Rough tubing trip??!?!!

[willamanthea]

Some friends and I plan on cruising with the Norwegian Spirit in Feb '08 to Belize. My 2 nieces (both late 30's) did a cave tubing trip there and had a very hair-raising experience.

My older niece said she almost drowned when she and her tube hit some rapids and was caught among some rocks and then went over a small waterfall backwards. :eek:

 

Has anyone else had this experience? :confused: I was looking into excursions there and read so many good revues about the cave tubing. My neice was dead serious and begged me not to go since

 

I'm a bit older and have very arthritic knees. I hate to think that I couldnt handle a trip that kids are taking. :confused:

[Nebr.cruiser]

Our experience with cave tubing in Belize this December was that it was a very fun but mild experience, more like tubing on a lazy river in a water park. We didn't experience any rapids or waterfalls. I thought the whole experience was easy; I was 61 at the time, but don't have any physical problems like bad knees.

 

I have read a couple of posts on here previously from people who had some scary moments while tubing; try reading some of the longer threads or doing a search.

 

The scariest thing we saw was the huge group of people who were on a ship tour trying to get into their tubes with little or no help and floating away down the river by themselves or upsetting in the water. We went with cavetubing.com and had only 5-6 people per guide and had no problems getting onto the tubes and across the current, with their help.

[clackey]

We did the cavetubing in Dec. and the ride was pretty mild, but I think that it depends on the season. During the rainey season the river can be wild. Our tour went through 2 caves and there wasn't a water fall or any rapids inside the caves. There was a couple of rapids outside of the caves but they were a blast. The only problem that I can think of would be the long hike with the tubes. Especially with bad knees. We saw every type of person that you can think of on these trips and only saw a couple of problems with some that were completely out of shape. If you can't climb a flight of stairs without puffing like a steam engine, don't go.

[pjpurple6]

Hello,

 

I had done this tour in Oct 03, with the cruise ship tour and it depends on how much rain they get, our experience was a slow current, low water level, I even bumped my butt on the tube once in one part of a cave, ,a nice hike to get there and a drop backwards on your tube, would I do it again, no.

 

It was a lot of fun and a great experience to look back on . I enjoy looking at my tubing pictures.We saw a few snakes afterward, and that is what scared me. It is a jungle and it was gorgeous, and you do have to expect those things. They had guards with Rifles when you enter the path and A dog swims with the tour guide also. Just make sure you wear your life jacket , some on the tour chose not to put them on.

[willamanthea]

Thanks for your input. I'm still straddling the fence. Is this the only cave that has tubing? I guess the long hike wouldnt be a good thing and that's the first I've heard of snakes:(

 

Maybe I ought to stick to a nice beach break or some easy snorkling. *sigh*

[Starbright7966]

Hello,

 

I had done this tour in Oct 03, with the cruise ship tour and it depends on how much rain they get, our experience was a slow current, low water level, I even bumped my butt on the tube once in one part of a cave, ,a nice hike to get there and a drop backwards on your tube, would I do it again, no.

 

It was a lot of fun and a great experience to look back on . I enjoy looking at my tubing pictures.We saw a few snakes afterward, and that is what scared me. It is a jungle and it was gorgeous, and you do have to expect those things. They had guards with Rifles when you enter the path and A dog swims with the tour guide also. Just make sure you wear your life jacket , some on the tour chose not to put them on.

 

 

I hate snakes. When you say you saw snakes do you mean a lot of snakes, close to you. Were they in the water??? I am going in September and am a little nervous. Does any one know how high the water will be in September. Thank you for you input

[shark&minnow]

We did cave tubing in January several years ago. It was fun and I still laugh about it, but it was rougher than I expected. The hike was about 45 minutes and it rained off and on (it is the rain forrest!!) I was about 40 at the time. There was an older couple with us and I wondered if this was a bit much for them. Our tour guide kept a good eye on them and when we were in the river he kept hold of them. It was pouring rain when we jumped in the water with our tubes. The caves were beautiful..it was like the Disney pirates of the caribbean ride- only for real. I was cold in the caves and they were DARK and my head lamp quit working! My big strong husband kept hold of me!! Then there were rough, fast parts where you could bump your butt. I got caught on every rock or bush that I possibly could! One ladies tube even popped. All that said I'm glad I did it!! I wished that I'd brought bug spray--there were a lot of mosquitos.

[shark&minnow]

We didn't see any snakes!:D

[Starbright7966]

Thanks for replying about the snakes. I really do not like snakes. I hope my float trip is not so rough. I will be going in Early September and I hope that is not the rainy season.

 

Thanks again

[clackey]

We didn't see any snakes!:D

We didn't either, and I was looking for them. In fact, I didn't see any animals. No birds, no varmits, no nuthin. (Arki talk)

 

This is one of the few places where you can cavetube. You need to do it at least once before you die.

[pjpurple6]

Hello,

 

You are in a jungle and have to expect snakes, I didn't see any on the path or in the caves , have heard they have been there, I went tubing with one of my friends and the bus parked before a hill and there was a house across from where the bus parked and a guy was out in the field with a machete, chopping back the growth. We went on the tour, it was fun, but I kept crashing into the cave walls, it is easier if your foot is linked with another tube , then your flow is better.

 

We got done and walked back to eat, then you could get on the bus when you wanted, so we walked back before everyone else and we stood in the jungle and I had flip flops on and we were taking pictures, then we walked to the bus and a nice guard was standing there while I was taking pictures of the guy with the machete, and the guard came over and said you wanna see a snake? I said what? Well right smack in front of me was a dead rattle snake hanging on the fence, and I didn't even see it and we were just standing in the woods taking picture right near there!!

