Magic western direction

We plan to be on the Magic the end of this month. One of our stops will be in Belize, and we will tender to get there. Do you know if there is a beach close by that we can walk to once we get off the tender, or do we have to take a Taxi?

I would suggest either a ship excursion or a reputable tour operator to book a beach trip. We booked a private tour to Altun Ha. There were a few people outside of the port offering taxis/tours. I didnt really check them out too much because i had something scheduled. A lot of people will tell you stay on the ship, Belize isnt safe bleh ..... like any other port, be smart, book something with a reputable company, have fun! Also, check out the Belize section of the Port boards.

We plan to be on the Magic the end of this month. One of our stops will be in Belize, and we will tender to get there. Do you know if there is a beach close by that we can walk to once we get off the tender, or do we have to take a Taxi?

Hmmm. From what I recall, there is no water near Belize City that you would want to swim in.

No there is no beach near the tender dock. I'd suggest taking the ferry, walkable from the dock, over to Caye Caulker. Pick up a great snorkel trip as well. But this place is all beach. It's less than an hour ride over.

Thank you for your replies. I'll take these suggestions into consideration.

If you want a beach you need to go to one of the islands. Belize City doesn't have beaches or much to do at port. The tender ride is a nice little ride and there are typical shops right off the boat. We took a tour of the city with a local cab driver just to see the area, it is a poor area and not much to see except for curiosity sake.

Thank you for your reply. For a native or Taxi to take us around for a while, is there a set price, or can we negotiate?

We were just on the Magic Mar 3-10. We had a stop in Belize. From our research we found that everything is like 45 min- 1 hour from the port. We chose an excursion that included Cave Tubing and the Zoo. It was awesome other than the 2 hour travel time :rolleyes: our guides were awesome the caves, very cool and the natural setting of the zoo was very cool! If you are not planning an excursion I would suggest just to stay on the ship. Also this is a tendered port (5 miles from land) :o

Personally, I would not do a taxi. Belize port is very small, and you will see that it is gated. Outside the port is on the rougher side in places, and it is not a port known for "city tours." The zoo has a good reputation however.

This is really a port where you need to either go cave tubing, go to ruins such as Altun Ha, or book a snorkeling or water excursion either through the cruise line or another reputable on line site.

Thank your for your responses.

If you have done it, or heard of anyone that has, would we be able to take a Taxi to Ambergris Caye Beach? I understand it is nice, and we like to just lay on the beach.:)

no you need to take a ferry

here we go again..... Caye is an island. You cannot get to Ambergris Caye unless you take a boat or a plane. Both are available from Belize City.

SORRY that I said Caye was a beach, but I have READ that several places.

So once we get off the tender, we find a ferry that will take us to that "island?"

It is a 90 minute ferry ride to Ambergris Caye. So that is 3 hours round trip.

There are closer islands to take a boat trip to sit on a beach.

Thanks for getting back with me. Oh my 90 minutes each way by ferry, that is way too long. can you suggest another island that might be closer by ferry?

Honestly the most straightforward way to say it is that Belize is not one of the ports where I would feel comfortable going beyond the shopping area at the port without an excursion.

Either one of Carnival's or one arranged privately should be fine, but I wouldn't wander off with a taxi driver there.

There are no beaches close to the port.

Unless you want to take a water taxi (located right next door to the Tourist Village where the tender lets you off), Belize is not a beach day. Typical excursions are land-based here. Lots of other stops on the cruise have a nice beach very close by.

FYI - the water taxi is pretty cheap, and definitely doable on a cruise. We took a water taxi to Caye Caulker. I think it was more like 45 minutes each way. Have to check schedules and be sure not to miss your return taxi - we were waiting a good half hour ahead of time. The beach is very nice and it is a lovely bohemian place with quiet sand streets and a few shops and restaurants. Very nice if you want to get away from the crowds in the cruise and "normal" excursions.

Thank you for your responses.

I know you don't want to do a ships excursion, but I would still suggest you take a look at them. They might be just as cheap as taking the tender and ferry out to an island, and a whole lot less hassle. Carnival has several listed as "snorkel/island excursions", and even if you don't want to snorkel, they would give you time out on a tiny tropical island for several hours. I am guessing that is what you want.

They would also pick you up directly at the ship, no tender to shore, so one less hop in the travel. Just my suggestion...

OBQRobin, sounds like a good idea.