Cave tubing-which company?

[lauren0309]

We're trying to figure out which company to go with, cavetubing.com or x-stream. Just looking for a reputable company that will get us back to the ship on time.

[tlcs]

We used cavetubing.bz on our recent Carnival Glory cruise in March. These guys were fantastic. Small groups, great equipment, super guides. Lunch is also included for one low price. We were all back at the terminal in plenty of time to do a little shopping and than tender back to our ship.

[joshua1960san]

In February of this year my family of five and my best friends group of six, decided to go to Belize to do the cave tubing and zipline, we found online explore belize caves dot com and we decided to book with them for their good reviews and promptness in response to all our questions! They met all our expectations, they even had clean vehicles and better equipment than others doing the cave tubing, our tubes were so comfortable, it had a back rest, handles and cup holders and a netting cover at the bottom that made it safe for our little ones not to fall through! i highly recommend them, they are very knowledgeable and made our group feel very special and a part of their family! goodluck in booking

[crewsweeper]

if you have a small party (4-10) you can try NQBelizeAdventures. Nacho and Cynthia are very freindly folks and take care of their cave tubers. Small A/C vans. You contact them via their website and nacho will call you up that day or the next at the latest (calls are routed through Compton, CA if you have caller ID). And he'll set you up and give you an email confirm. See the reviews on this board

[DAP2]

Just back from Cave Tubing on 4/5 with Charlie Chan (Carlos) from charliescavetubing.com. It was the HIGHLIGHT of our entire cruise. :D

 

Look at his reviews on tripadvisor.com.

 

We went with Charlie because we had read the slipping reviews of the major players... .com, .net, and .bz. I'm sure you've read some of the same reviews that concerned us...waiting at the dock for the rest of the people who booked from your ship, waiting on the side of the road for the late comers to "catch up" to the van, waiting for people who are doing a zip-line or ATV's even though they assure you won't have too...etc. Those kind of things would REALLY irritate me. Additionally, we weren't really excited about the local "rice and chicken" lunch. We would rather just get back to the ship that much sooner.

 

Sooo, we booked a PRIVATE tour with Charlie for just our family of 4! $70 each. We were on the 1st possible tender over and we were the 1st people to leave the pier!! Charlie is local with over 20+ years cave tubing and he was so entertaining and informative. We were the 1st people to arrive at the cave tubing site---no crowds getting in for us!!! (the cruise line tours put in somewhere else) Because we were the ONLY people on the path we got to see and hear howler monkeys that leave as soon as the crowd gets there. Charlie showed us all of the plants and insects...it was soooo cool. We had a arranged to do the longer hike since we knew we would have more time skipping lunch...totally worth it! We got to float through more caves than anyone else that entire day! I really can't say enough great things! I would be happy to answer any questions!

 

He can customize a private tour to allow for a longer hike or a slower pace if your group needs that. Sometimes I read about that being a problem for people on the boards.

 

When I first started looking I was all hung up on the newer yellow tubes...once we got there we realized that the smaller black tubes are much easier to carry during the hike.

[DAP2]

Oh and all of the reputable guides know everybody and they all help each other out in the event of a breakdown to prevent someone missing a ship. Everyone knew Charlie from the other guides to the park officials.

[TBOTZON]

Thanks for the review. I just emailed them to see if we can use them next week.

[tiggerfan616]

I used Major Tom on our cave tubing trip to Belize, great guides, small groups and no worries about getting back to the ship ontime.

You can google Major Tom Belize or check out his website at

http://www.cave-tubing . net

[jessknowz]

My family and friends booked our cave tubing and zip line trip with Dennis and we were all satisfied with their service, I recommend Dennis and his team highly.

[JillianDR]

Hey, we just got back from our Belize stop last week.

Cave tubing was not exciting. Kind of boring really.

We booked this through our cruise ship.

 

We learned that the independent companies charge 1/2 the price because they only take you in 1/2 the caves.

 

Honestly, unless you really like stalagtites, and cold water, it's not really worth it in my opinion. There is a 2nd largest Barrier Reef in Belize. I wished we'd done something else.

 

On another note, I still recommend booking thru the ship you are on because our perfectly nice bus had a flat tire at the return of our journey. They got us a new bus quickly but I do not know if an independent company would be able to remedy the issue so easily.

