mgholmes --

I'm not sure Belize is for you -- no American chain restaurants, etc.

Hopefulist gave you a good suggestion with the Macal River Jungle Camp. That is a great location for visiting ruins, caves etc.

I believe the airfare from Belize City to Ambergris is about $50. The boat is cheaper. But . . . if water sports aren't your thing, you might do better spending your time in the Cayo.

If MRJC is too expensive, I'd repeat the above suggestion and send you to the Lonely Planet Thorntree Forum, and perhaps a copy of their guidebook, which lists budget options.

The roundtrip airfare is $67 from Belize Municipal to Ambergris or $120 from Belize International to Ambergris. The water taxi is $17.50 roundtrip (takes 1.5 hours each way) or you could take the water taxi to Caye Caulker for $12.50 roundtrip (takes 45 min each way). Caulker is also more low budget than Ambergris.

I'm trying to be helpful but - really - if you can't afford $24/night double with a share kitchen you're better off staying home.

I didn't mean to be harsh. We will not stay in anything with a shared bath. We will pay for something with a private bath. We don't like to stay in Hotels anymore, like to be in a condo or a house. We have found some really good deals that have all of the things in a house we desire.

That being said, I do appreciate all of the info, and didn't mean to give off the impression that we cannot afford anything. We just don'd do water activities, and I know you're going to ask: Why are you going to this place then?

We want to go somewhere warm in March. Where we live is pretty cold in March. We went to Myrtle Beach this year and it truly was awful, weather and everything. The only good times we had were when we went down to Charleston.

Would San Pedro be better? Easier to walk to things? Easier to find things we would like to do?

Thanks

The more you write, the more it becomes clear that you're looking at the wrong place. San Pedro is a small town with a few restaurants, bars and some shops. Except eating or drinking, it would be hard to kill a couple of hours there. Personally I found it charming, but I spent a lot of my time in or on the water.

I'd suggest you look at Mexico. Plenty of interesting towns with ethnic villages, ancient ruins, and lively markets nearby. Maybe Oaxaca. It's also less expensive than Belize. If you want to be by the water, take a look at Akumal, where you can rent an efficiency.

Actually, you might be happier in Sarasota.

I still wouldn't pick Dangriga - just not a place I'd want to spsend a few nights.

Check out Roatán, Honduras - lots of rentals. Honduras is generally cheaper than Belize and the flights have been the cheapest we've seen in many years (half what they were running last year from the Pacific NW).

Appreciate the sarcasm Fra.
I don't think we want to have our trip filled with other trips. A couple would be good.

I am just trying to find anybody who does a guided tour of anything for one day. I don't want to spend more than that on any tour. I like sleeping in the bed I'm paying for the whole trip and camping just isn't my cup of tea.

Never been to Sarasota. I'm sure it's swell. Not my cup of tea either. Appreciate the suggestion.

Actually, the itenerary I read would not fit us hardly at all. I have said we don't want to spend that much time on the water, just maybe to get from one place to another. We cannot swim, so why would we want to even attempt to kayak?

I don't want to share any living space with anybody else. We like our privacy. No offense to anybody, that's just the way we roll.

I read the sarcasm in all this stuff-- maybe you should stay home, etc. I posted this to get some helpful ideas on what we like to do because there are usually very helpful posters on here. For the most part, these are helpful, just try to stay away from the sarcasm. Try to look at things from our perspective.

We want to go to Belize, not Mexico or someplace else.

Now, are there any day tours operated to things we might like to do-- rain forest, zoo, ruins, etc.-- operated by reputable organizations for a decent price. We don't demand a lot of frills, just competent guides who know where they are going and what they are seeing and doing.

Hope I haven't been too harsh, just trying to find out info. Sorry if I stepped on anybody's toes.

One more question: What the heck is the ATM Cave? I cannot find that anywhere.

Just found ATM Cave on the Internet. It is not in the book I have.

Thanks again

Did you use the link in my post above? That's the tour provider that was recommended to us (we'll be there in August).

a problm that I see is that you are staying in a less visited town - Dangriga.

You could try this, scroll down for land based tours:

http://www.belizetravelpoints.com/ac...s/dangriga.htm

You might also try over on Trip Advisor, where there is a lot of traffic.

