Suggested Itinerary for a 30-something couple for Belize
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Belize
Suggested Itinerary for a 30-something couple for Belize
My girlfriend has recently passed a major exam which she's been studying for years to pass. As a reward, I offered to take her on a vacation, so she chose Belize. I have never been down there, b
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Cat:Central and South AmericaForum:0EE7FC86
Cat:Central and South AmericaForum:0EE7FC86Discussion:31db65ba-40ae-4b02-8dea-5a9bb770f1d0
My girlfriend has recently passed a major exam which she's been studying for years to pass. As a reward, I offered to take her on a vacation, so she chose Belize.
I have never been down there, but looking for some guidance as to times to go, places to see, etc. I'm aiming for about 3 days of laying around and the rest doing some local active things. I'm aiming for 7-8 days in total, including flying from Seattle, but not sure about the following:
1. Best time to go down there. I heard the rainy season is cheaper, but wasn't sure if you had any input on that.
2. As this is a relatively short trip (we both have limited vacation days) I normally try to keep the number of hotel transfers to a minimum. I'm aiming for two places for us to stay for the entire trip. I heard that San Ignacio and someplace on Ambergris Caye would be the best options.
3. Any suggested activities that are must-dos? I am PADI certified; she is not. I like ruins tours, but would love any eco tours, etc that might be must-dos.
4. The flights are pricey and I've heard that flying into Guatemala or Cancun, but the travel from those locales to Belize might sap too much time away from the vacation.
Any insight would be appreciated for a newbie to the country!
We did a tour of Belize 3 years ago and the theme was birding, snorkeling and archeology. We had a diverse group.
I would suggest that if you want to relax, Caye Caulker is great. Snorkeling and diving at the preserve (take a tour) is wonderful as well as the sunset sail. It is very laid back. But if you want lots of activity, it is a little quieter than other places.
Then for more activity, a river canoe trip with a hike was fun for us. We had a base in San Ignacio and stayed in an eco-forest camp there. Really nice. Enjoy.
Rainy season coincides, not unexpectedly, with the low tourism season. Prices for lodging will be cheaper. The summer months are a good time to travel. It rarely rains all day every day, mostly at night, or short showers. If you wait until autumn, the number of tourists decreases can mean some difficulty in getting enough people to go on tours. September and October are also peak hurricane season, although Belize doesn't get hit often. Late November, early December is still considered low season. The weather is generally cooler, every place is back up and running.
I would agree with your initial thoght to split your trip between San Ignacio and Ambergris. I'd head straight to San Ignacio upon arrival in Belize, either by transfer or rental car. Depending on your arrival time, you could stop at the zoo on the way. If you plan to stay in that area 4-5 days, you could even do an overnight in Tikal without much trouble. I bet your hotel in San Ignacio would store your bags for you, and you could travel with just a small backpack to Guatemala. Or, just do a day tour.
Although I'm sorry to say I've never been, I understand the ATM cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal) is a must see. The trip to the ruins at Caracol sounds awesome as well, with several stops for waterfalls and such.
If you get up and moving, it's easy enough to get to Ambergris in time for lunch on the day you transfer. Once you get back to Belize City, you can either fly (from Municipal airstrip, it's cheaper) or take the water taxi. My personal preference is to fly. I fly the water taxi crowded and uncomfortable.
When it's time to go home, you can fly directly from the airstrip in San pedro to BZE.
I wouldn't go through Cancun unless I had at least 10 days, preferably two weeks. You just lose too much time to travel.
I largely agree with the Caye Caulker and San Ignacio posting. The snorkeling was wonderful--I am Certified but my partner is not and we try to do things that both can do. Island is much more laid back than Ambergris-- but then you may prefer more action. Also did the ATM excursion in San Ignacio. Also wonderful but amazed that being done since seems to endanger the artifacts.
We used the ferry to the Cayes-- found the ride ( which is not much more than an hour if I remember correctly) to be fairly easy and interesting to watch the people.
San Ignacio is great; the San Igancio Resort Hotel is the nicest place there and is not exhobitant. The ATM cave is a must see and is a whole day affair. N.B. it is a swim in cave and you will be wet most of the time. PACZ tours in downtown San Icnazio gives a good tour of the cave. The Belize Zoo is about 45 minutes away and is a good 1/2 day activity. You might consider some of the smaller (but generally expensive) resorts on the Cayes off Dangriga. Places such as Thatch Caye and Coco Caye generally pick you up in Dangriga. Tropic Air has a small airstrip in Dangriga and can fly there from most of the country at very reasonable rates. Ambergris Caye is very nice, but is quite developed--if you seek a more pristine experience, you may wish to look at some of the smaller cayes. I must warn you, though, that these smaller properties are generally more expensive. Car rental in Belize is reasonable and the roads are in pretty good shape. Have fun.
