We're looking to go away July 2015 for a big vacation. I would love to see ruins and a rainforest. My son wants to scuba dive (he's a certified diver). My husband suggested Belize as a potential option. Neither of us have ever been there. I read that August isn't a good time go and was wondering whether July would be okay. I'm a teacher so I'm limited to school vacations. My son would be 17 at the time and my daughter would be 9.

We went in July and thought it was great. We did a split between the jungle area San Ignacio and Ambergris for beach time. Highlights for us were going over the border to visit the ruins at Tikal and going snorkeling at Hol Chan, some of the best we've ever done - rays, nurse sharks, sea turtles, and colorful fish. We had some rain, but that was okay because it helped to cool things off. There are also a lot of caving activities - Barton Creek, ATM, etc. We also love Costa Rica, but if your priorities are SCUBA and ruins, then Belize would be a good fit for you.

Sometimes there's a mini dry season in August. Sometimes hurricanes blow through, but not very often. We've visited 3 times so far during late July and August and have loved every trip.

My photos with blog and travelogue links on the main page of each collection are below in case you're interested - all my recommendations are embedded there. Happy planning! http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

July and August are referred to as the rainy season, but in my experience they have been some of my favorite months. When it rains it is usually in the evening and then during the day it clears up quite nicely most days. I like it in Belize then.

I like the Placencia area for accessing both Maya ruins and diving without having to move from one location. Chabil Mar, www.chabilmar.com is my favorite resort there.

However, the other option that another reply mentioned was splitting time between jungle and sea. I have done that and really enjoyed it too. It means a little more travel time between the locations but you get to really experience the difference between the jungle environment and the sea first hand.

In San Ignacio, Cayo District, I like Chaa Creek and Amber Sunset Jungle Resorts a lot.

We stayed at Chaa Creek as well and really enjoyed it. Victoria House is a beautiful resort on Ambergris. We loved it there.

Victoria House is exquisite, though I prefer Placenzia in general. Ambergris Cay is easy to get to from Belize City, though, so you don't need to rent a car... You end up diving in almost the same area whether you go south to Placenzia or to Ambergris Cay. I'd spend a few days there and then spend three days or so in the jungle - if you have the time, you could go on into Guatemala to Tikal for two days or so - really fascinating.

We also went in August and the weather was great. One thing to watch for though is that a lot of places do close up at the end of August, so be sure to verify before you go when they will be closing. I think the week we left many places in Ambergris were closing for a week or two. I would try to go a bit before then as things are starting to feel a bit scarce!

We also did the split of 5 days jungle, and stayed at Chaa Creek - loved it! We did a day trip to Tikal and while I'm sure an overnight is great, we found the day trip worked well for us. Then we spent 5 days in Ambergris Caye. It was the perfect mix of ruins and jungle and then relaxing at the beach. We did a lot of snorkeling, I did one dive and we spent a lot of time just relaxing!

Belize was one of my favorite vacations! Enjoy!