We get back to our room, and I open up the frig to find it full of towels! Tons of them, and the frig is hot. This is where a phone in the room would be great, but no such luck, so we troop back down to reception.

They seem perplexed and say they'll send someone to check it out. Turns out the housekeeping staff was defrosting it, so they remove all the towels and crank it back up, and it's ready to go. That was pretty easy; the housekeeper is really sweet and apologetic. It's no big issue for us - we're glad they got it fixed so quickly. I ask where we can fill up our ice bucket, and the woman says that they fill it for you, but only if you ask. She fills ours up and leaves. I wish there were an ice maker somewhere for us to access; I hate having to bother someone to get it. Turns out this woman fills ours up every day without our asking, and she leaves a beautiful hibiscus flower on top of the ice bucket to let us know she's been there. Pretty thoughtful.

Husband and I snuggle up on the bed and drift off to sleep. I'm not a napper, but wow, this is just too cozy - soft linens, tons of pillows, the breezy canopy. Pretty much heaven. When I wake up, my husband looks over at me and teases, "I've never seen you like this. Is this what you look like when you're relaxed?!" Ha, ha, ha!! After the nap, we head off to dinner. We get a grouper sandwich and a snapper dish with veggies. Seafood here is excellent. I'm falling in love with Victoria House.

The next morning we wake up, and I'm already excited - today is Hol Chan day!

A continental breakfast comes free with the room. We head down to the outdoor seating area to enjoy the view, and the server brings us each a little basket. Inside is a variety of pastry/muffin items - 3 each. Bread loving husband is pretty happy. I decide to pop a Dramamine. Even though there aren't waves inside the reef, the water is choppy, and it's windy.

We head out to the dock at 8:45 for our 9:00 a.m. pickup. We see on the board that 2 other couples will be joining us - a nice small group. Our guide Leonardo pulls the boat around, and we all climb in. Leonardo is very tan and barrel-chested. He says he's been diving for 30 years, so we're in good hands. One girl is very nervous because she's not a good swimmer. He asks us who is comfortable in the water, and everyone but she raises their hands. He hands her a life jacket, and she puts it on.

The trip to Hol Chan is pretty quick since we're close to the reef. Leonardo jumps in first. I hadn't realized he'd be joining us, but he says it's a guided tour - awesome! That makes me even more excited. I know he'll spot things that we would never see.

Right away, he says, "Sea turtles" - then "Nurse shark" - each time he yells something out and points, we all dunk our heads under to get a better view. Two big turtles swim by me close enough to touch. I see an 8 or 9-foot nurse shark go by. There are stingrays, and huge groupers, snappers - lots of big wow moments here. I just love it! They're in front of us, behind us, under us, and there's some beautiful colored corals too - lots of deep purple ones. Honestly, this is one of my favorite things we've ever done. We've snorkeled a lot, and have never seen anything this amazing.

There are also blue tangs, parrot fish, huge angelfish - I wish I knew more about them, but fish of all colors and sizes. Love, love, love it here! One of the girls starts looking like she's not feeling well, and she heads back to the boat, very sea sick and very sad looking. I feel bad for her, and I'm glad I took the Dramamine. Nervous girl starts looking a little queasy too. After about an hour at Hol Chan, we pile back in boat to head to Shark Ray Alley. I ask Leonardo if people chum the water to get the sharks and rays to come, and he says that they aren't supposed to but they do. VH doesn't do it, so they wait around for other boats to do it, and then the sharks and rays start appearing. L tells us not to get too close, stay about 10 feet back because you don't want to get into the feeding frenzy. Lots of nurse sharks appear. Big rays and silver fish that look piranaish to me - silver with tough looking jaws - they're Jacks Leonardo says. I can't believe we're in the water with them, but they all whoosh by to get to the food. I am kicking myself for not buying an underwater camera. It was $20 or $25 at the gift shop, and I thought it was too much, but now I really wish I had it. Queasy girl never gets in the water here. The husband of the nervous girl asks what she thought about snorkeling, and she says, "There were too many fish!" Thought that was cute! My husband asks Leonardo if anyone ever gets bitten, and he laughs and says, "All the time!" Thanks for telling us after we're safely back in the boat!


About 11:30 or so, we head back in and get ready to go to town for lunch. We haven't decided where to go yet, but I'm armed with my Fodor's list and can't wait to see San Pedro.

It sounds like a really wonderful trip, VG! Looking forward to the rest.

Keep it coming, I'm reading :)

We decide to take a taxi to town; now that we know what they look like. The front desk calls one for us, and it comes pretty quickly. Cost is only 5 bucks from VH to town. There are also golf carts you can rent, but they start at $20 an hour, and that seems pricey. Taxi it is. We get dropped off in town, and next thing I know we hear, "Hey, there my friend, pretty lady..." All that sort of stuff. Uh-oh, I feel the big hard sell coming on.

