back and say one is significantly better that the other so hopefully I am making the right choice. Thanks again!

[2 cruzen]

Thank you for the responses! I think we are leaning towards a non snorkeling excursion in Belize because we have beach days and snorkeling planned in Cozumel and Roatan. Was concerned though that I my choice of Roatan over Belize was the wrong way to go. Haven't heard anyone come back and say one is significantly better that the other so hopefully I am making the right choice. Thanks again!

 

We went snorkeling off Caye Caulker with Coral Breezes last year and loved it. Saw so many things with the guides right in the water with you bringing things up from the bottom. You get 2 stops with one being with the rays - they are so amazing and since it doesn't look like you're going to Cayman, it might be your only chance to swim with the stingrays. BUT, airboat rides are really fun too. So maybe you could do that - I did that with my kids when they were 10 and 12 in Orlando, and they had fun. Whatever you do, it will be great.

[ladeeesquire]

are you only looking at ship excursions? I was wondering because I'm pretty sure that you don't have to be at least 12 to do ziplining with the private companies. There was a family on our cruise and their dd was only 10 or so and did it.

 

Just mentioned it as it sounded like ziplining was your first choice. :)

[ddy123]

I was leaning towards a ship excursion based on all of the posts about the safety issues in Belize. ZIplining definitely is a first choice for my daughters but I am a little nervous about it....here comes that word again for me...safety. I tend to be a little overly cautious....it is the momma bear in me I guess. :o

 

I was initially not thinking of doing cavetubing because I thought February would not be a good time for that....heard that Feb may not be the best because it is not the rainy season then but now have received feedback that Feb can bo good. So now I think we are leaning towards tubing. Interestingly, I saw a few posts that said it is actually safer to go through an independent for tubing....that they are much more experienced/safer than cruise ships tubing companies.

 

Any other opinions on using the ship or an independent for tubing? Thanks!

[lucy2mb]

Personally, I would rather go to a pretty beach than do the cavetubing. I want to see pretty blue water rather than be in a dark cave. I think snorkeling would be better in Belize because it has the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world. Our children did see some pretty fish snorkeling in Roatan. We enjoyed the Belize zoo one time but I have no desire to go back there. The mosquitos starting biting us as soon as we got there-they were very big and we had to buy bug spray immediately. Check out Coral Breeze Tours.

[imluvncruzn]

I was leaning towards a ship excursion based on all of the posts about the safety issues in Belize. ZIplining definitely is a first choice for my daughters but I am a little nervous about it....here comes that word again for me...safety. I tend to be a little overly cautious....it is the momma bear in me I guess. :o

 

I was initially not thinking of doing cavetubing because I thought February would not be a good time for that....heard that Feb may not be the best because it is not the rainy season then but now have received feedback that Feb can bo good. So now I think we are leaning towards tubing. Interestingly, I saw a few posts that said it is actually safer to go through an independent for tubing....that they are much more experienced/safer than cruise ships tubing companies.

 

Any other opinions on using the ship or an independent for tubing? Thanks!

 

We've done cave tubing and shark ray alley in Belize. Loved them both. Both times we were in Belize in January. The cave tubing was sooo much fun. I would highly recommend. My kids loved it. We booked right off the pier and bargained down to $40 a person.

[Colorado Kat]

I went with a private company in Belize for cave-tubing. Major Tom. It was great. We only had 16-18 people, and were all linked up and towed. We saw the cruise ship excursions, and they could be 40-50, and eveyone was on their own.

 

Before you book, ask each company about plans for coming back late, and what contingencies they have set up. Major Tom's group had plans A, B, and C. Very professional.