Cave Tubing in Belize: the Nohoch Che'en Fee and Tour Prices by Starting Point
Verified on 25 September 2026, on the Institute of Archaeology’s ticket store and fee letter, NICH’s site page for Nohoch Che’en, and the price pages of five tour sellers and of the on-site guides’ association.
Cave tubing in Belize means Nohoch Che’en (Caves Branch) Archaeological Reserve, where the site fee is BZ$20.00 for a non-resident — US$10.00 at Belize’s fixed 2:1 peg (our conversion) — and a tour guide is compulsory. The reserve is open every day, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. What you pay for the day depends on where you start: on the sellers’ own pages read on 25 September 2026, a cave-tubing-only tour from Belize City runs from US$49 (Cave-Tubing.com’s cruise-ship rate, park fee and lunch included) to US$129.95 (UpClose Belize), a San Ignacio tour US$105 (MayaWalk) or US$110 shared (Pacz Tours), and from the islands US$135 + tax from Caye Caulker and US$200 from San Pedro by water taxi (both UpClose Belize). The on-site guides’ association prices the float itself at US$50, with no transport mentioned.
The fee is small and fixed by a government letter; the tour prices spread with the starting point — US$50 at the reserve with the guides’ association, up to US$237 + tax flying in from San Pedro with UpClose Belize.
Tour prices, by where you start
All prices per person in US dollars, as each seller’s own page displayed them on 25 September 2026.
From Belize City, including cruise passengers
| Seller | Cave tubing | + zipline | Other combos | What the page says is included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cave-Tubing.com, cruise-ship prices | US$49 with lunch | US$80 (“Cruise Ship Special”) | ATV + cave tubing US$100 (child 10 or younger riding with a parent US$75) · ATV + zipline US$100 · ATV + cave tubing + zipline US$120 (child US$100) | “National park entrance fees”, transport, tube, head lamp, helmet, guide, lunch; “Payment method: Cash Only” |
| Cave-Tubing.com, private tours for overnight visitors | US$75 (minimum 4 people) · US$65 (5–10 people) | — | its separate “ATV Jungle Adventure” and “Zipline Adventure” carry the same US$75 / US$65 structure · 10–20 people: “Special Prices - contact us” | free pickup within Belize City |
| Belize Cruise Excursions | US$66 | US$105 | zip line canopy alone US$86 | home-page listing only |
| UpClose Belize, “Belize Cave Tubing” | US$90.00 + tax | — | — | hotel-lobby pickup at 1 pm, approx 4 hours, park fees; lunch not included |
| UpClose Belize, “Cave Tubing Belize” | US$129.95, “per person based on 4 persons” | — | — | van transfers, park fees, gear, guide |
| UpClose Belize, private | US$125.00 + tax | — | — | — |
| UpClose Belize, “Belize Cave Tubing + Zip Line” | — | US$143, “based on a final group size of 4 persons” | Altun Ha + cave tubing US$155, tax-inclusive | 8:30 AM front-door pickup including the air and water taxi terminals; Nohoch Che’en park entry; lunch |
A four-person private group at Cave-Tubing.com’s overnight rate pays US$300 in total (our arithmetic: 4 × US$75). Cave-Tubing.com also sells a private-transport upgrade on its cruise tours, at US$20–25 per person with a minimum of 5.
UpClose Belize sells three single cave-tubing products at three different prices — US$90.00, US$125.00 and US$129.95 — so compare the named product, not the company.
On a ship day, the tender timing and tour lengths decide what fits; our Belize City cruise port page works that out tour by tour. Cave-Tubing.com’s FAQ adds: “If you are on a ship that docks in Harvest Caye you are restricted to NCL excursions only. Cave-Tubing is not an option if your ship is not stopping in Belize City.” That is the operator’s statement; we did not read an NCL source.
At the reserve: the on-site guides
The Caves Branch Tour Guide Association, whose site says “you’re booking directly with the onsite guides at Nohoch Che’en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve”, lists cave tubing at US$50 per person including a “Private Guide” and “Gear”, and a jungle zipline at US$45 per person. Its home page offers “Groups of 8+ get an extra 5% OFF”. Its pages do not say whether the BZ$20 site fee or any transport is inside the US$50, so we have not assumed either.
