Belize and Honduras

[DaCruiserFromtheATX]

My husband and I are going on a cruise and we plan on doing an excursion in 2 of the 3 ports. We have been to Cozumel before, but never to Belize or Honduras. In Cozumel, you can just get off the boat and enjoy activities without a lot of planning. We were just curious if Belize and Honduras are this way as well or if you need to plan an excursion.

[mondello]

Belize and Honduras/Roatan really get a mixed bag of reviews. Some say Belize is unsafe and you should not leave the gated port compound without a planned excursion. Options include ruins, cave tubing, zoo, and water taxi to popular beaches like Caye Caulker, Goff's Caye or Bannister Island. Belize is a tender port with quite a long boat ride due to the shallow water.

Roatan is an island off the coast of Honduras, with docks at Coxen Hole and Mahogany Bay. We were at MB on Carnival and walked down the driveway to save some money. Carnival does not allow the private vendors/tour operators inside the MB gated area. We wanted to go to West Bay beach to escape the crowds at MB not to mention to find a more local/natural beach day. We were able to quickly negotiate a driver for the day who took us to an inexpensive beach club. The driver stays there during your day and drives you back into the gated MB port area.

Although I didn't venture out in Belize, some of my best port days occur when I was willing to actually go out and take a chance. Reading these boards gives me enough of an idea what to expect. These drivers liveliehood depends on cruise visitors and they want us to keep coming back.

[cruiseguy456]

Belize: Book something thru the Ship. We went into Belize City and took a water taxi to Caulker Cay. I was not impressed.

[cruisetraveler2]

Belize is definitely a port that you want to have an excursion planned ahead of time. I have been there several times and done cave tubing, ruins, and the zoo. We were on a cruise a few weeks ago and the cruise line had a letter warning of increased violence in the area. Of course, you can have violence anywhere so you always have to be aware of what is going on around you. It was enough to scare a lot of people who decided to stay on the ship for the day. The decision was easy for me because it was raining that day so we planned to just stay on board. It is a beautiful area if you decide to do an excursion. Don't judge Belize by the port area.

 

I love Roatan. Great place for a beach day. We have also done the zip line there. Hope this helps!

[DaCruiserFromtheATX]

thanks for all the responses. we will definetly book an excursion in belieze after all the coments. we also have come to the conclusion in roatan that we along with a couple of friends r gonna rent a cabana for the day.