Belize
We spent 40 days (including transition days not included below) in Belize in February / March 2023.
Belize is a beautiful country. Love the proximity from beach to jungle. Ease to get around. Friendliness of people. Fresh food.
It is a progressive poor third world country. Most places you can’t put your toilet paper in the toilet, no helmets or seat belts required, some places you can’t drink the water, most of the houses have peeling paint, dusty film, banged up cars, pot holed roads.
This should not deter you from visiting as we highly recommend it for wonderful snorkeling, diving, Mayan culture and jungle activities. We traveled to Belize at the beginning of February for 6 weeks. Very little rain with some cool breezes to offset the hot sun. Although we read about mosquitoes and sand flies it wasn’t as bad as we thought. Beaches definitely had sargassum. They try is some places to rack it, but it is a vicious cycle.
Planning your trip
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Book international flights and hotels early particularly during high season. Doesn’t feel crowded but many sought after hotels have a limited number of rooms
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US citizens staying longer than 30 days must go to immigration office and get a visa extension. Note: going in and out of Guatemala for the day to visit Tikal did not reset the visa clock
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Pack light / causal and no need for heels - laundry is everywhere. Inexpensive and quick turnaround. No need for heals as there are few sidewalks and lots of uneven surfaces. No need for fancy clothes very casual
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Easy to get around without a car
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Food is fresh. Meals can be longer. They are on island time. Kitchens are small and cook to order in most places
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While visiting ruins may want to check the cruise ship schedule to avoid big crowds
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Tropic airways is very flexible even though our ticket said no changes we were able to get an earlier flight no problem
Breakdown of 40 visit days:
Placencia (6 days) / Maya Beach (4 days)
Reef Conservation International (5 days)
Ambergris Caye (14 days)
Placencia / Maya Beach
Think chill quiet vibe. Wonderful consistent ocean breeze, sometimes wind, throughout the day. Hammocks everywhere. A quiet village (even in high season) that you can check out in 1 day. No one is in a hurry. Many good small restaurants, food made to order … worth the wait. No pressures, from shop sales to getting a table at a restaurant (note: we do eat early) certain
Simple living. Small stilted wood houses on beach front. Colorfully painted. Saw only one high rise (4 floors- hotel). Safe for swimming, but a long boat ride to get to snorkeling. Can walk barefoot on the beach, although there is trash / seaweed washed up on beach. They say the current carries it from Guatemala. Most areas the peninsula is only a short walk across from beach side (sunrise) to lagoon side (sunset).
Very friendly locals and tourists. Feels safe. Lots of expats who seem to day drink and hang out together.
Love the sidewalk that is parallel to the main road through the village that has many small shops, bars, restaurants, and housing along it.
So far, no bug bites. Maybe applying baby oil in evenings is working
Favorites
🍴Meals
Lunch: Shak Cafe (sit down and relax) or Carmines Kitchen (quick, cheap meal)
Belize food: Secret Garden
Italian (or for a big salad): Rick’s Cafe
🍸Bar:
Barefoot bar
🏩 Stay:
Bit of a splurge Caribbean Beach Cabanas it is a wonderful oasis walking distance from restaurants. If that is out of your budget… given there is not a lot to do in Placencia would recommend you stay somewhere (Airbnb, etc) that provides a balcony / deck that you can sit on and comfortably hang out at Beach Cabanas
Activity: we did not go on any tours as we will do them when we are staying closer. We enjoyed kayaking. Paddle boarding, swimming in the ocean and Riding Swimming. Paddle boarding. Bike ride to or past the airport. No road shoulder, but can run, walk or bike 20+ miles on road. . If your hotel doesn’t provide the equipment above next to tipsy tuna u can rent water toys
Must Try: Fry Jack, Ginger My Lime (white rum, organic ginger, blue curaçao and lime juice)
Don’t miss: slowing down, seeing the sunrise
Tips:
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Pack lightly - laundry readily available $10 for a load. Super quick turn around
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Talk to everyone you run into for ideas on where to eat, what to do, etc
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Bring a light blouse / sweater, as there can be a cool breeze
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Given there is not a lot to do in Placencia, would recommend you stay somewhere that provides a balcony / deck to comfortably hang out, or plan slow days walking the sidewalk and relaxing in open bars and restaurants
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Appears Certain hotels busier and need to make reservations far in advance If planning to do stay inland or in Ambergris Caye may want to hold off on tours and do them when you have less driving to get to the activities
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Can drink the water
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Join the Facebook group:ThePacencuaBreeze
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Resource for live free events: https://realliferecess.com/events-calendar-placencia-belize/
Getting there
Need to add information about the little plane
Restruants
$ amounts below include tips (American prices)
Omar’s 👌- limited menu. On the main road. Good people watching. Food is tasty. Open air. $78 - 1 glass of wine, beer, vege stir fry, coconut curry chicken.