From San Ignacio
| Seller | Cave tubing | + zipline | + Xunantunich | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacz Tours, shared | US$110 | US$155 | US$175 | zip lining alone US$125 |
| Pacz Tours, private (per person) | US$135 on the rate card · US$170 on its cave-tours page | US$190 | US$210 | — |
| MayaWalk Tours | US$105 (minimum 1 person) | US$150 | US$160 | + Belize Zoo US$170 |
Pacz says all its tours “include transportation from San Ignacio”, with out-of-town pickup adding US$10–40. Pacz publishes two private cave-tubing prices: US$135 per person on its rate card and “Cave Tubing Only $170” on its cave-tours page; both pages give US$190 for the zipline combination. We print both. MayaWalk departs at 8:00 AM from its office at 19 Burns Avenue, San Ignacio, lists “Lunch Included” and a 40-inch minimum height, and gives the day as “7-8 hours” in one place and “7 Hours (approx.)” in another. Neither Pacz nor MayaWalk says whether the site fee is inside its price. Pacz’s shared prices are the same ones on our San Ignacio and Cayo page, which carries its full rate card; the Xunantunich half of the combination day has its own page.
From San Pedro, Caye Caulker and Placencia
Every price in this table is UpClose Belize’s:
| From | Cave tubing | + zipline | Included, per the product page |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Pedro, by water taxi | US$200, as listed | US$187 + tax (lunch included) | round-trip water taxi, van, park entry, guide; not the hotel-to-terminal transfer or lunch |
| San Pedro, by air | US$237 + tax | — | — |
| Caye Caulker | US$135 + tax | US$165 + tax (lunch included) | 6:30am departure by water taxi; park fees; lunch not included |
| Placencia | US$220 + tax | — | 8:00am hotel pickup, approx 6 hours, park fees |
The San Pedro water-taxi price is shown without the “+ tax” suffix the other island prices carry, and its page does not say it is tax-inclusive, so we print it as listed. UpClose’s island tours state: “Rate is based on 4 persons. No surcharge if joining an existing tour.” From Caye Caulker the tour lists US$65 less than from San Pedro by water taxi (our arithmetic). The only other Caye Caulker cave-tubing price we found is on Anwar Tours’ page, which carries no date; we could not check its age and have left it out.
What the zipline adds, by seller (our arithmetic)
| Seller | Cave tubing | With zipline | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cave-Tubing.com, cruise | US$49 | US$80 | +US$31 |
| Pacz Tours, shared | US$110 | US$155 | +US$45 |
| MayaWalk Tours | US$105 | US$150 | +US$45 |
| UpClose Belize, from Caye Caulker | US$135 + tax | US$165 + tax | +US$30 |
The differences are not all for the zipline alone: UpClose’s Caye Caulker combination includes lunch, which its cave-tubing-only tour does not.
The site fee, and the letter behind it
| Ticket, NICH store | Price |
|---|---|
| Non-Resident | BZ$20.00 (US$10.00 at the peg, our conversion) |
| Resident | BZ$15.00 (US$7.50 at the peg, our conversion) |
The store states “All prices are in Belizean Dollars (BZD)”. A separate “Nohoch Ch’een (Cruise Ship)” ticket carries the same two prices.
The non-resident fee doubled on 1 November 2024. The Institute of Archaeology’s letter to tourism stakeholders, reference IA/S/7/23(02), dated 6 December 2023 and signed by Melissa M. Badillo, PhD, Director, lists Nohoch Che’en’s non-resident fee rising from BZ$10.00 to BZ$20.00 and the resident fee from BZ$10.00 to BZ$15.00, effective November 1, 2024. The store’s prices on 25 September 2026 are the new ones.
Children: the letter and the store do not line up. For non-residents the letter says “Standard fee applies to visitors aged 6 and up” and “Children 5 and under enter free of charge”. NICH’s store, where it sells a free child ticket at other sites, labels it under 5 — so a five-year-old is free under the letter and not under the store’s label, as our Caracol page sets out — and its Nohoch Ch’een product sells no child ticket at all, only Resident and Non-Resident. The letter’s free Sundays and holidays for residents say “(except cave sites)”, so they do not apply here. Whatever the fee, NICH’s 40-inch height minimum still applies to every child.
One out-of-date figure is still online: an UpClose Belize product page titled “Cave Tubing en route”, last updated 1 June 2023, lists “park entry fee at Nohoch Che’en @ US$5pp”. That predates the 1 November 2024 increase; it is not today’s fee.
