Belize/Cave Tubing Review 3/6/06

[kingclick]

Our cruise came into port on March 6, 2006. We were sailing on the Zuiderdam.

 

We were informed that we were to be tendering about 40 minutes into Belize City. Belize City is just a nice little town on the edge of the water. Some very picturesque images if one was to have a camera. We didn't bring our digital. In reality it took only about 30 mintues to tender but because of the distance actually getting on the tender took longer than expected.

 

However once in the city it was quick and painless. There were a number of people trying to sell excursions to the travellers just off the tender but we quickly went past them and walked down to exit the Terminal to hook up with Yhony and he is exactly where he was supposed to be. He knew that there had been some problems tendering so he waited for us. He had said in his email he would have a sign with my name on it, so it was reassuring that when I exited the terminal he was right there with the sign. It also had another cruisers name as well. We also had invited one other couple to join us off the ship. So it turns out we had a total of six people.

 

There were also some others that were trying to decide between Yhony and another group at the last minute. Yhony was cool with this and didn't even worry about the others coming. He said that the ones who BOOKED were his priority. He didn't even talk to the others except to let them know it would be $45 because there were more than 4 people. After that he just let the other guys put on the pressure and we all piled into the van.

 

From there Yhony went and picked up our tickets for access to the cave tubing park and we headed out. I asked if we could stop somewhere because as a diabetic I needed to get a little something to keep my blood sugar from dropping too low. Yhony needed to get some gas as well so we stopped and an Esso. All of the prices were surprisingly high.....but after all was said and done.....in US dollars it turned out the prices werent really that bad afterall. I picked up a few Belikin beers, a bag of Doritos, some hand made tortilla thing with ground pork and a candy bar. Once back in the van we headed out of town. The landscape is very lowlying yet still very lush....I was expecting a more hills but this seems to be delta land. Very similar to New Orleans area. After what seemed a very long time we turned off the main road onto a VERY bumpy dirt road, Yhony took extra time to drive the van on the smoothest part even though it slowed our progress considerably. Eventually the road became smoother. We pulled into the parking area for the cave tubing excursions. There were a number of buses there as well as smaller vans like ours. I heard that the zip line is near this as well. That must have been where some of the people were.

 

Using Cavetubing . com our guides were Yhony and Timmy. Yhony was busy driving and Timmy was busy answering all the questions we had about his country, his family and anything else we were willing to ask. With the slow tendering we found ourselves a little rushed. I wish I would have taken the time to put on the bug spray before getting out of the van. I also did put on a little sunscreen but I didn't expect much from it. We were directed to a nice large restroom for changing into the clothes we wanted to change into, my wife and I were pretty much dressed so it was not much of a production to prepare. Like I said, I probably would have liked more time to put on some bug spray and sun screen. Quickly we were changed and off on our little trek through the woods. All the pictures you may have seen on this site or elsewhere are a good example of what you should expect to walk through. Imagine a national park. Very clean and up to date.

 

Our walk was about 30 or 40 minutes. Timmy said that there is a series of 9 caves but we will only have the time to do 2. The others would take about a day. The path was wide and open....no muddy or slippery spots on the day we went. At one point very early in the walk we did have to cross the river. They had a rope tied across for people to use as a hand hold for support because the water is slightly swift, nothing to be concerned about. But the rest of the walk was like a groomed non-concrete path in any US park. In fact there was a few nice places that had some very well constructed supports. Also I carried my wife's tube most of the way. Only rarely handing it back to her to scratch at some new mosquito bites. Which is why I would have liked to have had the bug repellant on. This really is not some backyard or unwatched jungle but a well looked over and cared for park like setting. Half way up we stopped and Yhony showed us that this is where most tours start for one cave. There were some people just starting out. However we kept walking and finally stopped at a small ledge that looked out over the river. The water was clear and looked just about waist deep in most spots. Yhony said this is where we started and pointed out a smaller ledge and said that is where anyone who wants to jump in can. I was the only one who decided to jump in from the ledge. Timmy got up there and I jumped off trying to make a big splash. He tossed me my stuff and after a few more pictures we were on our into the first cave.

