Review: Just back from X-stream cave tubing

[Candymanjim]

For those of you that did cave tubing with Xtreme....I have a few questions.

1.Did they make you wear life jackets?

2.Do you know if Xtreme goes through more caves than the other private companies like Wet & Wild and Cool Breeze. I know they do more than the cruise ship tour...just wondering if their tour is longer than the ones I mentioned.

3.Did any of you have to wait as long as Jayjoans to put your tube in the water?

I was really suprised to read that you (jayjoans) had to wait 45 mins and that there was that many people ahead of you. This is the first time I have read about that long of a wait! You must have had alot of ships in port that day. I could see if it was a cruiseline tour...but you said you went with Xtreme.

4.Were there alot/any mosquitos?

Thanks

CaribbeanCrazy

 

I will try and answer some of your questions;

1. Yes they make you wear a life preserver, it isnt a real big deal.

2. I dont know if Extreme goes through more caves than the competitors, just more than the cruise ship. The "extra" caves are really long and dark and just add to the time on the water.

3. Since Xtreme puts in "upstream" from the cruise ships, our put in was immediate. We did run into a traffic jam where the ships put in.

4. We were there in April 04 and there were NO Mosquitoes

 

I hope this helps...

 

Jim

[cruztime]

Hi Everyone,

 

We went with XStream last Friday (1/21) It was fabulous!! Our guide was Richard, the founder of XStream. He was great! We met at 7:50 Belize time and were on our way by 8:15. We were on the Carnival Miracle and had no problem getting an early tender. We just showed our confirmation email. After a short tour and history lesson of downtown Belize City we had a very enjoyable ride through the countryside to the reserve. Richard kept up a running commentary of Belize that was very interesting and informative. He answered all questions and handled the kids (there were 2 in our group) great. Once at the reserve he advised that even though we did not need the life vests, it is recommended. There were rangers there that day that Richard said would want to see everyone with a life vest. I wore mine. No big deal. All of our belongings were locked in the van which is parked next to the resturant owned by Richards friends. He grew up in the villages around the caves and has explored them since childhood.

 

The walk through the jungle was very enjoyable. Once again Richard was a wealth of information regarding the local vegetation and plant life. We got in the water upstream from the ships tour. Our group of 10 was the only group there. We did 3 caves with Richard narrating along the way. After the caves we tubed down river for about an hour then it was a short walk back to the van. We had preordered lunch for $5 each. It was great! We also tried the local brew called Lighthouse. It was excellant.

 

There are clean, fairly new restrooms, changing rooms and showers. We wore our bathing suits and t shirts with water shoes and were fine. We brought dry clothes to change into.

 

The ride back was as nice as the ride up. The dirt road to the reserve was what Richard referred to as "exciting". It was a little bumpy gravel road. Having grandparents that lived in West Virginia, it reminded me of the roads to my grandfather's house. Just dirt and gravel. It was actually kinda fun.

 

He got us back in plenty of time to catch the tender back to the ship. He is well aware of the ship's schedules and tender times. In 11 years of guiding he has never been late.

 

I can't begin to describe what a great time we had with Richard! I highly recommend XStream.