Virginia1990

Our wedding is June 4, 2016, so we are starting to look into honeymoon places. We have pretty much settled on Belize (hoping for Europe, but didn't want to spend 4 days of our week just traveling and catching up on jet lag). We have absolutely nothing planned yet, but do have some ideas for what we want to do.

While we both like the beach, neither of us want to spend an entire week there. I've done some research and we are hoping to do an all-inclusive week-long trip that spends half the week in the jungle and half the week at the beach. Some of the sights we want to see - Mayan ruins, caves, beaches. I've seen that the ruins just over the country border in Guatemala are the most impressive, and the ATM cave is the best one to visit. We also want to do some snorkeling, jungle tours/walks, and possibly cave tubing. And of course, some good ole relaxation time in the jungle and/or at the beach.

I'm looking for suggestions of places to stay or eat, things to do, packages to consider, al-inclusive resorts, etc. Anything you all have to offer would be helpful. We are hoping to keep this trip as budget friendly as possible since we will be paying for it ourselves. Is $4000 a reasonable budget to do the things we want to do in Belize? We really don't want to stay in the cheapest place possible because it is our honeymoon and we do want to splurge a little on a nice place to stay. We were hoping to save money with food/drinks and excursions/day trips by finding something all-inclusive.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Patty

You won't find the type of all inclusive resorts that can be found in Mexico or the Caribbean in Belize. Jungle lodges usually do offer the option of including meals and/or activities in the price. However I would price everything out individually to make sure it makes sense for you. In the Cayo District, I've stayed at duPlooys and enjoyed the property. Chaa Creek is also very popular on this board but at a higher price point. I would not have your meals included on the beach portion unless you're staying on a one resort caye and have no other options for meals as part of the fun is trying different restaurants.

volcanogirl

We did a combo trip of Chaa Creek and Victoria House that was fantastic; it's a nice pairing of jungle and beach time, and we did a day trip to Tikal to see the ruins. Meals were included at Chaa Creek, but not at Victoria House - there are lots of good restaurants on Ambergris, so we were glad we didn't stay at an A.I. We like to go out and try different restaurants if we can like Patty mentioned. We got a great deal on Chaa Creek on Luxury Link that made it pretty affordable.

aventurera

If you're looking to plan a trip to more than one location, you might find Vamo.com helpful. They just expanded to include coverage of Mexico and Belize and they are designed to find you the best route between multiple destinations and to book hotels with a nice rebate - take it from someone who used to live in Mexico, just because Belize is close doesn't mean you want to have to double back across the border if you can avoid it! I've also been to many of the ruins in Mexico and to the famous Tikal ruins in Guatemala. Personally my favorite ruins to date are Palenque in Mexico. The Tikal ruins are gorgeous, but don't underestimate the Mexican ruins and it may add more complications than you want to add in Guatemala on only a week-long trip.

Virginia1990

Thanks for the suggestions, and the links! We will definitely look more into those. I've looked into a combo trip for Chan Chich Lodge/Victoria House that looked beautiful and affordable. Also, good to know about the restaurants at Ambergris. aventurera, I will definitely do some more checking into the Tikal ruins and other ruins that may be closer as well. Thanks for the advice!

Katie_Valk

Only site you can visit from CC would be Lamanai

hopefulist

Congratulations! Chaa Creek is another higher end option for the jungle portion of your trip with better access to major Maya sites and awesome caving adventures:
www.chaacreek.com

If you're esp adventurous, Caves Branch is another option:
www.cavesbranch.com

Patty

Lamanai is about 2 hours by road from Chan Chich. Lamanai Outpost Lodge is located right next to the archaeological site and is another option to consider as well. Both are excellent jungle lodges and very good for wildlife viewing and birding.

Chan Chich itself sits on partially excavated ruins. There may be closer lesser Mayan sites (not sure because we came from Lamanai so didn't really investigate this) but the other major sites are too far to day trip to.

