V.i.V. Cave Kayaking Tour

We came from a cruise ship and the V.I.V. tour guides were waiting for us at Gate 1 with their signs and air conditioned van ready to take us to the jungles and caves of Belize. The ride took about 1 hour but our tour guide, the Rock, was very knowledgeable and he made the time go by super fast sharing his knowledge and love for Belize. We arrived at the site and because many of us were in flip flops we were able to rent some crocs for $3. You need to wear a bathing suit or some clothes you don't mind getting wet. They provide the life vests and helmets and you pick either tandem or single kayaks. Chello, the powerhouse guide, walked all the kayaks upstream so they would be ready for us when we arrived at the drop site. Abner who drove the bus was also our guide along the hike and through the caves. He took the time to explain everything about the jungle, including the plants and wildlife. He managed to get many of us to eat these tiny termites he found on some of the trees, which were minty - who would have known?! The entire hike was just beautiful. Once at the caves we all got into our kayaks, turned on our headlamps and kayaked through all these amazing caves.The water was crystal clear and it was so fun to be able to maneuver your way through the caves. Abner pointed out many interesting things during the trip. We had a few stopping points where we jumped in to cool off and swim in the water. We also jumped off of some high rocks. Abner loves to swim and gives you time to do what you want. It was just an amazing day and I can't say enough good things. Because we came from a cruise ship, they kept track of the time and made sure we got back with plenty of time to catch the tender back to the ship. I highly recommend this tour! It was awesome!!

The staff took really good care of us. Elvis was full of fun facts about Belize and his other travels. We traveled with very small children and Elvis went out of his way to ensure that we were safe and had a great time.

We had an experience that far surpassed my expectations on our Cave Kayaking excursion. Sharon was fantastic! On the hike to the kayaks she pointed out many interesting plants and animals, including leaf cutter ants that were line up with their leaves all the way to the top of a tree. Kayaking the caves was also fantastic! Sharon was an excellent guide and helped us to navigate the caves as well as areas with shallow water. She even lead us to a spot where we were able to get out of the kayaks and jump off some boulders into the cool and refreshing river water. Highly recommended!!!

If you want to do something different than what everyone is doing when they get there, do the kayaking. This company is the only one that was out there when we went. Jeremy was our guide. He took us to areas that "tubers" couldn't go. It was good because when we did mix in with the tubers, it was loud! Jeremy warned us ahead of time, but man, we didn't realize the ratio of tubers to kayakers. Basically, it was 5 of us versus all of them. Definitely try this route if/when you go. It's well worth it and having a good guide like Jeremy that knew the area definitely helps. He even took us to lunch in an area where there weren't much crowd so we can eat peacefully. Ask for Jeremy when you go, you won't be disappointed.

This was an awesome excursion. Our guide Abner was very friendly and knowledgeable. He was funny too. Everyone enjoyed themselves. The water was just pristine and beautiful. I would definitely do this excursion over again. Take this one over the tubing one. You see and do more with the kayaking. They hook you together on the tubing excursion.

This tour totally exceeded my expectations! I was traveling with 7 family members ages 25-55 on a Carnival cruise and wanted to do something outside the normal cruise expeditions. I was nervous to book a third party tour, but VIV Tours totally took care of us. After tendering to shore it was easy to find our tour company at 9 a.m. as advised, but the only downside was that we waited around for an hour because another group had also booked the same tour but never showed up. Standing in the hot sun with no information about when we might be leaving was frustrating, but it ended up just being the 8 of us for the tour, so I can't complain too much! I can't say enough good things about our guide Abner. During the hour-long ride to the caves, he gave us candid and thoughtful explanations of sights we were passing and Belizean culture. When we arrived at the site we changed and bought a quick snack and geared up we could leave our backpacks in the van which was nice and took a leisurely 30 minute walk through the forest to the caves. Along the way Abner went out of his way to point out different fruits, trees, animals...he even talked us into eating termites! We crossed three rivers on foot, but the rest of the trail was wide and flat. The mouth of the caves were filled with hoards of tubers--we hopped into our double kayaks and glided past them into the first of several caves. The tubing groups could only go a couple caves in, and soon enough we were cruising along by ourselves through cave after cave that most people don't get to see. It was truly magical--we entered one that was FILLED with bats cool, not scary! and turned off our headlamps and sat in the darkness and silence for a bit. We stopped off on a small beach area to stretch our legs and jump off a rock under Abner's guidance. The second half was kayaking down the river, but the water was very low which caused us to get stuck and/or have to get out and walk a lot which was a bummer. Nevertheless Abner kept us in good spirits and got us back to the starting point, where we cleaned up, grabbed a cold beer, and Abner got us a delicious local lunch of beans, rice, chicken, and soda for 10 each that we ate on the drive back. We were hiking and kayaking for so long that I was worried about getting back to the ship on time 4:30, but Abner got us back with plenty to spare, and it was amazing how much we were able to fit in during our stop! The hiking kayaking can be tiring mostly because of its length, so if you're comfortably mobile I would 100 recommend this over the tubing--you see so much more, and the people in the tubes looked pretty bored honestly. My parents had never kayaked before and went slow but still had a great time as well. Be sure to bring water and snacks, and wear sandals that strap to your feet, toe shoes, or Crocs really!. You can also rent Crocs for 3. The drive to and from the caves is fast and bumpy so keep that in mind if you get carsick. Overall I'd highly recommend this excursion--we were well taken care of, it felt very exclusive and unique, and it was honestly better than a private tour I booked in another port! Abner is a fantastic ambassador of Belize.

Guides were great, kayaking was definitely better than tubing. There are a couple of challenging spots, though.