Looking for an excursion idea after change of plans Advice/help

[abaci]

We are on the NCL pearl in Dec and I had planned on taking their tour to the Lamanai ruins. With 45 days to go it is still not available and at this point we are trying to find something else.

 

So that leaves our options for a private tour to ruins that are close enough to not fear missing the last tender as being Altun Ha. Maybe there are more but from my research the others appear to be too far to book privately. We are starting to think a beach/snorkel day is in the cards

 

What are best places to snorkel? From my limited research we are looking at Geoffs Cay or Cay Caulker. Are there any other places we need to look into? We have our own snorkel gear and so anything with snorkeling off of the beach would work. Or a boat tour. I saw that we could take a water taxi to Cay Caulker, but is that reliable and/or a good option?

 

We would love to see some of Belize and not just the beach if possible. I think we are leaning towards Caye Caulker as it has a village, but is the snorkeling that good? Or is there better snorkeling somewhere else?

 

One last question....Is it possible to leave the port and see some of Belize City by walking around if we get to the port with some time to spare? Any help would be appreciated as time is running out and I'm really busy with work so time is limited to get this figured out. Thanks

[crewsweeper]

Snorkeling off the split in Caye Caulker can be good. But look up the private excursions for Shark Ray Alley that have stops at Caye Caulker. They will get you back to the ship in time.

 

Also, while Lamanai appeals to those who want a more "Indian Jones" type of experience at Maya ruins, there's absolutely nothing wrong with going to Altun Ha. If you think the Mayans lived amongst the vines and limbs of an overgrown rainforest, you need to refresh your history.

 

As far as walking around Belize City. You'll need a couple of hours. There is a museum on the port side of the swing bridge, although a ways a way from the Tourism Village where the tenders dock. And you can then walk along the Parade route by the sea and look at the lighthouse before returning to the cruise center. The old Anglican church and the Cultural museum, where the Governors mansion used to be, are about a 1/2 mile or so down Albert Street after crossing the swing bridge. Most of the rest of that area is working city buildings with some shops. The city is not a Tourist oriented city like other ports.

[sid_9169]

Coral Breeze has a tour that goes to Caye Caulker and Shark Ray Alley and one other spot for snorkeling... Afterwards, you can explore Caye Caulker for about an hour before heading back to Belize City... http://www.coralbreezetours.com/belize/tour/snorkeling/index.html

[abaci]

Snorkeling off the split in Caye Caulker can be good. But look up the private excursions for Shark Ray Alley that have stops at Caye Caulker. They will get you back to the ship in time.

 

Also, while Lamanai appeals to those who want a more "Indian Jones" type of experience at Maya ruins, there's absolutely nothing wrong with going to Altun Ha. If you think the Mayans lived amongst the vines and limbs of an overgrown rainforest, you need to refresh your history.

 

As far as walking around Belize City. You'll need a couple of hours. There is a museum on the port side of the swing bridge, although a ways a way from the Tourism Village where the tenders dock. And you can then walk along the Parade route by the sea and look at the lighthouse before returning to the cruise center. The old Anglican church and the Cultural museum, where the Governors mansion used to be, are about a 1/2 mile or so down Albert Street after crossing the swing bridge. Most of the rest of that area is working city buildings with some shops. The city is not a Tourist oriented city like other ports.

 

Thanks for the info. I understand that it wasn't vine covered when they lived there, but we will be visiting ruins in Costa Maya and where wanting to do a ruin tour that was longer then 4 -4.5 hours as that's what we are doing in MX. We were deciding between Lamanai or snorkel and had settled on the ruins. Now NCL has made our decision. Do you know of any or used any excursions for Caye Caulker that you would recommend or are supposed to be good?

[crewsweeper]

DW and SIL used Coral Breeze, as mentioned above and had a wonderful trip. But that was 3 years ago.

 

There has been some stirring of poor connections and starting times on this board. They used to operate out of Wet Lizard, but I think that was discontinued due to issues noted.

 

Shore Excursioneer has a tour that gets good reviews. But I haven't used it. There are others, if you search this board.