Review: Just back from X-stream cave tubing

[robcool]

Just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Miracle and a stop in Belize. We did the X-Stream Cave Tubing booked at belizecruiseexcursions.com. Also check out the Cave tubing page, (the pictures here are really good).

 

I had my 11-year-old son with me on this trip, and there was a girl of 9 in our group also. Neither had any problems, and both thought the trip was great.

 

We met our guide at 8:50am ship time (7:50am Belize time) for the hour or so trip to the reserve where the caves are. There were 16 of us on the tour as compared to what seems like 100 or so on the ship’s tour. After paying for the tour, we loaded up into two vans and headed out through Belize City. The trip in the X-stream van was fine and our guide gave us some interesting facts about the history of Belize on the way. The last mile or so is over very rough, unpaved roads. Our guide called them "exciting roads", and he was not kidding.

 

Once we arrived at the reserve we got our life vests and inner tubes and headed out for the two-mile or so hike through the almost rain forest to where we put into the river that runs through the caves. The hike was easy, very flat except for some steps early on the trail. Note that you have to carry your tube. They are not heavy, so it really was not a problem. Along the way our guide pointed out interesting plants, showed us a cave with bats, and gave us some interesting facts about the area. We even heard some howler monkeys yelling in the distance.

 

We got in the river at a place that was pretty deep. You could either slide easily into the water or jump in all at once. Our guide told us that we were at a cave that the ship’s tours never did, and so we got one extra cave on our tour. The water was warm, and although it had been foggy that morning and the air was a little chilly for Belize we quickly got used to the water and were comfortable. Once in the water we were given head lamps and began the nice slow float through the first cave.

 

The caves are awesome. They are very large, and have some wonderful formations that the guides pointed out as we floated along. There were some times when we had to paddle with our hands and arms, and some people had more trouble than others keeping up. The guides were there to help anyone who needed it.

 

All in all we made it through three caves, each one more spectacular than the last. There were a couple of places that the guides called “rapids” where the water got a little faster, but it never got scary, and it was for the most part a very slow current that carried us along.

 

Here are a couple of tips for those planning this adventure.

 

Everything you take will get wet. If you don’t want it wet don’t take it out of the van with you to the caves. The van is locked and watched while you are away, so your stuff will be safe. Don’t think you can take a digital camera with you and keep it dry. Take a waterproof camera.

 

Do not take anything you cannot afford to loose, particularly jewelry. One of the people on our tour lost a wedding ring in the river. It is easy to do. Your hands are wet and you are waving your arms to paddle. They spent about 20 minutes looking and finally gave up. They were lucky though. They lost the ring outside the cave, and knew approximately where they had lost it. After we hiked back to the vans our guide hired a local boy with a diving mask to go back and look for it. Sure enough he found it and returned it to the owner. As I said, if you can’t afford to loose it, don’t take it.

 

There is a small shop where the vans are parked that will rent water shoes if you need them for $3. It is well worth the money to rent those shoes. Don't where flip-flops. Regular sandles will be OK if they can get wet and are tight on your feet so you don't loose them. I wore an old pair of tennis shoes that worked very well.

 

There are bathrooms at the reserver near where the vans are parked that are clean.

 

Also where the vans are parked is a little restaurant. I recommend getting lunch there after the caving is done (if you have time). The barbeque chicken is great, and only $5.00 for a complete meal.

 

Belize is a tendered port, and the last tender back to our ship was at 3:30pm. The trip takes about 5 hours total. We made it back to the pier at 3:00pm, which only gave us a 30-minute buffer, a little too close for my tastes. To our guide’s credit we did make it back in time to get a tender, so there was really no problem.

 

One other note. My wife and second son were supposed to be on this tour also. Unfortunately my son got sick with strep throat and could not make the tour. I was a little afraid they would make me pay for them also. I let the guide know what happened and there was no problem. He even told me I could e-mail the booking agent, tell them what happened, and get the deposit for those two refunded. I have not done that yet, but expect that I will get my deposit refunded.

 

The cost for this tour is $60/person (adult), with a 20% deposit at booking time and an 8% government tax. The rest is paid for in cash at the pier.

 

I highly recommend X-stream, they did a great job, and if I am ever in Belize again I will consider doing the same excursion just so I can see the caves again.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[mattyboy]

Thanks for the GREAT review! We will be there in 3 weeks and have booked with X-treme, so was very happy to see you had a wonderful experience.

 

Couple of questions - Did you have to get the first tender off? Did you wait for people because of time difference? Were there changing room available to get out of the wet clothes? Anything else you can think of?

 

Thanks in advance.

[mnsawyer]

Great review - also, do you leave your things in the van before you start your walk into the rain forest or when you actually get to the caves? Trying to figure out if you can wear more supportive sneakers than tennis shoes in the rain forest or not.

