Help!! What to do in Belize with kids (6 & 10)??

[LimeyUK]

Will be in Belize in Jan and was wondering what excursions to do. Any suggestions will be helpful and also recommedations on tour guides.

[Travel Angel]

Will be in Belize in Jan and was wondering what excursions to do. Any suggestions will be helpful and also recommedations on tour guides.

 

Cave Tubing and Zipline are always a HIT for guests of all ages..... We enjoyed our tours booked thru Major Tom at cave - tubing dot net. If you look at the others who have used his services, you will find that he comes highly recommended, and not just from our personal experiences. I am sure he could arrange pretty much anything you desire just by asking his assistance.

[cruzmonkey]

Will be in Belize in Jan and was wondering what excursions to do. Any suggestions will be helpful and also recommedations on tour guides.

Wrote you a note on the Victor Bodden tours which include zip-lining and those in our CC group said that they got there before the cruise line groups did and that there were more lines available.

 

For Belize I would suggest the cave tubing especially with the ages you have with you just stay with a good tour guide group like previosly suggested or through the cruise line (more expensive).

[Tiatravel]

I too am looking for something to do in Belize with my family. I have children ages 6 and 8. We would love to do the cave tubing but if you go through Carnival it says the minimum age is 12. I checked out the website for Cave-tubing dot com and it does not list a minimum age. Has anybody booked through them and do they know if there is a minimum age requirement?

[anaslile]

You can contact Yhony at Cave-tubing.com through e-mail and ask him, that would probably be the best. Also Major Tom of cave-tubing dot net is a stickler for safety. I'd also contact him about what he thinks about your 6 & 8 y-o doing cave tubing. Since they do these excursions all the time, they'll feel comfortable telling you.

 

Both Yhony and Major Tom hook up to each other at various times so from what I hear it's better than just free-floating which is what the Carnival tour does.

[Tiatravel]

You can contact Yhony at Cave-tubing.com through e-mail and ask him, that would probably be the best. Also Major Tom of cave-tubing dot net is a stickler for safety. I'd also contact him about what he thinks about your 6 & 8 y-o doing cave tubing. Since they do these excursions all the time, they'll feel comfortable telling you.

 

Both Yhony and Major Tom hook up to each other at various times so from what I hear it's better than just free-floating which is what the Carnival tour does.

Thanks! I contacted Yhony and he got back to me right away. They are one of the few companies that will take children because safety is their priority and they have been at it for so many years. They link people so there is no fear of one of the kids floating off and getting injured. My girls have really been wanting to cave tube so I booked as soon as I got the information. Can't wait for them to get home from school so I can tell them!

[love2-travel]

I went on a tour with NCQ Adventures and Nacho and Cynthia took really good care of us. I was with my 11yr old who absolutely loved the zip lineing and my 2 yr old. who had a blast doing the cave tubing. Have Fun!!

[amandachit]

We just returned from the Glory (10-20 sailing). While we were in Belize, we used Nacho and Cynthia for our cave and zoo tour. They were ABSOLUTELY perfect. I would highly recommend them for anyone travelling with children. Before the trip, I was very worried about entering Belize with my 2 and 7 yr olds b/c of the safety concerns. I emailed Nacho about every concern that I had and he very promptly returned my emails.

 

They met us at the dock with a sign holding our names. Provided a car seat for our 2 year old and transported us in their new van, very safe. There was a brief tour and history of Belize that was full of information that we did not know. The drive took a little less than an hour and we were the first ones at the caves. We got to go through 2 of the beautiful caves with Cynthia and Pedro (a cave tour guide). It was fantastic. Our children were not afraid and had a wonderful time! Afterwards, we had time to clean up and change before having a delicious lunch in an A/C restaurant. From there, we were transported to the Belize zoo where Nacho and Cynthia gave us another great tour. We saw so many animals that we have never even heard of. It was pretty cool.

 

I cannot tell you how safe and comfortable they made us feel. For anyone that is travelling to Belize (especially with kids), I think there is no other option for a tour guide. You cannot go wrong with cynthia and nacho!

 

Mandy

[phopte]

We did a horseback ride at Smugglers Run and it was wonderful! Cathy and Trevor took such good care of us and tailored the ride to our levels of experience. They made sure we got horses we could be comfortable with. It was about a 2 1/2 hour ride and then a wonderful meal with fresh lime juice to drink and lime pie to die for! :D

 

The price couldn't be beat. We got to see the jungle and had fresh fruit and also got a tour of the city and country side.

 

You can reach Trevor at trevor@smugglersrunplantation.com . He and Cathy are the owners and you won't meet nicer people.

 

Good luck!

[Ga_Crusin]

We took our two kids -- 6 and 8 -- cave tubing with Major Tom. He ran an absolutely first class operation, I very much recommend him. (As an aside -- he knows about cruise critic and told me he gets most of his business from it. So he was really concerned that we had a good time and would post nice things. We did and I am.)

 

The kids were fine. The tubing wasn't really the problem -- it was the hike in. It was maybe 3/4 of a mile, 30+ minutes. There's a river you cross early on, with a rope you hang onto as you go across. As we got there, two of the guides just grabbed the kids and took them across. But my 6 yr old was pretty tired out after 20-30 minutes of walking, and I carried him the last 10 minutes or so.

 

The tubing itself was very safe. We linked togther, everyone had headlamps (given by Major Tom) and the river was quite calm.

 

If you ask the kids if they had fun, they'd say no. They thought it was too cold. (They're also both very skinny and from the south). But, they remember it vividly and it really made an impression on them, so I'm glad I took them. I think of it like eating healthy food -- a safe, memorable broadening experience.

[oldmom]

We did the cave tubing in 2005 with our 8 year old son. The cave part was fine for a child-it was very shallow- but the trek thru the HUMID "Jungle" was hard for him-and us after hearing"how much further" a million times- plus the inner tube was too big for him to carry-so my husband had to carry 1 under each of his arms. Don't get me wrong- it was a once in a life time experience-but would have been easier for all involved if he was 12-13 years old.:eek:

[amandachit]

The walk really must depend on the tour guide that you use and the entrance that they are allowed to use. We just went with Nacho (like I mentioned earlier in this post) and it was me, my husband and my sons (2 and 7). We were driven way back past the main tour entrance and into the jaguar paw resort. There we met our guide and took a maybe 20 minute walk (that was at a kids pace too...) along a trail. It was not taxing or tough for anyone. Our 2 year old walked some of it... the 7 year old all of it. So it must depend on the privileges of the guide and what entrance they are allowed to use? I guess. Yet another reason I would recommend Nacho.