Belize Jungle to Shore

Old May 7th, 2016, 05:35 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Belize Jungle to Shore

Overview: My very active family of 5 started our vacation with 3 nights at Lamanai Outpost Lodge, followed by 4 nights in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. We LOVED our trip. It was fantastic, and I think the way we did a few key things really made a difference. I'll cut right to the highlights and tips, then dive deeper into the day to day and specific recommendations if anyone is interested in the deets.

Trip Planning: Belize has a LOT to see, and although its a small country, transportation between sites can be long and sometimes arduous. So do your research and look at where things are on a map, and make your itinerary based on that. For example, the trip from BZE to Lamanai was about 3 hours. Bus ride followed by a boat ride up a lagoon. We had an awesome time on this trip, but that’s not a quick little jaunt. I would not cut out that leg of travel, seeing Belize countryside by bus was really neat, and who doesn't like a boat ride where you get to wildlife watch the whole time? We saw two crocs on the way in. However, in order to minimize travel time and maximize exploration time, consider chartering flights. We chartered from Lamanai to San Pedro. This quick 45 minute flight saved us the 3 hour trip to BZE, waiting at that airport, then another 30 min flight to San Pedro- basically a whole day of traveling. Our one way charter flight from Lamanai to San Pedro was $1099. Granted we had 5 people, so if you divvy that up its pretty reasonable for a flight, not to mention our plane could hold up to 12. If you were smart about it you would try to get some other travelers in the plane and split among more people and it would be much cheaper. Personally I think the best way to plan would be to make a list of your top 3 locations, and then figure out how to charter jet between them, spending the last bit of time at the beach. That way you get the active parts over early and can just relax on the beach before leaving to go back home. The other option is going to San Pedro and have that be your home base. This way you end up taking a bunch of little charter planes to all the different locations. Not a bad thing, and you don’t have to tote luggage, but if you want to get inland to see things there you'll be waking up at 5am and trekking to the airport, and getting back later in the evening.

Lamanai Outpost Lodge: We loved this place. It is literally a bunch of little thatch buildings in the jungle on a lagoon near an amazing archaeological site. I would definitely recommend at least 2 days here, if not a couple more depending on what you like. Excursions are mostly jungle/lagoon wildlife (especially birds!) and archaeological site oriented. This is not exactly the place to just sit around, relax and unwind. Disconnect? Absolutely. Have leisurely activity and learn a LOT about wildlife and the people/culture of this area? Absolutely. Eat amazing food and even learn how to make some of it? Absolutely. I think the way to really maximize the experience here is to get out there and get exploring. The packages include excursions, which I would take them up on as many as you can. Our guide for the week was Brenda, and she was simply amazing. Everyone there was extremely nice and helpful, but we got to know her the best and think the world of her. If you go to LOL be sure to pack comfy shoes, long pants for the walks in the jungle, lots of bug spray/wipes, sunscreen and flashlights. They provide one in each room, but I bought some of those mini LED lights on amazon for like 5 bucks and they came in super handy for getting around at night, both outside and in the rooms.


San Pedro/Ambergris Caye: Firstly- these are the same place!!! It was so confusing reading about them. It’s like all the tourists call it Ambergris Caye and all the locals call it San Pedro. Main method of transportation is golf carts. They're EVERYWHERE. Nice little island, and can be very busy and bustling depending on where you stay. My summary of this island is that its good for scuba/snorkel/watersports, not so great for beach, and other than food/drink not a whole lot else to do. We also loved it here, and had some really good times, but it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Partly this may be because it was very windy when we were there, so the beaches didn’t have clear water, there was a good amount of that sea grass, and even to the point that some boat excursions were cancelled. We LOVED our lodging at the Grand Caribe- I’ll get into that a bit more later. This is a long strip of an island, so again, do your research to decide where to stay. There are a lot of places to stay in downtown, which is very convenient to restaurants, shops, etc, but the beaches aren’t great, and honestly the hotels didn’t look so nice from the outside. Just south of downtown seemed to have some nicer places. We stayed at the Grand Caribe, just north of downtown across “the bridge.” Keeping this bridge in mind is important, because from 9a-9p there’s a toll to cross it. There’s a guy out there in a vest and they collect money. Now, these dudes have a little power trip sometimes, and charge you something like $2.50 (I forget the exact amount) every time you cross. There’s apparently some sort of round trip ticket you can get, but they don’t explain anything to you very well, and so I am still unclear on what the rules are, even after 4 days of driving back and forth. Make sure you have cash, and be prepared to feel like they're charging you for nothing. There are a good amount of touristy places, and its pretty busy downtown. If you’re looking for more of a bustling beach scene, with more emphasis on scuba/snorkel, this is the place. If you’re looking for more seclusion, slower pace, relaxed lifestyle I would recommend Caye Caulker. We went on a brief excursion, and it was a really neat place. Its much smaller, so I think most people just walk the island. It’s a little less modern, a little less busy, and definitely secluded getaway.

