City Tour/Airboat Ride

[Twinsmomct]

Has anybody done the combo city tour/airboat ride in Belize?

[lynninsc]

I was going to ask that same question. Debating between this and the Laminai River tour. Not all that interested in the ruins, but want to seem some beautiful scenery and wildlife. Hope someone gives us some info. Which cruise are you going on?

[Twinsmomct]

We leave on RCCL's Legend of the Seas one week from today!!! I haven't been able to find any reviews on this excursion so I'm not too sure what to do. I have 2 nine year olds and I'm trying to figure out if they'd enjoy this too.

[rosegrower]

This excursion was fun for my husband and I who did not want to do cave tubing. We were met at the tender dock and given a few minutes to use the bathrooms there before taking us to the bus. The guide, Maude was interesting but you have to remember that Belize is a very poor country and some of the points of interest according to our standards are not much but important to them! We arrived to a "salute" from the Airboat drivers and guides, were given bathroom time, a cold drink (Peach Fuzz was delicious!) We then received a safety briefing and we were helped on the boats and given ear protectors for the noise and it is NOISY and FAST! I would suggest if you wear earrings that day to wear something easy on and off and take them off while still on the bus and put in a safe place. The ear protectors really hurt with my earrings on but it was too late for me to do anything about it once we were moving. The boat does slow down and stop when there is something to see or for the guide to tell you something of interest, so you do take of the ear protection some times. The guide points out birds on a chart that every one has a copy of. Unfortunately for us, it had rained all week the week previous so the water was high and we saw no Mannatees and just a few bird varieties. You arrive back to the dock to another salute (apparently owner of company is retired military from US) They have a small gift shop there and they give you a little time to browse. They had some lovely bird carvings and I was sorry I did not buy one because I could not find any more in Belize City later on. When I asked they looked at me like I was crazy and said we do not have birds! I ended up buying a $12 bowl in the crafts store in the back of the tourism village. My husband did not want to leave the village even though they told us on the ship it was okay to do so. There are some cheaper bowls up by the dock but they actually have Belize stamped on them and do look more like a "cheap" souvenir than a craft item. Anyway, sorry for the shopping digression, you get back on the bus and on the way back have a different guide and return by a different section of the city back to the village. There was one child, about 6-8 years old and she seemed to love the ride. I would say that besides my husband and I who are in fifties most of the rest were in their seventies and had no problems. I was glad I wore my wrap around sunglasses that day cause, I was a little concerned about my contacts and kept my head down when we were going really fast! My husband held on his hat most of the time and I was glad I had not worn mine! I actually caught the sun visor hat of the lady in front of me as it flew off her head! Besides the fact that we did not see a lot, we did enjoy the excursion and the airboat was really fun, have seen them on TV but never been on one. You do not go back on the same bus so you do not get to leave anything on the bus, everything goes on the boat with you! We were on the first in the morning tour, 9:30 and it was not that hot but do not know about later tours. After the tour my husband and I shared a shrimp basket at "The Wet Lizard" which was very good. My husband tried a Belican beer and liked it. I stayed with a bottle of Diet Coke. As I said before, we shopped a little around the village and then returned to the ship. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them. I will check back between laundry loads! We really had a wonderful cruise!

[lynninsc]

Thank you so much for the input, it helps to hear from someone who has done the excursion. Also good to hear the tips about shopping. Glad you had a great cruise.

[Twinsmomct]

Thank you so much for the detailed review! I'm still debating whether to do it or not. I'm not into speed!! A crazy question -- are there any kind of seat belts?

[rosegrower]

No seat belts but you are pretty much packed in. The drivers go around and pick people I guess so the weight is evenly distributed. They keep people together but on ours they put the father of the little girl on the end, the little girl, my big husband, me, then another couple. The girls mom sat in the next row in front of the dad. I am not sure what ship you are on but you could wait and talk to the people at the desk. I pre booked all mine except for Cozumel. I was surprised at the amount of people getting excursions at the last minute. We missed ours in Grand Cayman cause my husband was sick and lost our $200. If we had waited til we were on board, we would not have booked cause he was already sick the night before. Hope you have a great cruise!

[bliss14]

I would not take this tour again, I felt like I was on a private pond. They point out things that are supposed to be there but we never saw anything but egrets (which we have in our state). The first leg of the trip is somewhat interesting but the second half totally boring as you traveled thru the filthy city of Belize. And most of all, don't go if you are allergic to latex!! The ear protectors are made of latex and I had a nasty rash the rest of the week. On the bright side, the "first mate" was funny and tried to be informative. If you want the thrill of an airboat ride, go to the swamps of LA or FL.