Yhony Cave Tubing--Review

[aggie05]

We just returned from a cruise on the Elation. During our stop in Belize, we took a cave tubing excursion with Yhony.

 

 

Reservation was painless, and Yhony replied quickly to my emails. The provided directions on the confirmation were spot on and finding Yhony was easy as pie. There were 9 people total on this excursion. All of us rode ashore on the first available tender, so we didn't have to wait at all once we found Yhony. Yhony's 14 passenger van looked in good repair and was nice and clean inside. We did not experience any transportation problems at all. During the ride out to the out to the cave tubing site, Yhony gave us a nice briefing that covered tons of Belize info. The paved road out to the site is nice and smooth, but man once you got on the gravel road the going gets plenty rough and a bit slow. After about 10 minutes of the "free massage" we arrived at the site. We changed and got our headlamps, then grabbed some tubes and were off. The walk to the place where we launched the tubes was a nice ~40 minute walk in the rain forest. Yhony stopped us every so often to give us a break and explain some things about the rain forest. It was all very nifty, as I had never been in a real rain forest before. We were given the option of doing two caves or just the one cave that the cruise lines do. There was a quick unanamous vote to do two caves and we walked ~10 more minutes to the ingress point. There was a break in the cave system with a large pool. Here is where you can jump from ~10 feet into the pool or walk down into the water. Myself and most of the others opted to jump in. It was a nice way to start off. The first cave was fairly long and about half-way through we turned off our headlamps, it was really dark....you could barely see light from just one end of the cave. We paddled most of the way through the first cave with Yhony pointing out items of interest along the way. There was a short break between caves with a minor rapid or two, and then we were in the second cave. For me the second cave was the best, there were interesting rock formations throughout and even a small waterfall inside the cave. Also we saw many fruit bats in this cave. After the second cave, we travelled a little bit further down the river through some more minor rapids. The water was a tad low and a few of us had to get out of our tubes to get moving again. I think this was more a function of the tub you got tho....those with nice big tubes weren't having problems. Mine sat a little lower in the water b/c it wasnt as full of air, and I got stuck a few times. It wasnt a big deal and the farthest I had to walk to get to a better spot was maybe 15 feet or so. We reached the end and got out of the river. A short walk back to the van and we were off after a short bathroom break. Yhony stoped at Amigos, a small restaurant on the way back to the city. He bought everyone a fruit punch and let us know we could get lunch if we wanted. The lunch was Chicken, rice and beans with some cole slaw. It was fantastic. After lunch we headed back to the city. This time coming in a different way for a short tour of downtown Belize City. Very narrow streets with lots of pedestrians and folks on bicycles. We made it back to the cruise terminal before payment was expected. As a bonus, we got there with a little more than 2 hours to spare before the last scheduled tender back to the ship.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip with Yhony and would recommend him to my friends.

 

I did have one issue. When we were offered lunch, Yhony told us the cost of the tour would be $55 p/p with food. We were quoted $45 p/p without food, so I thought that the additional $10 p/p was the cost of the food and maybe a little built in to cover the fruit punch. When we were leaving though, I noticed a sign out front that said the Special (Chicken, rice and beans) was $5. Not a big deal, he made an extra $5 p/p off the deal. The part that bothered me was when the lady that worked there came to us to settle the bill....Yhony said something to her that I couldnt hear and she gave him the wink and a smile thing. I didnt put it together until after I saw the sign, and by that time I had agreed to pay the $55 p/p so I didnt want to argue for the extra $5 p/p. But if I saw the sign beforehand, I would have brought it up.

 

While writing this review....I went to his website and there has been an update to reflect the additional $10 p/p for the $5 meal, but this was not there when I reserved my trip. When I reserved my trip I was told that I could purchase lunch on my own.

 

In any case, this wasnt a big deal I just thought you guys should know. Either way, I would still recommend Yhony as we had a terrific time.

[djk]

Great review!! We are booked with Yhony for July on the Elation. How did you get a tender so quickly without booking an excursion through carnival? Any tips on how to get off the ship early would be great. What time did you board the tender? How long was the tender ride? How was the ride?? I hope I don't get sea sick!!

 

Thanks,

djk

[xz3k3x]

How do you book w/ Yhony. Is there a website?

[aggie05]

Great review!! We are booked with Yhony for July on the Elation. How did you get a tender so quickly without booking an excursion through carnival? Any tips on how to get off the ship early would be great. What time did you board the tender? How long was the tender ride? How was the ride?? I hope I don't get sea sick!!

