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Shore Excursions for Belize City and Costa Maya


Va4fam

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Hi everyone.  We have a cruise coming up next month and 2 out of 4 port stops planned out with a beach day in Cozumel and a touristy excursion for Key West. 

Looking for your best ideas for things to do in Belize City and Costa Maya.   I've heard the cave tubing is fun in BC, anybody done it?

Places to eat are always welcome too!

Thanks for your suggestions!

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MANY years ago we did cave tubing in Belize and I don't remember that much about it.  I do recall that we had to carry our own tubes  fairly long distance which seemed to be a bit of a hassle and I remember that my daughter was a beautiful shade of purple by the time we were done...the water was freezing !

Costa Maya is a great "just hang out" port.  The port area itself is about as nice a one as you're going to find anywhere...but for very little money you can catch a shuttle over to Mahahual and hang out on the beach anywhere.  The shuttle over is actually free but it will cost you a few bucks to come back as the shuttle only runs one way.  I guess the only caution about the beach at Costa Maya is to let you know that sometimes they can have a terrible issue with seaweed.  I guess we've been lucky and never had a seaweed issue at CM but many others have.  Aside from that, CM is one of my favorite ports.

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Thanks @WAAAYTOOO for the suggestions.

We've been to Costa Maya before but mostly hung out in the port and my wife did a lot of shopping and we watched the dolphins.

Thinking about the Almaplena beach club for part of the day as they seem to not have as much seaweed.  

Belize City is a new port for us, looks like great snorkeling if we do that.   The sea cave tubing or kayaking seemed unique enough to give it a try.   Maybe the kayaking would keep us out of the cold water?  

 

 

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For Costa Maya, I highly recommend Maya Chan.  We were there in 2018 and will be back NEXT WEEK!! (we are on Rhapsody departing Tampa Jan 25).   Maya Chan usually fills up (they only hold around 100 or so people) so you'll want to reserve online.  Go to their website and request a reservation.  If they have space, they will send you a Paypal invoice.  It cost $59 pp (less for return visitors) and includes all the food and drink you can handle.  As another poster indicated, the water in Costa Maya can be icky (is that a word?) and they do have issues with sea grass.  However, that didn't stop us from having a great time.  They run a great operation and do a great job of making everyone feel welcomed.  I even reccently bought the book that Jane Ostrow (the matriarch of the family) wrote.

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We also really enjoyed Maya Chan in Costa Maya. We did find the sea grass to be a slight issue on the day we were there, though staff at Maya Chan warned us about it, and even offered the option of a refund & return to port if we found we couldn't handle it once we arrived. The resort is beautiful, food is delicious and drinks plentiful. The staff are extremely attentive and really do care that you enjoy your day there. In addition to the beach & water sports, massage (additional cost), they also have a fresh water pool that was, quiet honestly, the deciding factor in our decision to tough out the odor of the sea grass. Each party has their own assigned seating/lounge area so everyone isn't just lined up in rows. We will definitely be going back to Maya Chan the next time we're in CM.

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We did the cave tubing in Belize a few years ago. It was very fun but is a long ride out into the mountains from Belize City. I'd do it again.   We did Maya Chan this past December. It was okay. The food, drinks and service were outstanding. The water, not so much. It is very shallow a long ways out, 300 yards or so, and nothing to see but sea grass. Not sure I would do it again.

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Costa Maya- When Maya Chan is sold out OR just at Costa Maya for a short time we always go to the Tropicante at the Mahahual Malecon.  Food is GREAT!  Basically just need to send Stave an email. He will reserve you some loungers/table and you just have to eat/drink from there. http://www.sandalsandskis.com/tropicante.html. Just have to take a cab to to Mahahual and that's about it.

Belize City- I've been to the Lamanai ruins twice. Belize has the best Mayan ruins...not nearly as commercialized as those in Mexico.  Tour consist of a pretty long bus ride, a very adventurous boat ride, and then the tour of the ruins. We went thru the ship and it takes all day.

Chuck

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1 hour ago, John82 said:

This maybe a dumb question to ask for those who have done the cave tubbing in Belize City, do you need to know how to swim?  Are there any points in the excursion you need to leave the raft?

When are you going?   Our tube excursion will be in about 4 weeks so I can give you a better answer then.

The excursion documents say they give you a life preserver and most videos I have seen show people wearing them but not sure about leaving the raft.

 

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20 hours ago, Va4fam said:

When are you going?   Our tube excursion will be in about 4 weeks so I can give you a better answer then.

The excursion documents say they give you a life preserver and most videos I have seen show people wearing them but not sure about leaving the raft.

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On 1/18/2020 at 1:15 PM, mac66 said:

We did the cave tubing in Belize a few years ago. It was very fun but is a long ride out into the mountains from Belize City. I'd do it again.   We did Maya Chan this past December. It was okay. The food, drinks and service were outstanding. The water, not so much. It is very shallow a long ways out, 300 yards or so, and nothing to see but sea grass. Not sure I would do it again.

Mac66 do you need to know how to swim for the Belize cave tubing?  Do you ever leave the raft while in the water?

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21 hours ago, John82 said:

Mac66 do you need to know how to swim for the Belize cave tubing?  Do you ever leave the raft while in the water?

When we did the cave tubing, you didn't swim, but you got wet first loading up into the tubes and then getting off.  The pool was about 3-4 feet deep, but you didn't need to swim.  That said, it is possible to fall out of an inner tube, although others are there to assist in an emergency.

 

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On 1/28/2020 at 11:37 AM, ChessE4 said:

When we did the cave tubing, you didn't swim, but you got wet first loading up into the tubes and then getting off.  The pool was about 3-4 feet deep, but you didn't need to swim.  That said, it is possible to fall out of an inner tube, although others are there to assist in an emergency.

 

Thank you very much!!!

ive heard it’s a hike until you get the cave tubing do you think this is doable in pair of water socks?  Or do you recommend an old pair of tennis shoes

thank you again

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34 minutes ago, John82 said:

Thank you very much!!!

ive heard it’s a hike until you get the cave tubing do you think this is doable in pair of water socks?  Or do you recommend an old pair of tennis shoes

thank you again

I would wear tennis shoes as you'll be carrying the tube.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I was in Belize literally yesterday. I had a group of students from my school. We booked a third-party cave tubing excursion through a company called "Butts Up." They picked us up outside the port (Terminal 1 to be specific). They took us out to the national park and guided us down the river. The nice thing about them (besides being locally owned) is that they carry the tubes for you. All you need to carry is a helmet and life vest. Also, whereas the cruise line tour exited the river as soon as the cave was done, with this company, you kept floating down the river a little further. To answer some previous questions, 1) I wore water shoes and was fine, and 2) we didn't need to swim. You do wade across the river a couple of times on your way to the starting point, but then it is a relaxing ride down the river. At the conclusion of the tour, they provided a chicken tamale for lunch. It was only $35 for cave tubing only (you can add on zip lining or ATVs if you like). I highly recommend it (it was my students' favorite excursion on this cruise). Check out their website at cave-tubing.com.

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