Belize. I have to tell you, it had never been on my radar screen. Sure I have heard of it but I really knew nothing about this small Central American country situated on the Caribbean Sea. Yet when the kids had two requests for a winter break family vacation- a place they had never been before and a destination that had plenty of adventure-Belize came up as a hit.
One guide book into researching Belize, it was instantly easy to see why my family would love it here. It has a very similar feel to Costa Rica but a little more manageable topography. With four weeks to pull this trip together and one week to spend there, I planned this trip the same way as Costa Rica: dividing our time exploring the jungle and the water-or as it turns out, on the water!
The Jungle
Getting Here
Belize is easy to get to with direct flights or connections through Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, LAX and Charlotte. If you are Chicago based like me, United Airlines offers a direct flight-about four hours long. Belize has only one international airport, centrally located, making it easy to transfer to the jungle or the water. Upon landing, the airport is small and easy to navigate. Clearing customs was a breeze for us!
Depending on how you set up your trip, you have several options for getting to your destination. If you are staying on the mainland, most resorts will arrange the transfer for you. Renting a car is an option too but do note, similar to Costa Rica, many of the roads getting to your hotel or activities are not paved and are especially treacherous when raining.
If you are bypassing the mainland and heading out to one of the islands, there are two ways to get to there- by boat or plane. By plane, the transfer can happen right from the International airport. There is also a regional airport, Sir Barry Bowen Municipal airport, located in downtown Belize City. Your flights will cost less out of here! By boat, there is a ferry service also leaving from Belize City transferring you to the two major keys, Ambergris and Caulker! To get an idea of time management, flying time to Ambergris is 15 minutes while the ferry will take around 90 minutes.
Where We Stayed
We started our trip on land, heading to the Cayo, home to most of the jungle lodges and adventures in Belize. There are plenty of wonderful jungle lodges to stay at here! Because we planned last minute, many of my first choices were fully booked. Some I considered were The Lodge at Chaa Creek, Hidden Valley Wilderness Lodge, Francis Ford Coppola’s Blancaneaux Lodge, and the San Iganacio Resort Hotel (where Queen Elizabeth once stayed!).
We were fortunate enough to get in anywhere this time of year on such short notice. We could not have been happier we ended up at the Jade Jungle Resort, formally known as Pook’s Hill Lodge. Even though this resort is recently under new management, the same delightful team, headed by Karen and Mario, run this lovely establishment. Small, intimate and in a true jungle setting, you can choose from one of three style cabanas to stay in. We booked the Boardwalk cabana, set above the jungle floor and surrounded by lush greenery and forest chatter!
Jade Jungle’s common areas are meant to foster guest interaction with family style meal seating and a self service bar. With only 11 cabanas on the property, it is nice to get to know the other guests and swap adventure stories from the day.
Due to the of seclusion of most of the lodges, expect to have most of your meals at the resort each day. We saw this as nothing but a bonus! The meals at Jungle Jade were some of the best we have ever had. It was such a treat to start each day by simply walking into breakfast without a thought and end each day with fresh and comforting local cuisine.
What We Did
One thing I really loved about staying at a jungle resort in Belize is that your tour guides work for the resort. So whereas in Costa Rica, your adventure outfitters pick you up where you are staying, in Belize you are with one or two of the same guides. We could pick and choose the night before what we wanted to do each day and Mike or Mario would take us there!
The Belize Zoo
Since we only had three full days in the Cayo I really did not have the Belize Zoo on our agenda. But at our airport pick-up, Mario suggested we stop here to break up the trip from the airport to the resort. I am so happy he did! It truly was a highlight of the trip and a great introduction to Belize.
I really should use the term zoo lightly here because in reality, this is an animal sanctuary. Home to 200 animals, all native to Belize, these animals are brought here injured. Once rehabilitated, they will only stay at the zoo if they cannot survive on their own in the wild.
The zoo is small and quiet and just so lovely. It is home to Tapirs-the national animal of Belize- as well as jaguars, pumas, howler monkeys, storks and owls to highlight a few! Mario’s Uncle happens to be the head veterinarian so we had a chance to visit with him and learn about all the wonderful work they do there. Mario also had a special surprise in store for us. We got to feed the resident jaguar-Chiqui. To be up close to a creature that magnificent was simply amazing!
Horseback Riding
As the two horse lovers in the family, Madeline and I welcome the opportunity to horseback ride while on vacation. More often than not it is just the two of us, but this time the boys begrudgingly joined and they ended up having the best time! I booked with Banana Bank Lodge and I would book them a thousand times over again. Run by John Car, a former Montana cowboy, he has over 100 horses in his care and 4,ooo acres to explore. Mike got us here from the lodge but he does not horseback ride-lol- so two of the ranchers took us out on a private family ride. We galloped, we waded through water and we explored the jungle.
Cave Tubing
An activity you will not find probably anywhere else outside of Belize is cave tubing. As such, it is one of the most popular activities in the area. Mike was our guide for this adventure. After a short hike through the jungle canopy, you enter and drift down the the Caves Branch River with a large inner tube and headlamp. At certain points the river goes underground and you float through caves systems filled with stalagmites and Maya artifacts still in place. The only source of light is from your headlamp! The cave tubing itself is relaxing and can be done by anyone. This adventure is a great warm up to the ATM cave tour!
ATM Cave Tour
We have no pictures or videos from this day (as cell phones and cameras are not allowed) but this by far was our most memorable adventure in the Cayo. The ATM-Actun Tunichil Muknal-cave system is the must do adventure in Belize. I really do not want to even go into too much detail about it as it might scare some of you off! You just have to trust the process-and your guide-and go for it!