Rick’s Cafe 👍 - $80 - shared small salad, 2 pastas, bottle of wine. Went another day for lunch - pizza (thin crust) and large salad - $35
Secret Garden 👍- food very good. Portions not that big. Don’t bother with wine - expensive and not that good. Nice courtyard. $80 - 2 entrees (shrimp curry, fish special) and bottle of wine.
Reasonable priced and is . Carmen’s Kitchen 👍 - super cheap fast food. Had Fry Jack (vege and chicken) and 4 chicken tacos - delicious $8
De Tatch👎- wouldn’t eat here again. Others seem to love it so maybe our timing and what we ordered was off. Friendly servers. Incredibly slow. Processed cheese gross nachos. Vege burrito - lettuce with black bean smear and a few shreds of cold cheese on top. 2 smoothies were the highlights in a dim showing. $27
Shak Beach Cafe 👍- extensive menu. Breakfast all day. Great smoothies. Food is made fresh (and seems healthy) need to allow time for them to prepare it …. but worth it. Harbor view. Open air. Nice breeze. $25 - 2 smoothies, breakfast burrito, 4 small fish jerk tacos
Wendy’s 👍- pleasant sitting on wrap around porch, but no real view. Friendly service. Food was decent but they ran out of the traditional Belize dish of stewed chicken, rice and beans (highly recommended and why we came). $50 - 2 entrees, 2 cocktails, 1 milk shake
Bars
Barfoot bar 👍- right on the beach, colorful, large outdoor space, huge menu, large portions, drinks food reasonably priced. Good vibes. DJ every night at 7:30pm
Big Becks Harbor View - 👌roof top bar semi obstructed view overlooking harbor on one side other part of view Main Street. Nice breeze flowing through. Not the place to get a glass of wine. Shitty pour
Pickled Parrot - 👌if you want to hang out with expats
Tocan - 👍 small tiki hut on beach. Has 3 small couches to sit on
Yoli’s - 👍on the lagoon, bit of a walk from town. Trivia on Sundays around 3pm or 4pm. Come early to get a spot.
Stays
Airbnb right on beach 👍loved the outdoor deck with hammock and high top. Recently put up a fence which on one hand makes you feel safe but on the other hand compromises the view slightly. Inside simple, sparkling clean but because you are on the beach at night you may see in the kitchen area or bathroom some small bugs. Bed comfortable, TV, coffee, refrigerator, kitchen tools to cook if you choose, shower pressure fine. Property owners very nice, super communicative, they live on the same property.
Carribean Beach Cabanas -Cabanas- Pur hotel 👍Wonderful narrow little oasis from the sidewalk to the beach. Located just towards the end of the sidewalk so close enough to walk into town but felt like u were toward outskirts. Wonderful staff. Lots of complimentary add ons - bikes, kayaks, paddle boards, welcome drink, coffee in room, continental breakfast, plunge pool, hammocks and lounge chairs on beach. They list the names of the other 10 people staying there, which helps create a friendly, chatty atmosphere at the small pool and poolside bar.
Entrance to our villa had a wrap around deck with 2 comfy chairs and a hammock. Good size room with kitchenette. Comfortable bed.
Rooftop deck over our villa had lounge chairs and a high top.
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Sea View Suites 👌Well located. Large clean room. Great shower pressure and hot water. Bed is comfortable. No balcony or patio off of room. There Is a rooftop deck but no shade. Wold not stay there again.
Maya Beach
We transferred about 30 minutes north of Placencia to Maya Beach for 4 nights. We wanted to try a different area, and we also got a great deal from Travel Zoo.
Overall
Quiet isolated area for relaxation. Nearest restaurant to our hotel is 1.5 miles. No shops or grocery stores within 2 miles.
Stay
The Placencia
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Rooms are in a crescent shape around a very large pool, nice beach front area with lounge chairs under pompadour. Didn’t have to reserve chair early although as the day goes on pool chairs get snapped up but not taken all day. Never felt crowded - even though they said they were sold out. 55 rooms with some time shares as well. Complimentary access to paddle boards and kayaks.
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Room - May have been ours and others are better (definitely some multi-bedrooms with kitchen/dining area)… loud air conditioning, no deck to sit on, refrigerator didn’t keep drinks cold. On positive side - shower good water pressure and unlimited hot water, comfortable bed, TV with some American channels, coffee maker with coffee
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2 restaurants + pool side bar/restaurant on site all serving the same menu. One of them only open Thursday-Sunday - review below
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Complimentary shuttle that will take you to/from Placencia (30 minutes) or near by restaurants. Need to arrange in advance
Restaurants
Laguna 👍 - hidden gem. Great ambiance- beautiful sunset. Excellent service. Very flavorful food. Request table outside or on the inside railing. Chef comp us squash soup $121 - 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, bottle of wine. Note: tacked on a resort fee
Maya bistro 👍 - very good. Covered out door tables on the beach. Request table along the railing to enjoy the view of the beach/ocean. $103 - bottle of wine, 1 salad, 2 entrees and 1 dessert (peanut brittle ice cream cake - must get).
