syclark

I am going to Belize for 8 days in December. I will be traveling with divers (and I dont dive) so while they are on their excursion I am looking for some safe things I can do alone. I will be staying in Belize City for 5 nights then going to Amberguis Caya (spell???) for three nights. I would like to visit the jungle, Mayan ruins, and tube thru the caves. Are these activities safe for a single female? Any other ideas will be greatly appreciated.

RBCal

Yikes, 5 nights in Belize City? Virtually no one stays there for long.

Fra_Diavolo

Yeah, I wouldn't stay in Belize City at all.

Organize a stay out in San Ignacio (there are other centers, SI is popular). You can do all the things you've listed and then some, then join up on Ambergris.

hopefulist

Vote 3 for "get out of Dodge". Most visitors try to avoid even 1 night in Belize City, let alone 5. There are lots of safe, interesting places to stay where you can do all the things you mention - jungle lodges, small villages, funky towns. As above, San Ignacio is a good base. Here are some links to get you started:

http://www.belizeforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi (Toucan Trail section is a great resource for low to budget priced lodging options)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections/ (my photos and travelogue)

http://www.roughguides.com/website/t...174673752_0047 (Rough Guide site - I like their Belize book, too)

www.belizefirst.com (By Lan Sluder, author of the new Fodor's Guide which I recently obtained and am very impressed with)

Happy trails and keep us posted!

Katie_Valk

From Belize City-River cave tubing, zip line, zoo, Altun Ha, Lamanai, Crooked Tree, Baboon Sanc, river canoeing, Museum of Belize and House of Culture. All fine to go to alone and get a guide on site. Spelt Ambergris Caye. Better to base in Cayo where most of these and other great activites eminate from.

syclark

The reason I am stuck in Belize City for so long is my traveling companions are doing a fishing tour. I only decided to go at the last minute and am not interested in fishing at all. So - I really am stuck in Belize City for 5 nights. How far is it from the city to Cayo? Will I be able to take day trips from the city and why does no one stay there? Is it horrible?

hopefulist

Belize City has it's fans but they are few and far between. It's not a very clean or safe-feeling place (can be dangerous at night) with not much charm. You can take lots of day trips from there but are you sure you can't branch out on your own? There are lots of safe, interesting places, cheap ones even, for a single traveler to stay. Group tours and places with shared meals would mean you wouldn't have to be alone unless you wanted to. Here's an example:

www.thetrekstop.com Nice little cabins, share kitchen but prepared meals also available, knowledgable and helpful US expat and local owners, village nearby for grocery shopping, lovely butterfly enclosure, internet available, hike to the lovely Xunantunich ruins, great jumping off place for a visit to Tikal in Guatemala (highly recommended) or area caving trips, $10 night. It's in San José Succotz village a few miles west of San Ignacio.

San Ignacio, the most popular destination town in the Cayo, is about 2 hours from Belize City. It's easy to plan on your own in Belize because the national language is English and there's a huge internet presence, but it's also easy to find a knowledgable person to plan things for you. Katie Valk has a link on her post, above, and would be a wonderful resource.

I hate for anyone to feel "stuck" in Belize - in 5 days you could have a BLAST on your own while they fish there brains out. Keep us posted!