Cave Tubing in Belize

[cal680]

Hi Everyone,

Can anybody give me any input on the cave tubing in Belize? The excursion is suppose to be 7 hours in length but you are only on the water 1 1/2 hours. What do you do the rest of the time? Is it fun, safe and worth the $85.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Set sail in 3 weeks.;)

[Mom of Three Boys]

We went with a group not sponsored by Carnival. It was called Paradise by Air. Our guide was Charlie. It was only the six in our party. Three adults and three kids (okay, one is a teenager). We had a great time. It's a rather bumpy ride there and you have to walk to the tubing jump off point. Nothing strenuous (my 68 year old mom did great). We tubed, watch out for the shallows! Butts up! Afterwards we ate lunch (included in the price) at a local mom/pop place right there at the river. I'm pretty certain we paid $60 a person. Right now I'm blank on the e-mail address but will try to find it. Hope this helps. Either way, have fun!

[Mom of Three Boys]

Cal 680,

 

The e-mail is cavetubing@yahoo.com. I can't remember the owner's name but they also have a web site and offer other excursions.

[Bunkie103]

We did our cave tubing thru Coral Breeze and loved it. Small group and great guides. When we got off the tender they were waiting on the dock and off we went. It's a bit of a ride to the river, a good hike thru the jungle, and then into the water. We laughed until we cried! Coral Breeze price includes a delicious lunch also.

You can find them at http://www.coralbreeze.com. I highly recommend them!:D

[curt1313]

We did it in March 2005. It was a blast! I've never been on a shore excursion that I enjoyed as much as that. It is a bit if a ride to the jungle, but it's well worth it, and you can sleep on the way back to the ship! When we went, I did see alot of people, mainly older people, struggle with the hike to through the jungle-mainly because you must carry your own tube. It was no problem in the world for us, but were young! =) The jungle is absolutley BEAUTIFUL!!!, you will be blown away, its just breathtaking. Once in the water, you have your guides that help you.. and they really help! They do their job great. We stopped at a little resturant that was really great, maybe just a little spicy though! I've heard some complaints about there being snakes in the jungle and in the river there, I've even heard a story of someone getting seriously injured there last year, but I dont know whats true! We didnt see any snakes, or fish, or anything at all in the water! Great excursion & Highly recommended!

[idocdlw]

We did this in March 2004 and it was wonderful! Sorry...I don't remember what company we booked through, but it was a private operator. We were late tendering off the ship and they waited for us. We took a van to the main drop off site where we were issued tubes and then we hiked about a mile to the opening of the cave system. Our guide was awesome...along the hike, he pointed out/named all the different vegetation that is used in local folk medicine as well as those used in manufacturing modern medicines. We went through 3 caves and it was really cool (that's what happens when you're in the cave...40 year olds are magically transformed into 12 year olds with all their naivete and wonder!). It makes for a very relaxing day. We had wonderful guides who pointed out landmarks and gave us great historical information as we traveled through the caves. When you exit the caves at the start point, there was a little restaurant with wonderful food. I don't remember all the details, but I think our trip totalled about 5.5 hours. It is definitely one of those things you may only do once in a lifetime...take advantage!

[gquest]

Xtreme was awesome!!! Can't say enough good things. All in all, one of the most amazing sights of my life. I saw the Carnival bus packed full of a hundred people and I was glad a choose an independent operator. Plus, with Xtreme we went in an 2 extra caves (one dry and one wet). Oh, and don't forget to order the BBQ chicken from that hut. It was hands down the best meal of the cruise.

 

I was a little concerned about getting back in time, but got back with 40 min to spare. The van they use was a a little run down, but there marketing department assured me that they have never had a passanger miss the ship.

 

From what I remember it took ~ 40 minutes to get there (by car) and then we hiked throught the rain forrest for a while. Take my advice, it is worth it. I too had doubts, but now I am so glad I did it. I told one of my co-workers, who hates everthing, to do it and he told me it was awesome.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[idocdlw]

Found my receipts...we used Xtreme too...highly recommended.

[Dennislee2]

We are going the first full week of August and I have my concerns about that time of year for Cave Tubing.

 

I'm concerned about the heat in the jungle, bugs and also the depth (or lack of it) of the water!

 

Does it dry up this time of year and alot of walking instead of tubing?

 

Thanks....

[Pianogrl]

We used Xtreme too....I echo the above posts. They were totally professional, extremely helpful & we arrived back at the port with time to spare. Highly recommend.

[gquest]

We are going the first full week of August and I have my concerns about that time of year for Cave Tubing.

 

I'm concerned about the heat in the jungle, bugs and also the depth (or lack of it) of the water!

 

Does it dry up this time of year and alot of walking instead of tubing?

 

Thanks....

 

Sorry I can't help with your August question because I was there in March. However, I remember having tons of concerns and I found a link on Xtreme's website (see link below) for live help. I would recommend logging on and asking them your questions. They were quite helpful from what I remember. Hope this helps.

 

http://belizecruiseexcursions.com/CaveTubingBelize.htm

[TravelWorks]

Tom ***** at www.***** is a great guy and has a great tour.... Also...The river does run lower at certain times of the year...but in August it is also hurricane season and the amount of rain that can come during that time of year can also cause the river to actually be swifter than in the winter/spring....so if you stay in touch with your guide and keep a breast of how the weather is they can prepare you for what the conditions are like as you get closer to your date of travel....

 

Here is also two links to some more info about Tom ***** and others reviews about him...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=267739

 

and

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=273574

 

Have a great time in Belize!

Amy

[DentonCruisers]

Hi Everyone,

Can anybody give me any input on the cave tubing in Belize? The excursion is suppose to be 7 hours in length but you are only on the water 1 1/2 hours. What do you do the rest of the time? Is it fun, safe and worth the $85.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Set sail in 3 weeks.;)

I would think that the weather in Belize is about the same year-round. We loved our tube excursion and it was only $45 through cave-tubing.com. The whole day was an adventure. If you email them, they'll give you honest info about the weather in the summer. I highly recommend them.