safety

[gmatthew]

Cruising the caribbean at the new year with two girls(ages 20 and 15). Is Belize safe for them to wander on their own or would they be safer with my wife and I?:)

[jean-lynd]

I will try to describe what it is like and you can make your own call. There is a fenced in area at the pier that has shopping, bars and restaurants. I think they would be fine there but it is a small area and would not take long to get bored. Past that you have to go through a gate into town. We went through the gate to go to the National Handicraft center to do some shopping and walked around a little but there was not much to see. No one bothered us when we were walking but we really didn't see many other tourists. I would not consider it to be a "wander on their own" kind of port. I would suggest that you book an excursion there. We went on the Coral Breeze snorkel excursion and had a wonderful time. If we had been there with kids we probably would have done the cave tubeing. I hope this helps!

[Dannzzigg]

IMO, it depends on what you consider 'safe'. I wandered a bit outside of the gated area, and I think some people would not feel comfortable, and may even feel unsafe. I do not think it is an issue of actual safety, but a matter of being outside of your comfort zone.

I was asked if I needed a cab at least once for every five steps I took. I was approached about taking a tour numerous times as well. No one was physical or intimidating, but they were all persistent.

For someone who does not like people approaching them, soliciting their business, I imagine this could be somewhat uncomfortable. Did I feel unsafe or threatened? No. But I can see how some others might...

[teacup754]

Since the fact the cruise ships(or government) considers it necessary to fence in the docking zone and only allow certain vendors,shops etc inside I am keeping my kids(age 20 boy and 16 girl) with us at all times. we are also booked with Coral breeze for snorkling, but there are other excursions(even if you don't go) they might enjoy like tubing through the caves etc...I feel more comfortable letting them have their "alone time" on the ship, not in a third world country.

[PDC55]

I would be a little leary to let the young ladies wander around outside of the gates by themselves. The vendors are very agressive and it may be just a bit overwhelming for them. I really don't think Belize is any more dangerous than some cities here in the states, you just have to aware of your surroundings. I would hate for everyone to judge all of Texas just because of some of the areas in Dallas. But I do have to say that we did wimp out and hired one of the locals (his name is Michael and he's usually just outside the gate) to drive us around. You may want to do this for the girls if they are of that age where they just can't stand to be around us OLD people.