We were in Belize last May 1, 2008. We decided to join Vitalino's group based on all the reviews we saw in TripAdvisor. And we don't regret doing so.

Vitalino's group is really great. They were very accommodating and made sure that our group is well taken care of. Vitalion's group is one of the best I joined and I highly recommend that you join them when you go to Belize.

I booked this tour prior to our cruise and saved about 1/2 the price the cruise boat was charging. Vitalino was waiting as promised at the pier and the tour was better than I had ever expected. We were the first group out on the private tour.We had 6 people so we were treated to a more personal experience than a large group that the cruise boats draw. We also toured 2 caves and the cruise boat only went through one. Our lunch was also included.

As a tourist we are all skeptical of booking on line. He did not require a charge card number to make reservations and I paid cash for our tour the day of our arrival. Vitalino and his son were the most gracious of hosts, as we had a wonderful and memory filled time in Belize.

My husband and I are considering a land vacation to Belize in the future and he told us that he would be avalible for other types of tours as well. I will be in contact with Vitalino again!!!!

On our April 2008 cruse with Carnival Legend to Exotic Western Caribbean, we visited Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan Island of Honduras. We had a great time everywhere, but Cave Tubing in Belize with Vitolino was by far the best experience of this and, possibly, all of our previous cruises (except maybe some Hawaii explorations).

This activity includes about an hour-long drive from the port, short but extremely pleasant hike towards the caves through the rain forest, the very cave tubing down the slow, shallow river, and a traditional lunch on the way back.

I saw and talked with people who made their reservations with the cruise and online, with large agencies, and realized how lucky we were to be in a small (only 10 people) group attended by two guides - Vitolino and his son.

First, about the logistics. We paid $45 pp (a typical online fee, much smaller than the cruise charges, of course) which included lunch. Email communication was very prompt and thorough. As soon as we disembarked and found Vitolino, we hit the road. The timing of the whole event was perfect. We never felt rushed nor did we feel any danger of being late for embarkation.

During the drive to the cave park, we had a nice tour of the Belize City and the country as a whole. The driver was eager to answered all questions with thoroughness. However, the real difference started appearing during the rain forest hike. Vitolino gave us many interesting details about the forest, different species of trees and animals, stopped many times to give us a taste and smell of some plants used by the natives. We watched a large, pregnant tarantula and tasted some coconut and termites (very pleasant, refreshing, a bit acidic taste - if you have guts to chew on those insects while they are trying to escape between your fingers). We saw large groups of cruise and other excursions passing by along the trail without any attention...

The most important were the unique views inside the caves. Firstly, our small group went higher than most others, so we did an extra cave for the same price. Most importantly, there are plenty of shallow and crowded places where you see those poor people struggling to move forward and paying very little attention to the breathtaking beauty around. Not us! We split into two small groups (3 and 7 people, Vitolino's young son took 3 of us), arranged a "train", and were smoothly pulled by our guides avoiding all the traps and traffic jams. We've heard lots of comments full of envy from the struggling individuals we were passing by...like "oh, you guys, must've bought first class tickets!" and such.

Again, the views inside the caves, especially in places with "windows" into the surrounding rain forest, are absolutely breathtaking and truly unique, incomparable to anything I've seen before. In addition, the moments of transferring from the darkness of the caves into the peaceful floating on your back under the blue sky, green forest canopy and worm (at that moment - not hot but pleasantly worm!) sun - I am melting in pleasure just trying to recall those moments! That's, of course, because we were carefully pulled by our guides, so we could lay back and relax...people around were still struggling to steer their tubes (not a very handy flotation device) and avoid being stuck on a shallow place.

On the way back - a nice traditional lunch with chicken stewed in coconut milk, rice and fried banana, and a worm, friendly conversation with hospitable and very proud of his own small business Vitalino. He even gave those of us who made reservations t-shorts with his logo...icing on the cake.

To finish, highly recommend this experience to anybody who loves nature explorations.

We were in Belize from April 5-14th. Cave Tubing with Vitalino was a highlight of the trip. Vitalino was friendly, enthusiastic and a wonderful tour guide. His obvious knowledge and pride in his Mayan heritage was a huge advantage to us as a family. The information he imparted to us just on the hike to the spot where we entered the river was fantastic, allowing us to taste native seeds and plants and even....yuck....termites! My boys, 11 and 13 were thrilled! Even though Vitalino lost his shoes and his headlamp on the trip, he was great and more concerned about our enjoyment.
Thanks for a fantastic afternoon!