cave tubing vs zip line?

[L&D-RN]

We are going in june and not sure which to do.

Is it possible to do both?

Where did you guys book-private or through the cruise line?

How much?

Thanks for any help!:)

[funone2]

We are going in june and not sure which to do.

Is it possible to do both?

Where did you guys book-private or through the cruise line?

How much?

Thanks for any help!:)

 

You definitely will NOT have time to do both. It's just my opinion but I would book through the cruise line. That way, if anything happens along the way (bus breakdown, etc.), the ship WILL WAIT FOR YOU!

 

I would book one ... and then it gives you an excuse to take another cruise! BELIZE is a great place to travel to but unfortunately, you only have so much time there. I've been there 4 times already and will be going back in March to try other things!

 

Although you might not be booking with Carnival ... I think you can go on their web site and get an idea of what excursions are available and the price. The same excursions are usually available on most of the cruise lines. :p:p

[beachbooles]

We just got back...we did the cave tubing. Maybe we could have ATV'd too, but time was tight. The sight is far from the port. Also, if you have a non ship excursion you have to stand in line early for a tender ticket and then even if you are boat 1, you have to wait for ALL the shore excursion tours to exit. We basically didn't get to our guide in Belize until 9:45! Huge chunk of time gone...

 

oh, zip lines were shut down even for cruise. Some property dispute? Not sure what it was but all those tours were cancelled from ship tours to privates adn not just us, other privates too.

 

have fun!

[maruchan25]

;)Can't really say anything about the ziplining, but the cave tubing was awesome.

We were on Carnival "Legend", 7 day western cruise. In Belize, we went cave tubing. Prior to leaving, I contacted Nacho and his wife, Cynthia, in Belize and made arrangements to be met at the docks. A personally escorted tour of Belize to include cave tubing, all for a lot less money and aggravation than the cruise shore excursion package. We were skeptical at first, having made arrangements via email contact only, but had not exchanged any money. (Nacho does not ask for a deposit) We paid (cash) after we got there. Nacho and his wife met us at the dock (you have to be tender in) with a big sign, with our name on it. How convenient and easy. So, we (four of us) were off for cave tubing in Nacho's mini-van. The cave tubing is about 45 minutes to an hour ride outside of Belize city. During the ride, we learned so much about the country of Belize, the people and all there is to do. Also, after you leave the city, the mountains look like a large, sleeping giant, hence the nickname, The Sleeping Giant. You won't get that on a bus ride to cave tubing. If you have read about other cave tubing excursions, you probably already know, that the cruise or even other private excursions uses the government's facilities (bathrooms/changing facilities-not super clean) and have to walk a bit further, to start your trip. We went to the Jaguar Paw Resort to begin our excursion. This resort has 4 bungalows, each with 4 rooms for a total of 16 rooms located in the rain forest, near the river. Yes folks, rooms decorated in different themes, located in the rain forest-amazing! When we arrived at the resort, we changed in the resort facilities and after we got our tubes and headlamps, we set out on the 25-30 minutes walk, to where we start our tubing. Yes, you have to trek through the rain forest to the drop in point on the river. We brought bug spray and sprayed down before the walk, but I didn't noticed any bugs or problems, perhaps it depends on the time of year. Several things were cool: Nacho's wife came with us and a tubing tour guide, from the resort, 2 tour guides for 4 people. Also, by going the way we did, we were first to the river path and first on the trail. This allowed us to view some wildlife, before it was scared off by the large bus groups. The other advantage of doing cave tubing this way is, you actually start further up the river and get to go through 2 sets of caves, where the cruise excursions are only one. The water in the river is beautiful and a comfortable temperature. We went through the first cave and it was awesome, so quiet and peaceful. Unfortunately, after we came through the first cave, we met with the large groups from the ship's tours. This was okay, but not as special, when things are so crowded and loud. Oh yes, you get the miner's light, like everyone else, so that you can see when it gets dark. There is a point in both caves, when you loose sight of daylight, in case anyone would be scared or worried. The water was low and the current, very gentle, in fact you have to use your hands to paddle some. Again this may vary by season. The total tubing experience was about 2 hours maybe a little longer, I lost track of time. You end up finishing your journey right at the Jaguar Paw resort. We returned our inner tubes, got changed and went into the air-conditioned resort restaurant/bar for lunch (which was included). This is also different from what the other cave tubing vendors offer, they eat outside. After lunch, we took a tour of the resort, grounds. We saw the butterfly farm, the swimming pool in the middle of the rainforest, a small, baby howler monkey and we even checked out the theme decorated rooms. When I say resort, I don't mean resort like most of us think (they do have a website). After this, we headed back to Belize City, again learning more about Belize and what else there is to do. We had plenty of extra time, so Nacho and his wife, took us into downtown Belize city, to a grocery store to shop (the right price for many souvenirs). I had asked, what was special to buy in Belize. We ended up with some Rum and Cashew wine, 2 local specialties. We then drove around the city for some sightseeing, with our guides pointing out the history of Belize. We even went by the oldest church and the governor's house, now a cultural museum. We were returned to the docks, with plenty of time to spare. We wandered around the port shops and then headed back to the ship, to relax. This excursion was GREAT! Nacho and his wife, Cynthia, were so pleasant and helpful. Since we are not suppose to give out personal info, anyone who wants to contact Nacho, send me an email and I will send you the info. He has an email address and a website. Also, if you might go to Belize other than a cruise, I can give you more info on the Jaguar Paw Resort, it looks like a neat place to stay. Nacho also offers many other things, he will customize the excursion to what you want (ruins, cave tubing, zoo, shopping, etc.). Just ask, he will also answer any general questions you have about Belize. Good luck!

