travel with parents (70+) and son (5) -- help us to pick our excursion at Belize

[rainbow08]

I'm trying to do my homework for our cruise' stop at Belize next week, and cave tubing was what I was thinking to do. I even exchanged e-mails with the top 2 reviewed tubing providers on tripadvisor.com, and both of them promised me it's going to be safe and fun.

 

However, after I read more people talking about their cave tubing experience here, I start to doubt if it's the best choice for us --- my parents are in their 70's (in general good health but my mom's knee is not that good), and my son is only 5 (behaves more like a 4-yr-old). The coldness of the water and the darkness of the cave make me feel it could be hard for my son. And none of them swim, although my DH and I do.

 

So if we don't do cave tubing, what are the things we can do when our ship stays there for 8 hours? Anything else that is safe, fun to do for the whole family of 5?

 

Thanks!!!

[tropicaltammy]

Don't know what to recommend. I will lay out the cave tubing trip for you and maybe it will help you decide if it is right for you. We booked thru shoretrips.com. They will wait for you at the pier -- allow enough time to get tendered into Belize -- it is a one van ride to the cave site. Once you arrive there are changing rooms. Your belongings are locked in the van while you are gone. You are handed a inner tube, head lamp, and life vest to carry to the river. The hike to the tube launch is about 30 minutes, and with the right guide, (ask for Carlos!) very interesting to hear about the vegetation and wildlife. The trail is not difficult, but it is somewhat primitive, being in nature. The only animal we saw along the way was bats. once you get to the river you have to cross it on some fairly slippery pebbles. The water is chilly at first, but you get used to it and it is not uncomfortable to be "sitting" in it.

There were 4 of us in our group and Carlos hooked us together in a train (legs hooked under the arm of the one in front of you). He then left his tube on the shore and proceeded to swim us through the cave! It was awesome. From what we saw, this is not a common practice as all others were floating loose. One lady bumped into a fairly large rock with her hip before she could get herself turned around to leisurely float feet first. Nothing serious, but she might have had a slight bruise the next day. The float lasts approx. 45 minutes and then it is a 10 minute walk back to the van. The cave is 100% the work of mother nature and is awe inspiring. You are actually in the massive cave the majoity of the float.

These are the specifics of our experience. Hope it helps!

[A&Jfamily]

My mom travels with us (70) and has bad knees (both replaced); in Belize, we end up going different directions. She went and did a tour of the city while we went snorkeling. I would recommend Goff's Caye as it is a small beautiful island (like the size of a football field) with nice snorkeling right from shore. We took turns "on land" with our 3 year old.

[rainbow08]

Thanks both for sharing your experience!

 

Since we plan to do snorkeling at Cozumel, we'd like to do something a little different at Belize. How do you think about tour Altun Ha? Looks like it's not that far, so the trip won't be too physically demanding. Saw Island Marketing offers tour for this http://www.belizecruiseexcursions.com/AltunHa.htm

 

Any comments on them?

[rainbow08]

How did you get to Goff's Caye? By booking a tour from cruise or with a local agency? I can use it as a backup plan if the snorkeling at Cozumel doesn't go as well as we have hoped, or we didn't get enough snorkeling out there :-)

 

Thanks!

 

I would recommend Goff's Caye as it is a small beautiful island (like the size of a football field) with nice snorkeling right from shore.

[clackey]

There are many places to go and plenty to do if you can't do the cavetubing, although the tubing is my first pick.

 

There are several tours to some of the smaller Cayes or islands. We went to Bannister Island and took a boat trip out to the reef, but a day on the their beach would be nice . I heard that Fab Tours has their own island. I would probably have to check it out if I went back to Belize. Then there is the water taxi to Caye Caulker and Goffs Caye as mentioned in another post.

 

The ruins tours here are nice but I don't know about mom. Some of the tours include alot of walking, but the ruins are definately something to see.

[A&Jfamily]

I booked Goff's Caye through Carnival (I am chicken, let me say that again, CHICKEN about being left behind - and the tender reports really make me nervous :o ). I thought about Altun Ha as well, but the "warning" on the Carnival shore excursion site said that there would be some walking over uneven ground. Aside from her knees, my mom is not "physically fit" (if you know what I mean :rolleyes: ) I doubted that she could hck that. But it is only "rated" a 2 person for amount of activity. So, if you think your parents could handle that, I think that would be a good choice.

 

Personally, I went for Goff's Caye because I LOVE to snorkel, but don't get to do it often, so when I can, and when I am in one of the best places to do so, I take advantage:)

 

Happy travels!