Water polluted?

[LindaKE]

Years ago, DH had to travel to Belize City on business. He says that what he saw of Belize City was NOT somewhere he would go on vacation. He emphasized the lack of sanitary sewers and felt that it would not be safe to go into any water there. Can anyone give me something to convince him that an excursion at Belize will be safe? I see ads for resorts there so there must be some areas that are pollution free.

[Toyz711]

the "blue hole" and other snorkeling spots are suppose to be outstanding. my DH went on the fishing trip to a resort on one of the cays, loved it..said it was as clean as could be.

belize city is not nice to look at, very poor...

once we got to the boats, to go to lamanai, the views were great. the waterway is an active area, we saw families out fishing, lots of birds, a couple of crocodiles and other wildlife. would i go swimming in the river, probably not (on purpose), but was i worried about the water, no.

yes, the people on the river live a rough life...does pollution run off into the river, i am sure....would i do it again, in a heart beat!

as long as you don't swim or drink it, you will be fine. if he doesn't want to get off the ship...go without him...don't miss out on seeing the area.

the area around lamanai (and some of the other tours) are out of reach of towns/roads...i felt like i had like indian jones on another adventure, it was that remote.

[tomko2]

Unfortunately Belize is not a pretty port. My DH did go on a horse-riding excursion through the cruise line which he enjoyed but does not plan to repeat. I hired a taxi driver for a walking tour of the town for about an hour. Streets are cracked and dogs running around -- not clean. But the lady was lovely and spoke highly of her children (8 of them) and the importance of a good education. Photos from my walk in the link below.

Next time we are in Belize we plan to stay on the ship.:(

Kathy

[nodumblond]

the "blue hole" and other snorkeling spots are suppose to be outstanding. my DH went on the fishing trip to a resort on one of the cays, loved it..said it was as clean as could be.

belize city is not nice to look at, very poor... <snip>

 

as long as you don't swim or drink it, you will be fine. if he doesn't want to get off the ship...go without him...don't miss out on seeing the area.

the area around lamanai (and some of the other tours) are out of reach of towns/roads...i felt like i had like indian jones on another adventure, it was that remote.

 

I would second that. Belize City is authentic in that you see how Belizeans live -- not as "pretty" as other ports, but nonetheless another side of the world that deserves to be seen. Went cave tubing, at at the local restaurant, no health repercussions. Loved it!

[skymars]

I am sorry but I have got to agree with your DH on this.. Belize is NOT somewhere I would want to go on vacation. I was there last December and the city is very rough and the beach that we went to was very dirty. I can honestly say that this is the only port I have visited in the Caribbean that I haved really disliked. I have heard of lots of people that took snorkeling excursions through the ship and had a wonderful time, but it is not a place I ever want to revisit.

[gail811]

I have been to Belize several times and now hire a private guide, he was actually the first guide I ever had on our stop at Belize. This year we did a tour of the Belize river. I had my mom, my sisters and nieces along. Was there poverty....absolutely! It can be disturbing for us because of where we come from, but we have it here in the states as well. I watched my nieces reactions closely when they witnessed a home that was no more than a shack. The impact on them was actually a positive one....they are very appreciative of what they have. The beauty we experienced on trip far outweighed the negative. I have never felt unsafe in Belize, but our tours have never taken us to the downtown area. Part of the reason I travel is get a true picture of other countries; the good and the bad. We have also gone out to Caye Caulker this year and spent the day. Beautiful there as well, but again, some poverty. Here are a few pictures from our day on the river.

 

A croc sunning himself

 

 

Two different homes

 

 

 

 

Heading back to Belize City through the mangroves

 

[preschool teacher]

of course belize has poverty....if you are shocked or don"t want to see it why do you book a cruise that stops there? i have gone snorkeling, cave tubing and just exploring in the city.. never felt unsafe had some great food.. i never got sick....of course i didn't drink the tap water.....take a chance.. we go again soon and i can't decided waht to do...

[The Flying Pirate]

Yes like any major city Belize City has rough areas. It is unfortunate that the ships tender into Belize City instead of San Pedro or one of the other resort areas.