Hotel restaurant- food is fine. Pricey resort food. Seafood platter for 2 was the best deal for $50 - good size portions of lobster, conch, grilled/coconut fish, shrimp, baked potato and scoop of veggies and rice. Loved the location walk out to an over the water open air restaurant.
All in all. We got a good deal so based on price we paid …. no regrets. Would not pay full price and would stay 1 less day - 4 days a bit long particularly given 2 days of bad weather
Sintra (2 days)
Reef Conservation Int'l
Overview
We found the program originally through IVHQ
This volunteer experience is for someone that:
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Loves to scuba dive (3 dives a day) and / or interested in getting additional scuba certification
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Is capable of setting up own dive gear
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Is comfortable in truly rustic wet and sandy accommodations
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More interested in helping to make a difference in the lion fish population than diving pristine coral reefs
OR someone who wants to push themselves out of their comfort zone to experience personal growth, while making a difference
Island -home base
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Size of a football field if that.
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Only have generator electricity evening to morning
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Rainwater fed drizzling cold showers, flush toilets
Starts every Monday (we stayed the night before in Placencia) as you take a boat to the island around 10am on Monday and return back to Placencia on Friday (mid-day).
Across from our island, the owner of both islands resides. The couple are 80+. Didn’t get to meet them.
Island Resident dog “Waggie” and program manager dog “Dude” also sometimes stays
Typical schedule (Monday- Friday)
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3 dives a day, 10-15 min boat ride to most dive sites- wake up, 7:30am dive, eat, rest, 11am dive, eat, rest, 3pm dive, eat dinner, read or play cards, go to bed and do it all again.
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Plan may change based on weather but they really try to get in 3 dives a day. Will do a shore dive, if it is to choppy -shallow, but very good.
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First day (Monday) you only do a shore / check out dive - refresher and testing of your skills. Last day (Friday) there is only time for first dive as you leave the island around 9:30am
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One afternoon we went to another island and picked up trash that had washed ashore from Guatemala or Honduras
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If you are staying for multiple weeks you take the boat back to Placencia with everyone else on Friday, on your own for weekend, and then return to the island via boat on Monday.
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At night people would play Uno or poker, sit around and talk, or read. People were pretty tired from all the diving so went to bed early. Beer available to buy, but not a lot of drinking.
This is hands on
You are responsible for getting gear, setting up, and maintaining your equipment for the week.
Need to carry your equipment about 100 feet to the boat. When you do 3 boat dives, you only have to carry used/full tanks back and forth between dives
You are responsible for washing your dishes after each meal
Well managed
Run the day on time
Work around weather - Try their best to ensure you get in 3 dives a day.
Share short informative presentations before most of the dives
Teach you how to handle venomous lion fish and fillet them
Truly care about your safety while diving and on the ground
Dives
Focus of most dives is to spear lion fish. These are invasive species that are ruining the coral reefs. Teach you the second day how to do it. Normally only have one spear per group but dive master does a good job of passing it around during the dive to ensure anyone that wants to spear a lion fish has opportunities to do so. Some dives have many lion fish (spear up to 20 or more), some dives very few. First dive is a walk in the water check out dive to ensure you remember how to do it.
Some varieties of dives, but all are drift dives- walls, open valleys. Visibility was only fair for most of our dives. Medium to stronger winds. Sometimes a bit rough, use seasick medicine, if you’re prone to it, but didn’t see anyone get sick
Volunteers
We had 13 volunteers for our week/group. We were told the week before there were only 5 volunteers. One of the volunteers said last time she did it there was 23 volunteers. Our group was the perfect size.
Our group was a third Americans, a third Canadians, a third Europeans. There was one couple in their 30s. Youngest diver was 17-year-old woman from California doing a gap year for her high school senior year, and the oldest was a man from the UK turning 70 shortly.
All seemed to be very capable divers, but that wasn’t required. Many were getting advanced scuba certifications and staying for multiple weeks (e.g., 2 - 4).
