Belize

[Rodneyyee]

Never been, but an archeologist friend says Tikal in Guatemala is an absolute must. One of the best ancient ruins in the world.

Great bird life if you are into that and SCUBA/snorkeling is some of the best in the northern hemisphere.

X2 on Tikal. Also AVOID the rastas in Livingston.

[H0G]

Huge understatements. The beer is fucking terrible. But the hot sauce is unreal. Worst and best, in the world, IMHO.

Agreed. I'm a big fan of 1,3, & 5 Barrel Rum too. Even though we can get MexiCoke up here. It just tastes different down there mixed with rum.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Huge understatements. The beer is fucking terrible. But the hot sauce is unreal. Worst and best, in the world, IMHO.

Bam noted.

And Tical...noted.

[hutash]

And Tical...noted.

If time allows, spend a night there. It is pretty good jungle and night there is awesome (from what I hear.) I spent some time in out of the way hotels in the Yucatan and Chichen Itza, and while not Tikal, still awesome. Much better then an extra night on Ambergris Caye.

[Tippster]

We have a boat down there and do a lot of snorkeling, fishing etc. I just picked up two spears to go hunting for lion fish.

In Roatan we killed every one we saw.





The Captain (white guy) and Dive master would clean the fish back on the dock and then made Ceviche. So good, and it gave you this weird Mate/caffeine-like buzz.

[Wildman]

I lived/studied in Belize for a year and travelled extensively throughout the country and neighboring countries.

I would absolutely stay/extend your trip if at all possible. The country is filled with some of the most wonderful people I have ever met...

Some reccomendations:
1. Belikin Beer (bellyachin') leaves you feeling torn up...go with the lighthouse beer instead (like a worse corona) or Travelers Rum. The rum is the titties. Not quite as good as Nicaraguan Rum. But fucking good.

2. The hot sauce people have been mentioning is called Marie Sharps. Its all organic. Never found better. You can visit the factory and take a tour and get a shit load of free samples. http://www.mariesharp.com/

3. Spend as little time as possible in Belize City / Belmopan...nothing to see here...move along.

Given that you don't have much time...i would focus your stay on 1) the coast and 2) the jungle.

You can get like 3 hour bus to San Ignacio (Cayo District). This town is straight out of a western movie...but in the jungle. Dreadlock cowboys tying their horses up outside the bar...Marley blaring from the speakers. A shit ton of Hostels. a tranquil river cutting through town...

Situated on the western border of Belize San Ignacio is the jumping off point for Tikal and lake peten Itza in Guatemala. But Also their are Maya ruin sites everywhere. I suggest checking out Caracol. the site i worked at for several months and also the longest actively excavated site in the world.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracol...tons of Maya ruins nearby like Xunantunich and Cahal Pech.

From San Ignacio you can stay super fancy up in the jungle (Macal River Valley) at a Eco-Lodge like http://www.chaacreek.com/

Or you can "rough it" stay at my friends EcoResort/Farm for wicked cheap...www.martzfarm.com/
Your cabana @ Martz Farm...

Lazaro and Joe Martinez will hook you up with whatever you need.
+ you can always poach the bars and pools at the eco resorts real easy.

Check out the Mtn Pine Ridge (a national park that looks like its straight outta Vermont...pines as far as the eye can see. sick caving and swimming holes + a very fancy lodge (Francis Ford Coppolas place) called Blancaneaux lodge.

Also go caving tubing at Aktun Tunichil Muknal.

After San Ignacio head down to Punta Gorda by bus (bordering Honduras to the south)...Go swimming at Blue Creek and check out the Maya Villages of San Antonio...real culture...no bullshit.


you can also check out the ruins of Lamanai (that Tipster mentioned above)...or lubantuun...

You can also stay a night at a dope resrot/OG Farm/Fly Fishing paradise on the rio grande river: http://www.belcampobz.com/


I am just getting warmed up...PM me for more info. Belize is such a magical place. Im not surprised by many of the peoples lukewarm posts in this thread. Often times you need to spend a decent amount of time in a third world country to really experience its beauty. Many people experiences are limited to a few of the cayes or and the super touristy areas. Belize is a lot more than just Ambergris Caye...which while pretty I would never waste time/money visiting.

The best thing is the country is no larger than the size of Massachusetts. So it really doesn't take to long to get anywhere...but then again...there is no rush...

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I am just getting warmed up...PM me for more info. Belize is such a magical place. Im not surprised by many of the peoples lukewarm posts in this thread. Often times you need to spend a decent amount of time in a third world country to really experience its beauty. Many people experiences are limited to a few of the cayes or and the super touristy areas. Belize is a lot more than just Ambergris Caye...which while pretty I would never waste time/money visiting.

Sounds cool, thanks..I'll probably send you a PM down the road with more questions. Yeah, I figured Ambergris Caye would not be representative of a truly genuine Belize experience. We're just there (Ambergris) for the wedding...but want to explore more while we're there. I'll check out the places you recommended and will probably shoot you a PM at some point. THANKS!

[zion zig zag]

I hit Cahal Pech on a rainy day with no one there and it was a cool experience. Stayed on Caye Caulker, and while it was awesome, I think I'd be bored after more than a few days. I recommend the night snorkeling if its a dark night, seeing the bio-luminescence and the night creatures was awesome.

Eat from the street vendors on Caye Caulker, specifically the "budget man" and "Cake lady."