Grand Caribe was a wonderful place. THIS is luxury vacationing at its best. It’s a beautiful spacious resort. I think its a condo complex with several people who own units, and some that are rented out. We had an ocean view 2 br 2 ba unit. It’s fully furnished with beautiful furnishings, has a full kitchen and even coffee maker and coffee, and a very large, beautiful balcony. It even had a washer dryer, with which the cleaning service does your laundry for you, folds, and leaves out for you while you’re gone. There is a restaurant in the resort, and it had good food. It’s on the rooftop on one of the higher buildings around and has a great view of the sunset. There’s also a gym on grounds but we never used it. There are 3 pools and 2 hot tubs on grounds (all clustered in a central courtyard). Swim up bar at the biggest one, and a dock for boat transfers. The concierge was helpful in planning excursions. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone.
jumpinjess7 is offline  
Old May 7th, 2016, 12:49 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 24,833
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Glad you had such a great trip! We love Lamanai Outpost Lodge too - fantastic tours. Victoria House on Ambergris is away from the hustle and bustle, and they have a gorgeous beach if you ever want to go back.
volcanogirl is offline  
Old May 7th, 2016, 02:37 PM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Food in San Pedro/Ambergris Caye:
Elvi's 5+++/5. MUST EAT RESTAURANT. So delicious. SO DELICIOUS. Best meal of the whole trip. I cannot say enough good things.

The Baker 5/5: coffee shop and bakery just south of downtown. They had sandwiches and other things I would have liked to try, but we got stuck eating the baked goods every time. Very good.

VBAR- 3.5/5 stars. American food, solid, nothing spectacular but did the trick and literally on the beach eating with your feet in the sand. North of the bridge at the venezia.

El Fogon 2/5 stars. Not horrible but smoke constantly in our faces, slow service, and food was not exceptional. Downtown, seemed like a tourist trap. No locals in there.

Annies Bakery 5/5 stars. Delicious bakery with sweet and savory baked goods. Also cheap. On the main road just north of the roundabout. Look for the pink awning.

Taco Stand 5/5 stars. Across from the wooden fence of Xanadu. Very cheap, very delicious. Try the fry jack.

Kevin's BBQ stand 5/5 stars. Next to the taco stand. That jerk chicken makes my mouth water just typing it. So good, and pretty cheap, although he seemed to offer slightly cheaper rates to locals.

Lebanese place across from airport 1/5. I wouldn't return. Food was only ok. No one else was in there, red flag perhaps. Chicken was dry. I didn't even write down the name.

Black and White 4.5/5. The food was quite good, and the show was also very educational and entertaining. Be prepared for a 3 hour ordeal, and to get called on stage to dance.