Hours and the site’s own rules
From the Nohoch Ch’een page on NICH’s ticket store:
- “Open every day, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, including on Sundays and Public & Bank holidays.”
- “Last Tour for the day: One (1) hour before closing” — 4 pm on those hours (our arithmetic).
- “Visitors will only be allowed access to the 1st Cave after 3:00 pm” — as published.
- “All visitors to Nohoch Ch’een Cave must be accompanied by a Tour Guide”; “Maximum of 8 visitors allowed per Tour Guide.”
- “Minimum 40’’ height requirement for access to cave tour”; “Must be in good physical health”; “Must be able to swim”; “Must wear a life vest and helmet with light”.
NICH’s ticket terms add that cave sites “require guided tours for all visitors”, that “Group visits should be booked in advance with a licensed tour operator”, and that tickets are valid for up to six months after purchase, for one visit, and are “non-refundable and non-exchangeable”.
NICH’s site page puts the reserve at “Mile 32 Western Highway - Franks Eddy Village”, gives its size as 121.32 acres and its name’s meaning as “Big Cave”. The store lists restrooms, showers, a picnic area, trails, parking, gift shops and tube rentals, with no price for the rentals.
Where the sources disagree
| Question | What each source says |
|---|---|
| Can non-swimmers go? | NICH: “Must be able to swim.” · UpClose Belize, on its Altun Ha + cave tubing page: “Non-swimmers can participate on this tour!” and “Non-swimmers complete this tour every day” |
| Time on the river | “about 1 hour” (Caves Branch Tour Guide Association) · “approximately 60 minutes on the river” (UpClose Belize) · “about 1.5 hours through the caves” (Cave-Tubing.com) |
| Hike to the cave | “20-minute hike” (Cave-Tubing.com) · “25–30 minute hike” (Caves Branch Tour Guide Association) · “about 30 minutes”, “the 30-minute jungle hike each way” (UpClose Belize) · “45-minute hike along a flat jungle trail” (MayaWalk) |
| Zip lines on the course | “6-line zipline course”, “about 45 minutes to an hour” (Caves Branch Tour Guide Association, at the Caves Branch Outpost) · “7 zip runs”, “about 40-60 minutes” (Cave-Tubing.com) · “8 ziplines” (UpClose Belize) |
| Children | 40-inch height minimum (NICH) · fee from age 6, 5 and under free (the letter) · “Minimum recommended age is 4 years” (UpClose Belize, Altun Ha + cave tubing page) · “No age restrictions for children” (Cave-Tubing.com) |
| Where it is | “Mile 32 Western Highway”, carved by “the Cave Branch River” (NICH site page) · “along the Sibun River” (NICH’s ticket store) · “Mile 37 Franks Eddy Village, George Price Highway” (Caves Branch Tour Guide Association) · “Caves Branch/Sibun river” (Cave-Tubing.com) |
| Drive from Belize City | “Approx one hour from Belize City” (UpClose Belize) · “around 4 hours, with 2 hours spent commuting to and from” (Cave-Tubing.com) |
On swimming, NICH is the site authority and UpClose is a seller; the two statements contradict each other, and neither source addresses the other. Ask the operator you book how it applies NICH’s rule. The zipline counts may describe different courses, and none of the pages says which course a tour uses. For time on the river and the hike, use the figure of the operator you book.
What the tour looks like, in the operators’ words
- Caves Branch Tour Guide Association: helmet, life vest and tube after a safety briefing, a 25–30 minute hike to the cave entrance, then the current carries you “for about 1 hour”.
- Cave-Tubing.com: “a 20-minute hike through the Belize Rain Forest and a couple of dry caves”, then “about 1.5 hours through the caves” on tubes with headrests that are linked together. Its FAQ gives 4.5 hours for cave tubing alone and 5.5 hours for combination tours, and, according to that FAQ, the water “usually exceeds 70 degrees Fahrenheit” — the operator’s statement, not a measurement.
- Cave-Tubing.com’s zipline: a stair climb of “about 30 feet” to the first platform, a 150-foot first run and six more of 200 to 600 feet, including “two zip runs across the Caves Branch River”; “Age Requirement: 5 years or older”, “Waist Limit: 44 inches”.
