cave-tubing in belize

[juliang]

we are booked on RC which stops in Belze,

 

everyone says the cave tubing excursion is a must.

I learned that there is a rather strenuous 45 minute walk carrying a big inner tube to get to the caves..is this blown out of proportion??:confused:

I am 62 and my fiance is 61...i guess that qualifies as Seniors. We are not in terrible shape, but we are not athletic and don't work out...golf is about it. :rolleyes:

any experience and knowledge with this excursion ...and any advice /help readers can give us would be appreciated:confused:

[alb38]

We did this excursion in February and booked through RCCL. While the hike might have been that long it didn't seem bad - the only thing was the tube is kind of awkward to carry. Our guide went at a decent pace as he is pointing out different things along the way. Once you are back were you enter the caves you can either jump into the water or you can go down the rocks - there is a rope to hold onto and the guide will assist you in your tube. Once you are in the water you just float through the cave for about 45 minutes. There was a couple on this excursion and they were probably in their early sixties and they seemed to be okay with this. I would definitely have something booked to do in Belize because it is not a port where you can just get off the boat and walk around to explore - there is a shopping area that is gated in and that is pretty much all. Belize is a beautiful area to explore - you just need to have some kind of guide/guided tour to see the area!!

[DEL67]

I'm a 59 year old who plans to go cave tubing when in Belize the week after next. I had concerns - not about myself, but about my daughter who is not the out of doors type so I posted a message on the Belize board asking if people thought we should go. You might want to take a look at the responses

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=212568.

[alb38]

Dale,

 

You and your daughter are going to love this! It was our favorite excursion on our cruise!!

Have fun!

[lhall85917]

If you golf, you should be fine! We did this in June and the guides were wonderful, if they see the tube is becoming difficult to carry they will help. We are not real active and didn't have any problem walking to the caves.

[GCurry]

We booked with Wet-N-Wild, http://www.ecotoursbelize.com/cavetubing.html had a great tour, only two couples and the guide.

The walk was easy the water and caves were great (Dec) and much less $ then the ship's tour. It was after the rainy season and the river was still running high, but we linked together in a row and had a fantastic time. The ships mobs weren't doing as well, as people kept getting stuck in the rock where the guides had to free em. Be advised, the last six miles in are a rocky dirt road that will shake your fillings loose. But, you are in the Mayan mountains and jungle which is well worth the trip.

When you return, have a Beliken Dark Beer at the Wet Lizard there in the cruise compound.

[stanton]

just returned from a week on the carnival miracle. we did cave tubing in belize. i am sixty years old and found it very not too strenous. it was a lot of fun and nothing

like our family has done before. it was our 11th. cruise with carnival. i would, however, not book through your cruise ship. we used X-stream cave tubing and they did a great job. they took us through two caves. cruise line do one. in addition, we paid $60 per person. the cruise line charged $99. ask for a guide named dennis. he was great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Kylie]

We booked our cave tubing excursion with Nacho http://www.ncqadventuretours.com and he took us through the Jaquar Paw Resort which was closer to the water so less of a walk. It was hot and humid so getting into the water felt great.

I agree, don't go with a ship's tour - much more expensive and WAY more people. We got there before the group from the ship so that was nice too.

[taillon]

We booked with Coral Breeze and it was only about a 30 minute walk and we stopped a lot as our guide, Ivar, was telling us all about the different plants and animals and showing us things. The path is wide and pretty level. There are a few natural steps here and there. If you book with a local company, you will have fewer people and your tour guide will give you a more personalized tour. I think you could stop more often if needed where as with a ship tour you have such a large group.....they just keep going and you have to catch up. That would make a world of difference. Either way you can do it, no problem! And you will LOVE it!

[juliang]

thanks to everyone who took the time to reply. :) :D all were very helpful and we are going to do it...!!!! may book thru the private ones [vs thru the ship]. we are going over thanksgiving [from Tampa] and really looking forward to the cruise

 

Juliang

[DEL67]

Juliang:

 

We came back from our cruise last week. I am not athletic and only in so-so condition, but I did not find the walk strenuous. In fact, I was among the first of our bus to arrive at the spot where you enter the water.

