Hi, we're going to Belize for our Honeymoon in February. We'd like to split our time up between jungle/ruins and beach. I reserved Chaa Creek for the first three nights and am looking for a beach spot now. We like adventure (though not too strenuous!) and local culture... get bored sitting on the beach all day. But would like a little bit of luxury, after all it is our honeymoon! We'd like to get a little snorkling action in too (is there any surf spots in Belize)? Where do you reccomend we stay and what can't we miss? Thanks!

You should do Raggamuffin's Hol Chan Marine Reserve Tour. It's a must. I loved the reserve, and the Shark and Ray alley was neat too. They also made a 3rd stop, and fed us and got us drunk too!

Check out their site here:

http://www.raggamuffintours.com/raggamuffin.asp

Have a great honeymoon!

You will love Chaa Creek! I would recommend staying on Ambergris Caye as there are other things to do besides swim & sleep . For places to stay, look into Banyan Bay or Victoria House. Enjoy!

I'd second Ambergris Caye and Victoria House, or maybe Mata Chica or Portofino, if you want a more secluded location.

No surfing in Belize, the barrier reef runs the length of the country.

i think we'll do victoria house, one of the cute little casitas. so how do you recommend i get to and from chaa creek? rent a car? take a taxi? fly? i can't wait for the snorkling!!!

Chaa Creek will pick you up at the airport for a fairly reasonable fee. Drop you off too. In fact, I think they team up with Victoria House on a package deal. Might save you some money.

yeah i see they do packages with victoria house and portofino too. cool deal! gotta do some math, not sure if we want to eat all of our meals in the hotel... we love eating local food way more than hotel food.
which hotel do you guys prefer of the two?

Chaa Creek is fairly remote. Most people eat at the lodge. When we were there, a couple of years back, we had two good dinners, one okay, one not-so-good. I understand they have revamped the kitchen since then.

On Ambergris we used the local San Pedro restaurants and really enjoyed them. (Didn't take the Victoria House package.) I've heard their restaurant is pretty good though.

just a couple of things about Ambergris, the beaches are beautiful, but the water is not, or let me rephrase that, the ground is not. The barrier reef keeps the waves from hitting the shores, so the seaweed has been able to establish itself so much that the entire bottom is a seaweed bed that you have to walk on. I am not the least bit squeemish, but this was not pleasant at all. We stayed at Banyan Bay and loved the villas. We rented ones on the beach and had an incredible view, and the breezes that kept the bugs away. It was awesome, but I would not do it again. The town of San Pedro was alot of fun with a bunch of restaurants and we had a golf cart to zip around, but the food was expensive and I like to swim in sandy bottom beaches, so this just didn't do it for me. You may want to look further south, Placencia? or another outer island. Congrats on your honeymoon.

Yep, lots of sea grass on Ambergris. Most of the resorts have docks with stairs into the water for swimming access. A couple places do clear the sea grass, and you can walk in on sand.

I don't know much about Portofino, pictures look great, several miles north. If you stay at Victoria House, you're a couple miles south of town, but still have easy access to town.

There certainly are some fairly expensive restaurants on Ambergris, but there is lots of cheap local food as well.

does caye caulker have sand bottom beach? sounds kinda icky! now i'm rethinking chaa creek because of the price... anyone ever been to caves branch... those treehouse suites look awesome!

Caulker's shore line isn't as nice as Ambergris. The only real place to swim is at the 'split'. Beaches are much better on Ambergris.

thanks for the advice. for anyone who's been to chaa creek, can you get wet there in the river, i see they don't have a pool. (is there a charge to GET to the river? i'm nervous of all these little fees adding up!) what about caves branch?

Yes you can swim in the river at Chaa Creek -- no charge. There's a path down to the landing. They also keep canoes there, which are free if you take them upstream and bring them back yourself (a good way to spend an hour or two).

I thought I read somewhere that they were building a pool, too.

Both Caves Branch and Chaa Creek have places to swim. We spent HOURS in the beautiful Caves Branch River, though we were lucky on the weather: recent rains made the river high but it hadn't rained for several days so wasn't muddy. Our photos and travelogues are linked below if you're interested. Happy trails!

http://flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

thanks! did you have problems with bugs at caves branch? i'm pretty allergic to mosquitoes but i heard they spray at chaa creek. not sure how i feel about that either way...

The only places we had problems with bugs during nearly 4 weeks in Belize were around Cockscomb and Sittee River Village - voracious skeeters that our beloved Sawyer's Controlled Release Deet kept at bay. Caves Branch we didn't see many, though I think we might have applied repellent in the evening.

thanks... i'm guessing they sell sawyers somewhere i can pick it up down there? i appreciate your response, i hope i don't sound like a wuss! we really can't wait i think i'm going to cancel my reservation at chaa creek and book caves branch tonight... way more authentic of an experience and the money we save we can put towards some expeditions.

I doubt you'd find Sawyer's down there - we always pack sunblock and bug stuff along because there's a huge range of eficacy for both.

Have you looked into Macal River Jungle Camp, Chaa Creek's jungly cousin? Check it out in case Caves Branch doesn't work for you: www.belizecamp.com .

Keep us posted!