If you're looking for a more personalized tour rather than the busload tours this is for you. We had read about Vitalino's by another reviewer and gave them a shot. Wow! Just the four of us and while the busloads of the .com tour were marching straight to the lauch sites our guide, Harrison, was pointing out interesting aspects of the rainforest. From the plant that acts like a natural bug spray to the tarantula he tickled out, very interesting. And then he masterfully guided us into areas of the river that the big groups chained together couldn't get to. Then a good lunch at a cool local place. All for a great price. Sold me on avoiding the cruise ship mass tours. Highly recommended!

The tour was great. Vitalino know a lot about the area and what we were doing. There was no problem at all getting back to the cruise ship. With this tour you actually get to tube through an extra cave that the people on the similar cruise ship tour don't get to do. I actually didn't think the water was as cold as other reviewers said. The bugs weren't too bad once we put on bug spray. There's no need to worry with cavetubing.bz!

After reading about it on this website, I scheduled this excursion for my family of six - two teens, two young adults, my husband and myself - and it got an enthusiastic thumbs-up from everyone. Getting tendered off the cruise ship was a bit complicated, but Vitalino Reyes and his staff were there waiting, just as they said they'd be. Once everyone was assembled, our group of about 35 boarded a modified schoolbus and headed through Belize City to the rain forest for our little adventure. Vitalino is friendly, energetic and knowledgeable, so it was fun to have him narrate our "tour" of the city and its outskirts. Once at the rain forest, we were outfitted with tubes and headlamps and we had an easy hike (maybe 30 minutes) on a path through the rainforest and here Vitalino and the other guides impressed us with their knowledge of the native flora and fauna -- including a tarantula that Vitalino let the brave among us touch or hold. The actual tubing itself was very low-key and relaxing. We were linked together in groups and guided carefully along as we floated through several caves. I would have been comfortable bringing a much younger child along. On the trip back to the port, we were offered water, beer or rum punch before we stopped for a Belizean lunch of chicken, rice and beans at a comfortably rustic, screened-in restaurant. We made it back to the port with some time to spare, but I wasn't nervous because I knew that the guides were watching the time.
Some tips: Although I had brought bug repellent, we didn't need it. You do, however, need sandals or water shoes that strap on because there are points where you walk through the water and there is a current that would suck off a pair of flip flops. Our family if fairly athletic and we didn't find this trip to be physically challenging at all. It would be hard on someone who has trouble walking though. Even though it wasn't "scary," the excursion was exciting and enjoyable because we loved meeting Vitalino and his staff, learning a little about Belize and being outdoors in a beautiful and fascinating place. As for the caves themselves, well... it's kind of like being on the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean ride, except with real bats and no pirates. Vitalino is actually the person who trains many of the cave tubing guides and his tour is a little longer than the typical one -- he certainly works very hard to make this a great experience for everyone. If I were to visit Belize again, I would definitely do another type of tour with his company. But if you have only a day in Belize like we did -- this tour will make the most of it and leave you with wonderful memories.

Just completed a cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines that had a stop in Belize. We decided to go with Vitalino as opposed to the ships excursion for our cave tubing experience. We are so glad that we chose Vitalino. He and a guide that worked for him picked us up(11 of us) in two A/C vans. They were very friendly and very informative about Belize on our way to the cave tubing site (45min-1hr). After our hike thru the rain forest we entered the water with 4 guides (we were split into our families 5-4-2 each with our own guide and a spare but stayed together the whole way). The guides were great and informative on the history of the caves and at pointing out things we would have missed. We saw the ships excursion crowd confusion and were immediately thankful we went with Vitalino. We saw twice as many caves and had a dedicated guide and paid half as much. These guys knew some much about the caves and pointed out all the details. They guided us through the shallow areas and away from the trouble spots. There wasn't anyone on the river better than these guys. Thanks Vitalino and staff - You guys rock. The Myers' family