Thank you, RAC. I think Lamanai and Chan Chich make the most sense to us as they will offer lots of things on site.

That sounds like a great trip to me. Someone posted their photos from Chan Chich, and they were spectacular.

Chan Chich is wonderful, but during our three night stay our at the time 13 & 15 year old boys got bored. Not a lot to actually do if you are not a birder. Our guide Umberto (sp) was very good at spotting, but hard for us to appreciate all he pointed out. Pool nice, some wildlife, good food, nice accomodations (no AC in our cabana) great staff.

Take another look at Ian Andersons Caves Branch mentioned above. We spent four nights there and they have activities for all ages. One downside is we saw little to no wildlife there.

Don't know what you chose for snorkeling, but we did Backbird Caye on Turneffe and it was great.

Chan Chich is wonderful, but during our three night stay our at the time 13 & 15 year old boys got bored. Not a lot to actually do if you are not a birder. Our guide Umberto (sp) was very good at spotting, but hard for us to appreciate all he pointed out. Pool nice, some wildlife, good food, nice accomodations (no AC in our cabana) great staff.

Take another look at Ian Andersons Caves Branch mentioned above. We spent four nights there and they have activities for all ages. One downside is we saw little to no wildlife there.

Don't know what you chose for snorkeling, but we did Backbird Caye on Turneffe and it was great.

I think I understand why hope preferred the jungle camp at Chaa Creek better than the cottages; it's just more ... well, jungley. Great little tent-cabins where candles are lit for light each evening, meals at large tables communal-style. Less luxury, but at a fraction the price, and included all of the same activities as Chaa Creek. We went on hope's recommendation, as we felt that her travel style was close to our own, and were very glad we did. Your boys could have their own tent-cabin with this option.

Loved Chan Chich, but was traveling with just my husband. It is totally remote!

LOL would be a great option for your family, but I don't know about the 3 beds as we only needed one (but got two). An earlier post mentioned the sleeping arrangement you want is available. There are many activities to choose from and the setting is beautiful!

Didn't stay at Chaa Creek, but we did go there for lunch one day after paddling down/up (??) the river from Table Rock Lodge. There are many activities, but it does seem a little pricey. Check Luxury Link for deals for this location.

We did Chaa Creek on Luxury Link like Deb mentioned, and it was a fantastic deal. There's definitely lots to do on site with the canoeing, day and night hikes, birding, butterfly house, medicine trail, great pool, horseback riding, etc. The meals are multi-course, but you don't have to do all the courses - it was a lot of food, but it was very good. We ate lunch at the pool and loved doing that. You definitely have lots of good options!

The Luxury Link packages are usually for 2 people but you could check if they'll let you add on. Chaa Creek definitely has a more manicured, less "jungley" feel (if you don't consider their jungle camp) compared to some of the other lodges mentioned.

That's true around the cabins, but parts of it are very untamed - they have three or four hundred acres I think, and our guide had to machete his way through some spots when we were out hiking. We climbed up really high and had some great views. I was surprised how different it was once we got out exploring.

That's good to know, volcanogirl, as I had only walked around the developed areas.

Thank you very much for all the pointers! Lamanai does indeed have a cabin with three beds so it could work out very well for us.

I looked through Ian Andersons Caves Branch's activities and most of them for kids who are older than 10. And we would prefer wildlife and local activities (hikes, river) to high intensity activities in the caves etc.

I think all three -- Lamanai, Chan Chich and Chaa Creek -- sound wonderful to me. I will see which one will have a better deal when it is time to book.

I've been investigating accommodation in Belize and would recommend Black Rock River Lodge. It's reasonably priced compared to some of the other listed resorts, but still includes many on-site activities. You are definitely "away from it all" at this location. Supposed to be quite beautiful here. Currently listed number one resort on TripAdvisor. Note, if you are planning to travel off the site you'll have to traverse a very bumpy 6 mile road. Enjoy your trip!

SMac, thank you. I did look at the lodge but the 6 mile road scared me. I will take another look.

The road into Chaa Creek was a bit rough when we were there. Our driver told us, "Now you're going to get a free butt massage!"