which cave tubing co

[SailAway911]

I've been researching and I'm down to two companies. Explore belize caves or cave tubing bz. Anyone have pros or cons of either. I see reviews of cave tubing bz on here but not much on thd other one.

[tiggerfan616]

A third option not to confuse the situation is with Major Tom at cave-tubing .net.

I did alot of research before out trip to Belize and found them to be the most safety conscious company. As the mom of a young boy that is high on my priority list. Their bus is also very nice and guides extremely entertaining. The price was one of the best and lunch was really good!!

[airwick]

.bz all the way!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1405823

[3prettykidz]

We went with cavetubing.bz about a month ago. We have 3 kids ages 7-11 and we absolutely LOVED it! Their guides are wonderful and very knowledgable. They took the time to tell us about their homeland, show us different plants. We even saw a tarantula. The lunch was good and my kids all asked for 2nds. I highly recommend them!

[airwick]

It's long!

 

We traveled to Belize on the Carnival Legend on April 22nd. We went on the cave tubing trip with Cavetubing.bz. Here is my review.

 

My party of 6 (ages 55,40,26,9,6,6) were greeted outside of terminal 1 as expected. We were quickly walked over to the cavetubing.bz vans that were waiting off of the side of the terminal. There were 5 or 6 different vans waiting for us; and there were plenty of other cruisers that were going on the cavetubing.bz tour. We were all greeted by Vitalino, the owner of cavetubing.bz.

 

The guides quickly greeted us and split groups off into the vans. There was another family of six that shared our van with us. 12 of us comfortable fit into the fan, and we could’ve easily fit 2 more people. Everyone was given a bottle of cold water for the drive. One concern a parent had, was that there was not any seat belts in the van; but having read up on the trips prior, I knew this was the case in most third world countries. And we were on our way. Our main guide’s name was Miguel; I think the 2nd guides name was Junior.

 

There was a brief stop at a security check point close to port, which didn’t hold us up at all.

As the fan weaved through the City of Belize, Miguel pointed out different things to us. Being that it was Good Friday, most everything was closed. But you could get a real sense of the poverty of the city; nothing scary, just run down.

 

Once outside the city, the van ride sped up down the highway. Both guides were very informative about everything we passed, and they were more than happy to answer questions. The van did stop at another check point along the highway. This one Miguel explained was to try and stop Guatemalan’s from trying to get to America. Guatemala’s boarder is only 37 miles from where the cruise ships dock!

 

The guides told us that we would be turning off of the highway soon, and we’d have to travel 5 or 6 miles down a bumpy road. Once we turned off, they weren’t kidding! It was VERY bumpy! Potholes the size of small cars! But Miguel weaved in and out, off on the shoulder and over to the other side of the road to get us there with very little major bumps. The total van ride took about 45 minutes to an hour.

 

Once we arrived at the park, the fan was parked along the others and we were able to use the restrooms, apply sunscreen and to get changed. All of our belongings were locked in the van for when we returned. We than went over to the tube pickup area. We were all fitted with helmets with lights on them, a life jacket, and our tubes. The guides, and the cavetubing.bz employees at the tube pick up area attached our life jackets to the tube to make it easier to carry. We were on our way. We started to hike down the path. Along the way the guides pointed out many different fascinating things to us. Different plants; such as cashews, palm, all spice, some sort of stick plant that glue comes from; it was very interesting. Plus the stops made the hike easier. Other tubing companies rushed passed us in a hurry to get there. The hike was not difficult, in a couple of places there were stairs with railings along the way. We were able to walk into a couple of caves and see the bats hanging above our heads! We had the opportunity to hold a tarantula! I of course didn’t do it, because I had to take a picture of my 9 year old hold it! The guides helped carry tubes for the little ones, which was definitely a blessing!

 

We reached a spot in the trail that the other cave tubing company was going down, our guides explained that we would continue on for another Belizean 5 minutes so we could go through an additional cave. We arrived at the river and I was amazed at how beautiful and clear it was! We were all helped into our tubes, each party of six was linked together with our own guide. One of the 6 year olds in our group was scared to be up front, so the guide tied her tube next to her mother’s tube, and away we went!

