Touring with Nacho & Cynthia

[ChuckLL]

My wife and I recently returned from a nice trip to Belize on board the Miracle. I had booked a cave tubing excursion through NCQ Belize Adventure Tours (http://www.ncqadventuretours.com), a company operated by Nacho and Cynthia Quan. The booking went extremely smoothly. Nacho replied to each of my emails very quickly and answered any questions that I had.

 

Before I go any farther, let me take a minute to tell you about my wife. We live near a large river in Georgia. It’s deep and muddy with very strong currents. My wife has had several friends drown, and she even had a close call herself. As a result, even though she can swim very well, she has a borderline phobia when it comes to rivers. Even with that in mind, she did not think that she would have a problem with the cave tubing and really wanted to give it a try; however, as the tender neared the shore she began to feel the tinges of her old fear. Keep this in mind.

 

When we arrived ashore, it was only a short walk to where Nacho and his beautiful wife Cynthia were waiting. They were exactly where they had said they would be and were very easy to find. After introductions were made, Nacho could tell that my wife was apprehensive about the cave tubing. I was now becoming worried that I had wasted Nacho and Cynthia’s time. Nacho, on the other hand, took everything in stride and handled things wonderfully. He explained that if she (my wife) was scared that we could do other things to enjoy ourselves in Belize such as a tour of Altun Ha. As a bit of an archeology freak, I was all for visiting ruins. By this time, my wife had calmed her nerves a little and was becoming more willing to try the tubing, but Nacho told her that he really did not want her to try anything that would make her uncomfortable. It seemed like his main goal was for us to have a good time while in Belize. And we did.

 

Once we all settled on the ruins tour, we climbed into Nacho and Cynthia’s van. The seats were very comfortable and the air conditioner made the ride very pleasant. Along the way Nacho explained about the history and culture of Belize while pointing out many points of interest. I believe the ride to the site takes about an hour, but Nacho’s commentary was so entertaining that it only seemed to take a few minutes.

 

The site itself was very nice. I really had not read much about Altun Ha, but I found it to be much more impressive than Tulum. We were able to climb the two main structures, and although it left me walking like a cowboy the next day, the view was very much worth it. During the site tour Nacho’s narration was very informative. He explained the history of the site, the significant finds there, and gladly answered any questions that we had. I do need to mention that while the ship’s tour groups had more people than you could count, our group consisted of only five people: Nacho, Cynthia, my wife and I, and a nice gentleman named Claude (I hope I remembered his name correctly) who is working toward becoming a guide. I also need to mention that Nacho and Cynthia provided a cooler of bottled water for us.

 

On the return trip to town Nacho once more explained different points of interest, but also entertained us with riddles, stories, and gave us tips on other places to visit and shop in Belize. He also had a cold pineapple flavored Fanta drink for us to try. I’ve never seen that flavor in the states, but if you ever get the chance to try one do so. It was very good. After I mentioned that I had heard good things about Belican beer and wanted to try one, they stopped and bought one for me. It too was very good.

 

Too soon it seemed we were back at the port. It was somewhat sad saying goodbye to Nacho and Cynthia as they made you feel that you were among old friends.

 

I would have to say that this was one of the best (if not the best) tours that we have ever taken and the main reason for that is Nacho and Cynthia. They really are nice and knowledgeable people who honestly seem to care about your enjoyment. Anytime we return to Belize they will defiantly get our business.

[ILuvToTravel]

Chuck,

Were in Belize two weeks ago on the Explorer of the Sea. We booked the zip line tour with Nacho, his wife and their daughter. We felt the same about the level of service we received. Glad to hear that you had a great time in Belize, so did we.

[Ok_Cruiser]

Glad to hear all the positives about Nacho and Cynthia as this is why I booked with them for cave tubing and the aerial trek in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the info.

[sausimayok]

Hi,

I have read about Nacho and the zipline, it sounds great. Itried to go to the link but I can't get to their webpage, could you please help me.

Thanks,

Brenda

[ChuckLL]

sausimayok, I'm sorry you couldn't follow the link. I shouldn't have included the parenthesis. Here it is if you haven't found it....

 

http://www.ncqadventuretours.com

 

If you book with them, you won't be disappointed.

[sausimayok]

Hi,

Thanks for the info, I kept trying different things and all of a sudden, I was at their website. We have booked the zipline tour for my husband and our son. My husband is a little worried about the time getting back to the ship and the tender. I told him not to worry, this is their business and don't want to ruin it.

Thanks so much,

Brenda

[wystiria]

I fany of you do the combo zip line and cave tubing tour with Nacho can you please tell me how it goes. Also if you have any hints of getting off the ship and tendering quickly I would be happy to hear them!

 

we are booked with Nacho for 2 different tours (we are a group of 26) and one of them is the combo tour. I am concerned about time with the tenders etc. so and review would be awesome!

[smrtypnts]

8 of us are booked with them for the cave tubing in November. (All family members.) I'm so glad to hear all these wonderful stories. It's very reassuring that I did the right thing in booking with them.:D