Cave tubing "worth it"?

[skittl1321]

Okay- so it seems by far the most common activity in Belize is cave tubing. Our next cruise the name of the game is 'budget'- we are planning beach days in all ports, but thought we'd do cave tubing in Belize because it sounds really cool. I like the idea of seeing the caves, hiking, and spending one day NOT on a beach.

 

However, looking at .bz and .com I see it is $50 pp, and takes 4 hours. Of that, 2 hours are driving, and 45 min - 1 hour is on the water?

 

We are going in December, which is the rainy season, so I assume rivers are high and the float will be shorter than in the dry season.

 

If you are going on a 'budget' cruise- would you splurge for this excursion? Or would you say that the actual time spent in the caves isn't worth it? Is the hike 'something special' that people who like the outdoors will really enjoy?

 

 

Also- usually I say if it is more than an hour from port I take the cruise ship excursion. These companies say they've never had a customer miss a tender. Do you think it is a pretty good bet to go private in this case?

[skittl1321]

My other question: Is there any problem with private excursiosn being this is a tender port? Will they wait awhile? I mean, obviously we would try to get off the boat as soon as possible, but with everyone else trying to do that- it isn't always easy to get the first couple of tenders. Can someone tell me a bit about that experience? (We are new to NCL, so we won't have any sort of status for priority tender)

[flames9]

Rainy season is from June to Novemberish (I live in Nicaragua) http://www.lonelyplanet.com/belize/weather

 

We didnt do a Cruise to Belize but we went on our own with .bz and we loved the cave tubing!! It was soo relaxing an dopur guide Leo was superb! Was just my wife and I, so that probably helped with the relaxing part. We were glad we did the cave tubing. Water proof camera is a good investment!

[mitsugirly]

This is just my thought....

 

If it's something you haven't done before, definitely worth it. It's very "different".

 

We went with .bz and they are amazing! For the price, it's definitely worth it. Lunch is even included and the meal was terrific.

 

The hour long ride there didn't seem that long. They gave us history and culture talk and it was very interesting for sure.

 

The hike is not a "normal" hike in the woods. You are seeing the most interesting things there...and TASTING them! You go in caves along the hike, you see plants that you can eat to hydrate you, plants that they use to make money, animals...you can eat the termites (yes, they are tasty and minty :p) and they make it worth the money for just the hike itself. They also have a tarantula to hold.

 

Here is a link to my review that day with some pictures. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=38144404

[GORDONCHICK]

I'd do it again, but we added zip lining and that was a blast as well.

[flames9]

If you thought the zip lining there was good....You will be amazed at other places. We have zip lined a fair bit--so we were very disappointed with the Zip lines in Belize! Total of only 5 Zips (well there was 1 more which was higher up and longer, but not part of our package) If you have never Zipped before, you will probably enjoy it, and of course depends on what you enjoy about zipping,lol The place we got here in Nicaragua, has liek 16 lines, and a few of them you can(if u want) go upside down, superman, its a total blast, but of course, not al like that,lol

[skittl1321]

We decided to book cave tubing with .bz. It seemed like they and .com were more alike than different in their service, and the lunch with .bz sounded more to my liking.

 

We won't be adding zip lining. I have a cervical spine injury, so I prefer to do activities like that closer to excellent medical care. (Don't worry- I have insurance in case something happens tubing, I know it could there too. Zip lining is just more likely to result in a whip-lash injury, although rarely.)

[Okc Nanny]

Cave tubing was a total blast and I will go again, zip lining on the other hand was terrible, dangerous in the fact that you stopped yourself and I did not like it at all. The scenery was beautiful though. But never again will I zip line in Belize. Butts up!!! You will love it. Going back in Sept. to cave tube again.

[dnj1]

We decided to book cave tubing with .bz. It seemed like they and .com were more alike than different in their service, and the lunch with .bz sounded more to my liking.

 

We won't be adding zip lining. I have a cervical spine injury, so I prefer to do activities like that closer to excellent medical care. (Don't worry- I have insurance in case something happens tubing, I know it could there too. Zip lining is just more likely to result in a whip-lash injury, although rarely.)

 

Please come back and tell me about your tubing experience with .bz.

[skittl1321]

Please come back and tell me about your tubing experience with .bz.

 

Won't be until December, but I plan to write a review.

[dnj1]

Won't be until December, but I plan to write a review.

 

Oh! I did not notice that. Well we are going in August, so I'll bring you a report. I've heard great things about the company.

[janabm81]

If you're going cave tubing I recommend Major & Minor Tom at *****************. We've used them 3 times now...1 for cave tubing and 2 for mayan ruins tours...they're great. Also, every excursion you book with them includes lunch and park fees where as some of the other tour operators don't. :)

[janabm81]

Oops! Sorry I forgot you can't put websites on here. If you want to look them up just type in Major Tom in Belize and their web site is usually the first to come up. :o

[Etchdreams]

This is just my thought....

 

If it's something you haven't done before, definitely worth it. It's very "different".

 

We went with .bz and they are amazing! For the price, it's definitely worth it. Lunch is even included and the meal was terrific.

 

The hour long ride there didn't seem that long. They gave us history and culture talk and it was very interesting for sure.

 

The hike is not a "normal" hike in the woods. You are seeing the most interesting things there...and TASTING them! You go in caves along the hike, you see plants that you can eat to hydrate you, plants that they use to make money, animals...you can eat the termites (yes, they are tasty and minty :p) and they make it worth the money for just the hike itself. They also have a tarantula to hold.