 

Good luck!

[mitsugirly]

Hey, we just got back from our Belize stop last week.

Cave tubing was not exciting. Kind of boring really.

We booked this through our cruise ship.

 

We learned that the independent companies charge 1/2 the price because they only take you in 1/2 the caves.

 

Honestly, unless you really like stalagtites, and cold water, it's not really worth it in my opinion. There is a 2nd largest Barrier Reef in Belize. I wished we'd done something else.

 

On another note, I still recommend booking thru the ship you are on because our perfectly nice bus had a flat tire at the return of our journey. They got us a new bus quickly but I do not know if an independent company would be able to remedy the issue so easily.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Did you not like it because it was just too laid back? (Like floating down the lazy river). Or was it all the hiking to get to that point?

 

I don't know about 1/2 the price because you only do 1/2 the caves. From everything that I've read on here from everyone using independent companies, they take you in 2 or 3 caves.

 

Also, everyone will tell you that the independent companies will absolutely make sure that you will get back to the ship in time. Your business and their reputation is on the line. I don't recall anyone ever posting that they have never been able to get back in time and if there was a problem, there is always back up.

 

Just saying as an fyi to others that may be worried about booking themselves instead of with the cruise line.

 

I did extensive research and have booked with .bz I will see how it goes and report back once I've done the tour myself. :)

[TBOTZON]

Does anyone know if for the hike sturdy flip flops are adequate?

[mitsugirly]

Does anyone know if for the hike sturdy flip flops are adequate?

 

You are not suppose to wear flip flops at all. They want you (and you will want to) wear water shoes or sandals that won't come off because you will be going across the creek in areas and then also down the water when tubing. They say there is a lot of rocks and stuff and you need to have these shoes so you won't loose them or hurt your feet.

[Carolin]

they do not recommend flip flops at all. The river bed you walk through to get to the path to the falls is filled with large smooth river rocks. I rented water shoes and am very glad I did so. they were very slippery. Dont' wear a pair of shoes that you don't want to get wet.

[mitsugirly]

I have also read people saying that they will take a very old pair of sneakers that they don't want anymore and when they are done, they will throw them away. That way they don't have to carry around a pair of wet sneakers the rest of the cruise.

 

I bought water shoes last year for our cruise. I'll be good to go. :D

[TBOTZON]

We just got back from our trip and we used Charlie Chan as well $50 each. Our ship took forever to get us off-over an hour! I was worried that they had given up on us coming (they don't require a deposit or anything) but he was there waiting! :D

We had Roberto take us on the excursion and he introduced us to Charlie on the way out. It was just my family the 3 of us so we had the tour all to ourselves. Roberto was incredible and there was not a question he could not answer about the history, plants, animals and caves. We had brought tennis shoes but when we saw they would get totally saturated walking through the river (water is above the knees) we decided to rent water socks at the entrance for $3 each. Roberto at our request took us the longer way so we could go through an extra cave and see more of the forest. The cruise ships won't do that for you.

The water was low because of the time of year so it was like a lazy river. Roberto literally swam us through the caves and told us all about them :)

Very cool!

I think if you go earlier in the season it runs faster and higher. Roberto kept an eye on the time the whole tour. After we finished he stopped at a local grocery so my husband could buy the Belize beer everyone talks about and then he took us to the local place everyone goes for lunch with the rice, beans and chicken. Very good! Roberto also asked if there was anywhere else we would like to stop on the way. He was like our private tour guide. We can't say enough good things about him. Highly recommend!

[Dallen*]

We just got back from our trip and we used Charlie Chan as well $50 each. Our ship took forever to get us off-over an hour! I was worried that they had given up on us coming (they don't require a deposit or anything) but he was there waiting! :D

We had Roberto take us on the excursion and he introduced us to Charlie on the way out. It was just my family the 3 of us so we had the tour all to ourselves. Roberto was incredible and there was not a question he could not answer about the history, plants, animals and caves. We had brought tennis shoes but when we saw they would get totally saturated walking through the river (water is above the knees) we decided to rent water socks at the entrance for $3 each. Roberto at our request took us the longer way so we could go through an extra cave and see more of the forest. The cruise ships won't do that for you.

