Since this forum has been a wealth of knowledge, I wanted to return the favor for others.

I have pictures from the trip posted here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atdahl/...7603957554202/

We just spent a week at Chan Chich and the stay exceeded expectations.

Lodging:
- We were in a deluxe cabana and it was great. Especially considering the location. Large bed, big closet, plenty of storage areas. The bathroom had double sinks, a double headed shower, hair dryer, bathrobes and more. The room had a flashlight (although we brought our own mag lights which we preferred), an umbrella, two insulated water bottle carriers, a cooler with cold filtered water and an alarm clock (not that you will need it between the Howlers and Oropendulas!)

- One caveat is that while the room is fully screen, critters will still get in. We have a few cockroaches, a beetle, and a bat that got in. None were a bother although the bat did poop on the bed. Remember, you are still in the rainforest so expect some critters in your room. Cabanas #9, #10 and #11 seem to be a bit more private and are very close to the Oropendula nesting tree.

Food:
- The food was really good. We were impressed with the extensive choices. All meals had at least 6 choices and each was multiple courses. For Valentines day they did a special 5 course menu and decorated all the tables really nicely. The seating was at individual tables, not family style for our whole stay. We are social people and constantly talked to people at other tables. They are close enough to do that. We had no problem making substitutions on meal items and they got it right pretty much every time.

- Caveat: The menu stays pretty much the same the whole week. So, if you can only find 1 dinner item that you like, you may be stuck with that each night. They do have a special that changes daily which was excellent each time I had it. They do seem to take some special requests based on what we overheard, but we didn't make any ourselves.

Activities:
- I highly recommend taking some guided hikes in the beginning of your stay to get a lay of the land. Then, once you are more familiar you can go out on your own. The guides are outstanding and really do add to the enjoyment of the experience. For the hard core birders, a guide may be the best way to go to see everything.

- The night drives are a good chance to see nocturnal wildlife. However, some may feel the spot lights disturb the animals too much.

- We wanted to see cats and one of the best ways is via the roads, so we hired drivers to drive us around on a couple of afternoons. We didn't see any cats but we did see other wildlife that doesn't frequent the lodge areas

Staff:
- Outstanding. They all speak good English but knowing Spanish doesn't hurt at all. Of course the guides and servers are more proficient than the gardeners and other staff. We found that the staff welcomed us with open arms and bent over backwards to ensure that we enjoyed our stay. We asked one of the guides, Marvin, if any walking sticks (the insects) were around. He said there were around. The next day he came to get us because he had found one and he brought it to the lodge area for us to see. On another occasion, Marvin went to find us because a Tamandua had been spotted and he knew we really wanted to see one. We had found it ourselves already, but just the fact that he took the time to look for us shows you what kind of staff Chan Chich has employed

We can't recommend Chan Chich enough. We saw close to 100 species of birds (and we aren't birders so I am sure we missed many), mammals, amphibians, insects, lizards, spiders (yes, they are big) and lots of rainforest plants and flowers. One of the guides, Ruben, calls Chan Chich paradise. We would have to agree with him.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it too! 100 birds for nonbirders says a lot.

Thanks, EDH; your pictures are wonderful. Chan Chich reminds me a bit of Bosque del Cabo in Costa Rica.

Volcanogirl,

Chan Chich is very much like BDC. I think the food was overall better at BDC but there are more choices at CC.

The cabanas are more luxurious at CC but it is more expensive too.

Also, there was a bit more wildlife at BDC. But, the reason to go to CC is the chance to see a cat. The odds of that at BDC are close to zero.

You really can't go wrong at either place and I hope to return to both some day.

Your pictures are great! Thanks for such a detailed review as well. I think Belize may be up there on my short list of where I want to look at for next year. It sounds fascinating - between the jungle, the ruins and the ocean! I am fascinated by the mayan ruins - so that really interests me a lot.

Chan Chich looks like a great place to stay. Your trip sounded wonderful!

your pictures are beautiful what kind of camera and lens did you use?

Flycatcher,

Nikon D300 (first trip and it performed great). Multiple lenses but most were with a 70mm-300mm zoom lens.