revised Belize trip.. what do you think?
 

Arrive Belize travel to Caye Caulker.. spend 5 nights, snorkel, fish, maybe take in the zoo.
travel to Tranquility Bay for three nights.. like the idea of the solitude, but don't want to be tied to the same restaurant for too long..
Fly to the Orange walk for two nights... tour Lamanai via the river cruise
travel to Placencia( fly) for four nights
return to Ambergris.. stay closer to San Pedro 2 nights... I added this as I am afraid of getting stuck in Placencia.. and missing my flight home.. bad weather???? Delay or something.. thought I could get back to the airport from San Pedro more readily.

Thoughts for hotels
Caye Caulker: Colinda Cabanas , Caye Caulker Condos,or Seaside Cabanas
Placencia..the Miramar apartments
Orange Walk:Hotel de la Fuentes
Back to Ambergris: Maybe Victoria House, Banyan Resort
Any input helpful...

I have some input but I don't know if you'll consider it helpful. ;-)

That seems like way too much moving around, both in terms of number of stops and the order.

:: If you're going to shell out for a flight, how about flying to Flores for a visit to Tikal? Tikal is enormously more impressive than Lamanai, though we enjoyed that one, too.

:: No other inland time except Orange Walk (which isn't very atmospheric imo)? No ATM cave?
http://www.pacztours.net/actun-tunichil-muknal/

:: You have 3 different stops listed between Caulker and Ambergris. Couldn't you do Placencia earlier in the trip and save 1 of those stops till last?

:: I would head straight to either Placencia or the San Ignacio area (and visit the zoo, ATM cave, and Tikal), then end with Caulker or Ambergris (or maybe some of each) so you'll be close to the airport for your flight home. If you're set on those locations, I'd switch the order so Caulker and Ambergris are together at the end of your trip.

My photos with blog and travelogue links on the main page of each collection are below in case you're interested - all my recommendations are embedded there. Have a great trip, whatever you'd decide!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

I am chuckling because my original trip had me doing that!! Maybe I should go with first hunches. I was going to travel directly to San Ignacio.. See Tikal..then Placencia... And make my up to Caye Caulker and Ambergris then home..... Thank you for your kind help..... Back to the drawing board!!!!

way too much jumping around time which is better spent in a hammock.

You are all over the place and your last itinerary does not make sense and much better way to arrange this. You can spend your last night in Placencia (or other) and be at Intl in time for your flight home.

I thought you were going to stay at Lamanai but if you're just taking a day trip, you can also do that from Ambergris.

Yes, this new itinerary has way too much zig zagging.

I live in Belize in Bullet Tree Falls outside of San Ignacio. I can only assume that you are going on vacation which means time to relax and appreciate a moment or two without consideration of the day to day. If that is the case, then your plan should be to take care of that priority. It looks like you have two weeks. If you are coming from the airport and are driving/being driven then a stop at the Zoo is on the way to San Ignacio. Once in the West, you can arrange day trips to Tikal or the much closer Xunantunich. It just depends on the extent of your interest in Maya Sacred Sites. If you are in San Ignacio a few days, you can include trips to caves, ATM or others, cave or river tubing, 1000 Foot Falls in the Mountain Pine Ridge, the museum at Cahal Pech a small sacred site right in the San Ignacio town, zip lining outside of Georgeville, horseback riding and much more. Then on to the mid-South. Hopkins Village is much more charming than Placencia and is a place that you can get true Garifuna dishes like hudut--pounded plaintain with fish in coconut milk. Placencia does have its perks. It is really set up for tourists so there are plenty of choices regarding food. From Hopkins or Placencia, you could get a trip to Maya Center and the Jaguar Reserve. You probably won't see a jaguar but there is good hiking and beautiful falls. I agree with someone else who said that there is not that much difference between Ambergris and Caulker. The major difference is in the tourist infrastructure so if you are looking for all of the bells and whistles of a tourist destination, then Ambergris is for you.

thank you all for the the travel reality check.. I will redo my trip with all your kind suggestions in mind... I was attracted to Caye Caulker because it was smaller and hopefully less touristy.. I prefer more out of the way places... more laid back...Thank you again.. I will probably repost with a new trip soon... :)

spend some time on gmaps getting your bearings. AC has san pedro(12,000 people) and is about 26 miles long but is pretty rural once out of san pedro.

We only had a week, May 30-June 6, and spent 2 nights in San Ignacio (wish it had been 3, we visited Caracol and loved it, would have liked to do ATM) and the rest of the time in Hopkins (Beaches & Dreams -- which is owned by a chef and I would eat there every night - altho the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays). No matter where you stay, I would eat dinner there. We totally cracked up at the driver who took us to Dandriga for our flight to Belize City to get home -- we went through Sittee Village, where he lived because, he told us, it was more laid back than Hopkins.

Distances are short -- mileage wise -- but LONG. Once you leave the "highways" the roads are challenging. Normally we drive ourselves, but our trip was short and planned quickly, and I am very happy to have had drivers.