rnman

Changing the Belize trip a bit.. need input... What I have so far. Arrive.. fly to Caye Caulker for 4 nights( Colinda Cottages or Caye Caulker Condos)Fly to Orange Walk for Lamanai and possibly a zoo trip (3 nights) Fly to Placencia(Possibly SeaSpray) for four nights... Still have 4 nights left.. thinking of a place on Ambergris, have Considered Tranquility Bay, but may want something closer to town.. but quiet.. possible??? Have never been to Belize.. wanted to see a ruin, snorkel and fish.. your thoughts?

volcanogirl

We really loved Ambergris. We stayed at Victoria House which was gorgeous on a pretty stretch of white sand beach. Close enough to bike or golf cart to town, or take a $5 taxi ride. We loved snorkeling at Hol Chan.

JeanH

It's your trip, you can certainly travel as you wish, but, you're missing out on some of the best sites in Belize by not visiting the Cayo district in/around San Ignacio. Several Mayan ruins close by, water falls, hiking, canoeing, caves.

That said, we've done Belize vacations that were pretty much beach only.

Ambergris and Caulker are only 20 minutes apart by boat, if you choose to visit both, I'd do them together. You'll save a bunch on transportation costs.

Ambergris is pretty quiet, once you get out of downtown San Pedro. Victoria House is lovely, but, there are plenty of cheaper beach front options that might suit your needs.

It is possible to visit Lamanai from Ambergris. You can either fly on Tropic, or go by boat to the mainland. I've done the boat trip several times over the years. It's a long day, but, it's really fun. Last couple of trips we even saw manatees on the way.

Patty

I agree if you're going to do both Caulker and Ambergris, do it one after the other since it's a quick ferry ride in between.

Do you intend to visit the zoo from Lamanai? That would be a very long day trip and not a good use of time IMO. You could possibly visit the zoo on one of your transit days but it would still entail going out of your way.

Speaking of transit days, I wasn't aware of a flight from Orange Walk to Placencia unless you mean a charter.

rnman

Thank you for the input.. re-working....will post again soon... first trip so thanks for the help, much appreciated.

Katzgar

AC and CC aren't different enough to spend the travel time to do both.

Katzgar

PS
use gmaps for the overall view

JeanH

Before we bought our condo on Ambergris, we would spend a few nights on Caulker before heading on to Ambergris. I think they're different enough to spend time on both.

volcanogirl

Agree with Jean that the San Ignacio area has a lot to offer; you can also go over to Tikal from there to see the amazing ruins. Barton Creek cave canoeing is fun, and ATM is very popular.

hopefulist

The only place we've stayed on Ambergris is Tranquility Bay which feels like it's a private island almost - really different from Caulker. I can see enjoying both of those but personally wouldn't consider Caulker and San Pedro in combination (we'd just pick Caulker if those were our choices).

rnman

Thanks for your help...When I thought about what I wanted to do .. I kept coming back to snorkeling.. and kayaking... After going to Costa Rica for the last several winters I am snorkeling deprived.. So we are going to Tranquility Bay for 5 nights.. close to the reef.. my husband want s to fish! Then to Caye Caulker... where I have rented a cute house with pool access. I plan on doing at least a few snorkel trips... and my husband wants to fish. We will also do a few tours from Caulker.. zoo...Altun Ha.. If you have any suggestions for tours and or guides, fishing guides... let me know.. THX

volcanogirl

Looking forward to your trip report.

hopefulist

My photos with blog and travelogue links on the main page of each collection are below; check out last summer's posts and sets for Tranquility Bay - my husband fished his brains out. There's a neighbor boy who is a fabulous resource for fishermen/women. Happy trails! http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

hipvirgochick

hopefulist - How did you like Tranquility Bay. It's on the top of my list for Ambergris but are you saying splitting it with time on Caye Caulker wouldn't make sense and you prefer all time on Caulker? Out of those 2 options plus Glover's, I think you would choose a week on Glover's, correct? I'm planning a 15 day trip and I'm having difficulting deciding if I want to focus all in Belize with an overnight to Tikal (Guatemala another time) or 50/50 Guatemala and Belize. Help!

live42day

We stayed at Seaspray in Placencia and plan to return. Loved it. The accom is basic but location and price outstanding. You could walk right into the water to swim in front of the room and walk to all the restaurants, bike from there etc.