They were all very nice, inclusive, open minded Loved that once we got back to Placencia, everyone who was staying the night met up for drinks and dinner
Staff
We had 10 to support our group. Boat captains, dive masters, cooks, housekeeper, etc. All very nice, prideful of what they do, focused on making it a great experience for all. Being the least experienced, our dive master took me under his wing and really helped me gain my confidence and skills. Very patient
Food / Accomadations
Food
Very good. Lots of variety- eggplant Parmesan, veggie chow mein, chicken skewers. Veggie coconut curry, Fry Jack, etc. Ate the lion fish we caught -very good. Portions are a little on the light side, but you could always go ask the kitchen for more. 3 meals a day.
Accommodations
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This was the weaker link in the program although we were told they have plans to upgrade some of the rooms.
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We were the lucky ones as we had our own toilet, sink and shower, since our room had six bunks, but was just us. Many of the others has to share one toilet and one shower. If at full capacity, seems like it would be tough.
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Mattresses old, not great, but got tired enough to sleep ok the second night and on. Doubling mattresses made it worse. Note: not everyone complained about their mattress
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Toilets didn’t always fill. Most days needed to manually add sea water to toilet tank
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Floors were filthy due to sand and water that we tracked in
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Showers cold. Very little water pressure. Limited to once a day.
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Picnic tables for all to eat their meals together
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Hammocks and a few lounge chairs to use while relaxing, sunning
All in all
This was a stretch experience for me on multiple levels
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Took several dives to get my weights right, breathing down, and my confidence back after not diving for 20 years. I’m thankful for my patient dive master, Sam
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Took me several days to feel like I was sure I was putting my dive equipment together properly. Got it down towards end of trip, but still requested every dive for my dive master to check my gear
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Physically challenging to drag dive equipment down to the boat every day and swap out the air tanks 3 times a day (weighs 50+ pounds)
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4 nights was my limit to stay in the rustic lodging situation
I am grateful I had the opportunity to participate, and it was an incredible experience - lots of personal growth
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Regained my confidence to scuba dive
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Can handle any future rustic accommodation situations
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Met wonderful caring people
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Felt we actually made a small difference in helping to preserve Belize’s beautiful coral reefs
Would I do it again- no but would highly recommend it!!
Tip: If you are going to spend the night in Placencia on your return then leave your luggage at your new hotel and take to the island just what you need for the 4 days
San Ignocia
Feb 2023 (7 nights / 6 full days)
Jumping off city for all the fun jungle activities. City itself feels a bit run down. Bus station 2 blocks from the daily market (bigger on Saturdays). 7 nights was too long. 5 days would have been perfect in no particular order.
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Day 1: ATM
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Day 2: Tikal
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Day 3: Market, rest, etc
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Day 4: Cave tubing
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Day 5 Xunantanich, Ajaw chocolate, iguana conservatory
Favorites
🍴Meals
Lunch: El Fogon in the back of the market - best burrito
Dinner: Crave for fish and pasta dish, Guava Limb for food and relaxed outdoor setting
🍸Bar: The Spot
🏩 Stay: Ecolodges were magical Black Rock
Activity: ATM, Tikal - if not able to cross the border then Xuantunich, cave tubing for a fun a relaxing day, cooking class
Restruants
$ amounts below include tips
Cenaida’s - good and popular for lunch. Basic Belizean food. Three tables out back. Right size portions. Good smoothies. Fajitas, veggie beans and rice, two smoothies. $16
Crave - very good. Favorite meal so far in Belize. Loved sitting outside at their small friendly sidewalk bar for a cocktail before heading inside to the strong AC for dinner. Very small restaurant so may want to make a reservation. Dishes were super flavorful. Sauces were more complex than anything we have had in Belize to date. Appropriately sized portions. $90
El Fogon - 👍 hidden gem in the back of the market above the river. Large portions. Best burrito I’ve had in Belize. Very flavorful. Enjoyed the quesadilla, chips and salsa and fruit smoothie as well. We had way too much food. Brought some back and gave to appreciative local laying on sidewalk. $17
Erva’s - 👍 cocktails okay but creole shrimp was excellent. Go with their recommendations on what to order. $45
Eva’s - 👌. Outdoor garden. Slow service. Indian. 2 entrees, appetizer, 2 rounds of cocktails. $50
Guava Limb - 👍. Very good. Sister restaurant to Chaa Creek Resort. Lovely outdoor area under “house” as well as 2 patio areas and upstairs. American service and portions. Pizza, salad, cocktails, red velvet cake (a must). $50. Shrimp pasta, chicken pasta, salad, two cocktails, red velvet cake. $57
Hode’s Place - 👌 huge open / outdoor space. Portions match the hugeness of the space. Don’t over order. Food just okay … but doesn’t break the bank. Quesadillas, nachos, salad and 2 beers. $31
KO OX HAN NAH - 👍. Good. Had 2 tofu veggie burritos, cheese cake. 2 drinks $33
The Spot - patio area. Had only cocktails. Good. Nice, comfortable space.
