We just came back from our trip to Belize (Aug. 2-13, 2008). I found Vitalino from the Trip Advisor reviews and they were all very accurate. Vitalino was everything the reviews said he was and so much more--especially now that we have toured with him.

Vitalino is reliable, extremely personable with a great sense of humor. He met my husband, my 15 yr. old daughter and me at the Muni airport and took us to the Cayo district for Cave-tubing and Zip-lining. He was never in a hurry--you could tell that he truly enjoyed being our guide in every way. Vitalino took the time to help us understand the Mayan culture of the jungle and the caves. He was also a great resource for anything about Belize. Cave-tubing is his expertise he made this an incredible experience for all of us!

Vitalino then drove us to the jungle lodge near San Ignacio (Crystal Paradise--a great place to stay by the way) where we lodged for 4 nights. Because our tour with Vitalino was so wonderful and reasonably priced--we ended up using him to arrange our ATM Caving expedition as well as our return trip to Belize International airport with a personally guided visit to the Belize Zoo on the way. I can't recommend Vitalino more highly--he went out of his way for us and we so appreciated being able to trust him in every way.

Prior to our trip, for more info. I went to Vitalino's website at www.cavetubing.bz. I was able to communicate constantly through email. Judy, his assistant was so responsive to all of our questions--she always got back to us within an hour or two.

Overall, Vitalino helped to make our vacation one that we will never forget. Belize is a great country to visit and their motto fits--Belize truly is unbelizable!!

Vitalino was a GREAT guide. He made the walk to the river very informative and enjoyable. The cave tubing itself was wonderful. This was my favorite excursion of the cruise thanks to Vitalino and his crew. I highly recommend Vitalino's excursion to anyone who wants to do cave tubing.

Our Experience with this excursion was over all a good trip but I am not sure how this compares with other tours as this was our only trip down the river.

The staff is very friendly, and very helpful. Good quality people who try their best in giving their customers a great experience. Vitalino himself was very knowledgeable and passionate about he does. Vitalino claims he taught many of the other tour guides about the Cave tubing profession. Although, I heard the same claims made by other tour guides from other companies.

The Transportation was good, even though the bus was an older type bus, it was clean and Air Conditioned.

Drinks: Lots of Beer and Rum punch available along with non alcoholic drinks.

Food: Part of the excursion was to stop at a local restaurant. It was a local Chicken and rice dish. It was tasteful but it would of been nice to have a piece of chicken that was bigger than a nugget.

Tubing Experience: It was a great thrilling experience which brings you through many caves. The river is fresh water and clean and everyone enjoyed the experience. The walk was long but a great scenic hike. I would suggest not to wear flip flops as you are walking on a natural path in the forest. Also bring bug replellent.

We did this excursion from the Carnival Valor. There seemed to be no set schedule for departure and we did not enjoy waiting for all parties to arrive and had to wait on the street. It was hot and a bit frustrating as we had to wait about 45 minutes. I would of given this a 5 star if it was not for the waiting.

If you're looking for a more personalized tour rather than the busload tours this is for you. We had read about Vitalino's by another reviewer and gave them a shot. Wow! Just the four of us and while the busloads of the .com tour were marching straight to the lauch sites our guide, Harrison, was pointing out interesting aspects of the rainforest. From the plant that acts like a natural bug spray to the tarantula he tickled out, very interesting. And then he masterfully guided us into areas of the river that the big groups chained together couldn't get to. Then a good lunch at a cool local place. All for a great price. Sold me on avoiding the cruise ship mass tours. Highly recommended!