"Want to buy these bracelets? Pretty bracelets?" I say no thanks, and then he offers, "How about this, you smoke?" And I notice some little baggies tucked in amongst the jewelry. "No thanks; I'm good" - and maybe someone can educate me here. It doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before. Sort of like dried up pods. I expected to see joints rolled up, but what the heck were these things - lol?! The guy is ticked off that we don't buy anything, and as he leaves he says, "You don't smoke, but I bet you drink, don't you?!" Nice welcome to town! I've seen that a lot in Mexico, but it kind of surprised me here. I guess it shouldn't have. Our drivers have mentioned that Belize is a big transport area for drugs moving from Columbia to Mexico. The guy isn't too intimidating; he looks pretty young and is riding a bicycle!

We move on and decide to check out more lunch spots and do some shopping. We end up at Fido's - have heard a lot about this place, and they have a huge palapa right on the beach that looks pretty inviting. We're looking forward to our first meal in town!

Hi, C & P - thanks for sticking with me!

Fido's (pronounced Fee-dough's) has a fun atmosphere; there's a giant shark hanging from the ceiling with a snorkeler in its mouth. Typical fun beachy place. I have a bit of sticker shock when I open the menu - a burger is $16, and a drink is $15.

It's only after we eat that we realize the menu is in Belizean dollars, so we can divide the cost in half - ah, that makes more sense. Now I'm wishing I got a fun tropical drink, but at $7.50, it still seems like tourist prices are in play. I guess you're paying for that view! Ambergris has a much more Caribbean vibe than the jungle area we came from. We see a lot more people sporting dreadlocks here. Service is very laid back. A lot more Creole culture, and a lot less Mestizo, and we do hear some Spanish mixed in.

We finish lunch and head off to explore the town and shop. There are a lot of little shops; most of them seem to have mass-produced trinkets like key chains, t-shirts, magnets, etc. Not very many hand-crafted items, but we do buy some coffee for the folks back home and a few gifts. Service is very friendly at the shop where we buy the gifts. The town is very walkable. We decide we'll come tomorrow to do a little more exploring, and we head back to VH. We pass a lot of golf carts on the way. Even though it's low season, things outside the resort seem pretty busy.

At VH, we walk along the beach and see some big stingrays right at the edge of the water. The water is crystal clear, and the sea grass is cleared out in this area. There are steps going down into the water if you want to go in, and there's also a set of steps off the edge of the pier. Seems like most folks prefer the pool, and VH has a nice setup. Two pools that you can use, and I think some of the villas have private pools. We put the pool on our agenda for tomorrow and head off to the dive shop to inquire about more tours. After Hol Chan, we are anxious to get back in the water!

I took a friend of mine (who has lived in San Pedro for years) to lunch at Fidos a few months ago. She was pleasantly surprised at how decent the food was. It is tourist priced, but the portions are good, and I really like some of the menu items.

Still loving your report. I haven't been to Hol Chan in several years, since dear husband got his diving certification. I think I need to go back....

The snorkeling sounds wonderful. How much did you pay for your outing?

Jn, I don't remember the exact cost, but I think we paid around $40 per person. It seemed just slightly higher priced than some of the other places I checked, but it also had a lot fewer people on the tour, so it seems like we got more individualized attention. Seaduced and Searious are two other outfitters you can check out. The location was pretty convenient too. I believe we also paid an entrance fee to get into Hol Chan - maybe ten bucks? Wow, we both just loved it! If I could go there every single day, I would do it. And next time I would bring a camera!

Jean, yes, we did think the food was pretty food. I remember thinking this is a $16 hamburger?!! But for $8, yes I would totally go back. It's a fun atmosphere, and the portions were big. Seems like the portions were really big everywhere we went. Fido's also has live music in the evenings, and it seems like that would be awesome. Definitely go back to Hol Chan. You're lucky to have it so close!

volcanogirl - You mentioned bidding on Chaa Creek on Luxury Link. It seems like you got a fantastic deal! I originally misunderstood the rate listing online since it is only in very small print that is says "per person." So the plan to spend around $150/night at Chaa Crek shot up to $330! How far in advance of your trip did you bid?

Sessa, here's the link to what I bid on, although the starting asking price was lower a couple of months ago. I think I paid $799, and that was for both of us and included 4 nights in a great cottage, free breakfasts for both of us, a dinner for two, some tours/activity credit etc. I checked around about Luxury Link before I bid on it, and it seemed legit, and we ended up loving it. I would definitely use them again. They asked us to put a range of dates in, and we got our first choice of dates and all the amenties we asked for.

http://www.luxurylink.com/luxury-hot...reek?clid=2260

They also have packages for Chan Chich if anyone is interested. I think it looks like a great property too. Now if only Victoria House would join the club!

Very nice report. How much of a hassle is it to avoid those drug dealers ? We have kids and prefer not to get hassled.

He's the only one we saw on our entire trip. I wouldn't think you would encounter it at all in the jungle areas. I'm curious if anyone else has run into it at the beach. The resort areas seem pretty sheltered from things; ours had a strict no solicitors policy. My husband and I are pretty clean cut and suburban looking. We were kind of surprised he approached us.

