Need a beach plan for Belize

[Vacationdreamer<><]

We are going on NCL Getaway in May. It seems at this point that their new private island, Harvest Caye, is not going to be operational. Now I am looking at what to do in Belize City.

 

We are a party of 10. Dh, Me, 6 kids ages 3 - 15, my mom and sister.

All we want is a nice beach and safe transportation.

 

NCL seems to have an excursion, but it says, "Snorkeling from the beach is not permitted." Now - we aren't snorkelers... but why would they say that. Is that some kind of lingo for "this beach stinks"?

 

TIA.

[ABQrobin]

There are ZERO beaches off of Belize city that you would use.

The beaches are off the barrier islands, off the coast. Book a tour to go to one of those if you want a beach.

If you want to snorkel, book one of the boat tours out to a small island to snorkel.

Belize coast is hundreds of small islands... and reefs and fish.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Ah - THANK YOU for explaining that. That makes much more sense now.

 

I think we will stay on the ship or head inland to Bacab. We are at our excursion spending limit. :) I seriously hope they have Harvest Caye finished. (I am so over NCL right now...)

[happyscmom]

Ah - THANK YOU for explaining that. That makes much more sense now.

 

I think we will stay on the ship or head inland to Bacab. We are at our excursion spending limit. :) I seriously hope they have Harvest Caye finished. (I am so over NCL right now...)

 

I just saw on the NCL board that Harvest Caye won't be finished until next November. I am so frustrated by this since we were to be there in June. I hope you can find something cheap to do! I'm searching for the same thing.

[ryansmith18]

Y'all might consider Goff's Caye. Various 3rd party vendors will take you out there for $40 to $50 per person (which might be a bit much for a party that size, but still it's one of the only real beach options in Belize). Small tropical island out in the middle of nowhere, a few palm trees, very plain.

Edited January 12, 2016 by ryansmith18

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Y'all might consider Goff's Caye. Various 3rd party vendors will take you out there for $40 to $50 per person (which might be a bit much for a party that size, but still it's one of the only real beach options in Belize). Small tropical island out in the middle of nowhere, a few palm trees, very plain.

 

I did see that and looked into it, thank you. :D

I'm a little concerned with just HOW isolated it looks and how small it is (in the photos I saw anyway.)

 

Did it offer a nice day?

 

 

We might stay on the ship, which depresses me. We are considering Bacab Ecopark; but it seems like that could be any old hotel in any state, as opposed to feeling like we are in another country.

[ryansmith18]

I did see that and looked into it' date=' thank you. :D

I'm a little concerned with just HOW isolated it looks and how small it is (in the photos I saw anyway.)

 

Did it offer a nice day?

 

 

We might stay on the ship, which depresses me. We are considering Bacab Ecopark; but it seems like that could be any old hotel in any state, as opposed to feeling like we are in another country.[/quote']

 

Well I haven't been there myself just yet. Headed there the week of the Superbowl. But like you my family was looking for something kinda beachy, and all the reviews for Goff's Caye seem exactly like what our group is looking for. The isolation is appealing to us.

 

If you haven't been to Belize before you should at least get off the ship for a while to browse around the tourism village. My wife and I were there last January and didn't do any excursions, but had a great time walking up and down the tourism village, stopped at one of the bars to grab a snack, etc. It's a nice place.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Well I haven't been there myself just yet. Headed there the week of the Superbowl. But like you my family was looking for something kinda beachy, and all the reviews for Goff's Caye seem exactly like what our group is looking for. The isolation is appealing to us.

 

If you haven't been to Belize before you should at least get off the ship for a while to browse around the tourism village. My wife and I were there last January and didn't do any excursions, but had a great time walking up and down the tourism village, stopped at one of the bars to grab a snack, etc. It's a nice place.

 

Nice to hear about the tourism area. Did if feel safe? With six kids it's a lot of people to keep an eye on.

For example, off the ship in Grand Cayman, I felt very safe. Very comfortable. Off the ship in Jamaica was unpleasant.

 

Please report back on Goff's Cay if you will!

[ryansmith18]

Nice to hear about the tourism area. Did if feel safe? With six kids it's a lot of people to keep an eye on.

For example' date=' off the ship in Grand Cayman, I felt very safe. Very comfortable. Off the ship in Jamaica was unpleasant.