The Cayo District (where Chaa Creek and many other jungle lodges are located) is closer to multiple archaeological sites, caving and other adventure type activities whereas Chan Chich and Lamanai are both more isolated and better for wildlife and nature.

Virginia1990

I've done some more looking based on the suggestions, and found that there are jungle/beach packages through the Mariposa Jungle Lodge, Caves Branch, and Sleeping Giant Lodge. It looks like the two big ruins tours that run from these places are Tikal and Xunantunich/Cahal Pech. Although Tikal looks more impressive, it does seem like it requires more organization in order to get there, and with Caves Branch it's actually a bit of an up charge to do it instead of the other one. What recommendations does everyone have regarding this? Is it worth it to go through the little bit of extra hassle and possibly an upcharge to go to Tikal instead? It does look like we won't have to worry about getting a visa or anything like that because we will have our US passports.

Next question looks like it may be geared more towards if we would go with Caves Branch. The ATM cave is also an upcharge. Is this worth it as well? I like the look of doing the Black Hole Drop as well as the cave tubing, but it seems that the cave tubing may not be available to us if we are going in June.

I'm also seeing that the Sleeping Giant tours depart from Caves Branch as well, is Sleeping Giant part of Caves Branch, or do they just do the tours together?

It looks like all of the packages offer snorkeling at Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley, which I am guessing are the two primary places to snorkel. We are really hoping to see some sea turtles when we go, along with other wildlife, so any recommendations there will be appreciated.

Of the places I have mentioned, I would also greatly appreciate any advice regarding pros and cons of both. Caves Branch seems to offer the most bang for your buck compared to the packages at the other places, and all transportation is taken care of for us between the two resorts and the airports. Also, at Caves Branch it looks like there are two options - Caves and Waves with stays at Caves Branch and Victoria House, and Jungle Beach with stays at Caves Branch and Ramon's Village Beach Resort. Any recommendations for one over the other? I need to check pricing as well for these, so that could come into play too.

All the advice so far has been greatly appreciated, thank you all!

Katie_Valk

Do you need a/c? That would determine which lodge would be better for you. I think ATM and Tikal are well worth the surcharges

JeanH

Though I have stayed at neither, I consider Victoria House more upscale than Ramon's. It has a plantation sort of feel. Very expansive grounds, even some grass, which is rare on Ambergris. A couple of pools. It's where I've said I'd stay if I was going to splurge. It's about two miles south of town, I wouldn't stay there without renting a golf cart, but, cabs will be readily available.

Ramon's sits on a very nice stretch of beach. Nice looking restaurant, but, I've never eaten there. I saw more people eating there this past winter than I ever have before, so, they must be doing something right.

Located on the south edge of San Pedro, so lots of eating and drinking choices close by. We used to stay practically next door, and, I often went to Ruby's for cinnamon rolls in the morning. They're awesome. Ramon's had a fire a couple of year ago, so, most of their units have been newly rebuilt.

volcanogirl

Victoria House is fantastic; we've always felt very pampered there. They're also on a nice white sand beach. We had a plantation room with a private balcony and loved it. A cab into town is about five bucks, or you can ride their free bikes. Their food is very good. We've done snorkeling at Hol Chan a few times and have seen sea turtles every time that we've done it. They tend to hang out in the grassy areas, at least that's where we've seen them. Also have seen lots of huge rays, nurse sharks, and pretty tropical fish. It's a quick boat ride from the dock at Victoria House, and they have snorkeling equipment you can rent. Shark Ray Alley is more just watching them chum the water to attract nurse sharks and rays to feed. Think feeding frenzy.

Virginia1990

Katie_Valk, we do prefer a/c. Normally I wouldn't care, but since it's our honeymoon we want to be pampered a little Which lodge does not have a/c? Also, if we just chose one tour to do for the surcharge, would you recommend one over the other? I would lean more towards Tikal only because we do have a lot of impressive caves in VA that we've been to numerous times, but we've never seen Mayan ruins before. But it seems that Tikal can be a bit of a pain to visit based on aventurera's response, has anyone else had any problems with this or had a different experience?

