VIV Tours

[JLR18]

I just returned from a 7 day western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Dream. We booked a cave tubing and zip lining excursion through VIV Tours on May 29th. I thought it would be helpful to post about my experience so others can use this awesome tour service.

 

First off; my only negative with VIV is that you pay them when you get to port, I don’t like having large amounts of cash on me. We had to exit the cruise area to meet with the group. Once we paid we had to wait for a few minutes, which ended up being a non-stop barrage of “buy this, do this, look at this, let me braid your hair” by many different people, some would absolutely not take no for an answer. Once we met up with our tour guide (Favoulous, or Fab as we called him) we climbed in a van and started off. Fab is an asset to the company, most who work for VIV are all related or part of the same family which is nice. He did a great job! There ended up being 7 total people in the van, the additional 3 persons only booked the zip lining I believe. The drive out of the city and into the rain forests was rainy and very bumpy over the last couple of miles. Once you turn off the main highway the road is horribly rutted and filled with pot holes. I was glad we were in a van, and not one of the busses we saw, which had to be an awful ride. After an hour or so drive we arrived. You can leave everything in the van, though VIV had arranged lockers should you wish to use them. The group ended up being just the four of us and two employees of VIV, though the other one was just along for the tour. We pretty much had a private tour, awesome! VIV no doubt, has the best tubes of any company. The bottom has mesh so your butt doesn’t fall through, they have headrests, and they hook together so you don’t have to have someone’s feet under your armpits. Another nice touch, my buddy and I had to carry our tubes but VIV had some waiting at the river so the wives didn’t have to hike through the jungle and carry a tube. The hike was easy and we saw no creepy crawlies or animals. Again, our guide was fantastic and really knew his stuff. After the river we did the zip lining which was also awesome. Note; the only lunch option they have is a $10/pp buffet style, no sharing. Do yourself a favor and snag some snacks off the boat to eat on the way back, prices on snacks were outrageous, $2 for a tiny bag of Cheetos or Doritos. On the way back we took a nice tour through Belize City before we were dropped off over an hour before last tender. I’ll have to admit I was worried about the time, but Fab did a great job getting us there and back, and the price we paid ($75/pp) was again way cheaper then the cruise line and instead of a group of 20+ it was just the four of us. If you plan on doing any type cave tubing or zip lining in Belize, please do yourself a favor and use VIV!

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions!

[Terran]

Great review!

How strenuous was the hike? And was your price $75 p/p because you did the zip line as well?

[AVShockey]

:p Do you get very wet while cave tubing?

I realize your legs and hips will get wet, but do you go under any waterfalls or anything to where your head would get wet? I wear contacts and don't want to get my face wet and lose my contacts.

[dsw39]

:p Do you get very wet while cave tubing?

I realize your legs and hips will get wet, but do you go under any waterfalls or anything to where your head would get wet? I wear contacts and don't want to get my face wet and lose my contacts.

 

Hi: Your will fall into the tube with assistance! You will only get your legs and butt wet. There is a waterfall on the side which you will see. Periodically you will feel a drop on your body from the ceiling. The walk is long and on freshly applied gravel. Will traverse the river where you will get out at the end. The tubes are carried for the women which makes it easier to traverse the area where you walk down and up rock stairs in a confined rocky area.

Enjoy! You will love this excursion.

Dave

[AVShockey]

Glad to hear this. I am excited to try something new and it looks like a fun experience.

One more question, how much was it per person with VIV? I looked at their website and it just says to save $40 per person if you book now. They did have a price of $75 but that included the zipline which I don't want to do at this port.

 

Thanks again.

[dsw39]

Glad to hear this. I am excited to try something new and it looks like a fun experience.

One more question, how much was it per person with VIV? I looked at their website and it just says to save $40 per person if you book now. They did have a price of $75 but that included the zipline which I don't want to do at this port.

 

Thanks again.

 

Cavetubing was $40/pp

Dave