The water was low because of the time of year so it was like a lazy river. Roberto literally swam us through the caves and told us all about them :)

Very cool!

I think if you go earlier in the season it runs faster and higher. Roberto kept an eye on the time the whole tour. After we finished he stopped at a local grocery so my husband could buy the Belize beer everyone talks about and then he took us to the local place everyone goes for lunch with the rice, beans and chicken. Very good! Roberto also asked if there was anywhere else we would like to stop on the way. He was like our private tour guide. We can't say enough good things about him. Highly recommend!

 

Do you have any pics you can post? I'm interested in the type of equipment they use. Tubes? Jackets? How many caves did you go thru? Thanks!!

[SailAway911]

We are just back from the Legend. We went with cavetubing.bz. I did a lot of research before going and in my opinion they are the best. They have all the safety things for you(helmet, light, life jacket). They walk further into the jungle then cavetubing.com and so you get more time in the water. The tubes are big and comfortable. They're very nice and friendly and explain everything to you. Afterwards they take you back for a home cooked lunch and it's wonderful. They're rated number 1 on TripAdvisor too. It was $50 each for the cavetubing and well worth it.

[mitsugirly]

We are just back from the Legend. We went with cavetubing.bz. I did a lot of research before going and in my opinion they are the best. They have all the safety things for you(helmet, light, life jacket). They walk further into the jungle then cavetubing.com and so you get more time in the water. The tubes are big and comfortable. They're very nice and friendly and explain everything to you. Afterwards they take you back for a home cooked lunch and it's wonderful. They're rated number 1 on TripAdvisor too. It was $50 each for the cavetubing and well worth it.

 

 

Glad to see another good review with .bz. I booked with them for September and it sounds like everyone is happy with them from what I've read. :)

[barbietazz]

We are just back from the Legend. We went with cavetubing.bz. I did a lot of research before going and in my opinion they are the best. They have all the safety things for you(helmet, light, life jacket). They walk further into the jungle then cavetubing.com and so you get more time in the water. The tubes are big and comfortable. They're very nice and friendly and explain everything to you. Afterwards they take you back for a home cooked lunch and it's wonderful. They're rated number 1 on TripAdvisor too. It was $50 each for the cavetubing and well worth it.

 

We will be on the legend too, but we booked through shoretrips.com. Are there lockers you can rent to put a change of clothes in? If not, where do you put any extra things?

[MissDiva1]

We are just back from the Legend. We went with cavetubing.bz. I did a lot of research before going and in my opinion they are the best. They have all the safety things for you(helmet, light, life jacket). They walk further into the jungle then cavetubing.com and so you get more time in the water. The tubes are big and comfortable. They're very nice and friendly and explain everything to you. Afterwards they take you back for a home cooked lunch and it's wonderful. They're rated number 1 on TripAdvisor too. It was $50 each for the cavetubing and well worth it.

 

Not true they were right in front of us on our tour. and they ended before us........ they got out of the river and we kept floating down aways just to see the beautiful rain forest. we did cavetubing.com. And yes we had lunch too.

[mitsugirly]

Not true they were right in front of us on our tour. and they ended before us........ they got out of the river and we kept floating down aways just to see the beautiful rain forest. we did cavetubing.com. And yes we had lunch too.

 

The poster said they traveled further into the jungle...as in they walk more to start up the river further, not at the end. I have read that as well, they will keep hiking and end up going threw another cave where most starts before that. :confused:

[GASPARTY]

Not true they were right in front of us on our tour. and they ended before us........ they got out of the river and we kept floating down aways just to see the beautiful rain forest. we did cavetubing.com. And yes we had lunch too.

 

How much hiking and how rigerous is it? We are not in athletic shape, can walk several miles, can't do big hills though. Would you consider this moderate for a couch potatoe?

[MissDiva1]

How much hiking and how rigerous is it? We are not in athletic shape, can walk several miles, can't do big hills though. Would you consider this moderate for a couch potatoe?

 

 

Not sure what kind of shape you are in......we had a couple with us in their mid 60's and they are couch potatoes.....the guides will carry your tube if it is too much for you....not really hilly but rough terrain...

[mitsugirly]

I have read from plenty of people on here that the guides will go as slow as you need them to. :)