Need Help with kids Cave Tubing Tours

[Gottabecruisin']

I am trying to find a kids (under 8) cave tubing tour. I tried Belize Cruise Excursions, but the are full. Anybody been on a kids cave tubing experience that can recommend a good tour for kids under 8?

Thanks a bunch!!

[shrimp0]

Just returned ...

 

We went with Wet and Wild and took our 6 year old son. Overall, he did very well. Marvin from Wet and Wild was ok with him going as long as we felt he felt he would be ok.

 

Problems... it is hard for the younger ones to carry the inner tubes on the long trek to the river. My husband had to carry his tube and my sons tube.

Once we were in the water, my son did not want to be seperated from me. I hooked my foot under his tube and stayed with him the whole time. This was not very difficult... but was a bit more challenging when trying to get through some of the " bottoms up" areas when we were stuck in the very shallow water on the rocks. Being hooked together caused problems a few times when we hit the minor rapids and got slammed together into the wall of the cave. ( dont mean to scare anyone... not major rapids... but the water was moving enough to move us quickly to the wall of the cave.) The nice thing was that they did have people in the water at certain points ( outside of the caves) where you may need a little more help getting through the shallow areas or rapid areas).

My son did very well.... he did freak out a bit in the cave when I called for my husband to come back and help because we were "stuck" in a shallow area. I am short... with short arms... and having one leg hooked under sons tube and trying to move myself off the rocks without unhooking from son and not falling off my tube... was a little challenging... but VERY DO-ABLE!!!!!!!!!!

 

My son was SO proud of himself when we were done!!!! Just know your kids and their abilities. At 6, my son may have been slightly too young... but he did it and now has great stories to tell his friends!!!!!!!!!!

[shrimp0]

oops... forgot to add.... We had read that X tream (sp) does offer family trips to the caves..... however, it is only one cave.... a shorter experience compared to Wet and Wild. They also have guides that will stay hooked with the kids ( from what I read). We choose not to look into this company because my husband did not want to get "less of an experience" with only one cave.

[petercarroll]

We just got back last Saturday and we went with a couple that does different tours in Belize (including cave tubing). They were really really nice and gave historical information about the island and also about things you see along the way. Their names were Nacho and his wife Cynthia. It was the best excursion of our trip. If I ever go back, I will hire them to show me more of the island!

Someone else posted a great description of their trip and it also applies to ours:

 

Prior to leaving I contacted “Nacho” and his wife in Belize and made prior arrangements to met at the Port. A personally escorted tour of Belize to include cave tubing, all for a lot less money and aggravation than the cruise shore excursion package. We were skeptical at first, having made arrangements via e-mail contact only, but had not exchanged any money. We paid (cash) after we were there. Nacho & his wife met us at the port (you have to tender in) with a big sign with our name on it. How convenient and easy. So our group of 6 and another couple were off for cave tubing in Nacho’s mini-van. The cave tubing is about an hour ride or about 40 miles outside of Belize City. During the ride, we learned so much about the country of Belize, the people and all there is to do. Also after you leave the city; the mountains look like a large sleeping Giant, hence the nickname, Sleeping Giant. You won’t get that on a bus ride to cave tubing. If you have read other cave tubing excursions, you probably already know that the cruise or even other private excursions use the gov’t facilities (bathrooms/changing facilities-not super clean!)and have to walk a bit further to start your trip. We went to the Jaguar Paw resort to begin our excursion.. This resort had 12 or so cottages located in the rain forest near the river. The few miles or so or your journey to where you will begin your trek in the rainforest is on a bumpy dirt road, but no big deal. When we arrived at the resort, we changed in the resort facilities and set out on the 30-45 minute walk. Yes, you have to trek through the rain forest to the drop in point on the river. Several things were cool: Nacho’s wife came with us and a tubing tour guide from the resort- 2 tour guides for 8 people. The water in the river is beautiful and a comfortable temperature. The total tubing experience was about 1 1/2 hours maybe a little longer; I lost track of time. You end up finishing your journey right at the Jaguar Paw resort. We returned our inner tubes, got changed and went into the air-conditioned resort restaurant/bar for lunch(which was included). This is also different from what the other cave tubing vendors offer-they eat outside. After this we headed back to Belize City again learning more about Belize and what else there is to do. We had plenty of extra time, so Nacho & his wife took us into downtown Belize to shop (the right price for many souvenirs). We then drove around the city for some sightseeing, with our guides pointing out the history of Belize. We even went by the oldest church and the governor’s house. We were returned to the port area with plenty of time to spare, we wandered around the port shops and then headed back to the ship to relax. This excursion was GREAT. Nacho and his wife were so pleasant and helpful. Since we’re not suppose to give out personal info, anyone who wants to contact Nacho, send me an e-mail and I’ll send you the info. He has an e-mail and web site. He also offers many other things, he’ll customize the excursion to what you want (shopping, ruins, zoo, cave tubing, etc.) Just ask he will also answer any general questions you have about Belize. Some of you may have seen his responses to other people’s questions. This is in fact how I stumbled upon him. Good Luck.

[Gottabecruisin']

Thank you all for your very informative replies. I have sent some info request emails to the tours you all have suggested.

[frontrangecruiser]

Hi, I recently took the tour, it was fascinating, and my family loved it. To be honest, I'm not a great swimmer, and I had a young child with me, but the tour company I took was very good. They took extra precaution with my child, so I felt very safe. I was honest in the beginning and told the guide that I was not a good swimmer. The company I went with was A-1 Travel, I paid $60.00, and they took us to areas that no one else went. Our guide really made it lots more fun. You can email them if you like at attbelize@hotmail.com, or call them at 1-877-5BELIZE. Tell them Fred sent you if you decide to try them. They were a little bit more money, but they met me INSIDE the Tourist Village, and brought me back to the same area. I felt completely safe and got back on time. Our tour was also a bit more than others in that we went into the open river and were swinging off vines jumping into the river. Our experience with A-1 was truly "AWESOME".

 

People...this person has posted this very statement on every Belize cave tubing thread....looks like a scam advertisement to me