We were a little nervous about the tendering situation and having time to do both tours when our ship the Liberty of the Seas got into Belize, but it was so smooth going. We got tender tickets that morning and were on #4, they called 1-4 first thing when boats were ready to go so we got to shore early. Found VIV tours exactly where they described they would be. We were quickly walked out to the parking area and introduced to Marco (the best guide ever!!!), our guide for the day. We took a minute to run to the Belize sign to take pictures then we were on the road, way before any of the cruise buses left the parking lot. Marco was a competent guide and driver. He explained the day to us, told us exactly how long the drives would be and what to expect. Usually you can't do the cave kayaking and Altun Ha in the same day with a big cruise tour, but with Marco and VIV tours, he got us in and out right where we needed to be to be able to see both places and still have time to shop before we got back on the ship. Beware, its a busy day though, if you want to take your time, choose one or the other. We had 4 kid 8-16, so this was a perfect tour to keep their attention.
We made it to the Jaguar Paw early in the day, before all the tour buses. Marco got our paddles and life jackets and we were off on a 25 minute hike to the caves. Marco was so knowledgeable about the plants and animals and showed us many cool things on the way to the caves. Once at the caves we were the only ones there, it was amazing not having a million people surrounding us. Kayaking was awesome, we got to see more of the caves than if we were tubing. We paddled up river to a sweet swimming spot and had it completely to ourselves for 20 minutes of playing in the water. Marco even showed us the best way to jump into the water, where to catch snails and feed them to the fish and deer tracks where they've come to drink the water. We loaded back into the Kayaks and headed downstream. We did pass a couple of small tubing groups who had made it to the river by this time, but it was still not very crowded, and the kayaking added another dimension to the tour, so much fun. My kids would have gotten bored sitting on the tube.
Before we headed to the caves Marco pre-ordered our lunch to be ready for us when we got back from the caves. It was so smoothly done, we walked back, turned our paddles in and headed to the van to change and pick up lunch. We were on our way quickly with a authentic Belize lunch of rice/beans/chicken. SO good!!!
Driving through Belize was so insightful and interesting and Marco keep the dialogue going the whole time, making the driving part seem quick. He's so interesting and so proud of his country. We learned so much from him and could understand his English easily.
Altun Ha was amazing. So beautiful to see and learn about. We were able to climb one of the temples and the view was amazing. We didn't spent too much time here, which worked out perfectly for our kids attention spans. We headed back to the port with 45 minutes left to shop before the last tender left.
Thank you Marco and VIV tours for such a neat experience and wonderful day!