[Gman]

the fiancé wants to pick up a book or two on Belize to help plan the honeymoon, can you guys recommend anything? looking to splurge a little on the trip but don't want it to be super touristy.

[powtario]

Went to Caye Caulker in the off season and had a great time, super sleepy place and amazing snorkeling with everything half price to boot. There were a lot of beds there though so imagine it would get pretty filled during high season and maybe loose some of its relaxed vibe.

[char]

the fiancé wants to pick up a book or two on Belize to help plan the honeymoon, can you guys recommend anything? looking to splurge a little on the trip but don't want it to be super touristy.

Ambergris Caye fits the super touristy category I think. Maybe look at the southern Coast? We didn't have time, but it looks interesting.

Floating through the Caves Branch is pretty fun for an afternoon. Caye Caulker is a good place to hang out and disconnect from the world for awhile. No beach though.

Edit- Just do what Wildman recommended.

I'm not a hang out on the beach person for more than a few days and Belize has lots of interesting things to see.

[smmokan]

Gman, we're spending a week in Placencia next month, I'll let you know how it is. We're staying here: http://www.singingsands.com/gallery.php

From all the advice and reviews I've seen on Placencia, it looks to be more my speed (uncrowded but still plenty to do) vs Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye. Lots of snorkeling down south, with plenty of cayes we can kayak out to for a few hours. We're staying on the quieter end of the peninsula too, up around Maya Beach. $140/night for a place 20 feet away from the crashing waves sounds pretty awesome to me.

[The Reverend Floater]

Conundrum and I took the ladies and a few friends down there for Thanksgiving this last year. It was rad. We embraced the full tourist thing on AC and just rode a buzz and golf carts around all day. Did the snorkel tour which was cool, went fly fishing for a day and did a lot of bar hopping. Extremely relaxing and easy to get to.

[Labcabin]

Belize city is Somalia..... Avoid!

[jimmyjames11]

^^^^haha what Lab Cabin Said. Get in and out of Belize City asap. Blue hole dive is awesome..tons of world class diving down there.

[Conundrum]

Yeah, good times indeed. I'm not much of a fisherman but cruising through the mangrove narrows was worth the price of admission. Food was good and reasonably priced. My kidneys still cringe when they see a golf cart. Locals were friendly and apparently everyone had a pocket full of ditch weed they are ready to unload.

[Gman]

Anyone spent time in san pedro? Also looking at Hatchet Caye. Seems like a lot of the nicer resorts/places to stay in Placencia have some relatively major issues when I read the reviews on trip advisor.

[Flyoverland Captive]

We stayed at Ramon's Village in San Pedro a couple years ago. Nice place; San Pedro is touristy, but still fun. Good snorkeling on the reef nearby; there are a couple of tours that will take you out to snorkel with sharks and turtles. We only stayed two nights, at the beginning and end of a sailing trip; any more than that and I suspect we'd have been bored.

[Soups]

Bumping this for any updated recs/info anyone may have that is more recent than 7 years ago. Anyone been down during the pandemic? Booked an 8-day trip for April. Definitely going to do the jungle for a few days (prob San Ignacio) then end up on the beach for a couple days somewhere.

Ideally I think we would want to immediately head to San Ignacio and then head down to Placencia for the end of the trip. Would that be logistically easy to do? This will be a mid-ish type budget trip since it was on a whim due to getting free flights. Not looking to slum it , but also not going to ball out hard at Coppola's place or some private caye.

[54-46]

Maybe check out day trip to area around Lighthouse Caye. Had a case involving the ownership/sale of that place and it looked like great diving near there.

[Hopeless Sinner]

A number of years ago we took the family to the Lamanai Outpost Lodge, New River Lagoon. The New River Lagoon is an awesome place if you like birds and being in a special ecological setting. We chartered(C-185) from Lamanai down to Palcencia, and stayed at Inn @ Roberts Grove. There is fishing nearby for tarpon, permit, and bones.


1) Belize City was someplace to be avoided like the plague. I would try to make sure to transfer from the airport directly to your final destinations and the same on the return.

2) The charter enables you to skip BC and save a day of highway travel. Plus it's a pretty cool flight in and of itself.

[2bjenny]

Was just there in August. Diving the barrier reef, Turnefe and Lighthouse. We stay at Hamanasi Resort in Hopkins.

[Soups]

Was just there in August. Diving the barrier reef, Turnefe and Lighthouse. We stay at Hamanasi Resort in Hopkins.

How was it COVID-wise? Sounds like we need a neg covid test within 4 days of arrival, proof of vax, and proof of stay at a "gold star" resort at immigration. Anything else needed to know? Are places 100% open? Etc, etc

[2bjenny]

How was it COVID-wise? Sounds like we need a neg covid test within 4 days of arrival, proof of vax, and proof of stay at a "gold star" resort at immigration. Anything else needed to know? Are places 100% open? Etc, etc

So, when we went it was not a problem arriving with valid vaccination card. Since we are both vaxxed, we didn’t need tests too. The resort we stayed at is “gold star”. Since we went specifically just to dive on this trip and with the pandemic, we didn’t do any inland tours. I know the resort was doing some, but I think only for its guests. No outside people were allowed. From what I understood from the employees, country itself is very strict about masking and curfews. I don’t really know how it would work planning things on your own unless things have loosened up some. We had to have a test to get back in the US and the resort organized that for us.

[Soups]

Good info. Thanks.