- UpClose Belize: water shoes and a waterproof phone pouch can be rented from on-site vendors for about US$10–20, cash, “US or BZ dollars, no coins or US$1 bills”.
What the operators and NICH don’t publish
On the pages we read on 25 September 2026:
- Whether the site fee is inside the price at the Caves Branch Tour Guide Association (US$50), MayaWalk (US$105) or Pacz Tours. Cave-Tubing.com and UpClose Belize say it is.
- An official drive time or distance from Belize City or San Ignacio — NICH gives only the mile marker.
- A zipline operator’s own price for the course at the reserve: every zipline price we found is bundled by a tour seller or the guides’ association.
- A high-water closure rule with a threshold. NICH’s pages give none. UpClose Belize’s cave-tubing guide says “Tours are cancelled in genuine flood conditions”, without saying who decides or at what river level.
- On-site tube-rental and locker prices. The store lists “Tube Rentals” as an amenity with no price.
How we researched this
Scope: this page reports source research, not a visit. The fee per ticket type was read from the NICH store’s own ticket data for the Nohoch Ch’een product, and the currency from its terms page; the old and new fees, the effective date and the age rules from the Institute of Archaeology’s letter, a scanned document we read page by page; the hours, last-tour line, guide ratio and visitor rules from the store’s Nohoch Ch’een page; the mile marker, size and meaning from NICH’s site page. Every tour price, inclusion, time and duration is from that seller’s own page, saved on 25 September 2026. For UpClose Belize we read each product’s own price box, not the “You May Also Like” cards that show other tours’ prices. Figures labelled our arithmetic or our conversion are calculated by us — peg conversions, the zipline differences, the group total, the island-price gap and the last-tour time. Everything else is reproduced as its named source published it.
Sources
- NICH ticket store — Nohoch Ch’een — BZ$20.00 / BZ$15.00, the hours, last tour and 3:00 pm first-cave line, the guide requirement and 8-per-guide limit, the 40-inch, swimming, health and gear rules, the Sibun River description, the amenities and the absence of a child ticket
- NICH site tickets — Policies, Terms & Conditions — the BZD statement, guided-tour and group-booking rules, the 40-inch rule for children, and the six-month, non-refundable ticket terms
- Institute of Archaeology — Increased Entrance Fees to Belize’s Archaeological Reserves (PDF) — reference IA/S/7/23(02), 6 December 2023; the BZ$10.00 to BZ$20.00 and BZ$10.00 to BZ$15.00 rises effective 1 November 2024; the age rules and the cave-site exception
- NICH — Nohoch Che’en (Caves Branch) — Mile 32 Western Highway, Franks Eddy Village, 121.32 acres, “Big Cave” and the Cave Branch River
- Caves Branch Tour Guide Association — cave tubing, jungle zipline and home page — US$50 and US$45, the inclusions, the hike and river times, the 6-line course, the 8+ group discount and the Mile 37 address
- Cave-Tubing.com — prices, overnight guests, tour details, FAQ and zipline tour — the cruise and private prices, inclusions and cash-only rule, the transport upgrade, durations, hike and river times, the water-temperature statement, the age line, the Harvest Caye statement and the zipline specifications
- Belize Cruise Excursions — US$66, US$105 and US$86
- UpClose Belize — Belize Cave Tubing and its other product pages for Cave Tubing Belize, the private tour, cave tubing + zip line, Altun Ha + cave tubing, from San Pedro, from San Pedro via air, San Pedro + zip line, from Caye Caulker, Caye Caulker + zip line, from Placencia, the 2023 “Cave Tubing en route” product and its cave-tubing guide — every UpClose price, inclusion, pickup time and group basis, the non-swimmer, age, hike and river statements, the rental prices, the out-of-date US$5 fee and the flood-cancellation line
- Pacz Tours — rate card and cave tours — the shared and private prices, the transport statement, the out-of-town surcharge, and the second private price
- MayaWalk Tours — cave tubing — US$105 and the three combinations, the 8:00 AM Burns Avenue departure, the duration, lunch, height minimum and 45-minute hike
Last verified: 25 September 2026. Site fees, tour prices and schedules change without notice.
Written by Estuardo Enriquez. This site is independent, carries no affiliate relationship with any operator or authority named here, and is not connected to any previous owner of this domain.