LoriDori

Hi. I am new to this board. I have been reading past posts and doing research on Belize (Turtle Inn). It looks EXACTLY like what we envision for our honeymoon destination. One problem - July. According to what I have read (and PLEASE correct me if this is wrong) that is the cooler, wet season. Our first trip together to the Caribbean was 6 days of complete and utter RAIN! I am still scarred from this experience and what to go somewhere where praying for sun won't need to be part of my morning ritual. Can't change the wedding date (already tried) so should I just not even consider Belize?

If not, can anyone recommend another destination similar in feel (romantic, tropical, semi-secluded). Bora Bora was my top choice but too expensive.
Any thoughts/advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

Katie_Valk

July is one of the drier months within the summer rainy season and is always warm. You'll love Turtle Inn and the Placencia area. The docile whale sharks are present in large numbers this time of year, best seen 3 days before or after the full moon. You can easily arrange a dive or snorkel trip to the areas where they congregate.

LoriDori

Thank you Katie for you response. Do you know what the average temperature is in July for day and night?

Pat2003

I always respect Katie's answers on this board but I will desagree about her statement "is always warm."
July in Belize could be extremely hot and humid or Janaury,at least when we were there, could be too cold for swimming. Besides, IMO, Placencia is not very pleasant place. We just did not consider this place to have any appeal. Sand flies almost ate us alive.

LoriDori

Pat - thank you for your perspective and you response. Sand flies would not be very romantic. Anywhere else you might suggest I check out?

Katie_Valk

I stand corrected on the hydrology. It seems the Toledo district, just south of Placencia, receives most of their rainfall in July. As for temps, April and May are our hottest months. I'm looking for exact July temp data now and will post later. But I do know, our temps here along the coast over the summer are lower than most US cities.

Pat2003

It was 3 or 4 years ago when we spent two weeks in July in Belize and we had the worst weather we ever experienced anywhere. Hot, humid and sand flies. We returned to Belize during January and we learned to love this country but would never return in July. I am happy to learn about April and May and won't ever plan to there during thes months. I feel that humidty is worse than heat.

LoriDori

Thank you Pat and Katie - sounds like this place would be beautiful...for our NEXT trip - when we're not traveling in July. You have been extremely helpful. I appreciate it. Thanks!

LanSluder

I'll weigh in on this one, since I've been traveling to Belize for more than a dozen years and have written half a dozen books on the country.

Personal reports are always valuable, but sometimes you have to get a broader perspective than just one person's one-time experience.

July is indeed the rainy season (which starts, usually, in June in much of the country).

It can be rainy in Placencia and elsewhere, or virtually without rain.

This summer for example, I was in Belize in late June through mid-July, including Placencia and Punta Gorda in the far south, and it rained only one time the entire trip, and that was one morning in PG.

I am almost always in Belize during the summer, for at least part of July, and frankly it's one of my favorite times. Fewer tourists, lots of sunshine, lower prices.

My family and I stayed at Turtle Inn this summer. II thought it was fabulous, and we literally got not one sandfly bite. Placencia does have sandflies, though usually they are not very bad in the summer.

Weather, like bugs, are variable and hard to predict. The last few days in the Eastern U.S. it was record high temps. In the mountains of North Carolina where I live it was 70 degrees, and this time of year there's usually snow and freezing temps.

Katie lives in Belize and knows the country up and down.

You just can't make broadband predictions based on one experience.

--Lan Sluder

LanSluder

I'd also add another plus for July: While it's technically hurricane season, tropical storms are very rare in June and July in the Western Caribbean.

--Lan Sluder

Ally

You might look at Costa Rica. July is the 'green season' there too, but if you stay further north, such as the Tamarindo area, the most rain you'll likely see is a shower for an hour or two late afternoons. Look at Hotel Capitan Suizo bungalows, or Sueno del Mar B&B. There are others suitable for a honeymoon, but those are my two personal faves in the area.