Venture deep inside an ancient cave system at Nohoc Chen Park on a cave kayaking adventure from Belize City. Old legends and an underground waterfall await inside a series of caverns that you explore by single or double kayak, wearing an LED headlamp to illuminate crystalline rock formations. Hike through the Belizean rain forest and paddle down open stretches of the Caves Branch River on this half-day tour in the heart of the Maya Mountains.

Half-day cave kayaking tour from Belize City
Paddle through an ancient underground cave system in Nohoc Chen Park
Hike through the Belizean jungle to reach the cave entrance
Wear an LED headlamp to see fantastic rock formations and an underground waterfall
Navigate downstream along the beautiful Caves Branch River
Makes a great shore excursion for cruise ship passengers
Includes pickup and drop-off from Belize City hotels or the cruise terminal

What's Included

Transport by air-conditioned minivan
molded heavy duty sit on top kayaks, single or tandem, paddles, PFDs, Helmets, jackets
Lunch Break option to purchase lunch
We Tour on Ship Time, arrive early and return to the dock with plenty of time to spare

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Gratuities
Lunch

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Baron Bliss lighthouse
4 Fort St, Belize City, Belize
Cruisers, V.i.V. will meet you at Belize City FSTV cruise port, Terminal 1 Exit, street side, terminal 1 Exit street side. V.i.V. Guest staying in Belize City Hotels, we pick you up at the hotel. San Pedro Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker guest, we meet you at the water taxi terminal in Belize city

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

we pick up at Belize city hotels. For cruisers, Once your ship visits the Belize City Port or FSTV, enjoy this tour. we tour on SHIP TIME, Tour starts 1.5 hours after the ship is in port. we have a van and guides for your ship, come ashore very early, get a early tender ticket and come ashore early and enjoy this unbelizable adventure. cruise ships stay 4 miles offshore, the cruise provides boat shuttle tenders guest to shore. the tenders start at 7:45, there are 6 tenders each carrying 200 passengers going back and forth from ship to shore during the first hour. the tender boats are then reduced to 2 going through out the rest of the day. so its vital to get a early tender ticket, Come ashore early. near shore you will see the lighthouse, the terminal buildings housing giftshops. proceed to terminal 1 and go thru the terminal to the EXIT where street side you will see us in RED shirts and holding the V.i.V sign

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not recommended for travellers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travellers
Not wheelchair accessible
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
we pick up at FSTV cruise port, REEF Terminal Exit, street side, San Pedro Express water taxi, hotels
A moderate amount of hiking is involved
Not recommended for children aged 8 and under
Inclement Weather Concerns: we get hourly weather updates as to the condition of water levels at the rivers.
sometimes its raining around the cruise line and coastal areas, and the rivers are fine.so we go ahead and do the tour as scheduled. only if the rains are in the mountains and right now the rivers are low and we need more water in the rivers then the float will be better, last week the kayaks were getting stuck in the lower parts of the rivers. if the rains are in the mountains and more than normal and the water rises and we can not take up the kayaks , then we use tubes to do cave tubing.... if the rangers in the mountain top measure more than usual water then the caves system are closed for all activities....we have the zipline tour. or the altun ha Maya site tour or refund for not participating on the alternate tour.
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level

participants must know how to swim
bring a reusable water bottle, disposing of empty plastic bottles is not allowed
for helmet cam use, bring helmet attachment
cruise guest stay on ship time and arrive early, checkin with us as soon as possible , play more , arrive early
restaurants, river shoe rentals, available at the park
bring towels, change of clothing, swimwear, insect repellent, footwear with thick soles used to walk on gravel path and do the river crossing.
Reserve Online and come ashore early, we dispatch as the vans fill up
The Tour vans and staff are near the Belize sign by the lighthouse.
NOT available from NCL Harvest Caye Port
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 44 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Featured review

Amy_M

Kayaking the caves was the most amazing experience ever!!! Our family of four were the only ones out of hundreds of people that did kayaks instead of tubing. We were able to go up stream to caves that tubers couldn’t go in. Tubes are all tied together and hundreds of them floating. We kayaked around them and could take rocky parts of the river while tubers had to get out and walk around. The small hike to the river was nice! Very easy terrain and you don’t have to carry anything except your paddle! We had Abner, Chello, and the rock as our tour guides. Abner and chello went with us in the kayaks and absolutely made the trip the best ever! Chello is the equipment guy and works so hard!! I would completely recommend this over tubing!

Reviews

5.0

282 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 282 reviews

Amazing adventure

rozagelman, Sept 2023

Hiking to the kayaks through the jungle was an adventure! Swimming in the caves spring waters was awesome. We enjoyed every part of it! Kayaking and navigating the caves was exhilarating!!!