 

The caves were amazing! It would’ve been a little scary to someone who’s scared of the dark or enclosed places. We were linked together by holding the feet of the person behind you, and someone in front of you held your feet. We were in a chain. The guide linked his feet under the 1st tube and paddled us through and down the river. At some spots, he got out of his tube and maneuvered us through spots of low water, saying “butts up!” The 1st cave was wonderful, especially because there were not any other tubing tours there! When we arrived at the 2nd cave, we started to see others from the other company.

 

Here is where another major difference in tubing companies came in! The dot com tubers did not have helmets on, just lights, most of their tubes were old truck tires, not the brightly colored ones with built in handles. They were also not linked together, and were not being pulled and guided down the river. In several low water spots, while we were being pulled through, the dot com-ers had to get up and walk themselves down the river. I’m not saying I’m lazy, but I didn’t have to worry about the kids slipping on anything! Also, along the way, we were surprised to see Vitalino in the river himself pulling along 2 people, that I assume got off the ship later than the rest of us, and he personally took them through the caves!

 

We reached the end of the tubing, and got out and took our short walk back to the main entrance where the restrooms were. We turned in our gear, had a few moments to change and back in the van to head towards lunch.

 

We arrived at the cavetubing.bz headquarters for lunch. We were seated at plastic resin table and chairs. We were offered Cokes, Fantas, water, or rum punch at no additional charge. (Beer was available for a fee) We all had sodas, and were a little surprised they came in the old fashioned glass bottles. Lunch was a homemade chicken and rice with coleslaw. It was very yummy. My non-picky son asked for seconds! There were a couple of tables set up selling some handmade items, or tee shirts and key chains. My two kids each picked out the Belizean key chain they had to have! And they were only $4 combined.

 

We than paid for the tour at lunch. That’s right, not BEFORE the trip, after! We were more than please with the trip, but I assume if you were totally not pleased you could’ve talked to the boss Vitalino. At no point were we pressured to tip anyone; not on the van ride or at lunch. We tried to watch to see if anyone else was tipping, and it didn’t seem like they were, so we did not as well.

 

We than hopped back in the vans for the ride back to the ship. We were back with nearly an hour to spare before the last tender.

 

I would HIGHLY recommend cave tubing in Belize with cavetubing.bz. They entire trip was amazing, and my kids haven’t stopped talking about all of the fun they had! We will definitely us them again if we make it back to Belize!

 

To some up my experience:

1. Plan ahead! Pre-book with vitalino thru his website
   
2. GET OFF the ship as early as possible! We were on the 1st tender, and were not worried about getting back at all!
   
3. .bz seemed safer than .com
   
4. .bz seemed to spend time on the hick to show you different things. (I for on did not taste the termites!)
   
5. If your expecting cruise ship quality food, ask your driver not to stop! Remember your in a 3rd world country! The food was good, no one got sick, but its local traditional foods.
   
6. I really could ask for a better trip!
   

[larmiles]

Been to Belize twice already and both visits I booked with explore belize caves . com

Dennis meet us at the port and gave us a warm welcome and then shows us to our guide Eric. There were only 6 of us had a great time. I loved this company.

[habby]

It's long!

 

Once we arrived at the park, the fan was parked along the others and we were able to use the restrooms, apply sunscreen and to get changed.

Question.... What type of clothing would you recommend for this excursion, clothes, shoes, etc......?

[airwick]

Question.... What type of clothing would you recommend for this excursion, clothes, shoes, etc......?

 

The guys wore our bathing suits with tee shirts and sandals. Girls wore bathing suits with shorts and tees and sandals. Once we got there, shorts and tees went in backpack, water shoes went on! Everything got locked into the fan! Water shoes and bathing suits are all wee needed on the river. (I wore my ball cap since I have skin colored hair! :cool:)

 

When we got back, dry clothing went on, bathing suits went into a plastic bag and into the back pack.

