Cave Tubing & Belize Zoo

The adventure starts at the Belize Zoo Upon arriving at the zoo, we check in at the visitor center. Here we can access a map of the zoo’s layout. We can choose to tour the zoo and take any rout we wish. At the visitor center you’ll find reptile display which hosts various local species of snakes

After lunch, it’s time to head out to the George Price Highways once again and make our way onto our next destination, in this case the Cave tubing site. Upon arriving at the parking lot, you guide checks you in with the ranger. Here you can use the expansive restroom complex to change into your swimwear if you haven’t as yet done so. Your guide then walks you over to the tube racks where you’ll pick a tube of your choice. We provide you with life jackets, helmets, and headlamps.

Once we’re all geared up, we then embark on a 45 minutes’ hike across the clear blue Caves Branch River. At this crossing there’s a rope across the river to assist you crossing. The water is knees-deep, typically. After the river crossing, we start off along a jungle trail heading upstream alongside the river.

Since you’ll be ending back at the river crossing downstream, you’ll only be needing to get out of the river and head back on a short trek to the parking lot. Here we’ll deposit our tubes and then we’re free to change into our dry clothes. Once everyone is all dried up, we board the vehicle and head back onto the George Price Highway and onto San Ignacio, arriving around 5:00PM depending on individual pace.

Because the animals roam free and happy in their natural habitats, guides lead visitors through the zoo in carts, with some walking through the jungle as well. Big cats, primates, colorful reptiles, and exotic birds can all be seen beneath the forest canopy, familiar enough with humans that guides can bring visitors for a closer look than you could get on a safari.

The zoo’s original story is fascinating. It begins with the 1983 documentary Selva Verde (“Green Forest”). The Belizean film team gathered 17 animals (an ocelot, a puma, a jaguar, and exotic birds) to appear in the film. Unfortunately, the animals became tame (and some were born in this semi-captivity), and when the film wrapped, releasing them into the wild would have meant their deaths. The film’s animal trainer stayed in Belize to build a makeshift zoo and generate funds for the animals’ care. She found that Belizeans were surprisingly unfamiliar with – and superstitious about – the native wildlife, and formed an educational organization to teach locals and tourists alike about these animals and their environment.

Comfortable walking shoes, bug spray, and a camera.

Transportation, guided tour, entrance fees, bottled water.