Hi, I have enjoyed reading the information on this forum and have found it very helpful. We are a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids ages 10 and 13) planning our first trip to Belize in late December and I have a few questions regarding logistics. Thanks in advance for the advice!

We are looking at staying at Lamanai Outpost Lodge, Black Rock Lodge with an overnight to Tikal, and the beach. I assume transport between airport, LOL and then BRL by car is convenient, is that right? How is it best to arrange overnight to Tikal? Is it best to go to Tikal then return to SI? Or should I go to Flores from Tikal and then fly to Belize City to start the beach portion of my vacation? I am considering transportation time, convenience, cost and I guess any other factors I should consider but haven't thought of. Also, do you recommend having the hotel arrange the overnight to Tikal, or am I better off finding a tour operator to do so? And if I use my own tour operator, can you recommend someone?

Thank you!

We had to take a boat to Lamanai Outpost Lodge - they picked us up at the airport and drove us to meet the boat that took us down river to the lodge. We loved it there - lots of great excursions and good wildlife sightings. We saw howlers almost every day, some very close and crocs and really enjoyed the cooking lesson we had. When we left, we did the same thing in reverse - boat, then driver to the airport. We did Ambergris for our beach portion and flew on Tropic Air - it's a quick 15 minute flight from the airport. We used PACZ tours for our trip to Tikal from San Ignacio, but only went for the day. They did a great job.

Hi Volcanogirl, thanks for your reply! I have gotten a lot of helpful information from reading your other posts (and we loved our visit to Bosque del Cabo also!). How many nights were you at Lamanai Outpost Lodge, and did that seem like the right amount of time?

lv,
We did the same drive-boat thing as VG to get to Lamanai, and loved the boat portion. Lots of birds and crocs on the way...plus the views are gorgeous! We spent 3 nights there, and it was fine. I guess 4 would the good too, but it depends on how much time you have and what else you want to do/see. I would not recommend less, because getting there is time consuming, about 3 hrs IIRC each way.
We flew too to Ambergris...painless. You have to see their boarding passes, a small hand-written piece of paper
Have a great trip.

We were there for three nights, and it was the right amount of time for us. Take a look at the tours they offer; we got six different tours with our stay and had just enough time to do all the ones we wanted. I agree with x and wouldn't spend less than three nights there. The trip up and back via the boat seemed like free wildlife tours - saw lots of herons, egrets, and other cool water birds along the way. Also our boat didn't have a cover, so I'd recommend wearing sunscreen and maybe having a rain poncho handy if it looks like rain. We did get sunburned. The people at the lodge are great and really know their wildlife. It's also located right by some amazing ruins that you can walk to. It's a great spot. If you loved BdC, I think you'll love LOL too.

x, we had laminated passes with no numbers or anything. They passed them out and then just took them back. Never had such easy security!

VG,
I remember now the colored laminated passes...but also had this one
http://ioana-mark.smugmug.com/Travel...mJRdQ&lb=1&s=A

I admit, one of the easiest security checks. Maybe this pass was on our flight to Southwater Caye?

Re: the boat trip to LOL, have a rain poncho with you if weather is not the best. It had just stopped raining when we got there, so we did not need ours, but I remember reading a review complaining that the boat (not covered) did not offer any.

x, your pass is pretty fancy! I don't think ours had flight time or any info. on it at all. If I remember correctly they were color coded. "If you have pink, get on the plane" type thing.

lvtrvl - How many nights do you have? Flights booked yet? I'd plan to average at least 3-4 nights per stop and cut 1 stop out if you only have a week (for example).

How adventurous are your kids? Consider the ATM cave is they're adventurous, if not so much, Actun Chapat for an incredible cave with less swimming/scrambling up a creek to it. I would also plan a stop at the zoo, but not on a cruise day unless you can get there 1st thing in the morning. We haven't stayed at LOL but did visit Lamanai using a boat up the New River from Orange Walk and back. I would at least arrange transportation through an agency for Tikal. If you can, organize a tour with Roxy Ortiz, an amazing naturalist/archaeologist - she's terrific with kids.
www.tikalroxy.blogspot.com

Other than that my advice is to travel really light - just a loosely-filled carry-on bag each and a small day pack. 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. Happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

PS Here's the sort of Tropic Air boarding passing we generally get:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stacey...7631359787242/

Thanks to all the replies thus far. Hopefulist, I have read a lot of your posts here and on tripadvisor and looked at your blog, which have been very helpful, and was hoping for some input on timing from you and others. Thanks in advance! We want to go with Island Expeditions to Halfmoon Caye/Lighthouse Atoll. They can only accommodate us with a departure on December 26. We plan to arrive early morning December 19, which will give me 7 nights to fit in my inland portion of the trip. I would like to go to Lamanai Outpost Lodge and San Ignacio/DuPlooys or Black Rock or similar, with an overnight to Tikal. Is it reasonable to do those things in 7 nights, and if so, how would you break it up? I'm worried it's too rushed, and that it will be hard/impossible to get back to Belize City to meet up with the Island Expeditions group in the morning of December 26. Any and all advice on whether it's possible to fit it in and how would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

That's a lot of ground to cover but feasible. If it was my trip I think I'd leave off Lamanai, head to San Ignacio 1st, spend 2 nights in Guatemala for Tikal and Yaxhá, and maybe spend a night at the zoo before meeting up with your group. Just my 2 cents' worth (4 cents BZD)...