Has anyone been recently to the Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary? All reports I've seen on this forum are very old.

We are going on the REI/Island Expeditions kayaking/snorkeling trip to Paradise Islands and have an extra day after it ends; trip ends in Dangriga. The director of Island Expeditions suggested that we visit Cockscomb, and I've tentatively booked a private cabin there. However, I'm concerned because there are no restaurants there, and it's not going to be easy for us to bring in food. Are there any other places to stay in the area that might have restaurants in or nearby? Or other ideas of what we might do with our extra day? We begin our trip with one night in Belize City and one at the Tropical Education Center, so will have covered those, and were in Belize three years ago and stayed at Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, so have seen that.

I'm also concerned about heat and humidity at Cockscomb.

You don't say when you're traveling but you're right that it could be hot and humid there; we visited in August years ago and that was the case. The area is known for massive mosquitoes, too, so keep that in mind. There's a share kitchen and you can rent plates, utensils, etc. from the office so be sure to get there before it closes. The closest restaurant would be in Maya Centre Village, about 12 miles away. At least there was a small in home type restaurant when we were there. There was a teeny store, too, but without staples; you'd have to shop in Dangriga before heading out.

You could consider staying with the Chun family at their cabins; they provide tours and meals:
www.mayacenter.com

I read that Mama Noots has reopened recently - you could check that out. We really enjoy Hopkins Village, too. Hopkins Inn is pretty much perfect and we loved our evening of Garifuna drumming at the Lebeha Center.
www.hopkinsinn.com
www.lebeha.com

My photos with trip links are below if you're interested. Happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections/

Thanks, hopefulist, for the info. and links to your photos, which are very nice. It appears that you have a lot of experience travelling in the region.

We will be in the Dangriga area for the one night of March 9, and need to leave the next morning to fly to Belize City and then home. My current thought is to stay at the Pelican Beach Resort in Dangriga, which is near where our IE/REI trip ends and near the airport. Tim, the head of IE, recommended it and suggested that I look into doing tours the afternoon and evening of Mar. 9 with the Chuns.

I investigated Hopkins Inn, which looks very nice, but Tim thought it was too far away for our short stay.

If I could, I would leave Belize the day our kayak/snorkeling trip is over, but we couldn't get flights with mileage till the next day. I may keep checking about that. I am not encouraged by what I've read about the heat, humidity, and bugs in the area.

Yes, April can be a hot month in Belize, I've heard. Pelican Beach has air conditioning so that would help with the heat and the bugs as far as sleeping goes. You might want to consider a visit to Caves Branch or the Mayflower Bocawina site - both closer to Dangriga than Cockscomb. Have a great trip, whatever you decide! I am resisting the urge to count the days before I leave on my summer trip - 3-4 weeks in Guatemala followed by 3 in Belize. Happy trails!

We'll be in the Dangriga area Mar. 9-10, so hopefully it won't be quite as hot then. Thanks for the suggetions of Caves Branch and the Mayflower Bocawina. I'll look into them.