Cave Tubing with a 4 year old

[China1234]

We will be going to Belize in February and are interested in doing the cave tubing. Has anyone taken thier 4 year old on this? Do you think 4 is too young? My other option was going to the ruins. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Sky616]

We will be going to Belize in February and are interested in doing the cave tubing. Has anyone taken thier 4 year old on this? Do you think 4 is too young? My other option was going to the ruins. Any advice would be appreciated.

Took our son 2 yrs ago when he was 6 1/2. We went with Major Tom. You will not be able to go thru the ships' tour. They have a age restriction. My son did ok, he was a little hesitant. He was small for his age so he rode with me on the tube on the way down just to relieve his mind. So it may be easier for you since your child will be even smaller yet but of course younger, too. At the end he said he had a real good time. I really can't give you an answer because you know your child. What I will tell you is Major Tom's son Little Tom really did make it good. They are very safety oriented and have a real good operation. Him and George (the other guide) are real strong swimmers and help pull you down the river. Hope this helps a little.

[Lady_Jag]

I was curious about this too, because we're going to book another cruise for next year, and my daughter will be 4. It will probably be a Western route this time, and I heard that cave tubing was a must-do.

 

My little girl learned to swim last year when she was 2, and gets refresher lessons every year, so she really isn't scared of the water. I'm just worried about the general safety issues.

[RENMama]

We are leaning towards a ship based excursion to Altun Ha and River Wallace for our trip with 8,4,2 yo kids.

 

But my kids arent great swimmers and my 8yo gets afraid in the dark (which in turn gets the 4yo scared).

 

Good luck deciding!

[crusinmama06]

OK, I have to be honest, you asked. ;)

 

I decided NOT to take my kids on the cave tubing excursion this past Feb. My kids are 5 and 9. I was here on CC when a woman on a Carnival excursion died in the Belize caves. It wasn't with Major Tom...but still. :(

 

When we got to Belize, we did an ATV tour and the kids stayed onboard with family (it was their decision, they asked to stay onboard). The ATV tour was operated by the cave tubing guides. So I did see some rather tiny kids going on the cave tubing excursion.

 

The caves are dark. The water was cold. There are bats and yes even snakes in the caves. When I told one woman in our excursion that there were spiders in Belize, she freeked out and refused to go on the excursion...Um, HELLLOOO, you are in the middle of a Central American Jungle, YES, there are snakes and spiders. :p

 

So at 4, I know some have done it. Would I say it's a "must do, once in a lifetime thing" no, not necessarily. I'll wait till the kids are older.

[Lady_Jag]

The caves are dark. The water was cold. There are bats and yes even snakes in the caves. When I told one woman in our excursion that there were spiders in Belize, she freeked out and refused to go on the excursion...Um, HELLLOOO, you are in the middle of a Central American Jungle, YES, there are snakes and spiders. :p

 

 

You had me at the bats and snakes! LOL!

 

Seriously, though, thank you for reminding me of the water temps and unsavory critters on this excursion. I think I'll strike this particular activity off my list for now! ;)

[kathi316]

Last year when my daughter was 4, we did a land vacation to Mexico. We went swimming in cenotes and through caves w/ bats and other critters. Originally, we had planned to take turns leaving her on shore, but she wouldn't have it. She hopped up on my back and loved every minute -- cold water and all. We will be doing cave tubing next month and again she is thrilled. Major Tom has assured me she will have an appropriate life vest and will ride on my lap or with a guide, whichever she prefers.

 

For anyone else considering this - I will let you know how she does!

[doctordi]

I went cave tubing this past February. The water was chilly. And if your child is afraid of the dark, I would skip this. But, I don't think it is really unsafe. I went with Yonni and I would use him again if I had my kids with me.

[nolejagbuc]

We did this excursion last year with Mr. Tom in Belize. My kids were 8 months, 4 and 8. The baby rode with my husband and my 4 year old daughter went with me. Everyone had a blast! We were all wearing life vests and the water was really calm. We didn't see any snakes or spiders while in the water or on the long hike to get there. I do know it is a jungle and they are probably there.;) They did point out a couple of bats in the cave but they never bothered us. The caves we went through were dark but we had lights on our heads and we were in and out within a couple of minutes. My 4 year old is not a big fan of the dark and she had so much fun! Only you know what your child is comfortable with. But, there were a lot of kids on our excursion and it was the highlight of our cruise!