A Magical and Enchanting Tour...don't miss it!

KristiM_W, Aug 2023

What an amazing adventure! Highly recommend this tour to anyone even slightly considering whether or not it may be worth the time/money. It WAS! We were traveling as a family of 4; 2 adults and our 2 sons, ages 12 and 9. The boys rated this the adventure of the trip (we did, too!) The hour-long van ride gave ample time for our younger tour guide, Naz, to narrate some of what we were seeing as we proceeded along the roadway. He was knowledgeable and extremely informative. It was nice to learn some of the local culture from a young man who was clearly proud of his heritage. Once we arrived, we were fitted nicely with safety equipment (fitted helmets and appropriately-sized life vests), then given our paddles and shown how to separate them for ease of carrying for the upcoming rain forest hike. What a fun walk! We walked along a well-worn path, and also through some knee-to-waist-high water. It felt very Indiana Jones! Our guide pointed out some very cool nature along the way (cashew tree, allspice leaves, and some leaf-cutter ants hard at work). There's almost no accurate way to describe the kayak itself. The cave is simply beautiful. Truly enchanting. With helmets fitted with headlamps, and 3 different kayaks leading and guiding the way, we paddled through some dark spots as well as some that opened up to the most beautiful green scenery one can imagine. We got a bonus cave dive and swim, too! We saw bats and some iridescent crystals...just magical!

Stage entire trip was...

Patty_W, Aug 2023

Stage entire trip was great. We got to travel farther in the cave system than the tubers. Highly recommend the trip.

Do it

Bryanna_P, Aug 2023

This was probably one of the best excursions we've ever done. Bring cash. Wear proper shoes (shoes that have backs and can get wet). Dress properly. The pros - the tour guides were great. It was a real hike through a rainforest to get to the cave, and we crossed a few rivers/streams along the way - you will get wet. The kayaking into the caves was a very cool experience. We kayaked upstream to go through the cave systems, then turned around and kayaked downstream to go back. We were able to get in and swim at one point. Views and scenery were absolutely beautiful. We were offered to get a box lunch to eat in the van on our way back, and it was delicious. The cons - we booked this as an excursion during our cruise. It was the first time we've ever booked an excursion that wasn't offered through the cruise line. Even with the directions provided, it wasn't easy to find the meeting point. We arrived on time, but were waiting for others who had also booked this trip (some staying in hotels, etc), and left over an hour late. The van we loaded up in broke down before we started, so we had to transfer to a different, smaller van, putting us even later. It was probably an hour or so ride in the van to the rainforest/caves. The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly. But since we left so late, we arrived back very late, and only had about 10 min to catch the last tender to our boat. While we did make it in time, it was a bit stressful, and we didn't have any time to shop or look around at the port (we should have had almost 2 hours to do this). The lack of following the scheduled times caused some stress and didn't allow us to take part in other plans we had made. Overall, do the excursion! It is amazing!

Awesome excursion!

Heather_L, Aug 2023

Very fun excursion. Absolutely beautiful hiking through the rainforest on the way to the caves. Highly recommend!

Must do!

Hanna_V, Aug 2023

Really amazing tour, a must do for anyone traveling to Belize. Amazing once in a lifetime hike followed by Kayaking through caves in a small group. Much better experience than just tubing down river. Not to give too much away there a a few very unique and special opportunities while Kayaking. We did this tour with a 6 and 9 year old (both good swimmers and familiar with Kayaking) and they loved it just as much. Our tour guide Fab was wonderful and very knowledgeable. I do recommend bringing water shoes (not flip flops) and snacks/lunch, particularly if traveling with kids :) Althoughh they do sell everything there as well.

Natural beauty, well organized, incredible experience

Bryan_S, Aug 2023

Nelson and Lupe were excellent guides from beginning to the end of this trip. They drove us from the port to the park, which was a 45-60 minute drive. They provided great information about their country in a light-hearted and engaging manner. The van they drove us in was clean and comfortable, Nelson drove safely. If you are debating between tubing and kayaking, I would completely recommend the kayaking trip. We got to see so much of the cave network and maneuver places that the tubes couldn’t go. The natural beauty of the park and cave system was awe inspiring. We left with a great respect for Belize and would absolutely do this again.

More than just a kayak trip...

Edwin_S, Aug 2023

We really thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip. We love kayaking and the short upstream jaunt was fun. The caves were really cool to see and getting in the cool water was nice. While we hiked up to our adventure, our guide shared some history and discussed many of the animals and plants we saw. It was really cool to watch the business of the leaf cutter ant colony.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Awesome, thanks for choosing us.

