excursion limited with 2 year old in Belize

[wranglerguy]

we are traveling with a 2 year old so it really limits our options on excursions we can do in Belize. i don't want to sound defensive but it is my choice to travel with a 2 year old so please hold your opinions to yourself.(i say that because on the CCL forum traveling with kids is a hot topic) Does anyone have any ideas?

looking through the carnival site and when you change the options to 2 year age restrictions it disqualifies us from everything except for 3 excursions and none of them really seem that interesting to us.

 

Goff's Caye Snorkeling

 

Belize City Tour

 

Sights & Sounds of Belize

 

Is there a port area we can just walk around and shop?

any in site well be helpful.

:cool:

[2112]

Is your 2 year old a good traveler? By good traveler, I mean will he/she travel by car/boat well for a long trip? If so, you could do a trip by water taxi to Caye Caulker.

 

Here is what you would do. Take the tender boat into port (30 to 40 minutes), then turn to the left and walk out the gate. There are 2 water taxi associations. The first on is on the left on the water just as you leave the gate and the other is a 5 minute walk further next to the swing bridge. You could then buy a ticket and take the water taxi (about 45 minutes) to Caye Caulker. Once at Caye Caulker, turn right and take a walk until you get to the end of the island. There you will find a little beach and just before you get there you will see a small little playground. Have fun.

[pitterpattershoppe]

DD is three years old (four in May). We just returned from the Valor this week. We used Ecological Tours (http://www.ecotoursbelize.com/index.html) for our Goff's Caye tour.

 

One of you can snorkel off of the boat and then the other stay at the beach with your toddler. You do not have to snorkel, though. Everyone can head straight for the beach, if you wish.

 

There is a nice shallow area for kids to play. Probably more than one place, actually. My DD required little supervision. There were no waves to carry her out in the little cove we played in.

 

Just be sure to take water shoes, as the sand in the water is crunchy from broken coral. We did find some beer bottle glass as well.

 

Your toddler will be free as well. Bring some sand toys. It's a good time!

 

I recommend any of these. DD loves hers...very well made. Just search for "Sunny Patch Seaside" on Amazon.

 

 

We choose to cruise and travel with our daughter as well. This was her second cruise. She loves it! Builds character and happy memories. :D

 

-pitterpattershoppe

[pitterpattershoppe]

PS - I think the beach is always the way to go with a toddler...one that young anyway, but DD enjoyed the stingrays, turtle farm, ziplining in Roatan and manatee swim in Cozumel as well. She has always done fine with whatever we've done. She loves vacations and traveling.

 

You might consider ziplining (Zip-N-Dip) with Victor Bodden in Roatan, if you're going there. Your toddler can go in-tandem with one of you. DD loved it. Victor Bodden takes his little ones with him. That's his little girl in the yellow shirt in the slide show.

 

http://www.boddentours.com/mayan.htm

 

There are monkeys and other native animals there too.

 

-pitterpattershoppe

[digjigc]

With a 2 year old I would probably go with a ship excursion (especially in Belize) as the local tour companies may not be able to guarantee safety and equipment?

[pitterpattershoppe]

If you go on a ship excursion, you may as well stay on the ship, as so many of them have unnecessary age restrictions, which is partly why we plan outside tours. Plus, a lot of times, they charge the same price as an adult. Insane.

 

Bring a pint-sized life jacket from home. We like these kind, although it is a bit of a space hog. Just search for "Puddle Jumper" on Amazon. They also sell them at Target and maybe Wal-Mart. You'd have to research a bit to see whether they'd fit your tot.

 

 

-pitterpattershoppe

 

 

With a 2 year old I would probably go with a ship excursion (especially in Belize) as the local tour companies may not be able to guarantee safety and equipment?

[Red-Headed Grandma]

We are planning to take our 4 & 5 year old granddaughters to the Belize Zoo. We have done this excursion before and think they will enjoy it. We use a private tour company.

[WooHoo888]

We just returned (today) from a cruise with a stop in Belize with our 3 year old and 7 year old. If you can find a beach excursion, then try that otherwise just stay on the boat. I would not recommend the Zoo. It is a long drive out there (probably an hour) and there are very few animals (maybe a dozen or so). Our Zoo excursion also included a "city tour" which was awful. The city is very, very poor and there is not much to see of any historical significance or note. (I did find it very useful in reinforcing on my 7 year old how lucky she is to live the way she does). There is no shopping of any note at the pier either. I hear the snorkeling & cave tubing was excellent, but both of those were a no-go with a toddler.

 

Another poster suggested Victor Bodden's Zip & Dip on Roatan. We did that and loved it! My 3 year old loved the ziplining (it is a very tame zipline) the animals and beach. We wished we had saved our money and just stayed on the boat in Belize as the excursion in Roatan was much more enjoyable.

[cruisergrandma]

We loved the Zoo! It is small compared to US standards. All of the animals are native to Belize. If you use a private tour company you can skip the city tour if you want to. I do think that part would be boring to kids. It was interesting to adults!

 

We do not shop at the pier. We walk out the gate and across the street to the flea market. You deal with locals and find lots of locally made items.

 

We love Belize. It is a poor country but, so is most of the Caribbean. We feel perfectly safe there and have visited many times.