Tour of Belize City?

[taffy12]

I've been curious to actually get out and see what the real Belize looks like (I hate being confined to little tourist villages! What's the point of going somewhere foreign if that's all you're going to see??), but it doesn't appear that walking around in town is such a good idea. Are there any short, cheap bus tours we could take? When we were in Progreso, Mexico a few years ago, there were buses (with an open second level) waiting right by the main market offering brief (maybe an hour long?) tours of the city for something like $5 to $15. Anything like that in Belize? And would such a thing be safe?

[avacruiser]

I've been curious to actually get out and see what the real Belize looks like (I hate being confined to little tourist villages! What's the point of going somewhere foreign if that's all you're going to see??), but it doesn't appear that walking around in town is such a good idea. Are there any short, cheap bus tours we could take? When we were in Progreso, Mexico a few years ago, there were buses (with an open second level) waiting right by the main market offering brief (maybe an hour long?) tours of the city for something like $5 to $15. Anything like that in Belize? And would such a thing be safe?

 

We've done and is great

Walking tour of Belize city ;)

 

http://www.belize-vacation.com/belize/belize_city.htm

[SingingPixie]

While a tour of Belize city would certainly be a viable option, I think it'd be a pity to come to a country with such beautiful inland jungles and outlying cayes and not see either. For me, if I'm on a cruise and seeing lots of the "island" landscape in other ports, I tend to choose to go inland in Belize. There's Mayan ruins to see, cave tubing/ziplining if you're looking for a little activity, or even the Belize Zoo if you don't want to venture far from port- it's located right in the jungle. If you do any of these things, you'll probably get a mini-tour of Belize City as you drive through it as well.

 

Belize city is not a bad place, but it is definitely an urban area in a poor country. Not dangerous per se, but not the best Belize has to offer.

[tomko2]

My DH went on a horse-riding excursion which he thoroughly enjoyed and I wanted to walk around the town. After seeing the guards and dogs at the Port fence I was not feeling comfortable about walking by myself.

 

I asked the taxi drivers if anyone of them would be willing to take me on a walking tour for an hour. A lovely young woman agreed and we settled on a price of $20. (I tipped her an additional $10.).

 

It was wonderful because she was giving me a picture of the town from her perspective as a woman, mother, wife and daughter. At 28 years of age (she looked 18) she has 6 children!

 

This lady shooed vendors away and told the people she was going to be braiding my hair later (to keep them from bugging us).

 

This lady showed her city with pride.

Loved it.

Kathy:)

[MemaSue]

:eek:We were in Belize a couple weeks ago and I was scared to death. We walked down town up and over the bridge and were just pounded by the people for everything from money, to cab rides, to just about anything you could imagine. I for one couldn''t wait to get back inside the port area..never again will I leave port without an excursion!

[gt95stang]

I was just in Belize last Thursday and all these folks who say that Belize is dangerous are ridiculous. Its my assumption that the ones reporting this are not experienced travelers and just have very little experience with poor countries. While its true that I wouldn't want my 20 year old daughter walking around Belize City by herself, I also wouldn't want her walking around Detroit, L.A., New York or Miami by herself either.

 

While the tour, braiding and taxi hawkers are persistent, once they realize that you're not interested in buying anything from them, they leave you alone. No different than touristy areas of other 3rd world countries. And once you get away from the port shopping area, there aren't any of the hawkers around and virtually no one bothers you.

 

I walked outside the gates with my wife and 6 year old daughter and certainly never felt unsafe or threatened. Perhaps because I've experienced similar countries, I never even felt annoyed by the hawkers (although I can certainly understand why some people might).

 

We spent some time shopping in the flea market / tent city around the port gates and ended up buying quite a bit of bead jewelry, some conch shells and a few snacks (mango, plantain chips, tangerines and a snow cone) from street vendors. One of the guys at a jewelry stand chatted us up for a half hour or so (after we had already bought some stuff from him) and we learned a lot about the school system since his 8 year old son was with him and he had 4 other boys at home.

 

Once DD was ready for a break from walking, we went back and found one of the more subtle (non-pushy) horse and carriage guys (Alex) and took a 45 minute tour of the city (the cruise line charged $59 per person for a similar excursion, we paid $25 total for the 3 of us). It was enough to get a bit of a feel for the country and how the locals really live. By walking around and talking with some of the hawkers first, we got a feel for how much things "should" cost so I felt that the $25 was fair for him and us. Especially helpful are the vendors that you buy things from. Once you've already bought stuff from them, they'll be more willing to tell you which tour operators to go to, or to avoid; and how much is a reasonable price.

 

After the carriage ride, we walked back to some street side food stands to get some local food for a bit of a snack and wandered back toward the downtown area. There isn't much for "trinket" shopping downtown, but there aren't any vendors harassing you and you get to "shop where the locals shop". After that, DD was pretty exhausted so we headed back to the ship.

 

I think Belize City may get a bad rap from some folks because the closer you are to the tourist village gates the more aggressive the hawkers are. We had 4 or 5 talking to us at once when we stepped outside the gate, but by the time we were 100 feet down the street, it was nothing more than an occasional "I can give you a city tour" as you'd walk by a taxi driver. The vendors in the flea market / tent city weren't pushy at all. You could browse in their shops (and DD is a detailed browser!) and they'd wait for you to ask prices before approaching you at all.

 

Having a 6 year old with us, we were somewhat limited in what we could do in the country. She would have gotten pretty bored with a 60 minute cab ride even if there was something that interested her at the end of it. But I would have no problem doing a longer tour from a safety standpoint. I just didn't get an "bad vibes" from any of the vendors. I'd be more likely to seek out a less aggressive vendor because I like to reinforce that approach, not because the aggressive vendors scare me at all.

 

So to directly answer the OPs question, I don't think that you'd be able to find something for $5.00, but you could easily get something for an hour or so for $20.00 - $25.00. If you want more - 4 or 5 hours and further into the countryside - I'd think you'd be able to find a cab driver that would do almost anything you'd want for $10 - $15 per hour. Just spend some time walking around outside the gates and get some pricing from a few different vendors and then go back to whomever you felt the most comfortable with or who seemed like they'd be the most knowledgable tour guide. If someone you like has a price that's too high, just tell him what the guy down the street is offering and he's likely to match it.

[PACURN]

I agree with the above poster. The time I was in Belize was great and I never felt in danger. We plan on going there again when we sail the Legend. I'm excited to be going again.

It's a third world country and these people are trying to make a living. When ships bring tourists it's a big deal for them. You can't blame them for wanting to make a little money and support their family.

[tomko2]

I agree with the above poster. The time I was in Belize was great and I never felt in danger. We plan on going there again when we sail the Legend. I'm excited to be going again.

It's a third world country and these people are trying to make a living. When ships bring tourists it's a big deal for them. You can't blame them for wanting to make a little money and support their family.

 

I also agree and I plan to walk around town for a couple of hours the next time we are there however I will again hire one of the taxi drivers to walk with me. When I hired the lovely lady taxi driver to walk with me the last time, I gained terrific insight into daily living in Belize plus she spoke to the more aggressive vendors in her native tongue to keep them from pestering me. Win-win situation.

Kathy:)

[Lola Lotion]

We went on the Mayan Ruin tour. The bus driver didn't recomend walking around outside the fence. I also don't walk in Detroit, LA or New York.

The Mayan Tour was great and had alot of history of Belize. A very proud people.

 

Hope this helps

Kathleen