sheilaminihane8661

We are planning a trip to Belize August 2-11 (9 nights) this year. It is last minute with a lot of places booked up, so we need to make some quick decisions! We have been to Ambergris and Placencia but it has been 20 years! 2 adults and 2 kids ages 12 and 15.

We plan to spend 4 nights in Cayo (leaning toward Chaa Creek cottage with the 4 of us in 1 room...), then 5 nights at the beach. The kids have never been snorkeling, so we are very interested in water activities (plan to do shark alley, snorkeling, etc.). We are trying to decide between spending 5 nights in Ambergis, OR divide that up between 3 nights in Ambergris and 2 nights on the mainland coast (Hopkins or Placencia). My questions are:

- Would you spend 5 nights on Ambergris or divide up and include 2 nights in Hopkins or elsewhere? I don't want us to spend too much time traveling, but also like the idea of exploring another area. We also aren't sure how built up Ambergris is now and if it would nice to see another and perhaps more low key side of the beach. If it's recommended to stay on Ambergris for all 5 nights that would be easiest.
Any specific recommendations on places to stay such as an alternative to Chaa Creek (we looked at Black Rock and Blancauneux and have a hard time deciding), recommendations on Ambergris, or Hopkins?

Thank you! We are very excited for our return visit (understanding weather may not be ideal in August) and bring our kids. I will post my trip report when we return!

volcanogirl

We stayed at Chaa Creek and really enjoyed it. We did a day trip to Barton Creek Cave for canoeing from there and did a day trip to Tikal to see the ruins. We stayed on Ambergris for beach time and loved it. Great snorkeling at Hol Chan, but you have to take a boat out.

sheilaminihane8661

Thanks Volcanogirl! That's what we'll do 4 nights in Chaa Creek and 5 in Ambergris. A third location would mean less time to explore these 2. Planning on Tikal and thanks for the Barton Creek suggestion - that also looks amazing. Did you do your tours with Chaa Creek or book directly?

We are prepared for less than perfect beaches in Ambergris but having the reef in our backyard seems a worthy trade off! We will for sure do the trip to Hol Chan plus the shark ray alley as I know the kids will love it.

Where did you stay in Ambergris? Many places such as Victoria House are all booked at this point. We are looking at Xanadu, Pelican Reef, Coco Beach, etc.

volcanogirl

We've always stayed at Victoria House and loved it. Sorry it's all booked up. We also enjoyed Shark Ray Alley.