[tex_toby]

I wouldn't take my 4yo on it, and he has done some pretty adventurous things in the past. #1 - it's a pretty long walk through the jungle. If I remember correctly, it took 30-45 min to walk to where you get in the river. #2 - you are already having to carry your tubes, #3 - it is dark and cold in the caves. I would personally pick something more family friendly and do that when he gets a little older. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it would be a lot of hassle as far as I am concerned.

[Sky616]

I wouldn't take my 4yo on it, and he has done some pretty adventurous things in the past. #1 - it's a pretty long walk through the jungle. If I remember correctly, it took 30-45 min to walk to where you get in the river. #2 - you are already having to carry your tubes, #3 - it is dark and cold in the caves. I would personally pick something more family friendly and do that when he gets a little older. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it would be a lot of hassle as far as I am concerned.

With Major Tom he did not go but his son Little Tom and George carried my son's , my wifes' and most of the other females tubes in our group. We only had a group of 9. As the poster said before it was also the highlight of our cruise.

[Kingisacruiser]

I agree with Mama06. I wouldn't do it. I have done cave tubing in Belize and I was a little afraid. I did the excursion through the ship. When I went the guide warned that the river was as much as 40 feet deep in some areas, so don't get out of the tube (he said they were in the midst of their rainy season:July). Also, getting across the river in one part to continue through the jungle is difficult, the current is ROUGH. We had to hold onto a rope and I almost got carried away. I know I am not a big person but I am definitely bigger than a four year old. Lastly, when the adventure was through you had to strategically jump off your tube and grab on to a rope to pull your self out of the current of the river and hold on to the rope so that the current wouldn't pull you away. Two young girls (I would guess teenagers) didn't get off of their tube in time and the guides just lifted the rope and allowed the current to continue to take them down the river :eek::eek::eek:. The girls were scared! I don't know what happened to them, although I didn't hear anything when we got back to the ship.

 

As an adult, I would do it again because it was an experience. But I have children now and I wouldn't do it if they are with me.

[Kipp-n-Aika]

It's been a few years since I've done the cave tubing, and while DH and I had a blast, I don't think I'd take a 4 year old on it. The currents were pretty strong the day we went, and I actually had quite a bit of trouble steering my tube. Our guide had to come "rescue" me more than once when I kept running into rocks, etc. Not to mention that the water was quite cold and the caves were very dark - things that might be a bit scary for a preschooler. You know your child best though, so if the cold and dark isn't a factor, then it may be okay. My main concern would be the current - you might want to make sure you could cancel in the case that the waters are rough or high that day.

[amandachit]

We took our kids cave tubing about a year and a half ago. At the time my kids were 2 and 6. We used NCQ adventure tours. I would highly recommend them to anyone and everyone. We are using them again in just a few weeks. Now my kids are 4 and 8 and I have no hesitation. We did pack lifejackets for them and my 2 year old rode with us. The kids loved it. The caves are large, the water was not quick (at the time) and the walk was short (b/c we went with NCQ). I would be happy to answer any questions, but I would say go for it!

[Skeetercat]

We did this excursion last year with Mr. Tom in Belize. My kids were 8 months, 4 and 8. The baby rode with my husband and my 4 year old daughter went with me. Everyone had a blast! We were all wearing life vests and the water was really calm. We didn't see any snakes or spiders while in the water or on the long hike to get there. I do know it is a jungle and they are probably there.;) They did point out a couple of bats in the cave but they never bothered us. The caves we went through were dark but we had lights on our heads and we were in and out within a couple of minutes. My 4 year old is not a big fan of the dark and she had so much fun! Only you know what your child is comfortable with. But, there were a lot of kids on our excursion and it was the highlight of our cruise!