 

The experience is pretty cool. This area seems to be just flat lands...but these caves sort of appear out of nowhere. They are like some of the first hills you see when you move inland. Well inside of the caves the six of us were organized into a pack of 2 and a pack of 4. Timmy was the one designated to drag our pack of 4. I chose very soon to "go it alone" but the rest of my party took the easy way out and let Timmy and Yhony do all the work. None of them needed to get out of the tube for the ENTIRE 2 cave experience. From what I saw of other tours they had to get out of their tubes a number of times while Yhony and Timmy took the pains to find areas where "butts up" was all that was needed. I really appreciated this kind of service. And actually made it easier on the older couple we were with. It of course was over in just the right time because we still needed to make up for a late start. We saw small waterfalls, rock formations and had a great time. The water was not that cold. The water at Half Moon Cay was colder than this river. It is refreshing but not shiver making cold. We floated down the river with only one spot really open to the sun, so the need for sunscreen was minimal. I did get to see a GIANT spider on a log. Other than the little fish that was in the water that was the extent of wildlife we saw. Back to the place in the river where we crossed and we exited there. Dripping and happy we walked back to the van. Again we were given time to do any changing we needed to do. And I had some sand in my shoes so I hit the showers.

 

These showers were big and spacious and clean concrete. However it was just an on/off lever with no heat control and the water was the same temp as the river. Refreshing but not too cold to be in. I cleaned out my water shoes and got back into the van.

 

I strongly suggest water SHOES and not water sox or sandles. There are some points that thin soled shoes might not be as comfortable and you really don't want to have to go chasing after an errant sandle. Get the shoes with laces designed for water.

 

So off we went in the van, of course there was a vote to detour to Cheers for some VERY good chicken. At Cheers we were seated at a nice table near the back of the open air porch dining area. Cheers was just a few minutes from the Tubing location. For $5 we were given a nice chicken dinner some rice beans and slaw, with a lime-aid. And seriously this was probably one of the best meals on the whole cruise for us. I am really into getting the most of any experience so I ordered another Belikin Beer and a side of some meat stuffed pastry. It was great! On the way out we picked up a few beer glasses, some beers and of course some of the hot sauce. A few last minute pictures and back in the van for the ride back to the port. After a quick and bumpy nap on the way back we went through another part of town. Belize was observing Baron Bliss day so all of the shops were closed. The trip went pretty smoothly because of being closed but it would have been interesting to stop and do a little shopping out of the port. Instead we just went back to the the Port and did a little looking around there. The prices weren't any better than anywhere else on our cruise but we did find a few things we needed. We got a cell phone signal pretty much the whole time were were in Belize so we called home with no problem. (at least until the bill comes ;) ) Also right at the port there was at least one internet cafe at decent prices.

 

Hopefully this will help people make some choices while in Belize. If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them as best as I can.

[preschool teacher]

ienjoyed reading that review... i am so worried about getting bitten by mosquito bites... i'm loading up on bug spray.. i hope you don't get that bot fly thing from the bites........i'm tubing next week........

[kingclick]

Heh. I asked Timmy about the Botfly...he had no idea what I was talking about...."Buttfly?"

 

Well I explained to him what it was and he said..."Oh yeah...we call that the Beefworm. My buddy got two of those cut out just last week." I asked if he had even had one and he said no.

 

I also mentioned it to the Canadian woman that was in the gift shop area at the Cheers restaurant. She said..."I had seven at one time." I asked how she got them and she said. "I got them cave tubing. And they squeezed them out after about 3 weeks."

 

She really didn't seem to concerned about it.

 

My party who went with me laughed at my concern. Oh well, I had about 7 bit locations. None are still with me.

