One-Week Summer Vacation with 2 Teen Girls: Where to Stay, What to Do?
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Belize
One-Week Summer Vacation with 2 Teen Girls: Where to Stay, What to Do?
Planning a 7-day trip to Belize with my husband, daughter, and her friend. Either June, July, or August -- whatever month is better. We'd like to do the cave tubing and snorkel. We would need to rooms
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Cat:Central and South AmericaForum:0EE7FC86
Cat:Central and South AmericaForum:0EE7FC86Discussion:140645d8-6e35-46e0-b817-ddc49db39305
Planning a 7-day trip to Belize with my husband, daughter, and her friend. Either June, July, or August -- whatever month is better. We'd like to do the cave tubing and snorkel. We would need to rooms, so looking at a reasonable hotel. Just starting my homework. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated. How long is the flight from San Francisco? Looking right now for the cheapest flight.
Every summer we spend two weeks at the Phoenix in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye http://www.thephoenixbelize.com/. This is an incredibly beautiful resort. The rooms are fantastic and they have two room or three room suites if you like. All have full kitchens, so you can save some money if you do your own breakfasts and lunches. Although the beach is not great, all of the other amenities are. From your window you can see the reef, which is but a half-mile away. Snorkeling is available from Lil Alphonse or any number of other providers. They all go to the Hol Chan Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. There are also day trips to the mainland to do cave tubing and zip lining and also catamaran trips to nearby Caye Caulker where you can see how San Pedro used to be as a quiet undeveloped town with dirt streets. San Pedro is a fairly sleepy town with lots of shops and surprisingly good restaurants. Lobsterfest is June 15-June 23 (or there about) and if you haven't had a lobster taco, or lobster pizza, or lobster shooter, then this is the time to experience them. Some people will split their time between the jungle and the beach so there are resorts inland near San Ignacio, and from here you can go to Tikal. A week is not a lot of time to be moving around and since you can access cave-tubing and such from San Pedro I think that is a better choice. By the way, definitely take the 15-minute single-engine flight to San Pedro. It is a kick and you avoid a 90-minute boat ride.
Bronxboy is right on. I would also suggest renting a house or cottage where you can get 2 bedrooms and have access to a kitchen and some extra living space. My daughter and I rented one from VRBO last time. We also split our time between San Pedro and San Isidro (for the jungle side). Two very different experiences. We loved that side even more. Cute town, not expensive, local market, variety of small restaurants. Did caving, Mayan ruins, even a day trip to Guatemala. We started in San Isidro so the cottage owners picked us up. We took a local bus back on our way to Belize City for San Pedro. Definitely fly to San Pedro. The boat ride is AWFUL. The way to get around San Pedro is by golf cart. Watch the prices in the big supermarket, very expensive. Bring some stuff or check out smaller local market.
We stayed for a few nights at DuPlooy's Jungle Lodge before heading to Ambergris Cay. DuPlooy's was wonderful! They made all the arrangements for our group's stay in Belize. We did an overnight at the ruins in Tikal and ended the week with several nights in Ambergris Cay. We went river tubing from DuPlooy's.
Ambergis Cay is a great island. My wife and I stayed at Ramon's Village and had a great time. http://ramons.com/ The scuba diving is incredible-if you have ever thought about scuba diving you should definitely get certified before you go. Belize has the largest reef system in this hemisphere. The interior of the country is beautiful as well-lots of rainforests and Mayan ruins. When my wife and I went we sent 2 nights at a resort in the interior of the country (unfortunately I can't remember the name of where we stayed) and then 3 nights on Ambergis Cay. I would also check out http://www.belizedev.com/travelbelize/index.php
Since you only have a week I would spend it at either Caulker or Ambergis. If you are a "resort" type go to Ambergis & if you like a small island with a kicked back vibe go to Caulker. We spent a week in San Ignacio (rented a car & drove to Caracol & Tikal) & then a week on Caulker. My 20+ kids loved Caulker & before the week was out were greeted by name by several of the locals. They loved getting to know the people. We took the water taxi over to Ambergis for lunch & to spend the day as well. The snorkeling is amazing. By all means do a cave tour. They had flooding so the ATM was closed & we went into the Crystal Cave instead. Both caves have artifacts & the Crystal Cave was beautiful inside. Don't take a heavy or big backpack into Crystal Cave as it gets in the way & you don't need it. The food was delicious & not too expensive. We rented a 2 bedroom condo on Caulker on the beach. There was a stand that made fresh juice everyday on the corner. There were also places that you could pick your lobster, snapper, etc & they would grill it outside so you ccould watch them cook for you. Enjoy!
With the help from this forum I think I have a plan. What do you think?
Day 1- Day4 Arrive Belize, Stay in SanIgnacio for 3 nights. See ruins,cave tubing and jungles. What is the best way to get there? i really don't want to rent a car (not a very good driver) so either bus or ??/
Day 5-9 Head to Ambergris Caye for snorkeling. There is so much to do and see,but want to relax too.
I would check with the hotel/resorts that you are considering in San Ignacio. They will have options for your transportation. Also I would seriously consider a day trip to Tikal. Again, the hotel/resort can help you with this as well. Take lots of bug spray for the jungle and lots of sunscreen for Ambergris.
Thank-you for that info. Do you have a preference or advice regarding loding in SI, Midas resort vs Windy Hill rsort. I like the location of Midas butthe rooms are nicer at Windy Hill. Thank-you. The ride from the airport to SI, is about $100. per person,wow that seems HIGH. Is this the norm? Have a great day.
We went to Belize last year with the intent to snorkle, but ended up scuba diving with Island Divers Belize. They had a beginner's class that allowed me and my 15 year old to dive without going through the full certification. My son was nervous at first but the divemasters were so attentive and patient, it really ended up being the highlight of our trip.
I have not stayed in San Ignacio because I prefer the beach. Use Trip Advisor to get a good feeling for what is available and what others think about those places. Anything can look good on the web! If you google "Belize International to San Ignacio" you will find a number of shuttle services - here's one: http://www.belizeshuttlesandtransfers.com/ They are quoting $35US each way. Belize is not a cheap destination. Everything costs including food and transportation. However, review prices carefully to determine whether they are quoting US dollars or BZ dollars. Since it is 2 to 1, this makes a huge difference. You also should try negotiating. Remember - bug spray and sunscreen!