[luvtovaca]

It's long!

 

The dot com tubers did not have helmets on, just lights, most of their tubes were old truck tires, not the brightly colored ones with built in handles. They were also not linked together, and were not being pulled and guided down the river. In several low water spots, while we were being pulled through, the dot com-ers had to get up and walk themselves down the river. I’m not saying I’m lazy, but I didn’t have to worry about the kids slipping on anything! Also, along the way, we were surprised to see Vitalino in the river himself pulling along 2 people, that I assume got off the ship later than the rest of us, and he personally took them through the caves!

 

 

Hi Eric! I believe we met briefly at our first informal meet and greet on board. Not sure if you're specifically referring to the dot com company or other dot comers in general,(I know there's a bunch out there) but I just wanted to clarify, as we went with dot com and had pretty much the exact same experience as you.

 

We also had the bright yellow tubes with handles, not old truck tires and were in groups of 8, linked together with our guides right there, pulling us. We never had to walk in the water in the caves, but we did see that going on with other companies and also saw people "free floating". You are correct, though, we did not have helmets, which was my only minor concern and I don't think we had more than one cave. If we did, I didn't notice, once we got in the tubes, we didn't get out until the end. Our guides were fantastic! Funny, polite and very informative, stopping along the way and pointing things out. We had a great experience my kids are still talking about. I highly recommend dot com as another option, but both companies get great reviews on here and trip advisor.

[Artie47]

We booked our cave tubing excursion through CaveTubing.com and had a great experience. We were apprehensive about this adventure because we were in Belize and did not book through the ship. However, the booking communications via internet seemed very professional we went with it. Our fears were dismissed immediately at the port. We directed to a meeting area at a nearby resturant where we got to meet and talk to other ship passengers going with us. Next we got on a clean modern and air conditioned tour bus for a fun ride to the cave tubing site. Our guides Spedo, Donisha, and "Dirty Harry" were very entertaining and filled us in on what to expect. At the site we were given a yellow tube with handles, a nite light and life jacket. Helmets were not needed, in April the water is low. We hiked the trail to the launch point and our guides took the time to educate us about the jungle and the caves. We even got to taste some turmites - minty! Once in the water we were guide the entire distance by our guide Harry who basically swam with our raft group of six all the way through the caves. Safety was there most important concern. You could see it in there faces - always watching making sure every thing was going smoothly. At one point Harry had to help a guide from a competeing company. It was a great adventure and these guys made it so!

[airwick]

Hi Eric! I believe we met briefly at our first informal meet and greet on board. Not sure if you're specifically referring to the dot com company or other dot comers in general,(I know there's a bunch out there) but I just wanted to clarify, as we went with dot com and had pretty much the exact same experience as you.

 

We also had the bright yellow tubes with handles, not old truck tires and were in groups of 8, linked together with our guides right there, pulling us. We never had to walk in the water in the caves, but we did see that going on with other companies and also saw people "free floating". You are correct, though, we did not have helmets, which was my only minor concern and I don't think we had more than one cave. If we did, I didn't notice, once we got in the tubes, we didn't get out until the end. Our guides were fantastic! Funny, polite and very informative, stopping along the way and pointing things out. We had a great experience my kids are still talking about. I highly recommend dot com as another option, but both companies get great reviews on here and trip advisor.

 

 

Hey luvto vaca! I remeber you! I assumed that the "others" were dot comers.... Hummmmm, I wonder who they were then?:rolleyes:

[luvtovaca]

Hey luvto vaca! I remeber you! I assumed that the "others" were dot comers.... Hummmmm, I wonder who they were then?:rolleyes:

 

Not sure who they were, Eric, but they were in our way alot!! Our guide kept telling us we were coming upon a waterfall and to wait for our photo op...of course, as soon as mine came, one of "those" folks guide's was front and center in my picture! I should go back and see if the tube in my photo has their company name on it! They also seemed to be lagging a lot as our guides along the trail kept asking us to move aside so other companies tours could pass by us.

