My husband runs to the front desk to get a taxi and check on our outgoing flight time. They had told us they would book us for 1:00 but our paperwork says 9:00; they tell him that he's all set for 1:00 but to reconfirm 24 hours before the flight. That was easy! The taxi arrives, and we're off. We quickly arrive at Wild Mango's (sometimes just called Mangos) and boy is it cute. It is really casual and right on the beach with a nice view; it's also very tiny and looks like it would fill up pretty quickly. Amy herself is walking around the restaurant entertaining a friend's mother. I order a Baja fish wrap, and my husband gets a pork dish. I also order a margarita. Mango's has a nice view of the small beach, and quite a few people are strolling by. Several feet away men with dreadlocks are making wood carvings on the beach. The food arrives, and I really like mine a lot; it's a huge portion - definitely enough for two people. Husband tries bites and likes it too. The server brings out a neat little dish filled with three different homemade salsas to sample. Neat spot, and I would definitely go here again.

After lunch, we stroll around town and see several other restaurants that intrigued us - Caliente and Caramba being two I remember. It's fun to see them all after hearing about them on the board. We end up at D & E's Custard. The sign says that it opens at 2:00ish, and it is 2:00ish, so we try the door. No such luck. Three girls arrive and say that it's worth it, and that we should stick around. Then an entire family arrives, and we're all in this little line waiting for the door to open. Shortly after that, the owner comes to the door and says that if we give her a chance to settle in, she'll take care of all of us right away. There's a good selection of custards and sorbets - everything from chocolate to soursop. I'm a chocolate kind of girl so I get that. We chat with the other customers. I get the impression that the girls come here every day. The family is from Dallas - ANOTHER Texas family! Oprah plays on the t.v., and there are colorful murals on the wall. The place is cozy and tiny - thumbs up for the custard - it's good stuff!

After a little more shopping, we find a van with a green license plate and pile in to go back to the hotel. We check out the gift shop, and I find some gorgeous bracelets for twelve bucks - good find! Later, we stroll to the pool and spend the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the view. One of the workers points out a lazy iguana lying on the roof. Very uncrowded poolside, lots of lounge chairs available. A guy walks by with a five-foot long barracuda that he's just caught, so I guess there's some good fishing to be had.

After the pool, we shower and change, reconfirm our flight, and head to the dining room for dinner. This is our first time eating inside other than at the bar. The room is nice, cozy, romantic. I order grilled lobster and don't feel guilty about it. Mr. VG gets cashew crusted grouper. I also get an awesome roasted chili Caesar salad that has romaine lettuce, crisp tortilla sticks, feta, and toasted walnuts - it's awesome. Like everything else it's very fresh and good. It comes with cho-cho, which is some kind of squash. Nearby the staff sings Happy Birthday to the girl at the next table. What an awesome place for a birthday. We want dessert, but have no room left. All the food at VH has been delicious. We stroll around the property on the white sand paths enjoying our last night here.

So, our last day! VH has booked us out on a 1:00 p.m. flight back to the mainland and tell us that we should get a taxi by noon to be safe. Mr. VG goes to the dining room and brings back the mega muffin breakfast, so we can have breakfast in bed - yea! We start packing up, very sad to leave, go out, walk on the beach, relax on the balcony, take a few last pics, and then it's down to reception to check out. Checking out is easy. Any time you eat, drink, or shop on the property, they just ask your room number and charge it to your room. We review all the charges and pay. They give us a few souvenirs as mementos. The taxi arrives, and we get in. We end up sharing the taxi with some of our snorkeling buddies, and we're jealous that they're staying one more day. The front desk tells us that three different groups have come by the front desk today to extend their stay. Yes, it's that awesome!

The taxi takes us to Tropic Air, and we go to check in, and they tell us that VH didn't book us on a 1:00 flight, that they booked us on a 9:00 a.m. flight. Argh! Despite confirming and reconfirming the 1:00 time. Tropic Air is awesome though and say that if the flight isn't full they'll put us on the 1:00. Makes me very glad we arrived early. Turns out we can get on the flight - the last two spots!

The waiting area for Tropic Air is nice - there's a huge aquarium, our last little glimpse of Belizean wildlife. Fifteen to twenty minutes before flight time, they tell us to board, and we take off since everyone is already there. It's a quick fifteen minute flight to Belize International. We're early and have time to shop for some souvenirs - t-shirts and rum cakes. And, we look for a place to eat lunch. We make a great discovery - Jet's Bar - I guess it's some sort of famous institution. It's the only place we can find, and they tell us they have the best hot dogs in Belize and rum punch. We get two dogs, and they are really good; the bun almost tastes like a kolache and they're fresh and good. Jet is only about 4 foot 5 inches, but has a big personality. There are pictures of him with beautiful women all over the bar. Funny spot! We finish eating and eventually board our plane back to the real world, but we'll definitely be back.