My email address is cruising125 at aol dot com

[L&J]

You can definately do both zipline and cave tubing. We are booked to do the combo tour with Major Tom. The end of the zip is where you join the cave tour - all on the same site. You are bused there and back with everyone who is doing caves-only too. If you zip you just miss the first cave.

We are booked to go within 2 weeks so i'll let you know how it goes. That is, if the zip lines are back up and running again. Hopefully, they'll settle the dispute ASAP!!

[L&D-RN]

You can definately do both zipline and cave tubing. We are booked to do the combo tour with Major Tom. The end of the zip is where you join the cave tour - all on the same site. You are bused there and back with everyone who is doing caves-only too. If you zip you just miss the first cave.

We are booked to go within 2 weeks so i'll let you know how it goes. That is, if the zip lines are back up and running again. Hopefully, they'll settle the dispute ASAP!!

 

 

I hope you guys have fun. Please let me know how it goes. Be safe! Thanks!

[scrappynancy]

I don't know about zip lining but I was on Carnival Miracle in December and went cave tubing with cave-tubing.com and it was awesome. We had to be in the lounge to get off the ship on the first tender. We did have to wait to load onto the tender until the groups who were leaving right from the ship left then we were permitted to get on the tender with group 1. We met up with cave-tubing.com early and started out early. We had a bus for our group it was a group of about 24 and we had the 45 min ride to the caves during that time we had a guide telling about the area, people and everything. When we got to the site we had time to use changing rooms or bathrooms and then started our walk we did spray down with bug spray but I still got bit a bunch of times. we collected our tubes and life jackets we already had our head lamps and started our walk. It was not a bad walk at all and the guides, there were about 6 of them, took the tubes off of the women and carried them for us. We did the two caves, they gave us the choice of walking another 5 min or just stopping there and doing one cave. We all chose the 5 extra min. we were then split into 4 people per group and one guide. It was a great trip! On the way back we stopped at a little bar to get drinks and snacks. Then back to the port and we had time to do some shopping too. If you are looking to cave tube the way to go is cave-tubing.com. Look them up. They are the greatest!!

[aeronan]

We did both a couple of years ago & booked through this company http://www.belizecruiseexcursions.com/. We had plenty of time, we even stopped as this small local restaurant just outside the cave tubing & had a great meal. We even had time to do some shopping at the pier when we got back. The ziplining was definitely more fun than the cave tubing!

[Lone_Warrior]

We are going in june and not sure which to do.

Is it possible to do both?

Where did you guys book-private or through the cruise line?

How much?

Thanks for any help!:)

 

I also don't think you should book both. Especially if you don't book through the cruise line. We went cave tubing with Cave-Tubing.com last week and even though the tenders were delayed, we were back for the ship with about 1 hour to spare. However, its better to be safe than have the ship leave you. I say do one and come back to do the other one.