[mortypro]

thanks so much for the fab review

my adult children will be taking it in 2 weeks now after your review i am thinking i might join them

[robcool]

We did not have to get the first tender. The ship arrived at about 7:00am ships time (6:00am Belize time) so there was plenty of time to get several tenders away before we got ours to get to shore by 9:00am ships time (8:00am Belize time). One note: the ships anchor about 5 miles from shore in Belize, so it is a pretty long tender, I would guess about 10 minutes.

 

You have to leave all the stuff you don't want to take tubing in the van before you start the hike. There is no place to leave your stuff at the end of the hike. I would suggest old sneakers (that is what I did), good supportive sandles that won't fall off your feet, or water shoes that you can rent before you start the hike. I guess you could take a dry bag along to hold your second pair of shoes while you are tubing, but I think that would be a pain. The hike is pretty easy, so I would not worry too much about it.

 

If you don't have any problems walking I would recommend going along. The caves are really interesting.

[robcool]

Just a follow up, I just got an e-mail from the reservations people that they are refunding the deposit for my wife and son that were not able to go on the exursion. I think that is great customer service! They certainly could have made an argument for keeping the deposit since it was not their fault. Way to go X-Stream!

[CruiseDuck]

We went cave tubing with X-Stream a couple of weeks ago. It is an excursion not to be missed. The caves were incredible and the water was beautiful but a bit on the chilly side. I had major foot surgery in May. As I was off my foot for so long I had to learn to walk again. I was bound and determined that I was going to do this excursion. For someone with no limitations the walk through the jungle would not be difficult. For anyone with any knee or foot limitations the walk can be a little tricky. The walk is not completely level. Also, the day we went the ground was wet and it was slippery in places. The entry in to the river can be a little difficult for someone with any limitations because you have to turn around, hold onto a rope and then back yourself down a small embarkment, then plop in the tube. For someone with no limitations it would not be hard at all. Even though I had difficulty with the walking and my Husband ended up carrying my tube most of the way (it was heavier than what I had thought) I thought it was well worth it. The rapids were not very big but when they say bottoms up they mean bottoms up. The river does get extremely low in places and there are some submerged boulders. Also, just a word of caution...When you see the guys in the water by the rapids,with the green shirts, make sure they see you as the current took me behind one and I ended up smashing into a boulder on the side of the river. If you've been on this excursion I'm sure you know which boulder I'm talking about. Make sure you order the chicken dinner before you go to the river. It was only $5 and it tasted so good after the tubing. If we ever make it back to Belize we will be sure to do this excursion again with X-Stream.

[robcool]

Mattyboy, just relized I missed a couple of your questions, sorry!

 

We did not have to wait for anyone because of time difference, but we were the only ship there that day, I think. Our ship did not change time, so it was important to remember that we were always one hour ahead of Belize time.

 

The rest rooms at the park are very clean and you could easily change there if you wanted.

 

Let me know if I missed anything else.

[robcool]

Yup, it was Richard! He was great!

[Candymanjim]

X-Treme was great. We took them in April (04) while there on the Carnival Elation. Keep in mind the ship lets THEIR excursions off the ship first to go on the tenders. We snuck in with the ship group to get on the some of the first tenders only to have to wait until nearly everyone was off the ship so other people on our ship could get off the tenders for the tour. All in all we waited nearly an hour for everyone to get together. Most people do not realize the X-Treme tour goes through more caves and is MUCH longer than that of the ship tours. We were on a group of about 14 on 2 vans compared to what seemed like chaotic group of 100 from the ship riding a number of tour buses. since we were late getting out we made the 2nd to last tender... too close for comfort, but they said not to worry and we would be back in time.. I would highly recommend them over the ship tours...

 

Jim

 

FYI - I dont believe the hike is 2 miles, it takes a while and is an easy scenic "trail walk" It is more like 1-1.25 miles.. if that. You can stand up in many places in the river, the rapids if you want to call them that are areas you can practically stand up in, in some rapids you have to pick your butt up in the tube or you will hit the bottom!

[robcool]

We found out that if you take proof that you have an early tour with you when you try and get a tender they will let you on an early one. Just take the confirmation e-mail with you.

[mattyboy]

We found out that if you take proof that you have an early tour with you when you try and get a tender they will let you on an early one. Just take the confirmation e-mail with you.[/quote

 

Where did you go with your proof?

[Jayjoans]

We just got back last night from the EOS that stopped at Belize and we did the tour with X-stream. It was great, and I have nothing negative to say about it. All the good things have been covered already.

 

Our experience was a just a little dicey on time. I got up early on the ship and got in line to get the 1st tender tickets for our group of 14. We were off the ship on the first tender. We met X-stream and after about a 45 minutes we were off in the van. Someone posted that the rough road is about a mile long....wrong....it is 7 miles long and very rough. The tour busses do it, so it's not too bad, but you are glad for smooth road when the time comes. It is about an hour and a half drive once you leave the port. Once at the trailhead it took time to find tubes, life jackets and make our lunch order for when we returned. We then hiked out seeing the sights and getting the narrated tour. Once we got to the place to jump/slide in, there were 200-300 people in front of us! We waited about 45 minutes for our turn to get into the water. (now I'm checking my watch....2.5hr float, 1.5 hour drive, lunch....)