No sarcasm intended. I just don't think Belize is what you are looking for. I'd bet Guatemala would be closer (except for the American food issue).

And if that is really important -- I've never been there, but I understand that San Jose in Costa Rica has Jack-in-the-Box and McDonald's -- maybe even KFC.

Maybe you could tell us what you're looking for in Belize.

Here you go! Maybe instead of Dangriga you could afford this place ($360/week) in/near San Ignacio. If you don't care about water activities it would be a MUCH better base for tours to ruins, caves, hiking, butterfly farms, etc. We loved everything we did within a few hours of San Ignacio and it's all in the photos and travelogues linked above.

http://kumquatcottage.com
www.pacztours.net

I would second the idea of San Ignacio. It seems a much more tourist friendly place than Dangriga. Lots of restaurants, a great farmer's market on Saturday, lots of tours available.

You can even walk to the ruins at Cahal Pech from there, although the hill is brutal.

The countryside is beautiful.

If you want a little island time at the beginning or end of your trip, take the water taxi to Caulker for a couple of nights.

magnumholmes,
My brother stays in Dangriga whenever he's there. Probably the least touristy, but a great opportunity to sample the Garfuna culture. He is working with his students on an engineering project, but it's close enough to everything it sounds like YOU are interested in. If you have a car, you can easily drive to Cockscomb Basin wildlife sanctuary. Lots of hiking trails, waterfalls, Mayan crafts to buy at the entrance to the reserve. Read Alan Rabinowitz's "Jaguar" first, so you get a thrill when you see the wreckage of the plane crash. It's inspiring reading for Belize and an excellent story regardless.

Many of the less-visited Mayan ruins are nearby, and a long day's drive can take you to Xunantunich, and the nearby Jaguar Paw resort which has ziplining, cave tours, etc. You are also within a long day's drive to Caracol, a very large site smack on the Guatemalan border. They have Belizean army escorts in and out, but it's really overkill now as something like 25,000 British troops use the Mountain Pine Ridge for jungle training. Some of them swam with us at the Rio Frio pools after the ruins.

If you can't find a tour operator nearby, any of the resorts in Hopkins or in the San Ignacio area would let you join one of theirs if you want a guide and/or company on an adventure. You won't be able to take your car across the border to Guatemala and Tikal. Tikal is wonderful, but maybe worth another trip. By staying where you are, you'll really experience the many cultures of Belize and may want to just venture for the day from your home base.

I recommend the Moon guidebook, as well as Fodor's, for background history and cultural information. Dangriga is in the Stann Creek district. You will fly into and out of Belize City, so you could venture from there to the zoo or the Baboon(their name for howler monkeys) sanctuary or to the northern Mayan sites if you want. The main highways of Belize are excellent.
Go forth and have a blast!

You could probably book a tour through Pelican Beach Resort in Dangriga http://www.pelicanbeachbelize.com/tours.html

I think you'd need to rent a car though in order to get around in general. I'm not sure where the house is or how walkable the area would be. If you rent a car, you could do things on your own without a tour (probably cheaper too).

This stream was exhausting! Comical in places Oh, the joys of travelling!!!!

Thank you guys. I will explore all of the possibilities listed in this thread in a few days. Just don't have a lot of time at this moment. I appreciate all of the posts and suggestions. We, my wife and I, will weigh everything involved and where would be the best place to stay for us, whether it is Dangriga, San Ignacio, San Pedro or somewhere else.

Any other suggestions will be explored as well. I do think this is where we want to go.

I still will check out the thread, so if you think I should know anything else, write it down.

For all of you Belize-lovers, here is a link to a short video about the University of Arkansas project in Dangriga in association with Peaceworks. The waterfall featured is in Cockscomb, and the music is by Andy Palacio, so it's all good. My little (6'5") brother is the engineering professor, and you can catch glimpses of a taller young man-that's my 14 year old nephew.
www.vimeo.com/4082126

I love Belize because it hasn't been "Americanized." No McDonald's, no Wal-Mart, etc. There is a very large American and Canadian expat community on the island of Ambergris Caye (I ust bought a vacation home there at Sapphire Beach), and we really don't want those things.

For things to do, try cave tubing and exploring one of the many Mayan Ruins. Here is a link to a video of some cave tubing and exploring Xunantunich: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeQxmBSfatg

From what we saw of Dangriga, I would not stay there!