Are there any beaches/snorkling that are not tourist traps?

[MiBoater]

We would like to go to a beach and snorkel. We like a quiet beach, not a tourist trap with 1000 beach chairs. Any suggestions?

[vmom]

Sign up for one of the excursions with the cruise line or after you tender to the port you can ask about a water taxi to take you out to one of the cayes. There are no nice beaches within a reasonable distance on the mainland. All of the nicer beaches you need to get to by a boat or water taxi. Usually if you sign up for an excursion with the ship you will be able to get a boat out to one of the cayes without having to tender first...that would be the advantage of an excursion through the ship.

[kristensue]

Sign up for one of the excursions with the cruise line or after you tender to the port you can ask about a water taxi to take you out to one of the cayes. There are no nice beaches within a reasonable distance on the mainland. All of the nicer beaches you need to get to by a boat or water taxi. Usually if you sign up for an excursion with the ship you will be able to get a boat out to one of the cayes without having to tender first...that would be the advantage of an excursion through the ship.

Can you explain what you mean? Do you mean that if you have cave tubing booked through the ship, they first drop you off closer to take a boat to the cayes? Is the cave tubing on the mainland, or cayes?

[Brownknee]

Cave tubing is on the mainland. You will take a tender in to the pier and your tour group will meet there. For those who sign up for a beach/snorkel trip through your ship at one of the cayes the tender will take you directly there or in some cases your tour group will bring their boat to the ship. If you sign up independently you will take the tender to the pier to catch another ferry to the caye. This would be back tracking and wasting time which is why vmom suggested to book that excursion through the ship.

[cruz guy]

Can you explain what you mean? Do you mean that if you have cave tubing booked through the ship, they first drop you off closer to take a boat to the cayes? Is the cave tubing on the mainland, or cayes?

 

 

As Brownknee said, Cave tubing is on the mainland. Its about 45 minute to 1 hour drive inland. You have to take a tender boat from the ship to the port. The port in Belize is too shallow for the ships to dock directly at the port.

 

The Cayes are like small islands off the mainland. The beaches and snorkel areas are around these cayes. The beach or snorkel excursions booked through the ship will often pick up passengers at the ship to take them out snorkeling or to the Cayes directly. If you book a tour that is on the mainland such as the Mayan ruins or cave tubing, then you take one of the tenders to the port on the mainland and then get into vans or buses.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Also, you won't have time to do both cave tubing and snorkeling or beaching at the cayes, unless your ship is in port much longer than most--like over night. There's just too much travel time to either option.

 

We enjoyed the cave tubing; if we get back to Belize we'll probably go to the cayes just to do something different.