Frequently Asked Questions

This area was included to give the answers to questions we often get. We have attempted to include as much information as possible on the pages in our website, but we might have overlooked some things, or some smaller details. We will be adding questions and answers as needed.

General Questions

YES, we do ATV tours. We have designed our own tour to avoid disturbing the environment as much as possible. Ask us about it.

Yes, we have passenger liability for our vans.
My business name is Vital Nature and Mayan Tours, and I have been in business for myself for years. I have been doing tours since 1995, and I have been a licensed tour guide since 1998. Since we are cave tubing pioneers, and it is our favorite tour. This site, cavetubing.bz, is our flagship website.
Yes, our guides are licensed tour guides. I teach a portion of the course where new people are working to be licensed. Additionally, I personally train each guide to be sure the service they give for our company is superior.

We do not actually do pick-ups from locations on the cayes, but it’s very easy for you to catch a water taxi over to the mainland for tours. We suggest you use the San Pedro Express Water Taxi. They seem to provide the fastest service. We like for you to take the first one over in the morning. And the guides will be there to meet you when you arrive. When you contact us, please tell us where you are staying on the cayes, which hotel, resort, or other lodging.

Our tours are not like at Disney World or other tourist attractions, where you join up with lots of other people. We do not schedule them at a certain time with a certain itinerary. Our tours are designed for the individuals who are inquiring, and we are very flexible. Tell us what you are interested in and we will see what we can do to accommodate you.

The prices we quote are per person for two people. If you are traveling alone, we will try to do what we can to help you. If you are in Belize City on a cruise ship day, you can go to the cruise ship terminal and join a group booked for that day. We can let you know about what is scheduled. It has occurred that someone paid the price for two for a tour because he could!
Tours are booked individually, and we can pick up from any location in Belize City — hotel, water taxi terminal, or Municipal Airport. We can do pick-ups from other locations, like San Ignacio or Belmopan, and we have even gone down to Hopkins to pick up people for a tour! It is possible to be picked up in one location and dropped off at another, if your itinerary calls for that. Luggage and valuables can be safely locked in the van. We do our best to design your tour to meet your needs.

For cave tubing we can arrange to meet you at Caves Branch. We can give you the cave tubing tour of your choice, for any length of time. We provide head lights, inner tubes, life jackets, and the guide. We do need to know the date and time you will arrive at the site.

If you like and you have room in your vehicle, we can provide a guide with a cost per diem and you provide everything else, transportation, entrance fees, food, and refreshments.

We will work out a tour itinerary that best fits with your plans. Some people fly in to the international airport, head out to Cayo, and stop for cave tubing on the way. We are very flexible. 

My name, Vitalino, it is pronounced vee tah LEE no. Many people just call me Vital, pronounced vee TAHL.

Cave Tubing Questions

If you can walk, you can go cave tubing. We have large tubes for heavy people. 300 pounds and even more is not too large for cave tubing, it’s easier to ride on a tube than walk. Heavy people may need to go slower or have their tube carried. We are very happy to help with those things.

For cruise ship passengers, we do 3, the most of any one. For other tours, we can arrange to do as many caves as the time you have allowed, 5 is a good number for a long tour. We are very flexible. We love cave tubing!

The water is very refreshing, around 70 to 74 degrees, and it stays about the same year round. It’s really great when you’ve been hiking on a warm day.
If you are uncomfortable in darkness, you can keep your lights on and keep moving while going through a cave. Just please alert your guide as to how you feel, and you will be assisted. If it is narrow spaces that bother you, these caves are fairly large.

The hike is not strenuous, and the paths are well worn and smooth. You will not be pushed to go faster than is comfortable for you. Our guides will assist as needed, like carrying your tube if you need us to.

Children must be at least 40 inches (101.6 cm) tall for cave tubing.
Yes, cave tubing does not require swimming, unless you want to. Being a weak swimmer is also not a problem. You will get on your inner tube in shallow water, and you ride the whole time. And you will have on a life jacket. If you inform your guide that you cannot swim, he can be sure you feel safe during the tour.

Cruise Ship Questions

Vitalino is very conscientious about river conditions and his guides always check, especially during the rainy season. He will be happy to offer you an alternative tour.

Yes! We are very happy to do a tour for you when you are stopping in Belize on your cruise. For details click here.

For our tours, we do not ask for a deposit. So there is no problem if your ship does not make it to Belize, there is no money to refund. For tours that require special arrangements, a combination tour or a large group, we may call to get a credit card number to secure the tour, but we would not make any charges unless you did not show up AND did not inform us that you were cancelling. Then we would only charge what our expenses were, not the cost of the tour.

Yes, you need to make reservations, usually done by email. Then before you leave on your cruise we can send instructions on how to meet up with us when you get to Belize. And we will have a sign with your name on it.
We prefer cash on the day of the tour, and we will take travelers checks. US dollars are fine.

Yes, we are very conscientious about getting you back to the ship on time. That is why we ask you to get off the ship early (included when you book and receive instructions on how to meet up with us) so we can avoid the big crowds and get you back in time.

For cruise ship passengers, the tour is approximately four to four and a half hours. That’s one hour of travel to the site, one and a half to two hours of cave tubing, and an hour and a half back to the terminal, which includes a thirty minute stop at Vitalino’s place for lunch. We will inform and entertain you during the ride.

No, first, we plan our cruise ship tours early, which allows for problems. We know when the different cruise ships leave, and we have back-up plans for problems. All our guides have working cell phones on the day of the tour, and can always call for help, if needed.

Our guides do not expect a tip, but it is appreciated. A nice tip if you are very happy, and little or none if you are not. But more important to us is that you go home and write a review for us about your great experience with us.
It is highly unlikely that you will be in a big group for your cruise ship tour. Some companies like to book large numbers of people, but we are happy taking care of families, couples, and small groups. The biggest groups are those that all book together, so you will be aware of that. We always have guides and vehicles to take care of people who have booked, and are even grateful for extras! For the actual cave tubing experience you will have eight (or usually less) people for one guide. Safety is very important for us.

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