My husband and I have heard good things about Belize. What would be the best place to explore and stay for first time visitors who are on a budget?

If you can, I'd travel around. On our trip, we had 2 weeks and we stayed on Ambergris Caye, in Placencia and San Ignacio, with our last night spent in Belize City. I wasn't keen on Placencia, but I liked Ambergris very much and also San Ignacio. Lots to do and see in that area.

Susan please tell us more about Placencia. What dod not appeal to you? Please as we were thinking about going there. Thank you

I would recommend the Cayo District if you like a little adventure. We stayed in the disctrict for a week and had plenty to do.

I'm planning our honeymoon for Belize... in late June? I know it'll be both hot and hurricane season... will that be horrible? We'll be there for about a week, what do you recommend - tours, adventures, hotels, towns, etc?

Sue, I think I had unrealistic expectations of Placencia. While I'm not a big 'beach person', I had heard that Placencia had the nicest beaches in Belize, and I was looking forward to spending 3 or 4 days on a nice beach. I really wasn't that impressed. <BR><BR>I think that part of the trip started off badly. We had booked our accommodation in advance and it really was a bad experience. The room itself was ok, but the owners had split up and left it with some relatives who basically sat around drinking all night! After 1 night, I was ready to take the next flight out, but we decided to move to another hotel. The other hotel was right on the beach, so the location was nice, but our room faced south. The room was incredibly hot during the day and night and I just couldn't get comfortable. The fan didn't cool off the room much and the small fridge in the room didn't keep things all that cold. The people in the town were very nice (like everywhere we went in Belize), but it just wasn't a highpoint of the trip. As I said, I think I was expecting more. We had purchased an air pass and could have gone to Tikal instead - I still regret that we didn't do that instead! <BR><BR>I certainly liked the rest of Belize and would recommend it. I know most people really enjoy Placencia, so my experience doesn't seem typical.

placentia does have some of the nicest beaches in belize. but, don't go expecting carribean type beaches or ones similar to cancun - the odd one is like that but not all. i like placentia a lot and there are some very good hotels there. it was hit by iris last year though and is rebuilding. many of the upper scale hotels are fully operational now and i would think the budget ones should be getting there soon. <BR>it's a small country so if you have 3 weeks, you should be able to get a good overview of the whole place.

We were in Placencia and it was wonderful. Very laid back and alot of ex-pats there. Stayed in Ambergris Caye found it to be much more high priced. But worth a visit. The snorkling off their was the best, nursey sharks,rays right next to you. In Placencia we stayed at the SeaSpray.Affordable and clean. We did not have any reservations when we got to Belize. It was easy to find places.