 

I can't believe that the tour company allowed an 8 month old baby to go cave tubing ... that is just insane!!

 

I went river tubing on what looked like a calm river and my dd and I almost drowned. I would suggest that the OP either leave the kids in the kids program or decide on another excursion.

 

Just my two cents ... but from personal experience ... tubing is way to unpredictable for kids ... let alone adults.

[ata1976]

One of the websites has pics of people tubing with their babies and I thought that was dangerous. I asked DH if he wanted to take 3yr old DS and he said no, it would be alot more relaxing if we weren't worried about DS.

[nolejagbuc]

I can't believe that the tour company allowed an 8 month old baby to go cave tubing ... that is just insane!!

 

I went river tubing on what looked like a calm river and my dd and I almost drowned. I would suggest that the OP either leave the kids in the kids program or decide on another excursion.

 

Just my two cents ... but from personal experience ... tubing is way to unpredictable for kids ... let alone adults.

 

 

I am sorry that you had an unfortunate close call for you and your dd. Originally we were planning on taking turns with me and my dh staying behind with our youngest. However, there was absolutely NO current and our tubes were all kept together and they were having to push us because we were not moving on our own. I would NEVER put my child in harms way. There were plenty of places to get out and walk back if we felt unsafe (which we did not). I also don't think a large tour company is going to risk losing everything by letting a young child go if they didn't think it was safe. They are not "insane" and did not make any money on our younger two children. Every one is entitled to their own opinions about what is best for their OWN child.

[spleenstomper]

No way! If you read the posts about the woman who drowned, it shows how frightening it can be. Apparently a bunch of people got stuck together because of the currents and she (if I remember right) got knocked off her tube and then was pushed against the cave wall and was stuck in an eddy swirl and she got sucked in the water as her husband watched and was unable to help her. I believe a few tours all got jammed in the same spot.

 

Search for the story and for the eyewitness accounts here on CC.

[spleenstomper]

Here is a link to the CC story about the cave tubing death: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2836

 

I just pass it along for information. Apparently all the scary stories are because of the currents or high water levels, so maybe tubing isn't so bad in calm smooth conditions.

[crusinmama06]

What I found interesting is that another "unnamed" private tour company is the one who pushed the woman's tube against the wall. :eek: I had never read that before. I thought the the private tours pulled out of the cave that day because of the high water levels, I guess not.

 

Either way, too scary for my kids, no way. :)

[sandytoes03]

I did the cave tubing, so here's my two cents. The walk wasn't that far, I think a 4 year old could do it. But, after walking we had to sort of fall into the water into our tubes. It was fun, for us. Not sure how they would handle a little kid getting in. The water was very slow moving. We actually had to paddle ourselves to keep going. We did go through some dark, but also lots of light. Never saw anything scary or creepy. We had a blast, but it's a long day for sure--it was about an hour there and back.

 

Good luck with what you decide!

[bplazo]

There is no way that I would take a baby or a young child cave tubing in Belise. As someone else said "insane". I am sure that the woman who died doing this excursion thought that is was safe.

[Bobbye]

I've done this twice. First time there was very little current and we basically had to paddle or be pulled almost the whole way. Second time was totally different, the current was strong, many hit the rocks and got quite a few minor cuts and scrapes. So the problem is there is no way of knowing in advance what the water will be at the time you are doing it. If the water is high with a strong current I sure wouldn't want a young child doing it.

[imluvncruzn]

We just did the cavetubing in January and took my 6 yr. old ds. There were 11 of us and basically what they did was line us up in rows of 3. The littlest were put in the front with the guide. You had to stick your feet/legs under the persons arms in the tube in front of you and hold hands with the person to the left and right of you. So basically the whole group stayed together. We did not go when the water was high. It was very low and slow moving. We actually got stuck in some spots and the guide would tell us to pick up our butt to keep it from dragging on the rocks. The water was chilly but not cold and keep in mind it was January. The bats in the caves are fruit bats and are harmless. It was beautiful and an amazing experience. Now having said that, I can only report on how it was in January. If you go during their rainy season and the waters are high, it might be a completely different experience.