But to give you some idea, the ATM is a three mile long cave system and resting place of the Crystal Maiden, sacrificed here with at least 13 others during the Mayan era. To get there-well that is the adventure! And as long as you are in adequate physical shape, you can absolutely do it although it is not recommended for young children.
Note that while our resort coordinated this adventure, you need a specialized licensed guide to take you into ATM. Gonzo was ours and he was awesome! The Jade Jungle Resort sits on the doorstep of ATM which was an added bonus.
Mayan Ruins
Belize and neighboring Guatemala are home to some of the most magnificent and well preserved Mayan sites in the world. Our last full day in the Cayo was spent visiting one of them, Xunantunich. Again, Mike was our guide.
This site sits closer to the town of San Ignacio, about an hour drive from our lodge. San Ignacio is an enchanting and lively town-home to many of the jungle lodges mentioned above. After a morning spent canoeing down the Belize River, where plenty of iguanas and birds were spotted, we made our way to the lunch at the locally famous, Benny’s Kitchen, before taking on the ruins.
Getting to Xunantunich is a fun adventure! As the site is located on a hilltop above the Mopan River, you need to take a ferry ride to get there-that lasts all of one minute! It is a hand pulled ferry that takes cars and passengers.
Xunantunich is extraordinary. It is a Mayan campus made up of six plazas and about two dozen buildings, including El Castillo, the 120 foot main pyramid and tallest structure here. Climbing to the top is no small feat but worth the view. Once you have ascended you are greeted with 360 degree panoramic views of Belize and neighboring Guatemala. It was the perfect way to end this leg of our trip to Belize.
The Water
Getting Here
It was not our original plan but I am so glad we had the chance to fly to the island keys. We flew out of the regional airport and made our reservation the night before. Tropic Air and Maya Island Air have multiple flights a day to the islands. Your resort can help you with your bookings. It is a super easy way to travel but your baggage allowance is limited. Also mind that these planes are puddle jumpers which is either thrilling or terrifying depending on who you ask! Either way, the aerial views are breathtaking!
Where We Stayed
There are plenty of wonderful resorts to choose from among the various keys and atolls that make up the Caribbean part of Belize. Truthfully, I did not deep research any of them as we chose to charter a catamaran for four days and three nights. Life IS on the water here with some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world. Even if you stay at a resort, you will notice that all the adventures are happening off shore.
When our original booking fell through due to a transmission issue, we had 24 hours to come up with plan B. That plan lead us right to the Ambergris Divers Outfitter. And because of them, we ended up having the three most incredible days we have ever experienced on a family vacation!
You can approach chartering a boat a couple of ways. Outfitters like the Moorings offer crewed charters, captain only charters or bareboat charters where you are in charge of it all! With Ambergris there is really only one option-your party, plus a captain and a chef. But Christian, our captain, and Edgar, our chef were just so much more that that. They were our trusted guides, adventure seekers, fishermen, historians, ecological experts, friends and by the end of our journey together, they were like family!
What We Did
Shark Ray Alley
As if the airplane ride over wasn’t enough for me, the kids really wanted to swim with sharks! Well you can safely do that in Belize. Shark Ray Alley offers you the rare opportunity to snorkel and swim beside stingrays, nurse sharks and turtles. Glad I did it but don’t feel the need to do it again!
Spearfishing and Fishing
Before we set sail, we discussed our menu at sea with Edgar. He said we could go about it two ways. He either could pick up things like chicken and pork at the grocery store ahead of time for our meals, or we could catch our food each day. With two avid fisherman on board, we chose the latter! We caught lobster, barracuda (yes so good to eat!), snapper, conch and hog fish! And Edgar prepared it all beautifully for us!
Snorkeling
Belize is one of the diving capitals of the world, famously known for the Great Blue Hole. Even though Rob and I are certified, we could not get the diving set up turned around in time with our short notice. But alas, there is tons of great snorkeling and we got to experience some magical spots. We even did a night snorkel!
Island Explore
We stepped on land once during our three day cruise to explore the island of Caye Caulker-a happening little spot filled with bars, shops and water activities. A cute Caye with laid back island vibes but honestly, we rushed back on board as we preferred the tranquility of the open sea over the hustle and bustle of land.
One fun thing the kids enjoyed there was feeding the tarpon. Through the back paths of the island and over a wooden boardwalk, you will find a small shanty where the lady of the house sells sardines for $5 BZE a bag. You hold the sardine by the tail, dangle it over the water and the tarpon will jump out to snatch it from your hand. I sat this one out!
Ecological Tour
Perhaps my favorite moment of all during our sail trip was visiting Middle Long Caye-a secluded island with proximity to the second largest barrier reef in the world, making it a great spot for snorkeling. The island is also known for its fishing and mangroves. When we arrived we were the only ones there. Well almost. We brought fresh food and supplies to Mr Jerman-an older gentleman who lives in seclusion with his dogs here. He is periodically checked on by the local sailing crews but for the most part lives off the gird with no electricity.
While Edgar manned the boat, Christian took us through a tour of the mangroves via zodiac. I don’t know if we have ever felt so close to undisturbed nature. The amount of birds and fauna we saw was just awesome. None of us brought our phones with us to capture any of it which made the experience all the more special.
Yet the highlight of this spot for the boys was catching this monster hog fish. It was a record catch for Edgar and Christian and watching their excitement was contagious. They brought it back to land so they could have a feast with the rest of their sailing crew!
Is Belize Right for You?
For our family, Belize is a very special destination. Recommending it depends on how you like to execute your vacations. If rugged terrain, bugs and often lack of modern amenities compared to the US will take away from your experience, then it may not be a bucket list destination. However to experience adventure, the warmth and pride of the Belizeans, the natural bounty of fresh local cuisine and some of the most electrifying topography and history our world has to offer, then hands down book your next trip here!
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L, M
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