 

Thanks,

djk

 

djk,

 

The tenders went pretty quick. There are ways to get off earlier, but if you just get to the Cole Porter Lounge like 20-25 minutes early and sit up front. That's where they hand out the tender tickets (stickers). We got to the lounge at about 7:55 and they started handing out tickets at 8:15. About 20 minutes later they called our ticket. We were about the tender at about 8:40 and arrived ashore at nearly 9. Once the tender gets to moving it was only about a 15 minute ride. The tender we rode on was not bad at all, and it really wasn't rough. I didn't see anyone that looked or acted sea sick.

[aggie05]

How do you book w/ Yhony. Is there a website?

 

www.cave-tubing.com

[djk]

aggie05,

Thanks for the information. When you went to get the tender tickets, did they ask you if you were booked on a carnival excursion? I thought those people were allowed to leave first.

 

thanks,

djk

[aggie05]

aggie05,

Thanks for the information. When you went to get the tender tickets, did they ask you if you were booked on a carnival excursion? I thought those people were allowed to leave first.

 

thanks,

djk

 

djk,

 

The folks who book excursions through Carnival, meet separately from everyone else. If you book through Carnival, the time and place you meet for tender tickets (stickers) is on the excursion ticket you get when you purchase the excursion. Everyone else meets in a first come first served fashion in the Cole Porter Lounge, to get tickets for the tenders immediately after the ships tours have left.

[bajalover]

We are booked with Yhony for the Valor in July. I am concerned about the "xtra" lunch charge. We are a family of 5 and that adds to another $25.00 for us. The reason I picked Yhony was that he was cheaper. What do you suggest? Should I email him with my concerns or fight it out then and there? Thanks Debi

[lstiblier]

I am concerned about the "xtra" lunch charge. We are a family of 5 and that adds to another $25.00 for us.

 

We are also booked with Yhony- in June- I, too, am concerned- actually for 5 (we are also 5) it would be an extra $50.00 on top of Yhony's fee- other tour companies charge only add an extra $5 for lunch- we thought we'd decide when we got there if we wanted to eat lunch- but now I think we'll just bring some snacks (granola bars) and eat when we get back to the ship-

[CruisinRin]

We are also booked with Yhony- in June- I, too, am concerned- actually for 5 (we are also 5) it would be an extra $50.00 on top of Yhony's fee- other tour companies charge only add an extra $5 for lunch- we thought we'd decide when we got there if we wanted to eat lunch- but now I think we'll just bring some snacks (granola bars) and eat when we get back to the ship-

 

I just went with Yhony on the May 20th on the Miracle. There were 11 people in our group and 3 others joined on at the pier. We didn't do lunch with them and he gave complimentary soda & chips on our way back to the port. We made it back in plenty of time to make lunch on the ship. Save your money and eat on the ship! We were back at the port around 2:30 ship time. The last tender was at 3:30.

 

Yhony and Junior are wonderful guys!!! Yhony is a helpful guy that does everything to make sure you are happy. Junior, his assistant, gives so much about information about Belize, its people, the land, the culture, and anything and everything you could possibly want to know about. Cave tubing with them is not to be missed!!!

 

-Corinne

[aggie05]

Istiblier and Bajalover,

 

I am not sure what your best course of action would be. I know if I had a larger party and were in the same position I was in when I went, I would have said something to Yhony about it. My position is that if you are there anyway, why not just pay the $5 straight to Amigos and bypass Yhony. What's he gonna do, ask you for the extra charge b/c you knew better?? You might send him an email letting him know that you are aware that the cost is only $5 and you are unwilling to pay more....or that he can just consider that built in extra as his tip.

[bajalover]

Thanks, thats good advice you all gave.

[gjol]

Our cave tubing experience with Cave-Tubing.com was the highlight of our family vacation. The walk through the beautiful rain forest was interesting as well as educational. Our guide Gilly Young was both informative and entertaining. He went out of his way to make our visit enjoyable and memorable. We had a couple of special needs which were pleasantly accommodated.

One very useful suggestion: Purchase a waterproof disposable camera with flash and replaced the wrist strap with a cord to wear around your neck so your hands and arms are free to use in the water. I had a little trouble finding a waterproof camera with flash. I found this one on Target.com and it's refillable with 35mm film.

[bajalover]

Great tip! Thanks

[Lotzafun]

We too are reserverd in July to go with Yhony but there are only two of us. Is it easy to find a group when you meet them and get a discounted rate?