Coral Islands & Mayan Caves - Island Expeditions (Belize)
 

We took the Coral Islands & Mayan Caves tour in April 2008 with Island Expeditions in Belize (also sold through REI Adventures). There seems to be several good reviews of this company's other trips, but I have some criticism:

1) Do not be mislead in the rigor of the trip. We are in our 20s, regular campers/hikers, of average fitness, and have done the occasional 3 hour canoe trip. We were at the bare minimum of fitness to be able to do the trip. We inquired specifically before buying the trip and explained we have no previous kayaking experience, and Island Expeditions gave us (and at least half the group) the impression that none was needed. There is a half day, "Introduction to Kayaking" session included, and Island Expeditions sends recommendations for exercise (2 weeks before your trip and after you've paid), but this is not enough. Pretty much immediately you may be expected to paddle 13 km in whatever current, wind, and weather conditions there are.

2) Value. For us, the trip was far more expensive than it was worth. We paid $1500 each (airfare, snorkeling gear, sleeping bag/pad, headlamps not included) for what was a Do-It-Yourself trip. There are 2 guides and no other support staff (a point again where half the group was mislead). Nearly everyday you will need to set up/take down/pack your own tent; pack/paddle your kayak with your and Island Expeditions' gear, including all the food for the trip; and help prepare dinner. If you don't help prepare dinner, you would never eat before 9 or 10 pm. This is through no fault of the guides (Island Expeditions should provide more support for the price).

4) Communication while on the trip is also weak.

a) There were communication problems between Pacz Tour (who are subcontractors for the caves portion) and Island Expeditions, which resulted in a rushed tour of the ATM caves and drastically shortened "Orientation to Belize" talk/discussion. Also, logistics of the schedule and transfers were not clearly communicated to the group.

b) Guides for the kayaking trip should at least have had 2-way radios. Groups got separated several times, and although things came out alright in the end, this could have been HUGE safety issue when a kayak capsized or missed turns.

Ultimately, we think if you are aware of these potential issues and that the price is still reasonable to you, then you could have a great time on this trip. If you weren't aware of them though, you could potentially be miserable.

Thanks for sharing. Did you enjoy any of the trip? I'd like to hear about the good bits, too.

We just got back from the Island Expeditions Paradise Islands Trip.

It is a lodge based trip, as opposed to camping. The first lodge we stayed at was absolutely awful - cockroach infested and we could see through the walls and the floor. Way beyond rustic - more like dilapidated. The entire Tobacco Caye island is unappealing and was a bad start to the trip. The second lodge was much improved and better lived up to the billing as "rustic". However, neither of the two lodges we stayed at were half as nice as the interior of the beach cabin shown on the Paradise Islands section of the website. There should be some truth in advertising, as a result buyer beware.

Also, even though I.E. asked for food restrictions, there was no accommodation for vegetarians or folks who did not eat red meat. The first 3 meals were all pork and/or beef. The only alternative was peanut butter sandwiches or rice/beans. For the price, that was a pretty pathetic alternative. There was also very little fresh seafood - perhaps 4 meals total, which was a disappointment. We had been told that almost all the meals were fresh seafood caught that day. Also, whenever fresh fruit was served, there was insufficient quantity for all the guests.

The Guides were very nice people, but I.E. looks to have gone for cost cutting and we did not have the North American guide the trip was billed as having. Instead we had 2 local guides, one of which spoke very poor English. Unfortunately, he also was the lead guide, which created safety issues as he was difficult to understand especially when on the water.

Safety was a bit of a concern. First off due to the language issue mentioned above, but most importantly the guides did not seem to have updated weather forecasts. The first day we paddled into a pretty severe storm – heavy rain, wind and currents. We were battling headwinds and current, which caused the group to spread way out, as no one wanted to stop, as doing so would push us back the way we’d just come. Ideally, the guides would have known the weather and got us going earlier in the day, so that we would have made the first destination prior to the storm hitting. Nothing bad happened, expect for one exhausted kayaker needing to be towed the last few miles; however, if anyone had capsized it could have been a bad situation. On a positive note, the first day did include wet exit training, as everyone had to capsize, exit and re-enter their kayaks.

Kayak equipment is fairly old and a bit run down. Spray skirts are not waterproof or even water repellent – any water soaks right through pretty much immediately, filling the cockpit with lots of water. We requested and had confirmation from the Canadian office that we would have 2 single kayaks. However, the Belize office arbitrarily cancelled the request without notifying us. Kayak instruction is also very limited, so don’t believe what is in the brochure - no advanced instruction and actually very little instruction even for novice kayakers. Novice kayakers weren’t even told the correct, most efficient way to paddle (using torso and leg muscles, instead of just your biceps). Many folks complained their arms were exhausted.

We felt there was too little kayaking (2 hours/day) and way too much snorkeling (3 – 4 hours), but then we are experienced kayakers who love being on the water. The islands are very far apart, so there was less opportunity to explore than we had hoped.

The trip wasn’t awful, as pretty much anything beats working, but it really wasn’t what we expected and the quality of lodging/food/equipment was much lower than we expected. We would not do another trip with Island Expeditions and would not recommend any of their trips to a friend.

I just got back from an Island Expeditions Pardise Islands trip, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. While I can't comment on these people's experience, I really enjoyed the rustic charm of the lodges. I way prefer this type of accommodations than more resorts or hotel accommodations. Our cabana was right over the water! I can still remember waking upto the crashing waves of the sea. The guides on the trip, both Dick and Karm, were informative and fun. We had great weather, and got into some amazing snorkeling off both Tobacco Caye and Southwater Caye. I definitely felt these guys did their best to show what Belize has to offer. I really enjoyed the last day where we paddled out to the Garifuna fishing camp, and had a delicious meal and learned about this fascinating culture. All in all, I throught it was a fantastic experience, and I would definitely travel with Island Expeditions again. I just read these above posts, and found that they in no way represented the experience my wife and I had in Belize.
Thanks,
Larry

For those of you who were disappointed, I hope you get to return and pick your own lodgings and activities. Any time you hire a packaged tour you get what you get. When you plan you're own trip you not only have the fun experience of researching and planning but you have much more flexibility to choose the things you want to do. We're heading back to CA for our 8th visit this summer. We've loved everything we've done and everywhere we've stayed every time.

Glad you enjoyed your trip, floaterls. My guess is your expectations were more in line with traveling in CA which requires an open mind and a desire to experience something you couldn't in the US.

I just talked to a couple I booked into a hotel who spent the previous week with IE at Lighthouse Reef atoll and loved it as much as they loved their first trip with IE (Coral exp).