What to do in Belize

[disney521]

We are sailing on Carnival Valor 2/7, one of our stops is in Belize, a first for us. Any suggestions on what to do with two children (13 and 7) who like the beach, I am not sure we want to commit to a excurshion.

[zinman]

We were on a cruise last week with a stop in Belize. There is really nothing to do closeby including the beaches the way the island is structured. Everything is somewhat of a driving distance away. The main activities seem to be cave tubing, ziplining, and the beaches.

 

If you read through a lot of the postings, it's advised in that port in particular you go with a cruise ship excursion or something pre-booked with a reputable outside company. When you get off the tender in Belize, you are in a touristy built up area with stores and restaruants that is gated with police security. As you approach the gates to leave that area, you can see all of the local people yelling and waving their arms through the gates trying to get your attention and are extremely aggressive. It is somewhat unnerving and there is no way to know who would be safe and reputable to go with. However if you go with the cruise ship excursion or with one of the major tour groups like Major Tom you go directly with them to the vehicle, and they understand the ship timings of when the last tenders go back for your ship. That is also a big consideration. We were booked on a cave tubing tour but changed our minds at the last minute. We then tried to book the private beach excursion through the cruise ship the day before and it was already sold out. So we took the tender to the tourist area just to say we were in Belize and shopped around a little and then went back to the ship for the afternoon. A lot of ports you can just wing it when you get off the ship, but Belize is not one of those. Have fun whatever you end up doing.