Belize trip report: Tropical Edu Center, Glover's Reef, Crooked Tree
 

Just back from our Belize trip. We booked with a tour company, the first time we've used a tour company. Island Expeditions was a fantastic company to travel with, I would go with them again for sure!! We started with 1.5 days at the Tropical Education Center where we were taken on a cave innertubing float, ziplining, and then a night tour of the Belize zoo. The second day we headed for Dandrega via the Hummingbird Highway. The only complaint I had about that part of the trip is that we had no time to walk the trails at TEC! Our time was booked from breakfast to bedtime. But our guide was great and we had a fun time.

From Dandrega we took a large skiff out to Southwest Caye (pronounced "key") on Glover's Reef atoll. There we stayed in, well they called them tents but they were more like small, soft-sided cabins! Each one was on a wooden platform and had windows with screens. We had a community bathroom with composting toilets & rainwater showers. The tents are small but we spend only our sleeping time in them! We had 5 guides for 18 of us; very knowledgeable, safety conscious, and fun! We were on the caye for 5 days snorkeling, kayaking, kayak-sailing, and fishing. They had morning activities and more after lunch which you could opt out of if you wanted to just hang out in a hammock. We got to know the guides well and enjoyed their company both as guides and meal companions. And the meals - WOW!! Lots of fresh fish & seafood beautifully prepared, tons of fresh fruit, desserts, it was some of the best food I've had in Belize!

From there we had 2 days at Bird's Eye View Lodge at Crookedtree. Fantastic birdwatching, I highly recommend the pre-breakfast tour. Yes, it's early but if you're at all into birding you won't be sorry!

If you have specific questions about our trip I'd be happy to try to answer them!

Sounds like a great trip - thanks for taking the time to post! A few questions:
Did you stay in Dangriga or just catch a boat there for Glover's?
Was diving an option on the days you spent on Glover's?

We didn't stay in Dandriga, just met the boat. Yes, diving was offered at the resort next door.

Thanks!

KBoen, this looks like it's possibly the same itinerary (also with REI/Islane Expeditions) as the one I'm looking into for early December. Great to see such a positive review!

Can I ask what you'd recommend, fitness level-wise? I've never done any real kayaking before, just some kids' stuff at a summer camp decades (gulp!) ago. I'm in my mid-30s and don't have any major health/fitness issues that weren't brought on by sitting parked in front of a computer screen all day long, but that doesn't necessarily put me in line to be a champion sea-kayaker, either. What was your take on the levels of daily activity and how fit most travelers were?

I'd love to hear more, but I'll stop here to see whether you're still checking the forum first. (I sure hope so!)