Ruins

[azndo4life]

Are there ways to tour the ruins without doing an excursion? Is it safe to pick up a tour guide/ taxi driver by the port and ask him to take us to the ruins. We do this for a lot of stops before on other islands but becuase the ruins are far far away I just wanted to know if it's safe and if anyone has done it this way before. I am traveling with a big family and doing an excursion to the ruins is too much money. Thanks!

[pdmlynek]

Are there ways to tour the ruins without doing an excursion? Is it safe to pick up a tour guide/ taxi driver by the port and ask him to take us to the ruins. We do this for a lot of stops before on other islands but becuase the ruins are far far away I just wanted to know if it's safe and if anyone has done it this way before. I am traveling with a big family and doing an excursion to the ruins is too much money. Thanks!

 

Which ruins are you thinking about?

 

I've done something similar several times. Go to a market place or a cab stand, get in conversation with local guys hanging around front of bars or piers in their pick up trucks or vans. They'll either take you, or know someone who will take you. Then just jump in the back of the truck, and you are on your way.

 

Is it dangerous? If you don't know what you are doing and you look like some rich tourist, yeah, they'll take advantage of you. You need to know what you are doing, act like you know what you are doing, don't ask any stupid questions, be comfortable in your surroundings, and above all, don't tell them that you are from a cruise ship. Belize is a wonderful country, to which many Americans flock, and people are warm and friendly and have a laid back view on life that many adore. But please understand that it is supposedly the 5th most dangerous country in the world. http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=214050&page=1

According to those posts, yeah, it is statistically safer in warzones in Afghanistan or Syria, than in Belize, and the most dangerous part of Belize happens to be Belize City. Consider, for example, what the Bureau of Diplomatic Security advised on this issue: https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=12320

 

On the other hand, I’ve never had a problem in Belize, whether backpacking through Belize, and sleeping in a hostel in Belize City when I was a college student, or taking my kids on a vacation through Belize last year, including leaving our car full of our luggage in BLZ for 2 nights. Crimes can happen in Baltimore too.

 

Anyway, if you are not comfortable doing it when you get there, sign up with belizeforum, and hook up with the ex-pat community down there. They’ll help you out for much less then going through your cruise ship.

[azndo4life]

Which ruins are you thinking about?

 

I've done something similar several times. Go to a market place or a cab stand, get in conversation with local guys hanging around front of bars or piers in their pick up trucks or vans. They'll either take you, or know someone who will take you. Then just jump in the back of the truck, and you are on your way.

 

Is it dangerous? If you don't know what you are doing and you look like some rich tourist, yeah, they'll take advantage of you. You need to know what you are doing, act like you know what you are doing, don't ask any stupid questions, be comfortable in your surroundings, and above all, don't tell them that you are from a cruise ship. Belize is a wonderful country, to which many Americans flock, and people are warm and friendly and have a laid back view on life that many adore. But please understand that it is supposedly the 5th most dangerous country in the world. http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=214050&page=1

According to those posts, yeah, it is statistically safer in warzones in Afghanistan or Syria, than in Belize, and the most dangerous part of Belize happens to be Belize City. Consider, for example, what the Bureau of Diplomatic Security advised on this issue: https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=12320

 

On the other hand, I’ve never had a problem in Belize, whether backpacking through Belize, and sleeping in a hostel in Belize City when I was a college student, or taking my kids on a vacation through Belize last year, including leaving our car full of our luggage in BLZ for 2 nights. Crimes can happen in Baltimore too.

 

Anyway, if you are not comfortable doing it when you get there, sign up with belizeforum, and hook up with the ex-pat community down there. They’ll help you out for much less then going through your cruise ship.

 

Thats what we usually do, exactly that talk to somebody who knows somebody that can take us around. It might not sound safe now but it did at the times we were doing it and hey we are still here, alive and well. I am not sure which ruins, from the cruise port they seem to be at a distance. Which would you recommend? Have you gone to one and roughly how much was it?

[crewsweeper]

There a couple that operate as guides for various excursions, Nacho and Cynthia. NCQAdventuretours.com. They can easily take you to Altun Ha. It's the nearest set of ruins. Nacho provides the commentary. He's very reasonable in price and very prompt in response. Some cruisers have had success doing Lamanai via the rivers and boats. There are reviews on this board. Depending on how long your ship is scheduled to be in port, and most need to depart by late afternoon so the pilot can help navigte them through the reefs, you may feel comfortable doing this with a private guide. Similarly with Xunantunich, which is a bus trip and though long it is a popular ship excursion.