As for snorkeling, I thought the off shore snorkel trips were ok but not great. I am a bit spoiled I guess.

When I got to Ambergris Caye I was very impressed however.

hipvirgochick

Placencia sounds wonderful. So it sounds no snorkeling from there unless you take a boat though, correct? And when you say you were impressed with Ambergris, with what? Snorkeling?

hopefulist

Oops - sorry for the delay, hip, just saw this.

We loved Tranquility Bay. It has changed hands since we were there but hopefully the new people are awesome, too. The cabins are cute (we would choose the Budget Traveler's Room again), the beach is nice, friendly people, and you can snorkel and fish your brains out from shore without a guide. We've never stayed in/near San Pedro and don't ever plan to do that, but we'd consider Tranquility Bay again. The price has jumped, though, and it's much more expensive during the high season than when we were there in August last year.

If you want some town options, then I'd choose Caulker. Splitting between Caulker and Tranquility Bay would make sense to me, but not between Caulker and San Pedro (I'd choose Caulker). I wouldn't plan less than 3-4 nights either place, though, otherwise you spend too much time in the transitions, bad trip math.

We love Glover's but it's VERY rustic unless you can shell out for Isla Marisol. If awesome snorkeling and/or diving is a priority and you have the $$$, go there.

If you don't have your flights yet and could fly into Guatemala and out of Belize, you could split your time like I recommended to someone else awhile back. I wouldn't do it if you have to come and go from the same airport, though.

Quick itinerary:
GUA to Antigua for 2 or 3 nights
Head to Lake Atitlán for 3 or 4 nights
Back to Guatemala City and fly to Flores; spend at least a night in the park at Tikal.
Head by road to western Belize; stay in a jungly lodge for 2 or 3 nights for hiking, canoing, caving.
Head to Caye Caulker for the rest of your stay with a stop at the zoo enroute.

I have a website I use to put together options to share when I'm trip planning for groups or family - activities, lodging, lots of links. Here are posts that might interest you. Keep in mind that some of the cultural activities were set up specifically for my groups but most of the rest is on offer.

http://tripdreamsofahopefulist.blogs...p-antigua.html
http://tripdreamsofahopefulist.blogs...e-atitlan.html
http://tripdreamsofahopefulist.blogs...nd-belize.html

Hope that helps! Happy trails!

hopefulist

We spent most of a week in Placencia last year and liked it. Our little apartment was awesome (right in town, not on the beach):
http://oneworldplacencia.com/

I didn't like it as well as Caulker and the reef is way the heck out there. Just my 2 cents' worth (that's 4 cents BZE... ;-)

live42day

Hi Hip. You can snorkel in Placencia, from a boat which is the same as in Ambergris. We did some snorkeling off a pier in Placencia and saw some fish which was fun, but not awesome.

The snorkeling at Hoi Chan and Shark Ray and one other place off of Ambergris was outstanding. Some of the best I have seen anywhere I have been.

I preferred the location of Placencia, quiet, laid back, nice swimming off the beach, but it just did not have the amazing snorkeling that Ambergris did. We went to both Placencia and Ambergris and that satisfied both of our wants.

hopefulist

I did a dive trip from Placencia last summer and spent HOURS on the boat coming and going and it was pretty rough. The snorkeling and diving was ok but not stellar. It's no surprise to anyone who has read up on Belize that the really world class stuff is on the atolls. From the northern cayes it's just minutes to the reef, including the places the day trips normally take snorkelers. Here's the sailing/snorkeling trip we did and really loved:
http://raggamuffintours.com/hol-chan-snorkel/