Starting to plan a vacation for family group and a combo jungle/ beach vacation looks interesting. From what I am learning by reading trip reports and posts the travel times between the two areas make this difficult and its best to split the week and stay in two locations. Is this accurate? I was hoping to stay Ambergris and do day trips but it seems like it would be long travel days to do so. What activities are close by? I have also researched a few companies that offer jungle/beach trips but they are all out of price range. We usually rent a large house which really helps on costs. Advice? THANKS!!

You should certainly consider splitting your trip between the mainland and beach. Caye Caulker will cost less than Ambergris. There are budget rooms in the San Ignacio area in Cayo where you'll find lots of gr trips to choose from and could even rent a car to save even a few more $

I'd also recommend a split between Cayo District and Caye Caulker as Katie suggests - lots of good budget to midrange options and you can set up tours with local agencies. 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

We did a split between Ambergris and the San Ignacio area for one of our trips, and that was a nice combo of beach and jungle. Don't miss snorkeling at Hol Chan - lots of big rays, sea turtles, nurse sharks, and colorful tropical fish.

Another heads up for Caye Caulker --its relatively cheap

Look out for as you walk along beach for Raggamuffin tours
and see if they are there

And if so check out their 3 day and 2 night yatch cruise via Rendevous Caye /Tobacco Caye finishing up at Placencia

Here's a link to the trip Coolmover suggests - it ends in Dangriga now instead of Placencia.
http://raggamuffintours.com/

We did the Plancia to Puerto Cortes in Honduras in a large speed boat but on return we came up a river into Dangria