[pdmlynek]

Thats what we usually do, exactly that talk to somebody who knows somebody that can take us around. It might not sound safe now but it did at the times we were doing it and hey we are still here, alive and well. I am not sure which ruins, from the cruise port they seem to be at a distance. Which would you recommend? Have you gone to one and roughly how much was it?

 

I am glad that you are comfortable traveling independently, as much as I am. It is hard to know the level of travel experience of posters, because there are a wide variety of people on cruises, from people who are experienced in traveling, to teen age kids who have not been outside of their state. Thus, I did try to lay it on a little thick regarding crime in Belize, because this is not something that every cruise passenger should consider.

 

As far as which ruins to see, yesterday I posted a pretty extensive discussion on this topic. See

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1625811

If any of it was unclear or need additional information, please let me know.

[Mom2B&Z]

I'm an experienced traveller, but Belize isn't a place I would jump into a cab. Roatan, yes, but not Belize.

There was a family talking about getting scammed in Belize on our cruise...apparently they thought they had agreed on a price, the cab took them somewhere then demanded more payment since the fee was just one way. The family had no more money on them, called the police, who told them to pay or stay put. They were very upset, but fortunately got back to the ship in time for the last tender. I know this type of thing happens everywhere, but it seemed wierd that it happened in Belize when English is spoken widely by most people.

[pdmlynek]

I'm an experienced traveller' date=' but Belize isn't a place I would jump into a cab. Roatan, yes, but not Belize.

There was a family talking about getting scammed in Belize on our cruise...apparently they thought they had agreed on a price, the cab took them somewhere then demanded more payment since the fee was just one way. The family had no more money on them, called the police, who told them to pay or stay put. They were very upset, but fortunately got back to the ship in time for the last tender. I know this type of thing happens everywhere, but it seemed wierd that it happened in Belize when English is spoken widely by most people.[/quote']

 

Well, again, this is Belize, a great laid-back country, but you have to know how to adjust to the local norm, and to the local culture. Just like when you visit, for example on one hand, Germany where you do NOT jaywalk or walk against red lights or go 1 km/hr over posted speed limit, or, on the other hand, Greece, where you drive not according to paint on the pavement but according to space between vehicle, and traffic sign are considered as suggestions.

 

So too, Belize is different than Maryland, or Ontario, or other parts of North America. I have not lived in Belize, my personal experience is based on travel, but it is my understanding that in Belize, the way to deal with other is on a more personal level, it is more about respect, than about money. Unlike in North America, where it is expected that a client barks and the worker jumps simply because the client pays the worker money, in Belize a client needs to treat the worker with respect, or as someone who is doing the client a favor. Supposedly (I am going by what others have said and wrote), it has to do with sensitivity to colonialist history. If I were to guess, it is likely that the family got into trouble with their cabbie because they bossed him around, and he just wanted to show that he is in control. Alternatively, it is also possible that the family let it slip and said that they were on a cruise ship. When a vendor knows that a person is on a cruise ship, the prices triple.

 

Further, I am not sure what the family expected the police to do when they called. If they did not have money for a cab, how are they going to grease the palm of the police? If they do not have a car, how are they going to be able to pick the cop up from his station/home (cops in Belize often do not have cars or other transportation, so if you need a cop, then you’ll have to drive over to the station to pick him up)?

 

Belize is a beautiful country,but things are not the same as in North America. Even if they speak English.

[Mom2B&Z]

@pdmlynek, I couldn't agree with you more that visiting a foreign country involves respect for the local customes and values. However, this is often difficult to do within the parameters of traveling on a cruise ship. You are in port for a very short period of time, you often do not have the chance to spend a few days getting used to and discovering the local customs, and if you make a mistake you may miss the ship. For these reasons, unless I have been to the country before and/or have a way of ensuring I understand the local nuances, I wouldn't suggest using a cab for a tour.

In the situation on our cruise, the family contacted the police because they believed a verbal contract had been violated. The police sided with the taxi driver, leaving the family feeling deceived and "scammed". I questioned the possibility of their being a misunderstanding purely on the fact both parties spoke English well. Plus if as you said yourself, if prices increase solely because a party is on a cruise ship, then something is amok and I would rather use an organized tour to ensure I know the final cost.

While I've never been to Belize myself for a land based trip, I know family members who had great experiences there, but it was nothing like our experience off a cruise ship. Thus the nature of my comments.