Belize Zoo

[critcatny]

Will be in Belize on the Carnival Miracle and just wondering if anyone who's been to the Belize zoo can give me your opinion on whether to book the cruiselines excursion to the zoo or an outside company? Have heard many people say book an excursion for sure and that in Belize it's better to go with the cruiseline's. Thanks for your help.

[can'twaittogoagain]

Will be in Belize on the Carnival Miracle and just wondering if anyone who's been to the Belize zoo can give me your opinion on whether to book the cruiselines excursion to the zoo or an outside company? Have heard many people say book an excursion for sure and that in Belize it's better to go with the cruiseline's. Thanks for your help.

 

 

The Belize zoo is very primitive, paths are gravel and most exhibits are just fenced with wire fencing. We were there in 2002 and did a river excursion that ended with a visit to the zoo. By itself I don't think you would be satisified with the zoo. The river cruise was informative and we saw a lot of wildlife, crocidiles, howler monkeys, iguanas, snouts of manatees, lots of birds. We have been to Belize twice and will visit again in Oct. My wife and I will visit the pharmacy located right off of the dock, but that will be the extent of our visit to Belize.

If your cruise includes Roatan we HIGHLY reccomend a day at Paya Bay resort. They could take only 4 people /day when we were there in 2005. We were there with another couple from the NCL Sun and went snorkeling and had a great lunch. There were the 4 of us and 2 local guides on our snorkeling trip. It was fantastic, no other tourists and basically "virgin" snorkeling sites. We saw 1 dive ship in the area and everyone else was local people who were extremely friendly . If you can go to Paya Bay , tell Lurleen that Rich and Cinda said HI!

[infoaddict]

the zoo is wonderful. the fact that it is primitive is what makes it incredible. only Belize wildlife with guides who know all the facts and can call male howler monekies. you are in a third world country, you should not expect anything like inthe US. what you get is so worth the trip. and Just remember it is hot. If some members of your group can't do the whole zoo ask that one of your guides stay with you til the end or you will miss the Harppy Eagle. It is amazing. have fun . mm

[MikeyP]

The Belize zoo is very primitive' date=' paths are gravel and most exhibits are just fenced with wire fencing. We were there in 2002 and did a river excursion that ended with a visit to the zoo. By itself I don't think you would be satisified with the zoo. The river cruise was informative and we saw a lot of wildlife, crocidiles, howler monkeys, iguanas, snouts of manatees, lots of birds. We have been to Belize twice and will visit again in Oct. My wife and I will visit the pharmacy located right off of the dock, but that will be the extent of our visit to Belize.

If your cruise includes Roatan we HIGHLY reccomend a day at Paya Bay resort. They could take only 4 people /day when we were there in 2005. We were there with another couple from the NCL Sun and went snorkeling and had a great lunch. There were the 4 of us and 2 local guides on our snorkeling trip. It was fantastic, no other tourists and basically "virgin" snorkeling sites. We saw 1 dive ship in the area and everyone else was local people who were extremely friendly . If you can go to Paya Bay , tell Lurleen that Rich and Cinda said HI![/quote']

 

Any chance you can give me some more info on that river excursion? Did you book through the ship or an outside company? If with the ship, which cruiseline?

[Loves_Dogs]

We enjoyed the Belize zoo. Dont forget mosquiito repellent in this port, when we were there they were bad.

[MikeyP]

We enjoyed the Belize zoo. Dont forget mosquiito repellent in this port, when we were there they were bad.

 

Did you take the ship's tour, a private tour, or did you go it on your own with a taxi?

[Loves_Dogs]

Did you take the ship's tour, a private tour, or did you go it on your own with a taxi?

 

We did the ships tour, it was a combined city and zoo tour. Our TA strongly advised me to stick with the one of the ships tours in this port (it was the only port she said this about) so I took her advice. We enjoyed the city part of the tour too.

[kbarbee]

We went to Belize 2 years ago and we loved the zoo. Especially my daughter. We did not go through Carnival. We really did not know what we were going to do until we got off the ship. There are several tour guides who will approach you. We chose a lady. Her name is Vida and she is a licensed tour guide. We had a great time and it wasn't expensive at all. We had a private tour in an air-conditioned van. Be aware that it takes a long time to get to the zoo (I think about 45 to and hour). She stopped along the way to let us take pictures. It was early so we got to see all the school children in their uniforms riding there bikes and walking to school. It was really neat for my daughter to see how they lived. When we got back, there was plenty of time to shop. Vida was wonderful and we felt very safe with her and she is very knowledgable. If we go back, we will be calling her again. Hope this helps!

[phopte]

If you do some research on the zoo, you will find that the way it started and is run today is very interesting. It was basiclaly started as an animal rescue and has grown from there is just a very few years.

 

Belize City is an interesting port for tours. I've been told that there are more private operators than ship affiliated for a lot of reasons I won't go into here. As with any port, there are some less prepared and possibly less honest operators. I think if you ask around here, you can find some great and well respected independant operators that you will have absolutely no problem with. I had a great experience with Trevor and Cathy at Smuggler's Run as an example and I know others have had similar experiences with other operators. As with anything, do your research and make sure you try to find a tour that fits your nature. Don't go cave tubing if you hate the water no matter how many people say they loved it. Likewise, horseback riding in the jungle (my favorite! :D ) is not good if you really want to go snorkelling.

[MikeyP]

Ended up going through the ship's tour. Way overpriced, but considering how remote the place is and the nature of the area I think it was a wise decision.

 

What's with the dishonest tour operators that someone mentioned earlier?

[margincall]

we were curious on carnivals tour of the zoo if it is all guded or if you can wander around the zoo on your own

[MikeyP]

we were curious on carnivals tour of the zoo if it is all guded or if you can wander around the zoo on your own

 

 

 

It's guided. Not the most knowledgeable guide, IMHO. Fine for a layperson though (I have a BS in Zoology).

Take some of their "facts" about the animals with a grain of salt, but the anecdotal parts were interesting and decent.

[margincall]

Thanks for the answer. We were also curious as to if its constant walking or if there are rests as we walk slowly

 

Thanks again

[MikeyP]

It's really not big at all, so unless you have special requirements there really won't be too much of a need to rest.

They walk at a slow pace and stop in front of the exhibits to talk, so it's possible that you could rest then, though I don't remember seeing any benches or anything like that.

There are only about a dozen or so exhibits.

[driftwood]

This is a small zoo in a small country, a sort of optimistic tourist amusement run by people who love animals for people who probably have not seen enough animals in their lives. If it has one margay it is worth visiting, IMHO. Easy tour, about thirty miles inland perhaps, you will see things you may not have seen, you will help people who can use help, you will help animals who can use help.

 

Or you can visit us in Virginia and see some other kinds of animals at the Marcus Vick Zoo . . . . It amuses me when people say "Belize City is Ugly and Depressing." Evidently their cruises have not yet led them to Newport News, VA, a/k/a Shipyard, VA!