How to Enjoy the Thrill of Belize Cave Tubing

For Nick’s second cruise, we boarded a Carnival ship in Tampa and sailed the Caribbean seas for seven days. Our ports of call included Belize City, where we decided to try Belize cave tubing. The choice to embark on a shore excursion rather than explore Belize City really came down to a matter of crime and the lack of things to do within a reasonable walk from the docks so we chose the cave tubing shore excursion.

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Cave tubing in Belize came highly recommended. We were both super excited to head out into the mountains and jungle for this experience. Little did we know how very interesting and informative the journey to the Belize caves would be. Whether you’re cruising with kids or alone, this is one of the few shore excursions I would highly recommend.

Shore excursions work really well in some locations. Personally, I find that shore excursions are not often worth taking. I prefer to pick a direction and walk to see the sites, but that isn’t always the best choice. Belize shore excursions enable cruise ship passengers to view the country without encountering the more dangerous parts of the cities. It’s also a great way to educate foreigners about their beautiful country. We thoroughly enjoyed all of it – the bus ride, the tour guide Elvis who presented nearly the entire way to the Belize jungle and caves, and of course, the cave tubing.

PRO TIP: Cave tubing in Belize is available to travelers on AND off cruise ships. You can book your own cave tubing adventure even if you are not visiting as part of a cruise. Here are the three best cave tubing in Belize tours according to other travelers.

Where is Belize?

Belize is a country in Central America. Mexico borders it to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the south and west. The Great Blue Hole, a popular dive location, is located in Belizean waters. One can also find the Caribbean’s longest reef, the Belize Barrier Reef, in this nation’s waters. The Mayan empire spread from Mexico into Belize and Guatemala, and Mayan ruins in the Belize jungle are also popular attractions.

The Road to Belize Cave Tubing

Cruise ships don’t dock at the port in Belize City. They anchor and passengers board launches which take them to shore. We rose early, ate breakfast, and stood in line for our turn. I had pre-booked the excursion so we had a specified time and bus to board. The tour operators had it well organized on shore so we quickly found our bus and boarded it. Once everyone had arrived from the ship, the bus doors closed and off we went.

Belize is poor, ridiculously so. The tour bus drove through Belize City on the way to cave tubing, past a few historical sites and through some interesting neighborhoods. There don’t seem to be any “wealthy” areas or vacation rental areas in the city. It’s sad. There are a number of abandoned buildings. When I asked our tour guide, the answer turned out to be multi-pronged.

First, many of the wooden buildings date from the 1920’s and are structurally unsound so they are no longer used. Second, there are no mortgages or credit here like we have in the United States. Those who want to build a house or renovate save money, add on to the house, save some more money, add on to the house, and so on until it’s finished. There are no building codes or inspections either. People build their own homes with the help of family and friends, reminiscent of the United States 150 years or so ago.

Belize won its independence in 1981. At one time, Belize City was the capital but a hurricane took out much of the city so the “powers that be” decided that maybe a seaside capital wasn’t a good idea. Wages are quite low, and fuel is expensive so most people either ride bicycles or school buses, even the adults. We drove through projects, over a bridge Canada helped build (the Belcan Bridge), and past a cemetery partially built in the middle of the highway. The country is the size of Massachusetts with four highways and a population of 350,000.

The tour bus traveled over an hour into the Maya mountains. Much of the countryside looks like central Florida, the central Florida which is cattle country, not that which is paved theme parks. The land is flat and low with lots of standing water. Saw palmettos and periodic shrubs dot the ground.

Our tour guide, Elvis, spoke non-stop about his country – it’s history, culture, flora, and fauna. He’s obviously passionate about what he does and his heritage. He has also lived in the United States and works there part of the year so he understands very well the differences between the two countries.

The Maya Mountains

We arrived at the Maya Mountains, a collection of limestone hills, some sheared off to reveal steep gray cliffs where the stone shown through. I’ve never seen limestone anywhere except below my feet in the ground. It was bizarre to see this rock thrust skyward as mountain and cliff.

