Tours in Belize City

Although Belize City is centrally located for day trips to the northern cayes and to inland areas in the middle of the country, few travelers use it as a base. The reasons include the city's reputation for street crime and hassle, and, more recently, the influx of cruise ships bringing crowds of day-trippers who crowd the area around the Tourism Village and monopolize cave tubing and snorkeling trips and tours to Mayan ruins. Except for attractions within an hour or so of the city, such as the Belize Zoo and Baboon Sanctuary, it generally makes sense to move on from Belize City.

Even so, if you're staying in Belize City you can take day trips to Altun Ha, Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, and Lamanai. You can also do day trips to nearby islands, including St. George's, Chapel, Caulker, and Ambergris cayes, either on your own or with a local tour operator. Your hotel can also arrange day trips.

S&L Travel and Tours is an established local tour operator that offers trips to Lamanai, Xunantunich, and Altun Ha Mayan sites; Belize Zoo; the Mountain Pine Ridge; and the Sibun River for cave tubing. Belize Trips' Katie Valk, a transplanted New Yorker, can organize a custom trip to almost any place in the country and also to Tikal in Guatemala. With her hotel connections she can even get you a room when everything seems booked. She's also a warden for the U.S. Embassy.

Several other Belize City-based tour companies are listed below. Keep in mind that most Belize City tour operators focus more on the booming cruise ship market, which brings customers by the thousands, than on individual travelers. Some of these cruise ship tour operators, while generally reputable, have no office and operate with a Web site and a cell phone, meeting customers at the Tourism Village. Katie Valk at Belize Trips is an exception, as she focuses on individual and small group travel.

Contacts

Katie Valk, Belize Trips (Box 1108, Belize City. 223/0376. www.belize-trips.com). Cave-Tubing in Belize (605/1573. www.cave-tubing.com). Discovery Expeditions (5916 Manatee Dr., Buttonwood Bay. 223/0748. www.discoverybelize.com). Gray Line (71 N. Front St., Belize City. 223/6025. www.graylinebelize.com). Maya Travel Services (42 Cleghorn St., Belize City. 223/1623. www.mayatravelservices.com). S&L Travel and Tours (91 N. Front St. 227/7593. www.sltravelbelize.com).