Stays
Don Santiago guest house - . Good central location. Hugo was a good communicator. Large common living room / kitchen area with free bottled water. Was clean. No outside area. Felt room got stuffy. Would not stay there again. $35 a night.
Venus Hotel - Clean. Small room. Mattress VERY firm. Decent shower but sometimes when we came back, bathroom has a sulfur smell (from drain maybe?), which did seem to disappear. TV with streaming services. Very central location. Staff super nice. Letting us get water from their water dispenser. Access to rooftop clothesline to dry our laundry. Big bonus was pool pass to hang out at Midas Hotel-10-minute walk. $35 a night. NOTE: G Adventures (tour company) stay here
Activities
ATM - 👍 about 1 hour outside of San Ignacio. It is quite the adventure. We went with Maya Walks- excellent guides. 2-3 miles round trip in and out. Walk along a fairly flat wide path. Walk thru a couple of rivers (have ropes to hold on to). Cave itself is 500 meters in. Wade along a river through much of the cave. Couple of fun tight spaces, climbing, etc but guides tell you exactly where to step or turn your head so all very doable. Cave is beautiful with stalagmites and stalactites, pottery artifacts and skeletons. Fascinating to learn about Mayan sacrifices and culture. No cameras allowed, so photos below from the web. Full day activity.
First of many cork trees
Tikal - 👍 full day activity. 20 min drive to Guatemala border. We walked across to meet a different guide and car for 2 hr drive to Tikal. A bit slow getting through border, but our guide knew someone and got us to jump the line. Each person crossing needs to pay $20. Ensure bill has no tears. Made a halfway stop for coffee, snacks, restroom, souvenirs, and view model of Tikal site. Once at site, you park and walk in. Plan to walk a few miles, as well as climbing many many stairs, with railings, so even those afraid of heights can make it to the temple tops for amazing views. This is one of the largest excavated Mayan sites and worth the trip. Stopped for good lunch and a drink on the way back to the border. Cost of $150 pp not including border crossings cash. Note visit to Guatemala does NOT reset the 30 day free tourist visa limit for Belize. We had to take a half day to go to the Belmopan immigration office and pay $100 pp to get another 30 days visa extension for our additional time in Belize.
Xunantunich - 👍 20 minutes from San Ignacio. Can take a tour, taxi $15 one way, drive yourself, or the bus $1.25 pp. Can get a guide before you go on ferry or easily guide yourself. About 1 mile walk uphill to temple area. $5 entrance fee pp. Took us about 2 hours to walk to and from ferry and then walk around temple complex and museum. On way back into San Ignacio we got off the bus and did the Iguana Conservatory tour and then walked to AJAW for their chocolate tour.
Green Iguana conservation project - $11.25 pp. tour every hour on the hour. Purchase your tickets inside the beautiful San Ignacio Resort Hotel. 10- 15 minute walk from San Ignacio welcome center. One steep hill with little shade to conquer. Tour very informative about protecting this endangered species (although no such list or system exists in Belize). Locals eat them -“bamboo chicken “.
AJAW - 10 minute walk from iguana project. Down the hill and then back up another hill. Tours on the hour. Interesting if you aren’t familiar with the source of chocolate. Taste the cacao bean at different stages. Make the chocolate for hot chocolate drink - very good. $14 pp
Cave tubing - 👍 great day after 2 fairly active/ physical days. Beautiful and relaxing. Hour drive with a stop for snacks/bathroom. 20 minute walk with tube to starting point. Tie tubes together as a big raft. Very clear water. Spend 60% of time floating in cave. Guides pull you if river isn’t moving much. Chance to jump and swim in pools inside the cave. Balance of time floating down tree lined fairly shaded river. Got off tubes a couple of times for those that wanted to swim or jump off rocks. Good stop on way back for lunch. Rum punch was flowing freely. Party day if you have a fun group. Get back around 3pm.
Table Rock
February 2023. 3 nights - perfect
Lovely oasis in the jungle yet only 5 miles from San Ignacio. Road is in good shape to jet to lodge. Only a $8 taxi ride from downtown San Ignacio. Staff is super welcoming, friendly and supportive. Make you feel like family. Rooms are beautiful as is the rest of the property. Although the resort was at capacity (10 cabins, 30+ people) we did not have any issues using the water toys when we wanted to. NOTE: Because there are only 10 cabins book early to get the room you want when you want it.
Room (garden view)
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Fairly large room with a beautiful poster bed
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Rock shower with decent pressure and hot water
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No AC but fan kept us cool
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Complimentary coffee at the dining room starting at 6am during the breakfast hour.
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Drinking water in the room.
