What to do in Belize with kids!!!!!

[dane225]

We are going to Belize in March for the first time on the Triumph. We have two daughters going with us ages 7 and 8 years old. I can not seem to find an excursion through Carnival that we can take them on. Most of the excursions have a min. age requirement of 8 years old. I have read that it is not easy getting a taxi and doing things on your own in this port. I need some suggestions on what to do in this port. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!:)

[hfitzger]

That is similar to our situation when we cruise to Belize in April. We have 12 and turning-8-on-the-cruise year old sons. I have the cave tubing excursion booked, but am not sure that this is the best option for our family. Unfortunately, I have not found many other choices in this port that fit the limited number of hours in port, are kid-safe AND interesting to kids, and don't cost a fortune...

 

I hope that you are able to find some options, and I look forward to maybe getting some new ideas too! Good luck!

[mjeffv]

Our kids 7 and 9 really enjoyed going to Lamanai Mayan Ruins but this wasn't offered via the ship. We did an independent excursion and we ended up on the last tender back. This timing doesn't always sit well with some cruisers. Still, we all really enjoyed it and would recommend it to everyone. The other Mayan ruins take less time so we will do that next time.

[World Gallery]

We have taken our kids to Belize before. They were ages 7 - 13 the first time and we did do the cave tubing, but not through the ship. We used "Nacho and Cynthia", who were highly recommended but when I go to their website, it can't be found anymore. I am assuming they aren't doing it anymore but maybe you can ask on these boards. My kids did love the cave tubing, thinking it was "very cool". They linked all 5 of my kids and our friends son together and a guide pulled them through, so we didn't have to worry so much and didn't have to paddle. If you do Cave Tubing with kids, you need to specifically ask about their experience with kids. You want your family to be linked together (just by putting you legs on the person's tube in front of you with your own personal guide. You can Google Cave Tubing with kids. We did cave tubing many years ago with the ship, without kids, and I would not do this with kids. Too many people and not enough personal attention. A private tour and then allow you to make a stop at hte zoo on the way back. That is what we did.

 

Personally, I would not recommend most ruins tours with kids that age. Lamanai Mayan Ruins is a long way, first by bus then a long river ride. The best place to do ruins with kids is Costa Maya. Short trip that can be combined with something else. Easy walking.

 

Also, you may want to see about doing a beach day at Bannister. We haven't done this but have read about it here and if we ever go to Belize again, that is what we will do.

What I wouldn't do with kids this age: Caye Caulker (because you have to make the walk outside of the gates of tourism village, which can be crazy and the water taxi over is an hour.

City Tour - my kids tend not to like bus tours that point out things.

Cucumber Beach - have read mostly neg. reviews on CC.

[Red-Headed Grandma]

Our grandchildren are going with us this year. The 13-year-old is going cave tubing with his Mom & Dad. He has done this excursion previously - when he was 10. Our granddaughters (ages 4 & 5) will go with Grandma & Grandpa to the Zoo.

[travelbumsboston]

I'm having the same problem with taking our 5 year old grandson. We've done Belize with him last year and they had nothing to do for him that wasn't a long drive away and was age appropriate. The zoo just didn't appeal to us and the ruins while I'm sure are great excusions is not for small children that will get tire quickly and pushing a stroller over rough terrain not so much fun. We ended up walking around the port looking in the shops and going back to the ship. I think we'll be doing this again in April. :(

[mtnmommy]

I highly recommed the Zoo--it was the highlight of my 7-year-old daughter's trip and a lifetime memory for her. (It was combined with a city tour.) You can look at their web site; it is really an incredible animal rescue center, not a zoo. The animals are all native to Belize and are in very natural habitat areas. We saw (and heard!) howler monkeys, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, scarlet macaws, coatimundis, tapirs, and boa constrictors, to name a few. It was an outstanding shore excursion. Meanwhile, my husband and 11-year-old son went on the airboat ride through the mangrove swamp and loved that as well. They saw sea turtles, crocodiles and all kinds of birds. Belize was our favorite port.