I was wondering how the rest of our experience in town would go, and luckily it went well. We did encounter a couple of little kids selling jewelry, but they were sweet and moved along when we passed.

Thank you very much for the detail report. My wife and I are eagerly reading every bit of it. We're going to Belize from 8/19 to 8/28. You don't know how much your report helps us.

Hey V-girl,
Your report really inspired me and I booked a trip to Belize with my mileage last night- for next Feb ! You had also helped me out with our first trip to the Osa in CR last year so I really trust your opinions and insight. Thank you !

DH wanted to go to CR again, but Belize won out. We have been before, 10 years ago, but went down south and to the jungle, which we loved, but not to Ambergris--which we were previously kind of turned off about. (Now, don't anyone get upset, but years ago, the posts made it sound a little trashy). I'm assuming it is NOT like that?? It sounds like it is worth adding Ambergris to our trip this time, for the snorkeling and at Victoria House.

Can't remember if you said what type of room you got at VH?

Thanks again for the inspiration and the GREAT trip report !!

fc, that is awesome. I hope you really love it. I'm glad I could help. A lot of people on the board helped me before I went too!

joan, that's great! We were a little skeptical too, but we ended up just loving it. Someone advised us not to stay in the city based on what we were looking for, and for us, that was good advice. VH has that total feeling of peace and relaxation that we were looking for. It was only about 50% full when we went, so a lot of times we were the only people on the beach or there would only be one other couple at the pool. It is a popular place though. Gradually we started seeing people that we had met earlier on our trip. We saw our Tikal buddies eating breakfast one morning and a newlywed couple from Chaa showed up a couple of days later. It's like in CR where you keep seeing the same people over and over again.

Our room was called a Plantation Room, but they also have casitas, villas, suites - all kinds of choices. Ours were in a little grouping of four rooms, two upstairs and two downstairs - never heard a peep from any of the other rooms. At Chaa, we felt like we had to be a little bit quiet because the windows are just screens to let the breeze in.

When we get to the dive shop, we check out the tours. I am interesting in doing the manatee watch, but husband is wanting more snorkeling. That sounds good to me too, so we book a tour for Mexico Rocks and Tres Cocos - supposed to be lots of cool corral and smaller colorful fish. The rest of the day is spent walking on the beach, relaxing at the pool, and enjoying a casual dinner of quesadillas. We're looking forward to another day of snorkeling in this awesome place.

We wake up the next day, do the mega-muffin breakfast, and get ready for our 9:00 a.m. tour to Mexico Rocks and Tres Cocos. The sky is dark, and the water is really choppy, so I'm wondering if we'll get rain. The boat pulls up, and the guide is wearing a t-shirt with a logo, same logo is on all the equipment, so I think VH farms out some of their tour trips to other providers. There's only one other couple (I think they were a couple!) on the tour with us. I take a Dramamine this day too.

We get to the first location and the guide tells us the general area in which we're to swim. There's a big pipe jutting out of the water that acts as a marker.

We see some pretty corrals - electric blue ones and lots of purple ones again; some look like fingers wriggling in the water. We spot a couple of small rays. There are no big ticket items here like at Hol Chan, but it's very pretty. The guide doesn't get in the water with us even after the other woman asks him to. I miss Lorenzo! After about an hour we return to the boat and start heading to the other location. I ask the guide if he thinks it will rain, and he tells me, "We save all the rain for the farmers. Do you see any farmers here?" Five minutes later, it starts to rain! It doesn't last very long though, but the sky remains dark and overcast. Nice in a way because it keeps the temperature down. We wrap our towels around us because it gets really windy.

At the second location the guide gets in with us - yes! It really is a lot better with a guide. Next time I might ask ahead if the tour is guided or not. We see a moray eel which is peeking out from under a rock, a huge lobster (which puts an idea into my head for dinner!), Southern rays and electric rays, and lots of squirrel fish with huge black eyes. The coral here is totally different than in the other spot. Lots of different shapes from brain to fan to elkhorn, lots of colors too. The weird thing is that even though we're very far out, we can actually stand up in the water out here. Some spots are only 3 or 4 feet deep. I asked for a life jacket at this spot because it's just easier to stay above the coral that way. I hate the thought of accidentally destroying anything and you don't kick up so much sediment if you're floating. My husband loves it here, so it was a good choice. I really prefer Hol Chan though if I had to pick one. When we go back, I am determined to take that manatee tour!

After an hour, we head back in to VH and go back to the room to shower and change and head to town for lunch and more shopping. I have my heart set on going to Wild Mango's to eat - have read a lot of good reviews about this place. The chef, Amy Knox, previously worked at VH and has won Belize Chef of the Year a few times. I imagine it's a little bit fancy, but not really sure what to expect. Supposed to be sort of Caribbean/Latin fusion with a creative menu. And it's right on the beach, so that's a bonus!