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Wifi was not an issue in rooms or common areas
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Porch not fit two chairs and overlooked the walking path
Activities
On site complimentary
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Canoeing. Upstream. 20 - 30 minutes upstream is Cha Creek River Resort. Lovely to dock there and have lunch. Food was good and good portions. We were told if you go 90 minutes upstream you will hit the botanical gardens. We did not make it that far.
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Inter tubing - 30 minutes downstream. A staff member meets you at the end and takes your innertubes back to the lodge while you walk the short river trail back. When we went river was barely moving.
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Jungle Hike - across the street. Took us about 45 minutes. 1.5 miles. Pretty easy
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Farm animals - Feed the donkeys, pet the bunnies, look at chickens and turkeys
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Large wooden play set for kids with 3 swings and a slide
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Beautiful (cold) Infinity pool with - 8 comfortable lounge trails
We choose one offsite tour: Cooking class with Frank Tzib U Janal Masewal 👍Recommended by our hotel. Contact: Frank Tzib whatsapp: +501 654-0430
Unfortunately, Frank wasn’t there so we did not get the Maya calligraphy training but with his parents had a wonderful couple of hours cooking our lunch. Warm and welcoming. Food was simple and delicious. Explained everything. Menu fried root vegetables, homemade tortillas, chicken, onions pepper, tamale with black beans, fresh lemonade. Hands on for us - preparing banana leaves, rolling tamales in leaves, preparing tortillas . Cooked some eggs for us as well as we mentioned we hadn’t had any eggs since in country. Answered all our questions regardless of question $25 pp
After the cooking class the mom took us to cousin’s butterfly house. Very interesting seeing the eggs - 5 day old caterpillars- caterpillars in cocoon - butterflies. 7 different species. $5 pp. she took us back to the bus stop
Dining
Beautiful half outdoor/indoor dining area. Very friendly servers. Need to let them know the night before if you are joining for breakfast and if so, what you will be eating. Lunch and dinner have an ala-cart menu as well as a special. Food was very good. Portions appropriate. At dinner they set a lovely table with flowers and candles.
Tips
Do not book the shared garden view cabin. Walls paper thin. We were lucky as we only had neighbors 1 of the 3 nights.
They assign you a table for dinner. For your entire stay. When you arrive talk to Oscar or anyone else who seems to be in charge of the dining room if you want a certain table. They will do there best to accommodate.
Black Rock
February 2023
4 nights. Probably could have stayed 3 nights
Fairly large property (20 cabins, 50+ people) spread out in a lush jungle. Very isolated - 7 mile dirt road off main road. Last mile is very narrow. Hope a car isn’t coming from the other direction. $45 taxi from San Ignacio
Website: Black Rock Lodge
Room - Classic Cabin
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Room was small but clean and nice king size bed
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Shower pressure was okay if you didn’t select much hot water
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Best part was our private deck with 2 chairs and a table, 2 hammocks
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Don’t get cabin 7 as there are no hammocks
Activities
Several onsite activities - complimentary
Summit Vista Loop Cave - Great challenging but very doable hike. 45 minutes up to the summit view. Beautiful with a bench to sit and enjoy it. On way down do the vista loop beautiful river view. Cave option was a short very steep hike down to cave. Cave has multiple chambers if you want to crawl around. Make sure to borrow hiking poles. The lodge is happy to loan you a pair. 3 mile hike took us a couple of hours not including resting time
Vaca Falls - fairly flat with a bit of rock scramble at the end. Took us about an hour. 3 miles.
Yoga Pavillion - welcome to borrow mats and blocks from the lodge. Wifi works in the Pavillion. Free to use as long as a "Yoga Retreat Group" isn't using it.
Inter tubing - river was flowing. 30-minute float. At bottom can either go down small waterfall or walk around it
Beach - had 3 little chairs at the edge of the river
Swimming pool - tiny, cold, has 2 chairs
Birding - lot of birds to look at
Several onsite activities - Paid
Guided hike - take a canoe across the river and then hike to the summit. All along the way learning interesting information about the different plants, Mayan culture and trying to spot animals. We saw a holler monkey way up in the tree. Hike is challenging. About 700 feet, 2 miles. More switch backs then the summit hike. Summit view spectacular. We stopped a lot on way up so took 3-3.5 hours. $50 pp
Other paid activities that we did not do:
Night hike - people seemed to really enjoy it
Bird walks early in the morning
Dining
Lunch has options. Dinner, you need to choose from the fixed price menu - 3 options (protein, vegetarian, pasta) and dessert. Food is good but portions are small. Sometimes we needed to add chips and salsa or bread to fill us up.
Breakfast and lunch you can sit anywhere. Dinner you are assigned a table.
