Am thinking of booking a trip in Belize in about a fortnight (yes, I know it's late)and am a bit concerned about the 'wildlife' there! Yes, I am a bit of a lightweight on that front, being British! I know that Belize is visited largely for its jungles and 'larger' wildlife, and I am quite happy to meet whatever comes my way and get as wet/muddy etc as necessary during the day, but 'sharing my bedroom' I'm less happy about. However, I have been fine in places like the Seychelles and Malaysia. Hana was pushing the boundaries when my husband discovered a giant centipede in the bath with him... Anyway, I can cope with a few geckos and mosquitoes in the room but am a bit freaked out by people talking about scorpions running around the room all night and being literally unable to go on the beach for being eaten alive. We intend doing a beach/jungle split, and staying in fairly high end accomodation. However, much as I want to go, I know I won't enjoy it if I'm stressed out by 'uninvited guests' a lot of the time. Also - my husband isn't great with snakes (I like them - but not in my bedroom...) Any opinions - apart from the fact that we're both wimps? (N.B. I'm kind of assuming that the crocodiles I keep reading about don't generally eat tourists...)

We're a family of budget travelers and you probably don't want to hear about some of our guests, but at high end places you should be fairly insulated from the things you fear. We hardly saw a mosquito in the Cayo area and the breezes where we stayed on Glover's Atoll kept them away to the point we only wore repellent one evening out of 7.

Go! Don't worry! Happy trails!

April is dry and breezy, nuisance insects like mosquitos and sand flies down to a minimum. Crocs never an issue. Doubt you'll see a snake. Scorpians sometimes live in thatched roofs. I've never had a guest bit by one. You can book your trip around these concerns by staying at places you will most likely, or won't at all, encounter these creatures, easily enough.

We tend to stay in mid-range priced places, and I've yet to see a scorpion. No large insects either. Ants, if you don't keep food in the fridge.

Only been to the Cayo once, the town of San Ignacio was spraying for mosquitos while we were there (last May). They weren't a problem. Never been a problem on the beach either, but we took a 'shortcut' back to the road once on Ambergris Caye and about got eaten alive. If the breezes die down, a little OFF does wonders. We were in San Pedro last week and the only bug problem was that darn mosquitos that found its way into our room and kept buzzing around my ears.

Great place to stay: Jaguar Reef Lodge in Belize. Goto www.jaguarreef.com. It sits on the Carribbean and the Rainforest (including Mayan Ruins) is at the back door. There is excellent snorkeling (as good as the north side of the Caymans), hiking, kayaking, tubing in caves, & much more. On some of the tours, you get to see the "real" country & animals etc - it is fascinating. We even had a Puma (red lion) run across the road in front of us). The lodge has a variety of tours available every day & great guides. You are in a small group on the tours which makes it even better. The place is very very nice (not plush but excellent) and the people are wonderful. Everyone we spoke with there raved about the value -- you got sooo much for your money! There are several packages - we got the activity one. A week is not enough time to do everything. We just got back last night & my hubby says it is the best trip he has ever been on.