Belize Cave Tubing Excursion: What You Need To Know

[trapeze5]

I just got back from a cruise that stopped at Belize. We booked the "Crystal Cave Tubing with Lagoon" excursion. Here are some things to know:

 

1. You will travel about 60 to 90 minutes (depending on traffic) inland to get to the excursion site. This is, in my opinion, a big plus because it allows you to see a lot of the country. After you get away from the coast you pass through jungle (look for the termite nests in the trees) before entering a foothill area (there are mountains further inland) with actual pine trees.

 

2. The bus that you ride on is air conditioned but once you get up to speed it's better to open a window to keep cool. Not a bad bus, holds about fifty people. During the ride your tour guide will tell you about what you see as you travel inland. Our guide was very good, funny and informative.

 

3. Once you arrive at the site you will transfer onto a different bus (like a school bus) for a very short ride over a hill. The reason for this is that the highway bus just isn't designed to go over this hill. Once on the other side of the hill you will get your gear for the cave. You can also rent a locker to stow your personal stuff in. There is a gift shop there and this is also where you will be served the lunch that comes with the excursion. There is also a bar where you can buy beer and liquor drinks.

 

4. The gear for the cave is a life jacket and a helmet with a head lamp. Now here's the thing: The headlamp is a joke. Here's my advice: If you are going to do this excursion you should bring your own light. I was wishing the whole time that I had brought along my own light. All I would have needed was some way to securely fasten it to my swim trunks or my wrist. I have a small (6" long) flashlight that has 1000 lumens of illumination. It's a really good light that I shelled out about $60 for on Amazon. This is a great light and it would have lit up that cave to an incredible degree. By comparison, the headlamp on the helmet is without a doubt 100 lumens or less...it's a joke. I asked our guide and he said that they have no problem whatsoever with people bringing their own light. If I ever do this excursion again (and I might...it was good) I will bring my own light.

 

5. If you do not bring your own light then I highly recommend that you check out the operation of your light BEFORE you leave the gear area. I made this mistake and found out, once I was in the cave, that my light had the annoying problem of not staying on. It would shut off with almost any little bump. Of course, the light provided such little illumination that I would only know it was off by placing my hand in front of it. Bring your own high power flashlight.

 

6. There is a LOT of "not-tubing" on this excursion. Yes, you do float around inside the cave on tubes but you will also need to walk up a hill (you pick up your tube first) to get to the cave entrance...perhaps a five minute walk. You will need to the walk down steps to get into the cave...perhaps a minute or two. There is more walking inside of the cave and I will explain that further down.

 

7. You will not be allowed to float around in the cave by yourself. After you get off of the second bus you will be split up into groups of eight when you get your gear. This will be the group that you will stay in until you get out of the cave. Your guide will take you down into the cave. When you reach the water (a cool but not uncomfortable 70F) your tubes are roped together in two rows of four, side by side. You sit down in your tube and then the guide will propel you into the cave with his arms. The guide has a better light than you (but not a whole lot better...maybe 250 lumens) and will describe various cave formations that you will wish you could see better if you only had a brighter light.

 

8. Now here is an interesting thing: The "lagoon" is inside the cave. The excursion info does not describe the lagoon at all so it was sort of a surprise to learn that you are going to the lagoon inside of the cave. The lagoon is where you will exit your tube and do some more walking around. Again, you will wish that you have a better light. The footing is challenging for a lot of people. There are loose rocks that you will have to deal with both in the water and out of the water. Out of the water there are areas that are extremely slippery. If you have bad ankles, knees or hips you may want to know this because there is no warning about this until you are forced to walk through the lagoon area. This walking around the lagoon area takes about fifteen minutes or so. The guide will tell you about how the natives interacted with the cave in the distant past and show you some artifacts that may or may not be authentic.

 

9. After the lagoon walkabout it is time to get back into the tubes and float back to your starting point. The water is supposed to be an underground river but if there was any current or water flow I could not detect it. Your sole means of propulsion in or out is paddling with your arms although your guide does this for you since you are all roped together. When you get back to the starting point you take your tube back up the steps and then back down the hill to where you picked them up.

 

10. Our group was one of the first in so we were also one of the first out. This meant that we ate our meal after the cave trip. Others had to wait for a while to get in and they ate their meal before the cave trip. The meal was not bad...chicken and rice with water or mango juice. You can purchase other stuff to eat or drink. We had perhaps 30 minutes (maybe 45 tops) before it was time to get back on the bus to go back over the hill to the highway bus.

 

11. After we got back to the port we had at least an hour of time to shop before needing to get onto the tender for the ship.

 

12. Much to my surprise, we were not searched for liquor when we boarded the ship in Belize (you definitely get separated from booze at Cozumel, for instance). Had I known this I might have brought back more than the two small bottles of coconut rum that we bought at the gift shop. I was saving the rum for gifts and had no intention of drinking it onboard but had I known I could safely smuggle liquor into my stateroom I would most definitely have purchased a bottle of bourbon at the dock.

 

Bottom line: Interesting excursion because of all there is to see on the way to the cave and in the cave itself. Bring a really good pocket flashlight. Be prepared for a small amount of walking and be careful if you have issues with loose rock or slippery surfaces. Eat your meal quickly so you have time to go through the gift shop (the coconut rum is very good). Don't bother with a waterproof camera for the cave unless you have a really good light. Buy some liquor for you stateroom if you are so inclined.

Edited May 19, 2018 by trapeze5

[ONECRUISER]

Should post to CC Caribbean/Belize Port Forum...

[sparks1093]

Very informative, thanks!

[lrn2cruise]

We have knee cap (patella) issues in our family. Unless we wear knee braces, I don't think we should go on this excursion. My husband is a flashlight addict. I think he would be up for any flashlight challenge that he faced. If this is a RC excursion, I think RC needs to know where improvement is needed.

[Ohiocruiser]

We learned the hard way to wear long sleave shirts. You get really chapped on your arms by moving them back and forth over the tubes. Other than that, really neat going through the caves.