 

I think you have a better chance getting nibbled by the fish than you do getting the botfly.

[pcjfromnc]

I was wondering sine you mentioned feeling rushed at first.... how long did the entire excursion take and what time did you make it back to the tender?

[nikita]

thanks for the review! I was wondering if you know if the group you were with offers cave tubing and zip lines all in one tour? thanks for the info!

[mQQsehead]

Cave-Tubing.com only does the cave tubing. There wouldn't have been enough time to do both last week on the Valor.

[nikita]

Thank you mQQsehead for the info - just so happens we will be on the Valor for our cruise in June so that was good info. Thanks again.

[mQQsehead]

If you're going on the Valor, get down and get a tender ticket real early. We made the first tender and barely made it. There were some delays after our tender because of the rough seas. I think we were the only ones from the Valor that day. I heard when we got back that there were major delays in tendering that day.

 

The tour will leave at 10 o'clock, with or without you! Yhony waited, but no one else showed up.

 

A great tour by the way!

 

Cheers

[kingclick]

I was wondering sine you mentioned feeling rushed at first.... how long did the entire excursion take and what time did you make it back to the tender?

 

Well the whole thing took about 5.5 hours. We made it back around 3:30 our ship wasn't leaving until 6:00 so we had extra time to dawdle around the port.

[kingclick]

thanks for the review! I was wondering if you know if the group you were with offers cave tubing and zip lines all in one tour? thanks for the info!

 

We talked to Yhony about this at the pier and it was just too "last minute" and short on time. However if you email him when you make your reservation he may be able to accommodate you in some way. The Zip line is right in the same area it just might cut your cave part down to only one cave. Just tell him that Robat sent you.

[Chupa Cabras]

for a wonderful review. I'm still on the fence regarding the cave tubing. At first it sounded very different and fun, but then I started worrying about it being boring, and about how most of the time is spent in a bus or walking, and then I started worrying about the temperature of the water (I hate cold water!) But everytime I read a review, everyone seems to love it.

 

I need to make a decision!

[fireboat]

I was on the Zuiderdam as well. DW wanted to do the zip line. So I contacted Nacho and Cynthia of NCQ advantages. We got off the boat after KingClick so time was more of an issue. Nacho was concerned about getting in both so he kept things moving. He gave us a choice between lunch and tubing. Of course everyone opted for tubing. When we were done, still he had to-go plates of chicken, rice&beans, and slaw. So even though the problem was the tenders, Nacho got it all in for us. It was a great time. DW hates cold water and I don't remember her complaining once. Our walk in the jungle was only about 15 minutes. I heard only luke-warm responses about the ruins exercusions. I had read these boards, so DW and I sprayed head to toe with bug spray. I only got one bit. Others didn't use anything and get a few. Bug spray is a must.

[Cruise4Sunshine]

Kingclick:

 

Great review of Belize! I'm headed next week with two college age girls. You mentioned your cell phone worked, have you gotten the bill yet? I'd love to know if it's way over the top in cost. Of course, they'll love the internet cafe as well. Does anyone know if there's cell service in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel or Majahual?

[tonyt]

Cruise4Sunshine:

Which ship are you on? We are on the Grand Princess departing 3/18.

tonyt

[kingclick]

Kingclick:

 

Great review of Belize! I'm headed next week with two college age girls. You mentioned your cell phone worked, have you gotten the bill yet? I'd love to know if it's way over the top in cost. Of course, they'll love the internet cafe as well. Does anyone know if there's cell service in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel or Majahual?

 

I'll let you know tomorrow. My wife gets home tonight and she will check the bill. Cingular is our service provider.

[nikita]

Fireboat - how long did it take to do both the ziplines and cavetubing?

[kingclick]

Cruise4Sunshine,

Well so far I just know that we put 22 minutes on our phones while out of the country. I will be able to give a better $ on the costs when we get the bill. That should be in another week or two. Sorry for the wait.