 

Those of you that stay on the ship in Belize are really missing out. The key to enjoying Belize is get out of the City! Go out in the jungle or out on the reef and see the Country. Yes there is poverty in the country but it is the same in Mexico. The first poster in this thread mentioned that their husband had been there years ago, and I can tell you that the country has changed a great deal in the last ten years. We have seen an increase in charter flights going down there and lots of Americans are retiring or snowbirding in the costal areas of Belize now.

 

If you are worried about your safety, go on one of the ship sponsored tours. It would be bad for their business to take you into a bad area.

 

As for Belize City, I feel safer there than most of the major cities in Mexico.

[wadethegringo]

here is a great slide show..

 

http://belizephotographs.com/slideshow/

[krissy72]

Yes like any major city Belize City has rough areas. It is unfortunate that the ships tender into Belize City instead of San Pedro or one of the other resort areas.

 

Those of you that stay on the ship in Belize are really missing out. The key to enjoying Belize is get out of the City! Go out in the jungle or out on the reef and see the Country. Yes there is poverty in the country but it is the same in Mexico. The first poster in this thread mentioned that their husband had been there years ago, and I can tell you that the country has changed a great deal in the last ten years. We have seen an increase in charter flights going down there and lots of Americans are retiring or snowbirding in the costal areas of Belize now.

 

If you are worried about your safety, go on one of the ship sponsored tours. It would be bad for their business to take you into a bad area.

 

As for Belize City, I feel safer there than most of the major cities in Mexico.

 

 

I agree. I loved Belize and felt safer there than in Cozumel. I went cave-tubing and swam in the water. I din't get sick. I wouldn't drink the tap water though. But you can't in Mexico either.Take a tour that gets you out of the tourist areas. You won't be sorry. I would go back in a heartbeat.

[gail811]

here is a great slide show..

 

http://belizephotographs.com/slideshow/

 

Awesome slideshow....THANKS! What is the name of the song and artist you used for the slideshow? Love the music!

[knoxvillecruiser]

Belize City is was not what I was expecting to see either. It is not a "pretty port". But.... We went on a snorkeling excursion on a boat out to the reef and to Bannister Caye. It was the most beautiful water and snorkeling I have ever seen. The reef was pristine. No damage and beautiful and bountiful fish,eels, starfish and coral. I loved the excursion and was very glad we did not stay on the boat.

Bannister was a beautiful beach to relax on for a few hours. We did take the tender into Belize City to shop at the port. Not a lot to see there, but glad that I got to enjoy their beautiful reef.

[phantom_of_valkyrie]

Wow how long ago was he there? I was in Belize two years ago after so many people had told me how beautiful it was. It's gorgeous. The port area is definitely way better than many other port areas. Yes St Thomas has a very cute quaint port area painted in bright colors and with steel pan bands playing. I'm not knocking it--I love it. But we all know that's pretty fake.

 

However I was shocked at how pretty Belize port was 2 years ago and I just got back last week and it was even better now. Gorgeous country. And the port at Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Bahamas are far uglier ports than Belize's port.

 

It's a British port and the water is perfectly safe. I can't comment on the sewers b/c...well I never climb down those anywhere but I bet it is as sanitary as any sewers are.

 

Belize is a very safe place. They have police everywhere and very strict borders to stop drug runners from going through there. It's one of my favorite cruise ports. Of all the ones I've been to, it's on my top 2.

 

I did a shore excursion through the cruise ship to Xunantunich and it was so gorgeous and amazing that I can't even explain it. It's better than any other Mayan ruins. You can climb up and from the top you can view Guatamala and Honduras. This time I booked a shore excursion through Cave-tubing.com. Perfectly safe. We traveled in a coach bus, air conditioned. We hiked through the woods with several other shore excursions. It was beautiful, lush and green. We took them through 2 caves and rode back to the ship, plenty of time to get back.

 

From what I've witnessed, Belize City was safer than a vacation to Madrid, Paris, or Philadelphia. If he is willing to go to those cities, I can promise the crime rate is higher in those big cities.

[LindaKE]

He was there 20 - 25 years ago. That's why I was asking if things had improved. I don't know how long ago it was, but he did have a co-worker who got mugged there while on a sailing trip. I've been hoping for some ammo to convince him to get off the ship there.