How safe is Belize?

[MamaMicki]

Hello all,

We are going on the Miracle in Dec. and have been to all of the ports before except Belize. Usually in Cozumel we rent a car and drive around. We are not usually scared to venture around, but since we haven't been to this port before I was nervous to book something off the cruise ship. I was reading things like you will take your life into your own hands....I am not quick to believe these types of statements. Costa Maya is my favorite place on earth, but some would call it dangerous looking. Everybody has different tastes and opinions, but I wondered if someone would give me a basic tutorial of this port. Is it wise to at this one port use the Cruise ship for an excursion? I usually don't because they are such a rip-off. Thanks for your time.

[Mike2131]

Hello all,

We are going on the Miracle in Dec. and have been to all of the ports before except Belize. Usually in Cozumel we rent a car and drive around. We are not usually scared to venture around, but since we haven't been to this port before I was nervous to book something off the cruise ship. I was reading things like you will take your life into your own hands....I am not quick to believe these types of statements. Costa Maya is my favorite place on earth, but some would call it dangerous looking. Everybody has different tastes and opinions, but I wondered if someone would give me a basic tutorial of this port. Is it wise to at this one port use the Cruise ship for an excursion? I usually don't because they are such a rip-off. Thanks for your time.

 

One thing to bear in mind is that you will probably anchor pretty far out and then tender into the port. The tours usually break into two groups - water oriented (Belize is famous for its scuba and snorkel opportunities) and history/wildlife oriented. We opted for the Lamanai and New River Safari and definitely recommend the tour. The cruise on the river had some nice wildlife sightings, the lunch at the ruins was tasty, and the ruins and small on-site museum were excellent! Two vocal groups of howler monkeys added to the "Indiana Jones" atmosphere. It made an interesting contrast to Tulum.

We did not see much in the immediate port area that looked very interesting. We had already pre-booked the tour through Princess and feel we made the right decision. We made the last tender back and I would not risk missing it with an independent tour.

Have a great cruise and enjoy Belize.

 

[davidaperryman]

I have been to Belize a couple of times. Once did the cave tubing and once did a tour of the city with two other couples for about $20/person for two hours. You might want to try that. There are lots of guides just outside ther terminal.

 

That being said, there are lots of unemployed people all over the city. I am sure if they wanted to rob you they could. There are lots of police around the terminal protecting the tourists since they make lots of money from them. I would not feel safe driving around by myself.

 

It is not like Cozumel or Costa Maya where I feel safe walking the streets.

[wrinklesandme]

You just have to remember that this is a Third World Country and that, like in any city, you need to be aware of your surroundings.

 

Our experience was unlike anyone elses. We had to visit the dentist there. Long story. Anyway, we were taken by cab to the dentist and decided to walk back to the port since it was all on the main streets. We felt very safe and even had lunch in one of the local restaurants. The atmosphere was very different from what we are used to, but the food was superb. (had the neighbors dog with his head through the door watching us eat!)

 

The people were friendly and very helpful. Yes, we had children come up to us asking for money or offering to sell us items. We just politely said no, and they left us alone.

 

This was a great experience for our children, 8 and 10, to see that they really have it good at home!

 

(The dentist was wonderful. DS had both front teeth knocked out on ship and the dentist fixed them and bonded them together. Cost, $125 USD! Might go back there for braces!)

 

Enjoy!

Leigh

[laceyjane]

We booked a tour on our own through x-stream cave tubing and they met us right inside the port tender area. I am glad they did. We always do our own thing on each island (we did our own thing in Costa Maya and were fine with it) However, after being in Belize I would not ever rent a car and go off on my own in Belize. We were stopped by military type guys with guns and dogs and they were going to search the van we were in and make us all get out and search our stuff, but our tour guy talked to them and we got to go through the road block unsearched. He said sometimes they will let him go through a road stop "unsearched" and other times everyone has to get out and have everything searched-just wondering if you rent a car and they find "something" in it from the person that had it before you-- what then?? Belize borders Guatamala and the U.S. state department in Nov. issued a travel advisory-warning to people traveling to Guatamala. We even noticed military type guys with guns all around the cave areas and the guide said they needed to do this for our safety.

[clackey]

Yo Mama,

 

When we were in Belize in January we saw a lot of military and had our tour bus stopped. They didn't check us but they checked our guide's papers and then let us pass. We were told later that there was a small group demonstrating against the local government. They had dumped trash and gravel on one of the bridges leading out of town trying to block off the road. I also noticed that a lot of the houses in town had iron bars across the windows and doors. Mama, I'm not the worrying type, but I would not venture very far from the pier without a tour guide. And the idea of renting a car doesn't sound too good when the price of gas is $6 to $8 a gallon.

 

Don't let this report scare you. We had a great day cave tubing with Wet and Wild, and my in-laws got a great snorkel trip for $40 and you should see my handcarved tucan. He is marvelous.

 

Have a good trip.

Clackey

[MommyLynnie]

My daughter and I were in Belize last Thursday (see review below on horseback riding, etc). I'd heard through a friend who'd recently been there that even the port area, which is fenced off, was iffy. Traveling without my husband, I was a little wary about what I would find.

 

The port area itself is completely safe. I never saw one thing there that made me uncomfortable at all. Outside the fence people were hanging around offering tours, etc. I disagree with the poster above who said you could book a tour with these people. Well, obviously you can book one but I wouldn't recommend doing that. I recommend doing your homework - through looking at these boards and other internet searches - to check out the independent tour guides.

 

Whether or not to book with the ship depends on what you want to do. If you want to take a longer tour, i.e. the Lamanai (sp?) tour, you might want to book through the ship just to be on the safe side. Otherwise, I would not book through the ship. I heard many complaints from people on my ship about the whole herd thing - including not being able to snorkel for getting kicked in the head by the crowd around you. And they seem to be more expensive in most cases. Our tour began at 9am and we were returned to the port area around 2:30 or 3. The last tender was at 5:30. We had no troubles and plenty of time left to shop. Understand too, that the tenders are huge boats. The one we were on held approximately 200 people.

 

I would be reluctant to rent a car in Belize. The roads are just bad - why not let someone reputable who knows where they are going & the local customs handle that for you? Regarding the poverty, etc - yes, it is poor. Yes there are bars on windows, etc. Yes it makes you appreciate where you're from. Definitely. How uncomfortable one is with seeing this is obviously individual. We used it as a learning experience. I am glad I did not let it keep me from exploring this beautiful country. We really liked all the people we met there. They were very nice & eager to please. I never saw anyone with guns. We went through one intersection with policemen, but I saw no guns on them at all. Perhaps this is just in certain areas. I liked Belize much, much more than Cozumel.

 

Have a great trip!

[gsguru]

We set up a tour to AltunHa and the Community Baboon Sanctuary through Belize Specialists. They were great to work with, very accomadating when we had some changes to make. They asked what we wanted to do and planned for us. Was nervous because they wanted the money before we went but couldn't have asked for a more informed consciencous guide, Rudy. Prices were much lower than what they were asking at the pier and included a delicious fruit plate. He even arranged to take us to the girl scout headquarters there(we were a group of scouts) but we ran out of time. It was wonderful to get to the ruins after the cruise tours were leaving and we basically had the place to ourselves. It was a great experience and my family is thinking about going back to Belize for our vacation next spring, there is so much to do.