What to do in Belieze

[jbank2000]

Will be there in May, and want to do things on our own, rather than with a tour. Any ideas?

[cobraman99]

Will be there in May, and want to do things on our own, rather than with a tour. Any ideas?

 

belize is pretty rough. i wouldnt dare just venture around if i wasnt in a group or on an excursion

[crzndeb]

You might want to check out the Port of Call thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=109

 

 

I would really suggest a tour. There is some shopping and dining places where the tenders drop you off, but you don't really want to venture out of that area on your own. There really isn't much to see anyway. There are some great tours in Belize. You should really check into taking one. Lots of independent one's to choose from, if you don't want a ship tour.

[briandama]

Two words for what to do in Belize........CAVE TUBING.....nuff said.....

[vtgirl]

I have been there before. There is a small port area for tourists. You do not want to venture past the gates into Belize City. I have also found that the excursions involve a lot of travel from the boat. I am going to stay on my boat and enjoy the quiet by the pool.

[bacm]

Without a doubt do the cave tubing. We did it and loved it (we took the ship's tour) and everyone who has gone since says it was a lot of fun.

[kujobie]

Two words for what to do in Belize........CAVE TUBING.....nuff said.....

 

four words.. Cave tubing or snorkelling. There really isn't much else to do there. I suppose you could take a tour, ride around and look at the houses made out of sticks and scraps of corrugated aluminum..

[BND]

We did the city tour and Altun Ha. Great trip to close by (1 hour bus ride) to Mayan ruins. No one recommends going it on your own in and around Belize City. The port area is fenced/gated for a reason, although the locals (tour guides) will tell you it's safe and that the bars on the windows of the more expensive houses have nothing to do with crime, yeah, right. It's the only port I've been in where the cruiseline warns against going anywhere on your own. That should tell you something.

 

The tour guide was proud of the fact they have no welfare and everyone has to make money somehow. That is why tourists are at high risk because even a few dollars go a long way.

[canttanman]

Will be there in May, and want to do things on our own, rather than with a tour. Any ideas?

 

I would do a tour, ask the guides a lot of questions, and decide whether to go on your own the next time you're there. I just have a feeling you'll go back. DW and I used a private operator last year, and we're sticking with them next month.

 

I'm not sure of the rules here, so if you would like to know the operator we tour with, e-mail me at fuel12556@yahoo.com.

 

Whatever you do, have a great time!

[verdi73]

We did a horse back riding through the rainforest tour that was really nice. Horseback ride in the morning, and then lunch and the pool while we were there.

[navybaby1113]

We're going cave tubing while we're there. Definitely check out the Port of Call boards.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

Whatever you decide to do, put aside a little time to visit the wet lizard;). The best part of my last visit!

[Azure Moon]

Question: "What to do in Belize?"

As others have mentioned, cave tubing, snorkeling, Mayan ruin tours (some with city tour).

Also: scuba diving, Belize Zoo and City tour...

Belize is a beautiful country! Chances are pretty good that you'll see wild animals that are out of the ordinary - howler monkeys (awesome to hear :cool:), bats, crocodiles, and birds.

Our first time there we did the Zoo and City tour. On this tour we learned about the country, the people, got to see many points of interest, got to see the zoo a woman from the United States started, saw animals native to the country of Belize -jaguar, Scarlet Macaw, Tapirs, crocodile, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, kinkajou, ocelot, and many, many more :cool:.

The second time there we went on the Lamanai Mayan Ruin tour which required a tender ride, bus ride, boat ride up the New River Lagoon, lunch, shopping, walking in the jungle to the ruins, seeing the ball court, a ruin, and climbing one of the ruins, learning about the site and the people, doing a bit more shopping, then returning to Belize City for a bit more shopping before hopping on one of the last tenders to get back to the ship...a full and very fulfilling day in an exotic country :cool::).

There was a program on History International channel on Monday, I think it was, about Belize. The show (series title) is Cities of the Underworld. The episode about Belize showed many caves and told of the Mayan belief about them and use of them, showed ruin sites - including Lamanai :cool:, including information we didn't hear about while we were on the tour, told of the Mayan life and timeline. If any of you get the chance to catch this, or any of the other episodes from this series, you're sure to enjoy it (them)!!!

Enjoy your time in Belize!

[ellenmb]

My hub and I did not hear any warnings ahead of time and did venture out (for about 10 minutes)....VERY weird...ominous and a bunch of guys right outside the gates harassing us...no fun; we turned around and took a local snorkeling excursion from the port area...we had a great time, but even that, they almost let us go too far and weren't as concerned for our safety as others have been...If I was to do anything in Belize again, I would only do a ship excursion or stay on the ship (NOW, with all of that said, I found some deals at the port where they are willing to barter a little (depending on the day, I am sure)......so I would probably get off for a little while anyway:) Actually...don't let us scare you...the snorkeling was out of this world!!!!

[redskin80]

You definitely want to do something that is pre=arranged with a reputable company. Belize city is not a place to go wondering on your own. To venture out of the gates is taking a risk. The last time we were there, my mom and her BF did that and were quickly escorted back to the gated area by a police officer and he told them it would not be safe to go walking around. So they took the tender back to the ship becasue the had not scheduled anything. The rest of us in the group went cave tubing, which was great. They did not do the cave tubing because of their ages.

[ellenmb]

Question: "What to do in Belize?"

