Belize (Emily, where are you?)

[indysteel]

DH and I have a hiking/mtb trip planned for Moab in mid-April. At least that was the plan. My slow healing hamstring injury may require a Plan B, as cycling and hiking are out for the time being. Within the next couple of weeks, I need to decide whether to postpone Moab to next year.

Belize has come up as a possible alternative. For those who have been there--and Emily in particular--is a week long enough to be worth the trip there? We'd stay longer, but we already have another trip planned to Maine later in the year. What areas would you suggest for snorkeling, kayaking, light hiking, eco touring. I'm not one to just sit on a beach, but i have to remember that my hamstring may prevent any too strenuous. I honestly don't know enough to ask more specific questions at this point. Budget is an issue in the sense that we don't typically splurge on fancy accommodations. Something basic and clean will suffice.

Thanks for any info!

[emily_in_nc]

Hi indy,

A lot of folks come to Belize for just a week. The only downside is that usually flights are more expensive than to other "touristy" places due to less demand.

To do all the things you're interested in (snorkeling, kayaking, light hiking, eco touring), you really need to visit both the coast (for the first two) and inland (for the latter two), or decide to focus on one or the other if you'd rather stay in one locale for the full week.

We live on Ambergris Caye, the most popular and busy tourist destination in Belize. It's great for snorkeling, kayaking, diving, hanging on the beach, dining, and beach bike riding, but it's dead flat so no good for hiking, and if you really want to see interesting wildlife and scenic terrain in the jungle, you'll want to be on the mainland at least part of the time. Some people do divide a week up into 4 days on Ambergris Caye, 3 on the mainland (or vice versa), if they are energetic, so you might do that.

You can take mainland tours from Ambergris Caye, but you'll have less travel time and expense if you stay on the mainland for at least a couple of nights. You can see Maya ruins, monkeys and birds in the jungle, do cave tubing, ziplining, visit the Belize Zoo, and lots of other cool things on the mainland, so if those kinds of things tickle your fancy, you might want to spend at least part of your trip on the mainland.

Another option may be Placencia, in southern Belize (Ambergris Caye is in northern Belize). It is on a peninsula so will give you the "beachy" part of your wish list, but it's also easier to get to the mainland for tours than if you're based on Ambergris Caye. We are getting ready to head down there for four days tomorrow morning for the first time, so I can report back. April is dry season, which would be perfect for Placencia (it's much wetter in southern Belize than in northern), but avoid Easter weekend if at all possible (and the week before and after), as that is the very busiest time to visit Belize, and accommodations and tours will be busy, and flights probably the most expensive. If you can wait until the weekend after Easter to come down, you'll probably find things much less crowded and possibly less expensive.

Start doing some googling, and TripAdvisor is great for accommodation recommendations. If you decide to come to Ambergris Caye, you might look into the Blue Tang Inn. It is reasonably priced, nice, and right in town so you can walk a lot of places. Haven't actually been there but have heard good things (check this link for some great info: http://www.sanpedroscoop.com/2011/10/blue-tang-inn-what-view.html). I will try to help more as you narrow down where you might want to go.

There are amazing jungle lodges on the mainland that I have never been to (Chaa Creek and others), but most are pretty pricey, so you'll have to decide what your budget will allow. I am sure there are more affordable places on the mainland as well; I'm just not that familiar with that part of the country as we are just starting to explore ourselves. The place we are staying in Placencia is pretty basic but looks nice, and the owner has been a dream with emails, etc: http://www.placencia.com/Members/Casaplacencia.html

Keep me posted, and feel free to check out my blog as well. We just took a day trip to one of the major Maya ruin sites, Lamanai, and I've got several entries on that trip: http://bebelize.weebly.com/

Good luck w/your decision!

[indysteel]

Thanks, Emily. I haven't had a chance to digest all of that just yet, but thanks so much for the info! Let me know how your trip goes! Have fun!