Belize or Caribbean?
 

Hi everyone!

I've got to say honeymoon planning is hard work! I think I have 3 great ideas, and need help selecting the best trip. Your advise will be very much appreciated:

Our primary interests are:

relaxing on beautiful beaches as much as possible
Hiking to spectacular sites
Snorkeling
Romantic waterfront dinners
Drinks at a beach bar
Live music (nothing fancy) at night
Staying with in our $5000-$6000 budget.

Which of these is best:

Option 1: Renting a villa on St Barts for 7 days and chartering a boat for 4 days for island hopping.

Option 2: Renting a villa on St. John, and chartering a boat for 4 days for island hopping.

Option 3: Spending 11 days in Belize where we would spend 7 days on the coast an 4 days inland.

Thanks in advance!

See my reply to your post on the Caribbean Forum.

There are better beaches elsewhere. Belize has some of the best snorkeling and sailing in the Caribbean, maya sites, cave trips, zip lines, kayaking and canoeing jungle river trips, waterfalls, horses, interesting culture, english speaking and friendly.

Personally, I'd opt for Belize, spending your inland days first in the San Ignacio area with an overnighter to Tikal in Guatemala, then to one of the outer atolls for beach time, snorkelling, diving or fishing if you're interested. Katie knows more about lodging options and might be able to help you out if you're interested. Your budget would buy you some amazing places in Belize - considerably more than our family of 5 spent there in nearly a month! Happy trails...

Katie where is there ziplining in Belize? We are goin this summer and I wasn't able to find ziplines. My family did it in Costa Rica but my husband stayed back with our little one. It is his turn!

I did the St. John thing on our honeymoon and it has all the elements you are requiring. The chartering of our own boat was the highlight of the trip. That and yummy drinks listening to steel drum bands. Very romantic and beautiful snorkling and little islands to explore.

We are going to Belize this summer and a woman who went there on her honeymoon loved it for different reasons. She felt more private with her husband in the jungle. They were often the only ones in places and the spas were great. She loved the hikes, caves etc... She was blown away by Turtle Inn but was one of 5 couples on their homeymoon there. They chartered a boat there and said as everyone does that she will never forget the diving. Breathtaking. Great choices. St. Bart's will definitely be more $$$.

Zip line at www.jaguarpaw.com about 60 mins from Belize City en route to Cayo.

We just got back from 10 days in Belize and Guatemala. In Belize we stayed on Ambergris Caye which can be relaxing but is pretty rustic in a way. Unless you are into scuba diving/snorkling or wind surfing or fishing there wasn't much else to do besides eat and shop. I am not sure about some of the resorts, but in general there is no beach near San Pedro that we found plus the water has a lot of reeds in it - not too condusive for just swimming around. Scuba was great though, so if you do that or snorkle it is worth the trip.

Guatemala was fun with the ruins (a 1 hr plane ride away for about 100 dollars or so) at Tikal which is worth seeing, but don't bother with Guatemala City as there is not much there for the average tourist. I hear there are other day trips from Belize that you can take to other ruins or tubing in the caves which can be fun. It was more an adventureous type of vacation rather than a relax on the beach type.

For a real honeymoon experience go to the Four Seasons Resort on Nevis http://www.fourseasons.com/nevis/index.html
They have many inclusive packages; all the golf and tennis you might want, great food, and non-intrusive entertainment.
We've been there 3 times and aboslutely love it.
It takes a while to get there: plane to San Juan, small plane to St Kitts, launch to the hotel; but well worth it.

I have done both the Caribbean and Belize (just a month ago) If you like adventure and rustic beauty, definitely Belize. There are very comfortable and romantic lodges in Belize as well, but you won't get the adventure anywhere else like Belize. If it is all about the honeymoon and romanticism, do the Caribbean.

Zipline is also at Ian Anderson's Cave Branch Jungle Resort, a lot cheaper than Jaguar Paw, and you get the best in adventure tourism, snorkling, cave tubing, zipline, jungle expeditions, mayan ruins. He was the pioneer.

http//uniqueplaces.blogspot.com

Mmm, not sure where you went on vacation, but Caves Branch does not have a zip line on premises and brings their guests to Jaguar Paw for zip lining..

i love belize but if you want plenty of beautiful beaches, it may not be the right choice for you.