No cave-tubing/snorkeling

[Amy G]

What else is there to do/see in Belize besides snorkeling (the boat ride out would cause me to get sick) and cave-tubing (not for us)? We want to have fun, either it be a active excursion, or a sit by the beach excursion!

[Chickpea19]

How about the jungle zipline? I have not done this myself, but there are plenty of posts with info about it on this board. My cousin did this two weeks ago and loved it.

[Amy G]

That is something we are very excited to do, but we decided to do that in Roatan. :)

[numbersix]

Amy:

 

Beware of Belize if smaller boat rides might be a concern....Belize is not a deep-water port, and as such, cruise ship passengers must tender ...either in to Belize city (20-25 minute tender), or directly to their shore excursions, be they water-based (beach break, snorkeling, etc) or land-based, such as Belize city tour, Mayan ruins, Belize zoo, cave-tubing, etc.

 

We were there off the Carnival Legend on Dec 22... water was fairly choppy....we went on the Bannister Island Beach break (via tour operator's tender boat), then some of us went snorkeling from there with FAB tours (who stop at the island and will take snorkellers if they have room), and then , back at the ship, we tendered in to shop for a bit in the afternoon. Fairly choppy rides all around. I guess it all depends on the conditions when you're there.

[Amy G]

I ended up going with the Bannister Island excursion, as it said the boat ride was not very long. The boat ride does not always make me sick, but the stopping and sitting in choppy water does! This sounded like a perfect excursion for us.

[ugogirl]

What did you think of Fab Tours? I have been emailing with Daniel from there and want to take their tour for the snorkeling and beach break at Bannister Island. How was the snorkeling part of the tour? Thanks!

[numbersix]

[quote=ugogirl]What did you think of Fab Tours? I have been emailing with Daniel from there and want to take their tour for the snorkeling and beach break at Bannister Island. How was the snorkeling part of the tour? Thanks![/quote]

Hi Girl:

The snorkeling wasn't great, but, to be fair, it had more to do, I think, with the conditions, and my circumstances that day. Let me explain. We had decided to do the Private Island Beach break (Bannister Island), primarily because you tender directly from the ship, rather than tender in to Belize City, and then go back out, etc., and that my DW really wanted some uncomplicated beach time. I, along with our two younger children (9, and 7) were looking forward to some snorkeling, too....I've snorkeled half a dozen times, while my 9-year old has snorkeled with me once at Chankanaab in Cozumel (very easy, calm water), while my 7-year old had not snorkeled before. We found out that somebody usally comes out to Bannister Island ( Coral Breezes or FAB Tours) and that we could probably hook up with them. We saw FAB Tours' boat at the Bannister Island dock and, in a big hurry, went with them, for $20 pp (just for the snorkelling portion). Problems....they did not have enough flippers for us....but we were told that before we decided to go...I figured we didn't have much choice, so we went anyway. Also...while it was a gorgeous day, it was windy and the water was fairly choppy. We rode over to the reef, were given our equipment, and basically, told to jump into the water, and snorkel over to the other side of the reef....ok, fair enough. But, I think that maybe they had too many people with them. I felt a little overwhelmed, but, then again, I had 2 small kids with me, novice snorkelers, in unfamiliar, choppy water....all by my own choice, mind you. It was a little freaky for both me and the kids with no flippers, and sometimes finding ourself in all kinds of coral, sometimes in fairly shallow water, trying to guide the kids through while helping them adjust their masks, and helping them clear their snorkels of water. et cetera....and they were getting scared sometimes thinking they would hit or touch the coral....and it was a very tough swim in the choppy water, especially without flippers. HOWEVER....the FAB people were great, especially the young lady ( I forget her name), who, s eeing that I was having trouble shepherding my 2 kids on my own, came over and took my 7-year-old daughter the rest of the way....it appears that she ended up having the best snorkel experience...she ended up seeing more fish than we seemed to, saw a stingray, and was given a handfull of really neat shells that the girl got for her off the bottom. Then..back to Bannister Island...the FAB Tour people then had 1 hour on the island, while we were just in time for our 1:30 return to the ship. SO, although we didn't do the entire FAB tour (only the snorkeling part), I would say that they do a good job, and are really nice people (we found that to be the general case with any and all we came in contact with in Belize. Just hope for calm waters!!:confused:

[numbersix]

Girl:

 

I forgot....FYI...We paid $45 ($38, I think, for kids) for the Private island beach break through Carnival, plus , then, an additional $20 each to snorkel with FAB Tours...you tender from the ship...We were scheduled for 9:15, think we left about 9:30, short (maybe 10 minute) ride to Bannister Island, tender that takes you stops there and returns you to the ship, leaving Bannister Island at 1:30 pm. We tendered in to shore upon our return to the ship, and saw FAB tours' shop at the dock (you can't miss it)....Their tour (snorkeling/Bannister Island beach break ) from the dock seems to be $49/$39 for kids. Given that we did Bannister island, and snorkeled, then tendered in to the dock to shop, we ended up doing pretty much the same thing....next time I would tender in and go with either FAB tours or do the Caye Caulker tour with Coral Breezes.

[RidgeRunner Travel]

Amy G,

While in Belize, my wife and I and another couple will do a River Rafting excursion. We originally considered the Cave Tubing, but decided this River Rafting will be more enjoyable. Here is a link to the site we have hired to do this with. Hope this helps...Have Fun!!

 

http://www.coralbreezetours.com/tours_add.html?current_category=15&ref_page=calendar&t_date=2007-01-23&t_available=108