 

As others have mentioned, cave tubing, snorkeling, Mayan ruin tours (some with city tour).

 

Also: scuba diving, Belize Zoo and City tour...

 

Belize is a beautiful country! Chances are pretty good that you'll see wild animals that are out of the ordinary - howler monkeys (awesome to hear :cool:), bats, crocodiles, and birds.

 

Our first time there we did the Zoo and City tour. On this tour we learned about the country, the people, got to see many points of interest, got to see the zoo a woman from the United States started, saw animals native to the country of Belize -jaguar, Scarlet Macaw, Tapirs, crocodile, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, kinkajou, ocelot, and many, many more :cool:.

 

The second time there we went on the Lamanai Mayan Ruin tour which required a tender ride, bus ride, boat ride up the New River Lagoon, lunch, shopping, walking in the jungle to the ruins, seeing the ball court, a ruin, and climbing one of the ruins, learning about the site and the people, doing a bit more shopping, then returning to Belize City for a bit more shopping before hopping on one of the last tenders to get back to the ship...a full and very fulfilling day in an exotic country :cool::).

 

There was a program on History International channel on Monday, I think it was, about Belize. The show (series title) is Cities of the Underworld. The episode about Belize showed many caves and told of the Mayan belief about them and use of them, showed ruin sites - including Lamanai :cool:, including information we didn't hear about while we were on the tour, told of the Mayan life and timeline. If any of you get the chance to catch this, or any of the other episodes from this series, you're sure to enjoy it (them)!!!

 

Enjoy your time in Belize!

 

Thanks for this info:)

[bankonus]

Definately the cave-tubing was awesome. But I think you are looking into doing something on your own. On that note, not the best idea to go wandering around outside the fenced in area. Look up tour guides on the internet if you don't want to do the ships shore excursions. Getting opinions on the ports of call board is a must. We get off to walk around the shops right at the pier to buy my sons favorite hot sauce!! (And the obligatory t-shirts for friends and family..) Then go back and enjoy the less-crowded ship! Have Fun!!

[venusjems]

I have to agree....

 

Cave tubing (dot com!!!!!) Cashew Wine!!!!

 

only the few that have booked this independent excursion will have any idea what i am talking about!

[cruisecrzy]

Please do not count this beautiful country out! It may not be as Cosmopolitan as many of the islands in the Caribbean have become, but that is not a bad thing! We always go through Coral Breeze for our tours when visiting Belize. Part of the Barrier Reef is just off shore and we incorporate a very safe and guided snorkel tour with a stop at Caye Caulker for lunch. Post card beautiful! They have other tours to fit your taste.

[coconutball4u]

With the new cave tubing rules not sure if it is still an option but there is a company (I dont think I can say the name) who runs a cave tubing and zip line combo tour. By far the best excursion we did when we were on the Legend last August.

[Azure Moon]

Thanks for this info:)

 

You are most welcome! :)

 

I forgot to mention about a book I'd bought, of all places :D, my local zoo in Indianapolis shortly after we returned from our October cruise to Belize.

(If you want to blow your mind, look at pictures of a zoo in one country while visiting a zoo in another country - surreal)

In the gift shop they had a book by author Bruce Barcott. The book's title is The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw one woman's fight to save the world's most beautiful bird. This book talks about the woman who started the Belize Zoo.

 

 

Click the link below to read the discription of content...

 

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Last-Flight-of-the-Scarlet-Macaw/Bruce-Barcott/e/9781400062935/?itm=3

 

I need to go back to the local zoo to see if they have any more copies, since I gave my copy (before getting much of it read) to a nurse in my doctor's office - she had a cousin who lived in Belize for a while and thought it was cool that we were going to visit the country again. Note to self: See if she booked a cruise to going there ;):D.

[63Corvette]

Last month while in Belize my Wife and I went on separate excursions. I boarded a dive boat at the ship and went to the barrier reef for a couple of hours of diving/snorkeling and my wife took the tender into port and took a city cultural tour. I enjoyed the diving, and she enjoyed the tour. The cave tubing sounded good too.

[MDSue]

Like everyone says, you need a plan for Belize. We are going in April and to keep it simple, we are going to either take a tour or the water taxi over to Caye Caulker. From what I've read it's a quaint town that doesn't have cars, but you can rent golf carts to get around. There are restaurants, shops, beaches and snorkelling excursions available. Google it if that sound interesting to you for more info.When we went 2 years ago, we took a ship sponsored trip that included a boat trip down the Olde Belize river where we saw a ton of wildlife- black howler monkees, dolphins, manatees, crocs, iguanas and other. The second half of the trip went to Altun Ha ruins by bus. The roads were bumpy and worn, but the ruins were very interesting and picturesque. You were allowed to climb to the top of one.

Pretty much everyone who didn't leave the port area hated Belize and everyone who did an excursion loved it. There are other ports to wing it on your own, but this stop is worth choosing a destination to go to and see.

Have fun

[s & h]

Cave tubing (dot com!!!!!) Cashew Wine!!!!

 

Oh Myyy...Cashew wine...mmmm...brings back great memories. This is a great excursion!!

[hpreece]

We were just in Belize last week. We were the dumb ones who decided not to book a tour and to hang out around the pier. BIG MISTAKE.

We didn't enjoy Belize at all basically because there's nothing to do around the pier other than a few shops. The next morning while having breakfast w/ other cruisers who did do a tour and really enjoyed the location, is when we learned we made that mistake.