Neat Things To Do Near Port While At Belize?

[ajtraveler66]

We'll be visiting Belize, Costa Maya, and Roatan (Cozumel is already planned).

 

Does Belize have anything decent and safe to do within walking distance from the ship? Input on Costa Maya and/or Roatan is also welcome if you know anything safe and within walking distance for them.

 

Want to spend one day on ship while most are off to excursions....but would want that day to be one in which we could get off the boat for a bit and just walk around safely for an hour or so.

 

Thanks.

[bguppies]

You have to tender into Belize from a few miles out to sea.

 

The ride alone, each way is 20 minutes, not counting waiting in line onboard and waiting in line ashore to board the tenders...

 

So you easily blow at minimum an hour of your time in port getting back and forth.

 

The pier area in Belize is the most run down of any Caribbean port we have been to thus far.

 

Outside the pier is extraordinarily poor, so you'd have to be vigilant when walking outside.

 

Bill

[crewsweeper]

Belize City is a working city, not a tourist destination (outsid eof the Tourist Village where the tenders dock. Thus the area can reflect a relatively poor area, by US standards. But the area immediately around the T.V. is the home of prominent schools, museums, major hotels, embassies and consulates. There isn't a bangup spiffy cruiser shopping are along the pier, but who really needs another tanzite store? There are some smaller bars and restaurants, the most popular being the Wet Lizard. Directly across from the T.V. is a small "flea" crafts market with native crafts and goods, not "made in China" stuff, and friendly merchants. What gets to cruisers is the independent excursion hawkers that aggressively market their tours outside the pier gates to cruisers leaving the pier area. But these folks don't bother you once you're away fromt he main gate. Also, any bus or taxi ride through the city to the countryside for cave tubing, ziplining or ruins excursions, does travel through poorer areas of Belize City. But this is in part the nature of Central American cities, the poor live on the outskirts and along the main roadways.

 

If you are not excited about doing an excursion here (cave-tubing is a bit unique to Belize and a great family excursion) then by all means stay on the ship and take a tender over tot he T.V. and have a cold Belikin and some conch fritters at the Wet Lizard. and wander back to the tender.

 

In Costa Maya, unless you are taking a Maya ruins tours via Native Choice, or a ship sponsored snorkeling excursion up to Playa Uvero and do not want to take the short inexpensive taxi ride to Mahahual and the beach along the malecon, then the cruiseport there is a better cruise port facility to hang out at than any of the other ports you mentioned.

 

In Roatan, do look into taking an excursion or taxi to West Bay beaches for great shore snorkeling. Or look at some of th eup and coming less crowded places to the northeast, like Little French Kay or Club Natale, or even Las Palmos near the airport. If you are on a Carnival, Hal or Princess ship and dock at Mahogany Bay, this is another option as the beach there is free for use with loungers, an easy 5 minute walk from the ship, and has a restaurant and bars. Snorkeling isn't that great as the bottom is silty but it can be a relatively inexepnsive day unless you load up on water toys and clamshell loungers and go heavy on the food and drink.

[tlacabe]

This helped me a lot:

 

www dot shoreexcursioneer dot com

 

In 2009 while in Belize; I did the ATV and cave-tubing tour it was great?

 

We'll be visiting Belize, Costa Maya, and Roatan (Cozumel is already planned).

 

Does Belize have anything decent and safe to do within walking distance from the ship? Input on Costa Maya and/or Roatan is also welcome if you know anything safe and within walking distance for them.

 

Want to spend one day on ship while most are off to excursions....but would want that day to be one in which we could get off the boat for a bit and just walk around safely for an hour or so.

 

Thanks.

[Rottenapple]

Great info

 

Thanks

[trixiegal]

Thanks for the info! Still deciding on what to do at the ports and i cruise in a week! I don't have any excursions booked and my options are buying at the pier in cash, scoring discounts on an underbooked excursion (hopefully) onboard the cruise or finding good food and drinks at a nearby beach without the hassle of a tour.

 

I'm so excited!!!

[AZbeachboy]

Belize City is a working city, not a tourist destination (outsid eof the Tourist Village where the tenders dock. Thus the area can reflect a relatively poor area, by US standards. But the area immediately around the T.V. is the home of prominent schools, museums, major hotels, embassies and consulates. There isn't a bangup spiffy cruiser shopping are along the pier, but who really needs another tanzite store? There are some smaller bars and restaurants, the most popular being the Wet Lizard. Directly across from the T.V. is a small "flea" crafts market with native crafts and goods, not "made in China" stuff, and friendly merchants. What gets to cruisers is the independent excursion hawkers that aggressively market their tours outside the pier gates to cruisers leaving the pier area. But these folks don't bother you once you're away fromt he main gate. Also, any bus or taxi ride through the city to the countryside for cave tubing, ziplining or ruins excursions, does travel through poorer areas of Belize City. But this is in part the nature of Central American cities, the poor live on the outskirts and along the main roadways.

 

If you are not excited about doing an excursion here (cave-tubing is a bit unique to Belize and a great family excursion) then by all means stay on the ship and take a tender over tot he T.V. and have a cold Belikin and some conch fritters at the Wet Lizard. and wander back to the tender.

 

In Costa Maya, unless you are taking a Maya ruins tours via Native Choice, or a ship sponsored snorkeling excursion up to Playa Uvero and do not want to take the short inexpensive taxi ride to Mahahual and the beach along the malecon, then the cruiseport there is a better cruise port facility to hang out at than any of the other ports you mentioned.

 

In Roatan, do look into taking an excursion or taxi to West Bay beaches for great shore snorkeling. Or look at some of th eup and coming less crowded places to the northeast, like Little French Kay or Club Natale, or even Las Palmos near the airport. If you are on a Carnival, Hal or Princess ship and dock at Mahogany Bay, this is another option as the beach there is free for use with loungers, an easy 5 minute walk from the ship, and has a restaurant and bars. Snorkeling isn't that great as the bottom is silty but it can be a relatively inexepnsive day unless you load up on water toys and clamshell loungers and go heavy on the food and drink.

 

 

Thanks for your comments about Belize. I love it and the people are friendly. It gets so tiring to hear people equate being poor with being unsafe. That is sure not the case in Belize. They are poor but I have never felt unsafe there. You do have to watch yourself as you would in any place. I felt less safe when I had to transfer from one bus to another in Wats.