We enjoyed sitting on the railing and watching birds and admiring the view
Dining room is spacious
Ambergris Caye
March 2023. We were there for 2 weeks.
Laid back but at the same time chaotic many many golf carts buzzing around non stop. Definitely more spread out and downtown area more densely populated with restaurants and bars than other areas we have been in-Belize.
Only bummer when we were there was sargassum seaweed so couldn’t use beach (except Secret Beach, on the lagoon side), and depending on how the wind blew you may have smelled it -not a great thing to go with a wonderful beachside meal.
We stayed at Alia. Pool was incredible. 1 bedroom was very spacious.
Favorites
Meals
Breakfast: Cool beans, Blue water grill (cinnamon French toast)
Lunch: Big Taste (awesome tacos)
Dinner:
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North: Aji (food and beautiful simple ambiance), Stella’s (sunset and chill vibe),
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In town: purple pelican (for a celebration, beautiful decor, wonderful staff, food and sunset),
Bar: Palapa (over the water), Island Jungle for cool vibe
Activity: Ho Chan Reserve and Shark Alley snorkeling
Must Try: Dirty banana, coconut mojitos
Don’t miss: Secret beach
Tips:
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You need a golf cart to get around if aren’t staying downtown and want to check out different dining and bar options as well as Secret Beach (not to be missed)
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Has something for all visitors (e.g., can stay at more isolated resorts outside of downtown or closer to the hub bin)
Activities
Snorkeling/Diving
Ho Chan reserve and shark alley. Great half day tour. Every dive shop offers it. We were told afternoons are less crowded than mornings. We definitely saw a fair amount of boats at site in the pm so not sure if that is accurate or not. 15 minute boat ride to site. Snorkeled/ dove (27ft max) and saw a turtle, several eagle rays, large schools of fish. Than a 5/10 minute boat tide to shark alley. Where they pour some food in the water and 5 nurse sharks ad a bunch of fish hung out on one side of the boat. Amazing to see it so close up. After 5-10 minutes sharks/fish moved on.
Blue Hole Dive. Good but not a must do if you have limited time or funds. 5:30am - 4:30pm. 3 hr boat ride, can be a bit rough. Deep Envy boat with Belize Pro Dive Center. Great dive guides and service. Cool site, but better to get aerial view from web. Dive drops to shelf at 60 feet, then over the edge and down wall to about 135, keeps going, so watch your depth and guide. Cool part was swimming under overhang around and through stalactites and pillars like you see in a terrestrial cave, which it used to be. Not much marine life. Great visibility. Probably not really worth it for me, but iconic site, so I’m glad I did it. Second dive was Half Moon Wall at 60 feet. Third was the Aquarium at 50 feet. These were very good dives with beautiful coral, very good visibility and lots of cool marine life. Reef shark circled and escorted us. Spotted eagle rays. Huge turtle. Swimming 6 foot moray eel. Big lobster. Had lunch on large island between second and third dive. Supposedly Red Footed Boobies are there, but don’t think we saw them. Rum was flowing freely for long ride back.
Mexico rocks - good half day snorkeling trip. About 20 min boat ride. Saw some beautiful fish, barracuda, ray. We didn’t like it as much as Ho Chan Reserve.
Food tour - come hungry. 7 stops and 10 tastes. All stops except the first one include alcohol beverages. Food was good. There are 2 places we think we will go back too. Guide very friendly. We had 16 people in our group and felt it would have been better with just 12 people
Secret Beach- Must do particularly if there is a lot of segrum when you come to visit as there is none there. Beach and water are clear. Water is shallow with the ability to walk for what seems like several football Fields. Road to get there does have pot holes in certain sections but not as bad as we thought to get there (solid 45 minutes from downtown). Lots of different establishments luring you in with offers of free lounge chairs, WiFi, use of kayaks, paddle boards. Every place is different and offers booze of course, as well as food. We checked out 3 places. All had tables in the water and waiters bringing you whatever you wanted which we thought was super cool. Sunset Palace - furthest to get to was our favorite. Less crowded. Better sitting / hang out area.
Go early can stake out an area with lounge chairs and a table Bamboo Fence swing bar - had a great chill vibe. Loved the hammocks over the water. Not a ton of lounge chairs. Best food of the three we visited. Pirates - crowded. Seemed like where the party was. Three rows of lounge chairs
Sunset Palace
Bamboo Fence
Pirates
Restaurants
Aji - 👍 wonderful Spanish tapas restaurant halfway between Alia and Secret beach. Not only was the food super tasty but wonderful ambiance as well. Bonus many of the entrees came with grilled vegetables rather than steamed veggies. We went here twice.