[Moononthebay]

I also went to the zoo (met mtnmommy while waiting to leave for the zoo) and what mtnmommy hasn't written is that we got to pet a jaguar. Yes, a real live 4 year old jaguar named Junior. We (about 6 of us) were in a cage and he was free to roam. He came when called and allowed us to pet his tummy and rub behind his ears. He jumped on top of our cage and licked the forehead of one of the other guests in the cage with us. It was an incredible experience. I can't imagine any kid not liking it.

[dane225]

Thank you!!! Thank you!! for all the great suggestions in Belize. I have some great ideas to talk over with my kiddos! They love going to our zoo here in Houston so we might do the zoo excursion in this port. They are just too young for alot of the fun things to do in this port and they will not like a long bus tour around the city. :)

[fantabulous2]

Is there a way to do the zoo without having to do the city tour also? We are a family of 8 and that excursion through carnival would cost us a fortune and my kids wouldn't even care about the city tour.

[World Gallery]

You would have to hire a driver. I am not sure of how to do this but I know it would be best to do it beforehand and not wait until that day. We used "Nacho and Cynthia" but when I Google them, their website seems to be down. Maybe they are not doing this anymore.

Maybe you can ask on this board about hiring driver for the day. Bottom line - Belize is much more complicated than any port we have ever been to. Things are far out and they do not have an orderly, "set fee" taxi system with regulations like many other ports.

The zoo is about an hour away so it will probably not be much cheaper to hire a driver compared to the ship tour.

[mousecrazy]

How about a beach day at Goff's Caye. We just returned from Belize. I left my youngest (age 4) on the ship, and my older two kids (8 and 12) and I went to Goff's Caye with ecotoursbelize.com for snorkeling off a boat.

 

If I were to do it again...and we are next spring...I would arrange for all of us to go to Goff's Caye and stay on the island all day. The beach is beautiful and the water is clear with very gradual decline...no drops. Your older child can snorkel from the beach, or just hang out and enjoy this little piece of paradise. It wasn't crowded at all. It was our favorite day...we only wished we had brought our youngest along because she would've had a great time playing in the sand and swimming.

 

It was a very easy day as you get off the tender and walk down toward the Wet Lizard where all the vendors gather. We found what we wanted, paid and had to wait about 30 minutes for departure (9:30am). The ride to the island was about 25 minutes...you go past the ships (good picture op).

 

Enjoy your cruise. Belize is beautiful.

[Mack2]

I booked a trip through Vitalino at cavetubing.bz when we went to Belize. I think he's very highly rated on Tripadvisor.com for the cavetubing experience.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g291968-d645066-Reviews-Cave_Tubing_with_Vitalino_Reyes-Belize_City_Belize_District.html

 

Major Tom's of cave-tubing.com is also very highly rated.

 

 

When we went, my daughter was around 4.5yrs old.

Vitalino strapped her tube next to my tube with an extra life vest and we were good to go.

 

If the kids are feeling adventurous, this is a fun thing to do.

It's a hike through the rainforest, and a relaxing ride through the caves with a headlamp, with an informative tour.

[Life's Precious]

You would have to hire a driver. I am not sure of how to do this but I know it would be best to do it beforehand and not wait until that day. We used "Nacho and Cynthia" but when I Google them, their website seems to be down. Maybe they are not doing this anymore.

Maybe you can ask on this board about hiring driver for the day. Bottom line - Belize is much more complicated than any port we have ever been to. Things are far out and they do not have an orderly, "set fee" taxi system with regulations like many other ports.

The zoo is about an hour away so it will probably not be much cheaper to hire a driver compared to the ship tour.

 

 

Hi Nacho and Cynthia's site is still up and running. We used them when we went to the Altun Ha ruins with my 7 year old. You might want to search them under NCQ Belize Adventure Tours. We had a wonderful time with them and would go back to Belize and use them again. They are very safe with kids. Have a great time.

[World Gallery]

Glad to know that Nacho and Cynthia are still in business! They are great with kids. They also had a booster carseat in their van for my daughter.