I'm sad that your report has come to an end. You have snorkeled in some great locations on your past trips, would you say that Belize was the best?

Thanks again for the great report. I'm happy enough here in Iowa during the summer, but do look forward to returning to Ambergris in January.....

jn, thanks for reading through it all! I would say without a doubt that Hol Chan is the best snorkeling I've ever done. You know how you usually have one vacation memory that really stands out? Hol Chan was it for me on this trip. It's kind of like an underwater BdC - just so much to see that I didn't want to leave. I think having a good guide made it that much better too.

Jean, thank YOU for all your great tips. What a great place.

I wanted to ask you if you've ever eaten gibnut? Whenever I would ask locals about Belizean specialties, they would tell me that we should try gibnut - they called it the royal rat! I guess Queen Elizabeth ate it when she visited. It sounded sort of like an agouti. And someone in Guatemala asked me if I like armadillo!

I don't think I've ever seen gibnut offered anywhere on Ambergris.

However, I did see it as a lunch special at a small roadside place last winter in Placencia. Unfortunately, we were on our way to meet Katie Valk (who I think posts on here) for lunch, so we didn't stop. If I had it to do over, we would have stopped and gotten a serving, just to see what it was like.

J, if you ever have it, I'd love to hear what you think.

One thing I forgot to mention is that we ate and drank everything we wanted including fresh fruit, ice, drinks, and water in restaurants. At both C.C. and V.H. they provided purified water to drink - C.C. left bottles of water in the room and provided refills at a tap at the bar, and V.H. left big bottled jugs of water in the room for us. They said that the water was fine to drink out of the tap, but that it didn't taste all that great. We did use the tap to brush our teeth, and it was fine.

Happy travels, everyone!

Gibnut is great, wonderful taste and will have some this afternoon.

Great report. Nice to see someone as crazy about the details as I am. ;-) I've considered Belize a couple of times now, and even looked at those Luxury Link packages, but have put it off because the airfare from LAX has always been more expensive as have the on-the-ground prices of elsewhere in Central America. It might just be our next CA destination now.

That was such a fun read, VG! Thanks for all the great detailed information. I've always had an interest in Belize and you have just piqued it further.

Katie, that's good to know - will put in on the "must try" list for next time.

Kristina, I think you're a girl after my own heart! I remember your saying you're a foodie. I really love CR and like the homestyle food there, but Belize had some really amazing, delicious food, a lot more elaborate than what we've had in CR and great seafood.

Thanks, c - you and I have similar tastes I think, and I think you would just love Belize. If I ever strike it rich, I'm going to take up a permanent room at VH.

OK VG, you have caused me such a dilemma! Our only trip to Belize was to Palencia and it was 2yrs after hurricane Ida. It was very disappointing.
After reading your excellent report, now we have to decide CR vs Belize when we do our yearly CA trip. Such a problem ;0)

Thanks for taking the time to write all of this for us.

Crash, we are going to have the same problem! Thanks for reading. :)

vgirl - WONDERFUL report...I think you've pushed me over the edge to make sure our trip happens next year. :-) Not that it wouldn't, but it sure is hard leaving Costa Rica (and I know you understand that)!

Did you feel happy with the amount of time you had in each area or would you add or take away from any? I'm trying to keep this trip "moderate" on the price scale so probably won't be able to visit Victoria House, but it sounds amazing. Chaa Creek has a great eco-kids camp that looks like a great deal, but I don't think I want my vacay to be that structured!

Thanks, hip - it was reading all the reports here that made me think about trying Belize. I was hesitant because we really do one big vacation a year, and I was worried that I wouldn't like it as much as CR and might end up disappointed. Then we ended up loving it. It was cool to visit ruins and best of all for us, enjoy great snorkeling.

I think about 4 nights in the jungle and 4 nights on the cayes is a good time frame. There are things we were interested in doing in the jungle area that we didn't get to like the ATM cave and cave tubing, but the cost of tours adds up, and we decided it would give us a reason to come back.

I was happy with the amount of time we had on Ambergris. With another day or two, I definitely would have gone and checked out the other cayes or done the manatee tour. If funds and vacation time were unlimited, I definitely could have added more days. When we checked out, three different people were extending their stays.

We met people staying at Chaa's river camp, and they really liked it. It's cool because it's more affordable, but you can still enjoy the birding hikes, etc. While we were there, that's where the howlers were hanging out.

I'm so glad to hear you had a great time in Belize and that Luxury Link worked out for you (I'm a big fan)! Loved all the details in your report and brought back many memories. You should definitely try out Chan Chich next time too. Wonderful place, more wildlife. Thanks for posting your report!

vgirl - Yeah, sort of why I'm trying to figure out costs now...because those tours really absorb the budget quickly. I like the idea of Chaa Creek including so much for $55/night incl break/dinner at the Camp. That's a bargain! I assume we could try the restaurant at the lodge as well...