 

It was hot, but getting wet when we waded across the stream near the beginning of the walk, kept me relatively cool. The tubes are not heavy. i did find it a bit awkward at times, especially going down a high "step" in the trail. After that it was a breeze. And I loved the cave tubing!

 

We had planned to go with a private vendor, but my daughter won a cave tubing trip for 2 at the excursion talk so we went with Carnival. I enjoyed it so much that I would definitely go with a private vendor if I did it again so I could go through more caves with fewer people.

[miracle1]

Cave-Tubing .Com is the way to go. Just got back in Sunday Sept. 11th

Yhony and his guides were awesome. Many of the tours, including the ones booked through the ship, did not get to go because of a little rain and not clear water, Yhony was able to get clearance and away my group of 1o went. They had the time of there life. Stick with Yhony he has plenty of help if needed. We saw groups of 8 to 30 with only 1 or 2 guides there was 23 of us and we had 8 guides. They know the river.

 

Thanks for a GREAT time Yhony and all the guys.

[IamCdn]

Went cave tubing with Yhony on Aug 30/05 and had a great time. Sad to say myself, DW and DS(12) are not very active - my DD(17) is fitness nut. We had no trouble with the hike and carrying tubes. About half way along the trail we passed the point where the cruise tours enter the river. The guides offered to let anybody wait there until the rest of us came floating by but there were no takers - this is an option if you feel tired.

 

We continued past this place to our entry point. This extra hike gives you an extra cave to go float and about double the time in the river compared to the cruise tours.

 

When we reached the entry point there was an option to step into the river with a rope and guides' help or to jump in from the rocks - a 12-15 ft drop. If you jump in then swim over to where the others are and you can easily stand up and get into the tube - again lots of quide help.

 

The river was very slow for the most part so we were put in groups of 6 or 7 linked together with our feet. A guide got in front and paddled, dragging our train behind.

 

Upon exit from the first cave we could see the cruise tours arriving at their entry point so we scooted past them to avoid the large groups. After this point most us separated and self propelled and navigated the rest up the way following the guides.

 

Hint: When the guides say, "Bums up", take their advice.

[pieshops]

is it 45 minute there and 45 minutes back or are you picked up at the end?

[emmaco]

We have our cave tubing tour booked with Coral Breeze in Oct after reading all the positive rewiews about this company we decided on them instead of the cruise ship (Glory)...hope we're not dissapointed. :) How much time will we have after the tour before we have to take the tender back to the ship?

[IamCdn]

is it 45 minute there and 45 minutes back or are you picked up at the end?

 

We were with Yhony (cave-tubing.com) but from what I saw the itinery was the same for all providers.

 

The bus/van will take you from the port to the cave tubing park. The bus/van parks here and the drivers stay with the vehicle so your stuff is safe. Yhony collects the money at the end of the day so at the cave tubing park you will at least have that cash with you. We left all of our bags on the bus (cameras, cash, towels, shoes) etc. Note: our driver, Sonny, was a great guy and appreciated it when I gave him a pack of smokes. He went over and shared them with the other drivers.

 

From here you pick up your inner tube and begin the hike. You have to have some form of footwear that will not fall off (water shoes, sneakers, sandles with full straps) they will get wet. You can rent them for $3 at the park. The hike is about 30 to 45 minutes to where you will enter the river. As I noted in an earlier post you can stop half way and wait for the rest of your group to float by to re-join them.

 

You then ride the river back to the park. When you get out of the tube you are right back at the parking lot.

 

At this point you can stay for lunch at the park or return to the port. Some of the tours include this but Yhony gives you the option. Yhony charges $45 for the tubing and $5 for lunch if you want it. I preferred to go back to the terminal and go to the Wet Lizard for a couple of wobbly pops.

 

Hope this helps.