 

Here is a link to my review that day with some pictures. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=38144404

 

We are planning to do the cave tubing when we go in Dec. I have read different reports about the travel time from the port to the caves. Can someone tell me how long of a ride it is? We will have some younger children with us, and you know how often they may have to stop. Thanks for any help you can offer

[mitsugirly]

We are planning to do the cave tubing when we go in Dec. I have read different reports about the travel time from the port to the caves. Can someone tell me how long of a ride it is? We will have some younger children with us, and you know how often they may have to stop. Thanks for any help you can offer

 

It's about a hour long drive but they tell you so much about their place that it really doesn't seem that long and before you know it, you are there. Sometimes they stop along the way to let you "try" things...like we just went for the second time last week and they stopped to let us try the fruit of the cashew they picked right off the tree. It was pretty neat. :) So I'm not sure how old your children are but my daughter first did this trip when she was 3. She did it again last week and she is now 5 and my grandson also went too and he is 4. They had no problems. :)

[Etchdreams]

Thanks for the information

[lynn_in_norcal]

Yes, it's well worth it... we had a great day with cave tubing dot com... they are super responsive to email and contacted us several times before the trip. In fact they do not collect money upfront, you pay cash or credit at the end of the day. They meet you at the terminal and have a large well-marked bus for the trip which takes about an hour. Our driver was quite speedy, which was a little unnerving but that's usually the case in other countries.

 

Also, dot com had the best tubes, there are several companies out there (ship excursions) but dot com was the only company with headrests and tethers, some had to hold the feet of the person next to them - gross.

 

The hike in was no problem (for this daily dog walker) but we had several large, out of shape people in our group, including one with a cane and they made the hike without any trouble - the tubes accomodate all sizes. The guide stops frequently and makes the hike enjoyable for all, he was in no hurry and we all were supportive if someone needed help packing a tube for someone less fit. Do not let age or shape stop you from this excursion, it is well worth the $50 and it's truly a unique experience. We traveled w/o kids but if we ever go back to Belize, we'll do this again.

 

We also did the ATV trip combo, I would definitely skip this unless you're dying to try out an ATV. The course was quite rugged and it was in the jungle - not a huge disappointment but not necessarily worth the money.

[mitsugirly]

 

Also, dot com had the best tubes, there are several companies out there (ship excursions) but dot com was the only company with headrests and tethers, some had to hold the feet of the person next to them - gross.

 

 

Just had to correct you on that... .bz also have the headrest and tethers and a drink holder. ;)

[The Mister]

We are planning to do the cave tubing when we go in Dec. I have read different reports about the travel time from the port to the caves. Can someone tell me how long of a ride it is? We will have some younger children with us, and you know how often they may have to stop. Thanks for any help you can offer

Re: younger children, hopefully you've discovered by now that the minimum height for cave tubing is now 48 inches, government-mandated. (Right?) I'd hate for you to book it and discover someone has to stay behind with your youngest.

[mitsugirly]

Re: younger children, hopefully you've discovered by now that the minimum height for cave tubing is now 48 inches, government-mandated. (Right?) I'd hate for you to book it and discover someone has to stay behind with your youngest.

 

Actually I thought the same because they were discussing this back when we went the first time in late 2011.

 

So this time around when we went again, last month, we also inquired with .bz about the height requirement and they responded that they did not have one and our two 5 year olds were fine (and they are NOT 48"). I imagine the height would determine if the child rides on your lap or gets their own tube.

 

When I emailed them prior to our cruise, this was their response:

 

"Hi,

 

The age requirement for Cave Tubing is 2 years and above. We also offer combo tours of Cave Tubing and Zip Line, Belize Zoo or Maya Ruin."

 

:)

[rmandmm]

Through strict stalking of mitsugirly's reviews (hi, Kim! I'm a stalker) I booked with them recently for our November trip and here's a copy/paste from our ticket:

 

RESTRICTIONS: This cave tubing excursion in Belize is not suitable for people with limited mobility, back

or neck injuries, asthma or woman during pregnancy. Minimum age for participation is 2 years old.

Minimum height for Belize Cave Tubing is 36 inches. Under age participants must be with an adult.

 

Hope this helps!

[The Mister]

OK. I stand corrected, then. :) (Actually, I'm sitting.)

 

Regardless, I think this time out, since we're going during the height of the rainy season, we'll probably skip it. (A 10-15 minute tubing experience wouldn't be worth it, with or without the guided scenic nature walk, for me and my family.)

 

We do still want to do it at some point, but this time around I think Belize will be a ship day for us. We will have done a beach @ Cozumel the day before, so another beach would seem redundant. And we'll have plenty of beach/swimming/snorkeling in Roatan and Cayman for the two days following. It's the perfect day for us to enjoy a less-crowded ship and save a bit of cash while we're at it.

 

(We may change our minds depending on our kids' moods, but it would be impromptu if we did.)

[rmandmm]

I think it's a good idea for a beach/activity balance too, especially for my particular kids.

 

So in November, we have a sea day, Little French Key in Roatan (beach), Cave Tubing in Belize, Almaplena in Costa Maya (beach), Jeep Adventure in Cozumel (for my jeep-crazy son) then a sea day. I hope this works out for us! :)

[mitsugirly]

I think it's a good idea for a beach/activity balance too, especially for my particular kids.

 

So in November, we have a sea day, Little French Key in Roatan (beach), Cave Tubing in Belize, Almaplena in Costa Maya (beach), Jeep Adventure in Cozumel (for my jeep-crazy son) then a sea day. I hope this works out for us! :)

 

That sounds like a wonderful mixture of things. Have a blast!!! :)

[Etchdreams]

Re: younger children, hopefully you've discovered by now that the minimum height for cave tubing is now 48 inches, government-mandated. (Right?) I'd hate for you to book it and discover someone has to stay behind with your youngest.

 

 

Not so much the size I was talking about but having to stop for bathroom breaks...LOL but I did not know about the height, that is good to know thanks.