Hello Belize Experts!

We are a family of six (four adults, two children) traveling to the Cayo in August, staying for two nights at Blancaneaux and three nights at Chaa Creek. We have been looking into transportation around the Cayo (primarily to get from one lodge to the other and back and forth to BC) and a tour to Tikal.

We've saved money for this practically once-in-a-lifetime trip and, although we're willing to spend it, we don't want to be (or feel) ripped off.

So, our questions are as follows:

1) Blancaneaux will charge us $740 for the Tikal tour (even our 5-year-old is being charged as an adult!), and Chaa Creek will charge us $597. Do these prices seem overly expensive? If so, can anyone recommend a good tour agency in San Ignacio, that will take our party of six (preferably on a private tour, since we have young ones who may need potty stops) for a reasonable amount and is a good, reputable agency?

2) We are being charged $150 each way to and from BC int'l airport and $60 to transfer us and baggage from Blancaneaux to Chaa Creek. Would we be smarter to rent a car (Is there a vehicle that will seat us all?)? If we DO rent a car, can we use it to get to caves, swimming holes, etc., or are we smarter to go with guides who've "done it all" before and can lead us (I guess the real questiuon is, if we drive to a site, say Caracol or Rio On or Barton Cave, will there be good people there to lead us through?)

Thanks for your help!

Susan

Yes, rent a car at the international airport. If you rent from Crystal, you'll be able to take the car into Guatemala, but if not you'll at least be able to go wherever you want, when you want, in Belize. Don't pay these outrageous rates for tours and transfers. chaa Creek and Blancaneaux are quality places, but you don't have to pay premium rates for a simple tour or transfer.

--Lan Sluder
www.belizefirst.com

I would do Tikal from CC as it is an hour closer than is BL. I would do Caracol and Barton Creek from BL. You can rent a vehicle and drive to Caracol and Barton Creek and hire a local guide and canoe for the cave. As for the Tikal tour prices, first find out if departure, visa, park entry and guide fees are included (which I think you will) and then decide if its worth driving yourselves to and from Tikal in a rental vehicle(which is not insured in Guatemala by the way...). If you've not made reservations yet, BL has just opened an inn on the lake near Tikal, where you could spend the night, its quite lovely.

Thanks so much for your feedback, guys! You've helped us get over our skittishness and we've reserved a 4 WD vehicle for the days we'll be on the mainland.

Our plan is to leave from Int'l Airport after landing. We'd like to then fly out of Municipal to San Pedro (five days later), but aren't sure if there is a Hertz drop off nearby. The only location listed other than Int'l Airport is "Safari LTD" (11A Cork Street, BC). We can't find this on map blast or map quest, but the Hertz web site says "Domestic Flight Arrivals please use the Safari LTD location." Do you know where this is, or if it is close to the Municiple airport?

Also, I think we will still do a tour to Tikal, to avoid driving in Guatemala. Have you heard anything about International Archaeological Tours in San Ignacio? How do they compare with Chaa Creek Expeditions?

Thanks again for your advice, Lan and Katie, and for your invaluable websites. Lan, we also LOVE your Fodor's guide, which we chose as the BEST after buying (and retuning) six others!

Susan

Susan,

Thanks -- the new 5th edition of Fodor's will be out this summer. The current edition is a little out of date in some areas.

Hertz and Safari are the same. Think Safari was the name of the company before it became a Hertz franchisee. Cork St. where the Radisson Fort George/Colton House/Great House hotels are, in the Fort George area. Not too far from the municipal airport, but Hertz should drop you there, no charge.

--Lan Sluder

Thanks, Lan. And if it's out before August 1, we'll pick up a copy of the new edition. (I'm a food/travel writer myself and can appreciate how quickly things change...).

With best regards,
Susan

Hi,

My husband & I were just in Belize last week. We stayed at Blancaneaux for 3 nights (it was wonderful there, excellent choice! Tell Victor 'hello' for us) anyway, we did the Tikal tour w/them and thought I'd let you know what to expect. They put you in a small van, (they filled it w/3 couples and 1 single) it was extremely uncomfortable for us and extremely long. If I were to do it over, I would have rented a vehicle myself. The drive is not difficult to navigate, just very rough (bouncy) from BL to San Ignacio. It's only approx. 12-15 miles from BL to SI but takes 45min. From there it's an easy drive to the Guatamalan border no turn offs to Tikal, it's straight in. Took us 3 hours there and 3 hours back. They picked us up at 6:00am and back at 6:00pm.

They did have a private guide for our group and lunch arranged (which was delish btw). I enjoyed Tikal, very interesting and amazing, but hated the drive, it was exhausting. (We are in our 30's btw)

That's my input, if you have any other questions let me know.

Also, I ran into some women that had stayed at Chaa Creek and were disappointed with it, it was a little too "rough" for their taste and didn't realize that was the type of accomodation. So just a little heads up that you know that it is a camp style setting.

Have a great time, Belize is beautiful, very friendly, enjoy!

Jeannine

The Lodge at Chaa Creek is definitely NOT camp-style lodging! There are beautiful, luxurious cabanas and suites, and fabulous grounds. And a great spa. The people you met were probably staying at the "safari camp" at Chaa Creek, which is inexpensive (US$110 for two, including meals) but is fairly basic, little A-frames on top of stilted platforms, bathrooms down the way.

--Lan Sluder
www.belizefirst.com