 

Glad we both had good (great) experiences!

 

To anyone planning, I really don't think you can go wrong with dot com or dot bz.

[HaywireDrummer]

We just came back from a 7 day Western Carribean cruise on Carnival Legend and used Major Tom while in Belize. The best choice for this type of excursion. They lived up their reputation...great value, utmost safety involved, and everything we expected and more.

[mfaieta]

We used Major Tom and while everyone was nice, I wish I would have picked someone else. Our guide was a woman who spoke so softly you couldn't hear her in the caves. She linked us up in a groupd of 9 (one more than she was supposed to) and we kept getting broke apart. She decided to tie my tube up with the man next to me with rope which ended up giving me rope burn on my arm. Our tubes with the oldest looking things out there while everyone else had nice ones that looked like they were from a water park. Towards the end when the water level was low, she just let us free float and we had to walk most of the way which was VERY hard on the rocks with a 6 year old!

 

My biggest issue was THEY PROMISED to be back on time. They kept saying, don't worry about time. We got back almost 10 minutes late. Yes, we made the last tender but those last 20 minutes on the bus were scary!

[N8tureLvr]

Who is Major Tom with? I am booked with cave-tubing.com and HOPE it is a good, safe, on time experience :)

 

We used Major Tom and while everyone was nice, I wish I would have picked someone else. Our guide was a woman who spoke so softly you couldn't hear her in the caves. She linked us up in a groupd of 9 (one more than she was supposed to) and we kept getting broke apart. She decided to tie my tube up with the man next to me with rope which ended up giving me rope burn on my arm. Our tubes with the oldest looking things out there while everyone else had nice ones that looked like they were from a water park. Towards the end when the water level was low, she just let us free float and we had to walk most of the way which was VERY hard on the rocks with a 6 year old!

 

My biggest issue was THEY PROMISED to be back on time. They kept saying, don't worry about time. We got back almost 10 minutes late. Yes, we made the last tender but those last 20 minutes on the bus were scary!

[crusinpsychRN]

Went with Xtreme cave tubing. No food all day, almost missed the ship, old black tire tubes. It was fun though.

[Vantwin2]

We went the last week in April. We booked through Shoretrips (which is a third party booked three islands for a great price) I think that this was a direct shore trip vendor. But it was great. Our guide Javior was great. It was just the 4 of us (kids 5,6) We walked through the jungle it was great he carried one of the kids tubes and my husband carried the other one. He was great with the kids. Our tubes were white and blue they were perfect they had a screen on the bottom so the kids couldn't fall through they were on their knees and were able to move around. The kids loved it. We also had head rests. I have to say that we had the best tubes out there. The 4 of us were clipped together and he had great information. We had great pictures but lost the camara on another island so saddly I don't have pictures. Enjoy

[4girlz]

Last time we were in Belize we had the most wonderful guide named Charlie. I see he has since opened his own cave tubing shop. This guy was phenomenal, he obviously loved his country and its extreme environmentalism. You couldn't ask a question he didn't know the answer to. He took us in dry caves as well as the river cave and had us all tasting termites, mmmmm, minty fresh! He was also kind in helping the two younger kids on the small 15 or so person tour. We're going again this October and will definitely book with Charlie Chan.

[JenMJM]

Here's the tubing section of a full Legend excursion review I posted on another board:

 

Used http://cavetubing.bz/cavetubing, and had a fabulous time with them. Jenny and Vitalino Junior (son of the owner) were our guides. The van ride from port to the caves was about an hour, and Jenny told us about Belize the whole way there. We learned a lot. From the main park, we hiked about 1.5 miles or so through the forest and caves. This is not an activity I recommend if you are in poor health or have a leg injury, but truly it was not a bad hike at all. Totally worth it because the river is so clear, and the caves are amazing. After we were out of the water, we stopped off for a quick lunch prepared by Vitalinos wife at their little outdoor palapa. I would recommend cavetubing.BZ again in a heartbeat! The cavetubing.com guides were really rowdy, and there were a lot of people on one tour. Cost was $50 per person.