Guides did a great job of...

Thomas_S, July 2023

Guides did a great job of explaining the land and surroundings. Wish they would run the trips off of ship time, it was confusing with the different time zones.

Response from Host, July 2023

thanks for your review, we are happy that you enjoyed the tour. All tours for Cruise passengers start One Hour after the ship arrives in port.

Amazing cave kayaking

Michele_B, July 2023

We have been hiking in caves before but never kayaking. It was amazing. Our tour guides, Abner and Abner2.0 were very knowledgeable. While walking to our start point they informed us about the trees, the eco system, the various herbs found there and even the nutrients of eating the local termites (which they ate for demonstration). The only thing I would change is the drive to the destination. Van was a little shottie, with very little AC, cracked windows and other ascetics. I would also include the price of the food and drink that we had at the end with the cost of the excursion. Overall, the experience was very good and we would do it again in addition to recommending it to others. If you were hesitant about going on this adventure think no more. YOLO!!!

Just book this tour!

Angela_F, July 2023

It was an amazing day. Thank you for the great tour. We are so glad we pick cave kayaking excursion instead of tubing.

Un-Belize-able!!!

Mandy_W, June 2023

This trip was a blast! We went with our 18 and 21 year old daughters and everyone had fun. There is a 45 minute ride to get to the site of the cave, and then there is a 30 minute rocky hike to the cave, but it isn’t overly strenuous. The hike and the caves are beautiful, and our guide was great. Lunch was available at a little outdoor cafe nearby. Our driver was easy to understand and gave us lots of information about the area.

A great excursion!

Lisa_G, June 2023

This was so fun! We really enjoyed kayaking in the caves, it was beautiful. Our guides Abner and Colin were so nice and funny. They were very knowledgeable and seemed to really enjoy their jobs.

Fantastic

Vongayi_M, June 2023

Had a fantastic time with amazing tour guides Abner and Abner. They gave us a great experience with the hike and showed us around the beautiful jungle. They were also very patient with my family and I as we struggled with our kayaks. They were awesome and made our experience ten times better. Thank you!

Highly recommend this tour-ask for Barry

HEATHER_M, May 2023

It was great experience. Barry is an amazing tour guide and so knowledgeable! It’s almost an hour out of Belize City, so you get to see the provinces. The hike to the water is only a little over a mile and it’s so beautiful and Barry knew so much about all the plants, he’s so great. We had a blast!

Vendors there are scammers! Ran card twice!

Robyn_D, May 2023

The excursion itself was great! Be aware of the lady selling things right as you go into the woods to start your tour. I bought some items from her and the young lady is purposely running multiple charges on peoples cards. I knew something was suspicious about her but when I got back to the states and checked my bank account I saw what she had done. Count your days my lady! The restaurant there as you enter the establishment has great food. Just try not to buy items from the vendors and you should be fine.

Response from Host, July 2023

we are happy to hear that you had a awesome time on the kayak tour. sorry , we don't operate any giftshop, please post this review on the gift shop review post, not on the kayaking tour. thanks

Guides were fun, friendly...

Kelly_S, May 2023

Guides were fun, friendly and made the trip a blast. The water was refreshing and beautiful. The scenery was incredible.

Cave kajak in paradise

Donna_C, May 2023

Loved this tour. Both our tour guides Abner and Abner Jr were wonderfull. Very helpful. And informative.. ride to site was an hour and 15 min. But went quick. Lots of info on the area..walk in to river was beautifull.. Lots of shade so not to hot. Also not too hilly so easy to do..it does cross the river 3 times.so anyone with mobility issues would not want to take it. Stopped and started to show us different fauna so lots of rest. The river and caves were wonderfull,many formation,even a little waterfall, water crystal clear and cool.not cold.... Flat and calm so easy paddle . End where walk started so only 3 min walk out to bus . Had option to buy a meal. Belizean rice and beans,chicken and slay with drink for $10. Prepay and ready when we got on the bus.was delicious! Perfect after the exercise.. would do this trip over and over. Thanks to both Abner's for a fantastic day

Great adventure!

Fred_Q, May 2023

A great experience to see another part of God’s creation. Excellent guides very attentive and helpful. Be sure and wear shoes that you can walk in over rocks that you do not mind getting wet. Crocks with thick soles or waterproof sandals with straps. I would definitely recommend this excursion.

Do it!

Grace_W, Apr 2023

I had a good time with this tour co. Fabulous (Fab) was our guide and he helped me a lot with directions on how to properly kayak 😅. The cave was beautiful and the water was very fresh, definitely worth checking them out.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

thanks for the review, we are happy that you enjoyed this adventure with us.

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