Tours Available for Cruise Ship Passengers
Best Cave Tubing Value $45 for 10 years and older - $25 for 9 years and younger
Everything Included - Free Lunch!
Professional Belizean Mayan Tour Guides
SPECIAL NOTE
NICH and the Institute of Archaeology have instituted a series of new regulations for companies using Caves Branch for cave tubing tours. These will be enforced beginning November 1, but we happy to say we have already started complying with these new guidelines. Helmets are required, and tubes and life jackets must fulfill their requirements. Here are a couple of pictures of our new equipment.
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We have several options for tours available for you. The most popular tour available is cave tubing, and we are specialists in this area, and refer to ourselves as "Cave Tubing Pioneers." If you want more detail about our company see About Us.
Vital Nature and Mayan tours is registered with the Belize Tourism Board and we are members of the Belize Tourism Industry Association. Our vans are late model, we have experienced drivers, passenger liability insurance, and we are conscientious in seeing that you get back to the terminal in time for your tender to the ship, and we have a lot of experience doing so. There will be time for shopping after you return.
All our guides have cell phones that function, and there is a backup plan in case of some unforeseen car trouble.
To date, we have not had anyone miss the tender back to the ship.
For a map of the location of Caves Branch, where cave tubing takes place, click here.
Cave Tubing
Here is a list of the features of our cave tubing tour for cruise ship passengers:
- You will picked up for your tour outside Terminal One after you arrive from your tender. You are asked to get to the tender early to avoid the crowds, and your tour will start shortly after you meet the guides outside the terminal. People who have booked can go to the bottom of this page for instructions to print on how to meet up with Vitalino when you get to Belize. You may print them whenever you find it convenient for you.
- The time for cave tubing for cruise ship passengers takes four to four and a half hours. The hike and cave tubing is one and a quarter to one and a half hours.
- The cost for cruise ship passengers is only $45 US per person, and includes transportation, a free city tour, entrance fees, equipment rental (tubes, life-jackets, headlights), tour guide fees, a 3 cave tour, soft drinks, water, and after cave tubing, rum punch and lunch! For children 9 years old and younger the cost is $25. Everyone 10 years and older pays $45.
- We are now including lunch FREE at my own restaurant.
- Travel (one hour to Caves Branch) is in late model, clean, air-conditioned vehicles. Vans have a public address system so you are provided information during the ride. Groups are small, the largest van holds 14 persons, and one guide is assigned for every 8 people. Buses are only used if a large group books and wants to travel together.
- Valuables including clothes, towels, and personal items can be safely locked in the van, which is in the parking lot where it will be watched.
- To be safe, bring bug spray and sun screen.
- You can wear your bathing suit under your shorts then take your shorts off for cave tubing. There are private changing rooms with showers and flush toilets in private stalls.
- There is a short walk down to the river that you cross for an easy hike to where you enter the river for cave tubing. Paths are wide and well worn, it is not a steep uphill hike, and guides are very helpful for anyone who might have any special needs, like going slow for any reason.
- The hike takes 30-40 minutes and it is an easy hike, with time to stop and and see things and hear information about the Maya, the caves, and the flor and fauna.
- Guides are very considerate and even carry tubes for people when they see that it is when needed.
- People in tubes are usually linked with ones feet being under the arms of the person ahead of them, for safety.
- Travel back to the terminal takes about one and a half hours and includes a stop for lunch at Vitalino's restaurant where you will have a delicious meal of rice and beans and stewed chicken, the national meal of Belize. And it's FREE!
- Groups for cave tubing are small, with one guide for every eight or even fewer people. Safety is a major consideration for us.
- We can make special accommodations for larger groups, including having an air-conditioned bus with a PA system. There will still be a guide for every 8 people for cave tubing.
- Children of all ages are welcome, and small children can ride on a tube with a parent if they like. We have small inner tubes and life jackets for children and are especially attentive to them. For children 9 years old and younger, the cost is $25. Everyone 10 years old and up pays $45.
- Guides will provide information about the caves, the rain forest vegetation, animals and insects, and of the customs of the Maya who inhabited the land in the past.
- Water and soft drinks are provided with rum punch after cave tubing. Lunch is now included FREE for all cruise ship passengers.
- PAYMENT: We prefer cash on the day of the tour, paid to the guide after the tour. US dollars are fine. We accept travelers checks.
- We encourage you to get off the ship early, and are told there is no problem if you get to the tender a little before 8:00. You will go to and then through Terminal One, also known as the Reef Terminal, that's important, and go outside where we will be waiting with the cave tubing sign. If you have booked with us, the guides will have your name.
- We are aware of the time differences between the ship and Belize, and we use the ship's time in this information.
- If you are looking for a cave tubing adventure, and you have NOT contacted us, just look for us outside the terminal, and we will be glad to take care of you. Be sure and get off the ship early.
- If you would like a longer description of cave tubing, along with pictures, click here.
- Booking can be done by email. We do not require a deposit or credit card number. We work on good faith.
- Please email us at Email. In the Subject of your email please put the date of your day in Belize, your name, the number of people, and the name of the cruise ship, like this
Subject: Book (or Inquiry) May 6 Judy Jones 3A 2K CarValor.
No penalty if not done correctly
. It just helps us stay organized. You will receive a confirmation email. And include the following in your email: - Full name
Phone number
Date of tour
Number of people: Adults and Children (9 years old and younger)
Type of tour cave tubing or cave tubing and zipline
Name of cruise ship
Any special needs you have - If you have any extra questions, we will give you a call to answer them. So please send a good time to call.
- If you book a special tour, a large group or a combination tour that we have to make special arrangements for, we may call and ask for a credit card number to secure the tour. We do not make any charges unless you do not show up and have not contacted us to cancel. Then we only charge what the preparation cost us, not the cost of the whole tour. Please send your phone number when you email us:
Other questions?
We have answers to a few Frequently Asked Questions here. If you don't find your answer there, you can call us, and we'll add it!For tours that can be combined with cave tubing and prices please go to More cruise shore tours.
Printable Instructions on How To Find Vitalino in Belize
If you have booked a tour from a cruise ship, please print out this page of instructions that will tell you how to meet up with Vitalino when you get to Belize.
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