The limestone we encounter most often in Florida is formed from biological material like coral. The rock in Belize, however, is a unique type of limestone called breccia. Breccia was formed millions of years ago when Belize was the sea bottom of a shallow sea. Storm-tossed seas disrupted the bottom and created angular pieces of rock called “rip up clasts”.

Hundreds of thousands of years later, this limestone sea bottom was thrust upward to create the Maya Mountains. Over more hundreds of thousands of years, rainwater would mix with decaying plant and animal material, creating a weak acidic solution. As the years passed, so did this acidic solution through the limestone, eating away at it to slowly form the caves in Belize, the largest cave system in Central America.

Cave Tubing on the Caves Branch River

At the river we broke up into groups of eight, each with a guide. We donned life jackets and helmets, and were given lime green tubes. We trekked across the spring-fed Caves Branch River, up the opposite bank, and began a 25 minute “jungle walk”. The truth is, this is how you get to the launch point, but it’s pretty and interesting. We saw yellow prickly trees (that’s really their name), mahogany trees, silk cotton trees, and pineapple growing wild.

Several groups of tubers pass through the caves at one time. There were probably over 200 people at the site that day, about 80 of us in the water at the same time. We stood in a bowl of limestone, the river passing from one cave upriver, into the sunlight at our launch point, and into the yawning mouth of another cave. Steep limestone walls flanked us on three sides. When our turn arrived, we hooked up feet to armpits, two by two, and floated behind our guide who pointed out interesting stalactite and stalagmite formations as well as a history of why the Maya used caves.

Along the pebble-bottomed river, we slid from dappled light into darkness where our miners’ lights sporadically jumped from limestone formation to walls to more formations. Stalagmites climbed the cool air, shape-shifting into jaguars, castles, and as-yet-unnamed creatures of the cave. Stalactites clung to the cave’s ceiling and became chandeliers, lamps and mythical Mayan animals.

We floated past a sinkhole – the collapsed ceiling of the cave – to one side that let light into the cave system, trees and plants craning towards the slight sun. Tour guide voices bounced off walls as each belted out his tour spiel and answered questions. A leisurely 30 minutes later the darkness opened into a yawning mouth of light, a short way from where we crossed the river earlier. We picked up our tubes, took a few last looks at the tiny bats we had disturbed with our shrieking voices, and exited.

FAQs About Belize Cave Tubing

Need more information about cave tubing in Belize? Or a quick reference? Here are the most frequently asked questions.

What is cave tubing in Belize?

Cave tubing in Belize is a fun adventure in which groups of people float down a river and through caves siting or laying on air-filled tubes.

Is cave tubing in Belize worth it?

Cave tubing in Belize is a lot of fun and a unique experience which makes a great shore excursion from a cruise ship or a day trip if visiting Belize.

How much does it cost to go cave tubing in Belize?

In 2024, Belize cave tubing costs as little as $45 USD per adult. Check prices now and book your next adventure.

How long is the Belize cave tubing?

Belize cave tubing lasts six to ten hours.

Is cave tubing in Belize safe?

Cave tubing in Belize is a relatively safe excursion. Participants wear helmets, and the river is pretty shallow. Trained guides make sure participants remain safe.

Where to cave tube in Belize?

Belize cave tubing is done at Caves Branch, also called Jaguar Paw.

Closing: Cave Tubing in Belize

I love lazy rivers at water parks but not a single one of those can hold a candle to this natural lazy river. The only thing that could make the experience better would be to do it alone or in a small group, all day, along the entire crystal clear river. What an adventure that would be!

Several lodges offer direct access to the rivers for bathing and more intimate cave tubing adventures as well as kayaking. For a shore excursion, though, this was a pretty great one. I loved the informational bus ride to the cave system, too. On the way back, the bus was quiet, most people sleeping or relaxed from the time in nature. Next time we’re in Belize, we’ll definitely book a cave tubing adventure again.

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