 

We completed the tubing, which was GREAT.

 

At the lunch spot we had about 2 hours before the last tender left. Our guide said not to worry about it, that in 7 years they had never missed a boat. He said to take 6 or so more minutes to eat. This is too close for comfort for me, the vans are not the greatest, the road back is really rough on the equipment and there is no time for a contingency problem.

 

I finally told him that we wanted to go back, and hurredly loaded up our 14 pax and took off. Repeatedly during the trip back he had to point out that we were just fine on time, not to worry. By my calculations if everything went just right we would make it back to the last tender with about 15 minutes to spare. Then it happened, he slowed down and stopped on the dirt road and said he felt a flat tire......argh. He got out to check and all was OK, and he assured me that even if it was flat he could change it in minutes.

 

 

We were off again, made it back to the dock, got in line for the tender and within 5 minutes we were on the LAST TENDER and they folded up the gangway and that was it. If he actually had had a flat, we would not have made it back.

 

Too close for me. First tender off and last tender back. whew.

[mortypro]

jayjoans

we are going on the explorer 1/2 and two of us are going on the tubing

hope they make it back on time lol i know a number of other people from the ship are going on the same tour.

i know this is off topic but who was the rest of the cruise

we are doing catarman tour with our 2 year old grandson in belize

any suggestions for things we have to do on board

[trudle]

Just a couple of things to add to Robbins post---the cave tubbing was great---we also, just got back on time and I think we were the last tender out also--it was a little close for me too. But, XStream was great. And also, they did have showers and a changing room on the outside of the bathrooms, but no hooks to hang your clothes, but you could throw them over the door. Happy caving, it is great.

[kathywin53]

Just a note. We have booked a group of 4 with Xstream for Feb 1/05 from Exlporer of the Seas. Like previous poster, am hoping we get back on time, nothing stresses me more than being late and worrying about missing the ship. Am excited about this tour because of all the great post here. Thanks

[Riversedge]

For those of you who were on Explorer of the Seas, were you on ship time or shore time when you arrived? We are supposed to be there from 9:00-6:00 according to our itinerary. We are going in June after Miami switches to daylight savings time. Does this mean we will actually be there from 7:00-4:00?

[robcool]

I am just like you when it comes to time and being late. I did stress a little, but they really did make it back in plenty of time, and they were watching it closely to make sure we were back on time. As flash said, they would not be in business for long if they made people miss the ship!

[kathywin53]

Thanks for the posts regarding time factor..sure would hate to miss the ship..but am looking forward to the cave tubing...another question..on the walk to the caves what type of shoes did you wear..water type or old running shoes..hubby a little concerned his feet will be uncomfortable in water shoes walking any great distance..

[robcool]

Whatever you wear will get wet. I wore an old pair of tennis shoes, but took sandle to change into so I would not have to wear wet shoes on the way back. They do have water shoes that you can rent right at the beginning of the trail. I think it was $3.00. The hike in is pretty easy I don't think that the water shoes should be uncomfortable.

[Candymanjim]

I would highly recommend more of a "Teva" type shoe/sandal. You can wear it on the van, on the trail in in the water. It would provide far greater traction and comfort that a typical water shoe. I wear these from whitewater rafting to running out to the store, or to just to go to the beach....

 

Jim

[mnsawyer]

From what I can gather, Xtreme is a longer tour and this whole issue about tendering and getting back on time really stresses me out. So much so, that I'm thinking that river tubing isn't such a good idea. If I am understanding everyone's posts correctly, even if you "sneak" off with the cruise ships, it sounds like you'll have to wait for others? Are there other independent companies (Wet and Wild?) that may be a bit shorter in length. The Glory is in port from 8-5 (I believe??). Also, if cruising in April, that would be one hour ahead of Belize time, so if we docked at 8 a.m. it would be 7:00 a.m. local time?

[CaribbeanCrazy]

The cruise ship excursion is 7 hours. An hour to an hour and a half longer than the private tour operators!

We all know why that is....waiting...waiting and more waiting!!!

CaribbeanCrazy

[Candymanjim]

Actually the cruise trip is a lot shorter than that of extreme. I think the main reason is when you are dealing with 100+ people it takes a lot more time to move and coordinate than it does with 10, so yes, more time waiting....

 

 

Jim

[CaribbeanCrazy]

For those of you that did cave tubing with Xtreme....I have a few questions.

1.Did they make you wear life jackets?

2.Do you know if Xtreme goes through more caves than the other private companies like Wet & Wild and Cool Breeze. I know they do more than the cruise ship tour...just wondering if their tour is longer than the ones I mentioned.

3.Did any of you have to wait as long as Jayjoans to put your tube in the water?

I was really suprised to read that you (jayjoans) had to wait 45 mins and that there was that many people ahead of you. This is the first time I have read about that long of a wait! You must have had alot of ships in port that day. I could see if it was a cruiseline tour...but you said you went with Xtreme.

4.Were there alot/any mosquitos?

Thanks

CaribbeanCrazy