is there a lot to see in Belize

mjzagar66 · #1 (**permalink**) January 30th, 2009, 05:45 PM

we might be going to Belize in feb 2010 are there a lot shops
i never been to Belize before

Ainsley · #2 (**permalink**) January 30th, 2009, 05:58 PM

I was in Belize in 2006, at that time there was a little mall type thing at the dock where we got off the ship. After that I have no idea. It didnt look like much after that little mall, but we went cave tubing and had a blast. =)

misguidedangel · #3 (**permalink**) January 30th, 2009, 06:32 PM

Belize is an amazing port to visit. I have been there twice in the two cruises I did in Sept 08 and Jan 09). There is a rather large shopping area where the tenders drop people off and they have a Diamonds International, Del Sol, and many, many, many other shops and vendors inside and outside in stalls. You can easily spend an hour or two shopping and find a little bit of everything from postcards, keychains, to unique handcrafted goods.

The most popular attractions in Belize are cave tubing, Altun Ha, Xunantunich (don't try to pronounce it!!!, and Belize Zoo. Belize is a divers paradise becasuse of the 2nd largest barrier reef and largest in the Northern hemisphere, they also have the Blue Hole, and the many beaches ont he various cays.

There is a pier that is being built to accommodate cruise ships so they do not have to tender. It will also allow more ships to come in to port at the same time. The pier is scheduled to open in 2009 or 2010. I will attach the link to the new pier/shopping area being built.

http://belizecruiseterminal.com/

I do caution you that they do not recommend that tourists wander too far away from the cruise terminal area for safety reasons. Belize City itself has some shanty areas and some really nice/well cared for areas and a tour of the city shows that off. Many tours that head out to outlying areas include some elements of a city tour.

Adults will like the cave tubing and "Raiders of the Lost Mayan Cave" tour. Belize has Mayan ruins that are amazing and at Altun Ha you can still climb and explore the sites, unline others where you can only look at the pyramids/temples. Xunantunich (Zuni) is a LONG tour, 7 hours, as it is a 2 hour drive each way, but they rave about it as it is a fair sized site. I did Altun Ha in September and loved it (except for the 45+Celcius heat/humidity) and I did Belize Zoo (great for kids) and enjoyed myself there too to see the animals native to Belize!

I found shopping in Belize to be quite good and the prices were downright cheap!!!! The terminal building where the buses park has some vender stalls and I found a woodcarver there who was selling the carvings at very fair/reasonable prices. I would have loved the BIG pieces, but I had to fit it in a carry on bag, so I got the shark...

Happy sailings!

rsumrow79 · #4 (**permalink**) January 31st, 2009, 11:37 AM

Well Angel covered most of what to do. Yes there is a nice, secure, shopping area there with lots of shops. If you were looking to do some shopping on your cruise I suggest doing it there. The prices were much cheaper for the same items than Cozumel.

We did the city tour, due to the fact my Dad was having knee problems. DO NOT leave the shopping area unless you are on a guided tour. I have traveled all over the world and that was one of the poorest main cities I have ever seen.

Enjoy your trip.

Randy and Heather

travelgalSue · #5 (**permalink**) January 31st, 2009, 02:15 PM

I want to thank everyone for thier posts. Even though I didn't ask the question it gave me some good ideas for our cruise in Jan. 2010. I was concerned about what we will do there but now I have some good ideas to pass on.

Thanks Everyone!

cals granny · #6 (**permalink**) January 31st, 2009, 02:33 PM

Can anyone tell me if the Belize zoo is a safe place to go? I'm planning for cruise tour at the zoo, but I was wanting to take my husband there too.
He's in a wheelchair. Anyone know if it's possible to do the zoo in a wheelchair? It's not a power chair. Thanks!!

colorcrazie · #7 (**permalink**) January 31st, 2009, 02:49 PM

If the bus can accomodate his wheelchair, it may be fine. The zoo itself is very flat, but paths are gravel. So, it depends on being able to navigate on that kind of surface.
I got a kick out of some of my fellow passengers on one trip there. The brochure said "natural habitat". They were expecting that to be the same as it is here....an artificially created version of the animals' habitats. There, they are IN their natural habitat, a.k.a. the jungle. The zoo merely fanced off enclosures and put gravel down to create paths in between.
If you go, take insect repellant. It's a jungle with a lot of animals, so the mosquitoes are fierce. But, I loved the zoo. You get a lot closer to the animals than you ever could here in the states and some of them are so rare that you would probably never see them outside of Belize.
Have fun!
Marty

Thoth · #8 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2009, 12:07 AM

Belize is a fun port of call....I concur.
Mayan ruins, jungle tours, caves

Donna · #9 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2009, 07:36 AM

Its a great stop to snorkel or dive, amazing fish. The shopping by the pier was fine too. I didn't fenture out of the tourist area, others have.

colorcrazie · #10 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2009, 02:33 PM

Last I had heard, they stopped offering the cave tubing because of the 2 deaths. Does anyone know if that is still the case? DH loves that excursion.
Marty

cutiecat · #11 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2009, 03:25 PM

i did a beach excursion and just shopped around the harbor dock. but the beach is beautiful.

airforce95 · #12 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2009, 08:19 PM

We have been there twice. The first time they had a fresh water river tour combined with a tour of some Myan ruins. It was 25 mile ride up the river that was just outstanding. We found fresh water dolphins jumping and playing around our boat. The next time we went we did the cave tubing. That was the most fun of any tour we have done.

flowers · #13 (**permalink**) February 3rd, 2009, 11:25 AM

We took a tour of the city of Belize. Worst tour Iv ever taken. Boring!!! We saw some old church built by slaves and the governor's mansion (had bars on the windows) and other sites that just to me was boring. We paid $5 for a teensy tiny bag of cashews that had been roasted.

Id do something out in the countryside next time. Everyone that did ziplining and cavetubing loved Belize and said it was beautiful and fun. Go outside the city.

Cruisegirl2 · #14 (**permalink**) February 4th, 2009, 08:30 AM

We have been to Belize twice. The first time, we did the Altun Ha/River Wallace tour which I highly recommend. Altun Ha has some very interesting Mayan ruins and one large pyramid which you can climb. It is a nice medium-sized ruin area - not as large as Tulum. The River Wallace is full of interesting wild life - monkeys, crocodiles, iguanas, etc. and the tour guide stops to let you see all of them. The boat then drops you off at the pier.
The second time, we rode the tender in and did some shopping at the pier. They have added a lot of nice shops (this was several years ago) and they have probably added some more since then. Also there is a nice food court to sit and take a break.
We will be going back in Jan. 2010 on the Triumph out of New Orleans. Not sure what we will do then.