 

Please report back on Goff's Cay if you will![/quote']

 

Oh it absolutely felt safe. Belize gets a lot of crap for being "dangerous" and whatnot, but I don't think it's anything close to Nassau or Jamaica. Especially if you stay within the Tourism Village. That's the gated area designed specifically for cruise ship passengers. There's your run of the mill jewelry shops, clothes outlets, a small chocolate factory, a couple of vulgarly named bars/restaurants (The Wet Lizard and The Bearded Clam) which you might not be comfortable with your kids, lol, etc etc. There are no people in your face hassling you to buy their product like you find in other ports. It's very nice.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Oh it absolutely felt safe. Belize gets a lot of crap for being "dangerous" and whatnot, but I don't think it's anything close to Nassau or Jamaica. Especially if you stay within the Tourism Village. That's the gated area designed specifically for cruise ship passengers. There's your run of the mill jewelry shops, clothes outlets, a small chocolate factory, a couple of vulgarly named bars/restaurants (The Wet Lizard and The Bearded Clam) which you might not be comfortable with your kids, lol, etc etc. There are no people in your face hassling you to buy their product like you find in other ports. It's very nice.

 

 

That sounds just like Grand Cayman. I'd totally do that. THANK YOU.

[HandC4Me]

Hi, I'm following this thread as I am somewhat in the same situation of looking for not-too-expensive options for our group (four families with teens). I did see the Bacab Jungle Park excursion through NCL, but quite frankly Goff's Caye sounds much more appealing! I think our teens would only enjoy Tourism Village for a short while.

 

I'm just a little nervous about booking a Goff's Caye excursion through an independent operator. For one thing, how to choose a reputable one? And then there's the fear of something happening that would keep us from making it back to the ship on time. Any advice, or recommendations, would be greatly appreciated!

 

Looking forward to your Goffs Caye review also. Many thanks in advance!

[mel3073]

I went to Goff's Caye in August. Absolutely loved it. Would go all the way back to Belize just to swim in that water again. I think we booked through Island Marketing for about $35. There was nothing on the island and I'm very picky about food so I didn't eat what was available. But many others enjoyed the chicken and seafood offered. Most beautiful place I've ever been.

[lifes-a-beach]

I was there in November and did eat the grilled lobster. It was very good. As Mel says there's nothing there really. The island is 1.5 acres and there's no beach to speak of. There is a sand bar that comes up to the shore that is nice. The snorkeling is very good although I didn't see much in the way of marine life. The coral is in great shape.

[Domergirl]

I did an excursion to Goff's Cay several years ago and we really enjoyed it. It was a scuba excursion, (maybe Island Marketing?). My husband and 2 older kids did that, and I hung out on the beach with my toddler. It was a nice, relaxing day. I'm actually on the Belize board bc we're looking at doing a cruise in April, and I'm figuring out what we want to do! If I recall, there were some rocks in the water, and Goff's Caye is a good one to bring along some water shoes for wading.

[Domergirl]

I did an excursion to Goff's Cay several years ago and we really enjoyed it. It was a scuba excursion, (maybe Island Marketing?).

 

Sorry...I meant snorkeling...not scuba. I guess I may do this one again...it's $40 per adult and $30 per kid. Just catching a water taxi to Caye Caulker is 25 per adult and 20 for the kids...so for the difference, I guess I'd rather have the option of snorkeling, and the rum punch/water, tour guide, etc.

[HandC4Me]

Thanks for the input. This is all great to know. Goff's Caye sounds and looks amazing. I'm just having a hard time knowing how to pick a good excursion operator. I appreciate knowing that you had a good experience with Island Marketing.

 

Can anyone else recommend a good excursion company that does Goff's Caye?

 

TIA!

[Vacationdreamer<><]

We ended up booking Bacab through NCL. It's the only cruise ship excursion for our trip. I'd rather be at the Ocean, but we just weren't comfortable with anything else we were turning up. Maybe if there were more adults in our party than kids? I'm sure it will be fine. I'm sorry no Harvest Caye, though. (NCL)

[jennybaby74]

Hi I'm traveling to Belize City with Norwegian. Does anyone know of a beach that does not have allot of rocks? Also gentle waves would be nice too :). Thanks for your help!

[mitsugirly]

Well I haven't been there myself just yet. Headed there the week of the Superbowl. But like you my family was looking for something kinda beachy, and all the reviews for Goff's Caye seem exactly like what our group is looking for. The isolation is appealing to us.

 

 

So what did you think? Who did you end up booking with and were you satisfied?