 

Then he asked if I wanted to see another one, and I said okay, well just a little down hanging on the same fence was a dead python!!! The guard was really nice to talk to. I took pictures, then went home and read about the Fer de lance that go in the water, I said oh my if I read about them I wouldn't not of went in the water.. I guess in the jungle there is all kinds of creatures. We didn't see any mosquito's. I don't want to freak anyone out, just be aware of your surroundings, I wasn't. It was a experience of a life time. I still look back on it.. I wore sneakers in the water and the walk into the jungle was fun. I had carried a bag with an extra pair of flip flops and a dry shirt and shorts.

[seattleskier]

We just returned on the carnival Valor and went cave tubing and sight seeing with Nacho and Cynthia of NCQ Adventures and they were incredible guides. We started at Januar Paw resort so the walk was quick. THey were wonderful and so attentive and informative and learned and saw so much about Belize. They could adjust the tour to your needs so I would highly recommend them.

[vidette123]

We just returned on the carnival Valor and went cave tubing and sight seeing with Nacho and Cynthia of NCQ Adventures and they were incredible guides. We started at Januar Paw resort so the walk was quick. THey were wonderful and so attentive and informative and learned and saw so much about Belize. They could adjust the tour to your needs so I would highly recommend them.

 

Hey there

 

we are going july 14th with nacho and cynthia do you have any pics you can share? did you do zipline too?

thanks

tammy

[Travel Angel]

Just got back from Belize on a land visit not cruise and stayed in Cay Caulker (GORGEOUS ) for 5 days then to Ambergris Cay for 2 more days......I have to say that during our trip, the highlight was Cave Tubing.... we used ********* Adventures and can say it was the BESTand MOST INFORMATIVE TOUR we have ever experienced....starts with a drive to Jaguar Paw and our guide Major Tom is well informed of his country and proud of it too as he narrates the drive.....He is then going to explain about the nature hike thru the rain forest and what he expects of his customers and what you can and cant do.....then grab a tube and he will instruct you how to use your lamp and make sure you understand before even getting in the water... he takes this tour very serious, but adds much humor to it. While you will hear other tour guides hollering in the caves, his group is quiet... reason behind it, you are in a cave and excessive noise could cause a collapse of the fragile walls or crystal hangings thruout the caves....as I said, he takes his tours serious and makes sure you are safe thru the entire trip. His assistant and son was with us and is although young, very knowledgeable as his dad is. After the cave tour, you can opt for a great lunch at a nearby restaurant or not in his tour.

 

I can only speak highly of this tour and know I will suggest that others use him if they are considering cave tubing.... Best Bang for our buck in my eyes !

 

PS... for those who think Belize City is a less than desirable location,,,,, for the most part it is, but get out and visit the islands as we did and the countryside of Belize (outside the city) and you will truely see how beautiful it is with the changes in terrain from flat land to majestic mountain ranges.....

 

We were looking at condos on Cay Caulker and Ambergris Cay for retirement/investment during our stay this past week.... this is a slice of heaven and a great time to look into it as the prices are only INCREASING as many are realizing Belize's beauty after staying there for a few days !

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at fun2cruiz@aol.com

[hoff4man02]

:D My family and I (8 of us) were in Belize last week - 7/26/07. I had scheduled a trip with Major Tom. He was absolutely fantastic!!! He met us at the port displaying a sign with my name on it. We walked to his van and drove to the caves. On the way he let us stop at a little store for soda and water. As we drove to the cave he told us a lot about the country of Belize, pointed out things of interest as we were passing them, answered the millions of questions we asked him, and even stopped to show us individual trees and nuts native to the country. Major Tom is extremely knowledgeable about the country, ancestory of the Mayan people, and the caves. He shared with us information about the caves and what the various rock formations symbolized to the Mayans. He was very interesting to listen to, in fact, people from other groups slowed down to listen to what he was saying. The other guides were letting the people float through the caves on their own. They didn't tell them any information at all. Also Major Tom was concerned with our safety. He had us wear our life vests instead of just fastening it to the tube. If anything were to happen to someone without a life vest it would be difficult for a guide to get to them quickly.

As you can tell I can't say enough good things about Major Tom. It was definately the best excursion of the whole trip. ENJOY!!!

[ygarcia]

My daughter and I almost drowned twice on the cave tubing tour. the water was WAY TOO FAST for us and we got caught in the current 2x's. My butt and hand kept bumping things in the water...dont know what they were though. One the first current we were going so fast i didnt know if i was going to hit a wall or not because it was SO black!!! the lamp goes only so far

[supernanny]

We are going to Belize in Feb. '08 and are considering the cave tubing. After reading about snakes and rough water though I am not so sure about it. Has anyone been in Feb.? Is the water high then? We have a rather large group wanting to go and would appreciate any advice.

[atlantean]

"Major Tom at info@***** is your best choice. He and his close assistant, his son, Tom Jr., and the other highly trained and experienced guides will give you the safest and most informative cave tubing tour in Belize. Our groups have been consistently satisfied with his services. We also like the fact that you are met inside the tourism village where your tender docks, and you do not have to go searching for your independent operator, as Tom and his team are there with very visible signboards, besides the fact that this man is known by everyone at the dock and is easily pointed out. The caves in February are easy going, the water is cool, and just abour right."