[BobH0775]

We booked with Yhonny through e-mail for Cave-tubing.com. We had a GREAT experince! He answered each of my e-mail questions usually prior to the cruiise within 30 minutes. They met us just out the back of the cruise terminal as planned and we waited in the outdoor bar across the street as he rounded the others up. Dennis, Miles and Avatar were our guides. During the 1:15 trip to the park Dennis & Miles discussed what the tour would be like and generally entertained us. Overall our bus included 21 people. After getting together all of our gear, which included the near bright yellow tubes we hiked to the cave. A little bumpy walk but no problem for our group of 6 including 4 children. They set us in tubes and liknked us in group of 5-6. The river was low at this time of year (April 27). We had a great time going through the cave. They had to drag us in a few low spots. After we de-tubed we walked a short distance back to the park entrance where we did the ziplining. After the ziplining we boarded the bus for the short drive to their hut where we had the free tamale lunch. We were back the the cruise terminal with 2 hours left to shop or eat prior to boarding. Overall a great experience with Cave-tubing.Com

[Chesneyfan]

We just got back from our 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on Carnival Valor and we did zip lining and cave tubing with Reggie's Tour. His son-in-law Dennis was our guide and was wonderful! Very informative and felt totally safe. The river is extremely calm and there really shouldn't be a worry at all. The hike wasn't that bad, mainly just a trail through the jungle. It felt great to dip in the river after zip lining and being very hot! He had us back to the ship with an hour or so to shop before the last tender - so plenty of time. I know that is a huge concern and there was no worry at all. We left long before the other buses and tours. I would highly recommend Reggie's tours!

 

Here is the link: http://regtourbz.com/index.htm

[hilo4030]

We just went last week and really enjoyed our trip with http://cave-tubing.com/, picked us up in an airconditioned bus right out side the port and entertained us the whole trip.

[gugabia]

We reached a spot in the trail that the other cave tubing company was going down, our guides explained that we would continue on for another Belizean 5 minutes so we could go through an additional cave. We arrived at the river and I was amazed at how beautiful and clear it was! We were all helped into our tubes, each party of six was linked together with our own guide. One of the 6 year olds in our group was scared to be up front, so the guide tied her tube next to her mother’s tube, and away we went!

 

The caves were amazing! It would’ve been a little scary to someone who’s scared of the dark or enclosed places. We were linked together by holding the feet of the person behind you, and someone in front of you held your feet. We were in a chain. The guide linked his feet under the 1st tube and paddled us through and down the river. At some spots, he got out of his tube and maneuvered us through spots of low water, saying “butts up!” The 1st cave was wonderful, especially because there were not any other tubing tours there! When we arrived at the 2nd cave, we started to see others from the other company.

 

Airwick, thanks for the informative review.

So it seems like dot bz goes through 2 caves while doc com goes through only one cave? Anyone else can report on number of caves?

Thanks!

[makanifl]

Just returned from a Carnival Legend trip May 1st. Stopped by Belize and booked a cave tubing tour with Charlie Chan. While it appears that there are several options, we decided to take use this company. The oldest in the group was 69 and the youngest 4. Charlie took 12 of us (2 groups of 6) in a van, hooked us up with our tubes and life jackets, and off we trekked though the "rain forest." We asked for the super cave tour which meant we hiked about 10 minutes further than where the majority of people were going-- and got to even eat termites! Anyway, we then fell into our tubes from a platform and then floated (all attached) into 2 caves. The weather was about 85 so the cool water felt good. Charlie was quite the entertainer as he answered any questions that we had. All in all, cost us $50 per person ($300 total) and then I believe we gave him a $20 tip. It was intimate-- and we needed someone willing to take Grandma and the baby. Fabulous experience and would highly recommend. Going back in October--but looking for a new experience.

[travelplanner4thefamily]

Airwick- your review was great just a quick question. what type of camera did you take and were did you put it during the tubing?

 

Thanks