Victoria House does look very beautiful and more upscale, my fiancé and I loved the pictures of it on the site. Ramon's looks fun though with the little cabanas, and I do like the idea of being close to town to walk whenever and wherever we chose. It seems like this choice may just come down to price since they both seem pretty nice unless someone absolutely recommends one over the other.

volcanogirl

We did not have a.c. in our cabin at Chaa Creek. It was pretty hot and sweaty, but we had a big fan that helped. We used PACZ tours to go to Tikal and didn't think it was pain. It was definitely impressive. Ambergris can be a little congested, so we were happy that we stayed at V.H. outside of town. I think of V.H. as being more upscale and romantic than Ramon's, and it's really quick to get into town if you want to, just a couple minutes. To me, it's kind of the best of both worlds. Have not stayed at Ramon's though, just driven by.

jayne1973

bookmarking

hopefulist

I haven't chimed in because we're budget to midrange travelers, preferring cute cabiny places with kitchens. I have opinions on the activities, though, so thought I'd chime in.

You do indeed have some impressive caves in Virginia! ATM isnt like regular caving, though - you hike in through the jungle, fording several rivers, then gear up and swim into the cave, then hike up through the bouldery stream until you get to a dry area where you remove your shoes and tiptoe through an area with Maya artifacts and the remains of sacrific victims, maybe 1000 years old.

Cahal Pech and Xunantunich are lovely and - since you haven't visited Maya sites in the past - would likely make for an enjoyable day with less time on the road than visiting Tikal. That said, Tikal is AMAZING and an absolute highlight of the region imo. The ruins are massive and set in a wonderful jungly setting. Likely your best wildlife viewing, too - coatis, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, toucans, parrots, etc. If you think you'll return to Belize or Guatemala you could save it for another trip but I highly recommend including it if you aren't sure about that.

I think shark ray alley is a bit of a side show but it's pretty impressive to get in the water with so many large sharks and rays. The snorkeling at Hol Chan can be excellent - sometimes we see schools of large tarpon there, a treat - and there are lots of other options with more shallow coral and the usual cast of Caribbean fish species. I hope you see turtles - we frequently do - but don't let it spoil your trip if you don't; there will be lots to see.

My photos with blog, travelogue, and review links on the main page of each collection are below in case you're interested - all my recommendations are embedded there. There is an ATM set in the 2009 collection and Tikal sets in 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2012.
Congratulations! If you are even half as happy with your choice in 35 years as my husband and I are, you are blessed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

hopefulist

Oh - a few more notes. We loved the Black Hole Drop - a few photos in the 2003 collection - great adventure but pretty challenging if you're not in great shape or haven't rappelled much. If you're brave around water, Caves Branch's Waterfall Caves trip is amazing, too. We haven't been tempted by the cave tubing which would be much more tame by comparison.

Have a great trip, whatever you decide!

Virginia1990

Thanks so much for the photos and information! This will give us some stuff to discuss and figure out on our own.

I have found that not many places I've checked into for the packages are listing their prices online, and I contacted Caves Branch via email, had someone respond, but I haven't heard back from her in over a week. She told me that Victoria House is already booked and does not have any rooms (I'm assuming there are only certain rooms available for the package deals) for the week we will be there. I found that a little hard to believe considering it's over a year away and when I checked Victoria House availability on my own for those days, it looked like they had plenty of rooms open. I'm not sure if the person I talked to is an actual employee at Caves Branch or if it is more of a general travel agent? Any advice here from someone who has tried to book these package deals before? Maybe this isn't the best option?

hopefulist

If you aren't wanting to contact the hotels and transportation options and put the pieces together yourself, consider contacting Katie Valk - she is really knowledgeable and respected.
http://www.belize-trips.com/

swanner

Hi Virginia - you mentioned finding a combo pkg for chaa chin and Victoria house. Would you mind sharing where you found that? We are looking to take the same trip and are interested I same lodging. Thank you.