Has anyone been to Belize?

vmj23

Going on 3 months since the wedding and back and forth on so many places I have now started looking into Belize.    Originally I wanted to go to Greece but we didn't have time to plan it for immediately after the wedding and then some personal issues came up delaying it further.    Since we still don't have a vacation booked, I am thinking November.    How did you like Belize?   Where did you stay?   Was there a lot ot do? Easy to get around?   Any advice or feedback you have is appreciated!

daria24

We went to Belize a few years ago and it was my favorite place I have ever been. We stayed 5 days out in the Cayo at the Black Rock Lodge-they have hiking, horse back riding, canoeing, swimming in the river, etc right there, or they have a bunch of trips that you can opt to do once you get there. The trips are cheaper the more people that go, so each night we would talk to the other people staying there, and see if anyone had a mutual interest. It was so fantastic-the food was amazing-they grow a lot of their own food. We went to Actun Tunich Miknal-an absolute must! We also went into Guatemala to Tikal. The other guests who went to see the ruins in Belize said they were really great-almost no one was there, and they are less uncovered than Tikal or Tulum, but you got to really explore.

Getting there/around is not the easiest-we paid for them to pick us up from the airport. You can rent a car but other than the main "highway" the roads are ROUGH. The access to some of the ruins is downright treacherous, some of the other guests rented a car and did it themselves, but I'm glad we paid the Lodge to take us everywhere. There is a public bus system that runs between the main towns, we took it from San Ignacio to Belize City. It was fine, and cheap. 

We then spent 3 days in San Pedro, which if you stay in the southern end is completely walkable. I don't remember the name of the place we stayed, it was pretty unremarkable. The reef is amazing, it's worth going more than once on a trip, you see so much stuff. But other than that Ambergris is kind of meh. The restaurants were more touristy/over priced. The beaches are terrible. You can arrange trips to go to the mainland to see the ruins on the east side of the country, go river tubing, etc. We had already done all that stuff from the Cayo so we just stayed in San Pedro the whole time. 

My only tips are: don't rent a car unless you can drive a stick and you are pretty hearty, most hotels/resorts will get you around, for a price. We took the water taxi from Belize City to San Pedro, than took the puddle jumper back. Belize City is pretty rough, in broad daylight we were fine, but I would not have wanted to be there after dark. 

They take US dollars everywhere, but give you change back in Belize dollars, so just be mindful of how you spend your cash, so you don't end up with a bunch of Belize dollars leftover. 

vmj23

Thank you so much @daria24!!! The more I read the more I am thinking this is where i want to go!! My husband is not one to lay around doing nothing so Belize is sounding like a great place for us, with some many activities and things to see!

JoanE2012

We stayed in Ambergris Caye.  We did a couple of excursions to the mainland and they were long days....I think about 1.5-2 hours each way.  Just something to keep in mind when deciding where you want to stay and what you want to do.  I also never went in the water at Ambergris.  Way too much sea grass.....ick!  We enjoyed walking the beach to dinner in San Pedro (about 25 minutes or so) and the overall vibe of the area, but we never felt safe walking that stretch home and always took a taxi.

Jells2dot0

JoanE2012 said:

We stayed in Ambergris Caye.  We did a couple of excursions to the mainland and they were long days....I think about 1.5-2 hours each way.  Just something to keep in mind when deciding where you want to stay and what you want to do.  I also never went in the water at Ambergris.  Way too much sea grass.....ick!  We enjoyed walking the beach to dinner in San Pedro (about 25 minutes or so) and the overall vibe of the area, but we never felt safe walking that stretch home and always took a taxi.

This. I stayed in Ambergris at Victoria House. Loved the hotel, but the beach was crappy and the water was worse. I ended up being ill most of the time I was there, so never made it on any excursions. I did use golf carts to get to and from San Pedro and that was fun!