Big Taste - 👍 whole in the wall in downtown San Pedro with the best tacos we have ever had tacos. My favorite fish, pork… but we didn’t try the meat or chicken tacos. $10 for 4 tacos
Blue Water Grill-👍great breakfast spot on beach downtown San Pedro. Big portions. Favorite was cinnamon French toast and Belize breakfast which included fry jacks
Caramba - 👌 Good fish options. Can select your own if you choose or order some pre priced options off the menu. Mostly indoor. Although food is good we like other places better
Caliente - 👍 large open air deck on lagoon side where you can catch the sunset. Fajita salad was very good. Fish was good but small thin portions. Burritos looked huge. Good live music.
Cool beans - 👍 lovely outdoor restaurant on a dock. Recently opened up. Word is getting out. Food was very good (waffles, fruit bowl with yogurt and granola, fry Jack and eggs). Bonus they give you complimentary water and wood chairs have cushions.
Deck - 👍 primarily out door restaurant at the Alia. Nice setting but unfortunately get whifts if the seaweed. Got the pizza. Fairly large pies. Most affordable option at the Alia. Would only go there if u are staying at the Alia.
El Fagon - 👌 Maybe it was what we ordered - Grilled fish and vegetable curry. Food and ambiance underwhelmed us.
El Patio - 👍 Nice sand, fountain ambiance. Probably very pretty at night with lighting. had tacos good but not as good as Big Taste. Mayan chicken tostadas very good.
Elvi’s- 👍 request a reservation in the room with the tree. Seafood dishes very good. Our favorite was the fish curry. This was our most expensive meal. Other places where you can get better value.
Fry Jack - cash only. Shrimp fry jacks were great! Also like the chocolate fry Jack
La Fonda - good option if you are staying south and want some Italian. Good pizza and fresh pasta.
Purple Pelican - our favorite. It has it all ambiance, caring staff, and good food. Beautiful restaurant with purple and orange cushions, lovely lighting in a palapa on the lagoon side so we were able to get seated on their patio and experience yet another beautiful sunset. Told restaurant In reservations comment it was our daughter’s bday. Surprised her with balloons on her chair and entire waiting staff singing her happy birthday. Food was good (pork chop, pasta, tuna, chocolate lava cake). Would highly recommend for a celebration
Tres Cocos waffles and smokehouse- 👌 good place to stop for breakfast on way to secret beach. Big fry Jack portions. Yummy waffles. Only downside flies that joined us when our food was served. Cash only. $30
Stella’s Sunset-👍 make a reservation for the deck to experience a wonderful sunset. This place has an incredibly relaxing chill vibe. Food good. Staff friendly. Bonus had $25 drinkable bottle of wine special
Bars
Island jungle 👍- cool jungle vibe. All outside. Very friendly staff. Were told it Picks up around 9pm as it was very quiet when we were there early evening
Palapa bar -👍 good vibe. Good energy. Over the water. Friendly service. Spots bar. Live music the night we were there. Fairly crowded.? Lots of energy. For bar food … Food was good. Saw a nurse shark off the deck
Sandbar - 👌good spot if you want a drink before going to Palapa Bar. Drinks needed a little more blending, but pretty tasty.
Toast - got a drink here. Right on beach
Waeyos - got a drink here. Friendly staff. Like vibe of other bars better
Caye Caulker
Alpine mountain town. Lots of hiking paths. Dense forest with lots of pine trees, ferns, crystal clear streams and waterfalls. Wonderful views. Goats, unattended horses, cows crossing road.
DAY 1
Easy drive from Porto. Our 1-bedroom Airbnb Refugio do Vidoeiro was right across the street from the start of two hiking trails. Great location and comfortable one bedroom place with decent kitchen and great patio.
We did PR3: Trilho Dos Currais. 6.5 moderate miles. 1,800ft+ elevation gain. First hour up hill (A few steep sections) which then opens up to a flatish section followed at mile 4 with an incredible viewpoint - Miradouro da Pedra Bela
Next 2 miles down had some fairly steep sections but all doable.
DAY 2 & 3
DAY 2: Rained pretty much all day. So we ended up just hanging out at our apartment. Rain stopped long enough for us to walk into town for lunch at Lourdes Capela. Lots of locals. Had a nice salad mista, sautéed cabbage, and black beans. Good sized servings.
DAY 3:
Sun shined so we’re able to get out and see more of the beauty of Geres. First stop: Miradouro Rocas. Short hike up to 360 degree view point.
Walked to Cascata do Arado. Along the way saw a single shepherd herding a huge group of goats that were quite spread out. He also had a dog, but didn’t seem he was helping much.
Drove a short way to another view point along the way to our next waterfall.
Followed by another short drive and hike to Cascata de Varzeas . Unfortunately could only hike so far before we hit a locked gate of private property so didn’t get the full view of the waterfall but most of it.