Sorry for the bullet points: 1. am an avocational mayan archaeologist been to Belize 5X 2. Off season rates-check Tourism Belize website for range of dates. are 40-60% less than winter rates 3. suggested itinerary-fly from XXXX thru DFW then on to Belize City. airfare range runs $630-$750 rt pp 4. NEVER NEVER fly thru Miami- at any given time there are 8-12 flights from South America etc trying to get thru immigration and customs. Last trip took me over 3 hrs to get to my gate. The airport is under construction and totally dysfunctional. 5. Two must sees-Ambergris caye, if you are a diver; Lamani Mayan site-reach site by river boat(breathtaking) 6. Stay out of Belize City except to take the Water Taxi to Ambergris caye and Caye Caulker. Very efficient courteous service. Buy RT tix $25-30/pp 7. stay away from Guatemala, but do take ferry from Ambergris caye to Chetumyl(resort town on North belizean/Mexican border). 8. Mayan cave tubing is awesome
We spent two fabulous weeks in Belize last December, visiting Ambergris Caye, San Ignacio and, further south, Punta Gorda, and wrote two articles about what to see, where to eat and where to stay. You can read both articles on the TravelDudes.org website. Here are the links:
I would second malijamie's caution about ATM cave, as you will read in my wife's article about it. It is not for the faint of heart and requires a fair bit of physical strength to climb some sections of the cave. It is even more difficult during the rainy season. High season in Belize is late November to late April, which is their dry season.
But I would not spend the time to visit the Belize Zoo. It was seriously damaged in a hurricane and is not very big to begin with. I would instead visit the ruins at Xunantunich(Maiden of the Rock), which features soaring Maya pyramids, stone temples, and carved friezes and spend more time diving and snorkelling on Belize's barrier reef.
We used a fantastic tour company called S&L Travel and Tours (http://www.sltravelbelize.com/). This husband and wife team are locals who know everything about Belize and are also avid naturalists.
We loved San Ignacio & Calker as well. We rented a car & drove from Belize City to San Ignacio then into Tikal but had 2 weeks to spend there. ATM was flooded when we were there (end of Jan 2009) but we did the Crystal Cave instead. Don't miss a cave adventure. Caulker is smaller & more intimate than Ambergris. My 25 yr olds loved Caulker better than Ambergris (we took a water taxi over for lunch one day & to check it out). Snorkeling is great (2nd largest barrier reef in the world). Food was amazing. We got lucky as American Airlines accidently sold round trip airfare for just over $200 one Sunday & I happened to find it. It was cheaper than flying almost anywhere is the US. Conversion rate is easy & people are great. And once again, the food was amazing (except the coffee)
Ive been to Belize 4x since 2003 - and was just there again in June. Ive never repeated a thing - there is so much to see and do there.
I havent been to ATM, but have been to Chechem Ha. Definitely do a cave visit - Chechem Ha was a highpoint. Cave tubing is also a lot of fun - and more fun during/after rainy season so you dont have to drag your tube over the rocks in shallow water. Tikal, Caracol, Lamanai, Xunantunich ruins (I'd put Tikal and Caracol on almost the same level the other 2 after them).
And, Im gonna go with Malijamie - consider one of the smaller cayes from Dangriga, unless you want a more touristy type of environment. I just stayed in nearby Hopkins before going out to Glover's Atoll. Hopkins was great and dive boats will bring you out to Glover's for the day. This is probably the best reef condition in our hemisphere (I havent been to Micronesia or the Great Barrier Reef yet, so cant claim it's the best in the world!). Southwater Caye has repeatedly been suggested to me by Katie Valk an American who lives in Belize and books trips for people - we've stayed in touch since she booked my first trip in 2003, back when you needed a local to book Tikal lodges or you'd be bumped for a group.
We traveled to Belize many times and pretty well seen all of it even well off the beaten track.
Flying into Belize tried them all including driving down from Cancun, the best option from Seattle is Continental or American with Continental being better because you don't have to go through Miami.Just watch your prices for them on line they seem to change almost hourly.
If you want the blue Carribean water for viewing and diving go to Ambergris Caye last 2 times we went there we have stayed at the Playa Blanca Villa, http://playablanca.biz/ . It is a self contained house with a small above ground pool, at the back of the house they also have a really nice accomadation set-up for two very spacious (Toucan's Nest). With there price you get a boat and operator to take any where around the island you desire, they supply snorkeling and all fishing gear all day. Watch alot of the resorts they are like mosquito's and try to suck every dime out of you. Ambergris Caye has growen into a little tourist meca and we have enjoyed it greatly, you can fly directly from the main airport to Ambergris with Tropic air and can book in advance online. Tacio the boat operator will pick you up at the airport and take you to the home. For the more adventerous you can also fly from the main airport down to Punta Gorda, very laid back best prices in Belize, around here you will see more nature than any where else, along with Monkey tours at Monkey river. We rented a car at the airport and drove down about 7 hours drive, the car comes in handy for seeing the country side. A great place to stay is https://www.hickatee.com/. There prce is resonable they are a english couple and know the area extremly good and can put you in touch with locals that guide you to hidden treasues.