Rain 4/5. Food was good, great location/ambiance, decent service, and had live music when we were there. Definitely a romantic spot to grab food or a drink and watch the sunset.
jumpinjess7 is offline  
Old May 7th, 2016, 02:38 PM
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Volcanogirl- I think the biggest problem for us was the wind. Grand Caribe's beach looked nice enough, but it was so windy that the water was really choppy everywhere on the island except Secret Beach. We loved Grand Caribe, I'm sure Victoria House is nice too though!
jumpinjess7 is offline  
Old May 7th, 2016, 02:41 PM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Day one: Direct flight from ATL to BZE. We were met at door w sign of our names, and walked over to the office just across the parking lot. We were hungry and knew a 3 hour trip was ahead of us, so we got food from the vendors next to the office. It was delicious! Then we started the trek to Lamanai, first a van ride to Orange Walk then boat ride up river to the Lagoon where LOL is located. We saw two crocodiles and many birds and other wildlife on that trip. When we got to the dock, check in was instant. The guides met the boat and got everyones luggage organized and walked us to our rooms. We were then invited up to the lodge for a snack, which was the most amazing potato soup I've ever had. I don't even really like potato soup! The soup was served with these delicious rolls and the most amazing butter I've ever had. They give each person a huge dollop of soft, european style butter. It was amazing, and not just because I was hungry, it was legitimately great. It's funny how something so small could make such an impact! We had a few hours before dinner proper started, so we picked out our excursions and headed back down to the lagoon. We took the canoes out and canoed all around the lagoon before dinner. The lagoon water is actually very clear, and in the shallows you can see the bottom quite easily. Dinner was Fish with veggies and pasta, and it was amazing. Our first excursion was the night walk. At first it seems like you're just walking around the same little area you explored a few hours ago in the daylight, but as you walk you realize how much more there is to see. We saw three tarantulas, two kikachu, bats and more. Honestly, my first impression was that the resort is smaller than I expected, with a small but very friendly staff. Now looking back I realize that yes, it is a small place, but with so much to do and see, they don’t need to be big! Small but dense with activities and things to do and see. The rooms are large and clean, but very basic. We had two rooms for the five of us. One with a King bed for my parents, and one with two doubles and a pull out sofa for us kids. They have large fans, but are not Air conditioned. The rooms and en suite bathrooms were cleaned daily and very nice. Luxurious? No, but definitely served a purpose and were quite comfortable.

Day two- We started with the morning nature walk and saw so much more interesting wildlife and plants. We went by some of the later ruins in the area where the Spanish tried to settle the area, and we also saw the old sugar mill. It’s such a beautiful area. There’s a clearing in the jungle and this old sugar mill it just sitting there in the middle of it, being overtaken with vegetation. It’s really quite an interesting place to see, and quite beautiful. Our walk ended at the Lamanai ruins, so we had a sneak peek, first thing in the morning all alone with the Jaguar Temple. We then headed back to the lodge for breakfast, which again was delicious. After lunch we went back to the Lamanai ruins. We could hear some howler monkeys quite loudly, but didn’t spot them this time. We walked all around the Lamanai ruins, there are several different areas, all very intriguing and very well done from a tourist perspective. It’s amazing how the jungle had taken them over until they were excavated not so long ago. Also is interesting that as of 1993 the Indian Church (nearest village) people were living there on site. We ended up back at the lodge for dinner. That night we did the spotlight safari very neat for birding, we saw an Agami heron, but underwhelming for me a little bit. There was a bit of pitch black driving boat w no lights on the way back, that was a little unnerving. Lots of walking this day, and we were happy to go to bed!

Day three- We woke up early for the sunrise canoe, where we paddled across the lagoon to Dawson’s creek (ha!). It was quite beautiful and we got an up close view of more plants and wildlife. After breakfast we did the medicine walk and tour of Indian church, which was one of our favorite excursions. Brenda taught us all about how they used plant for medicinal purposes, and demonstrated for us. In the town of Indian Church we learned how to make tortillas, which was really fun and quite delicious. The food from that restaurant was fantastic! On our walk back we had a whole family of howler monkeys right overhead that were literally close enough to touch when they came down from the tree tops to cross the walkway. It was super cool. After lunch we swam in lagoon and my brothers rented some motorcycles to explore the area a bit more. That night we paid extra to go on the spear fishing excursion. Unfortunately it was a weird night and the fish weren’t out and about, but all of us kids did spear fish, which we got to bring home and they were cooked for us for breakfast. Earlier in the day we had seen a group of friends we knew from home (small world) and they had come to Lamanai just for a day trip on their own chartered plane. That’s when we realized that theres a tiny air strip at Lamanai, and the front desk was so helpful in getting us to charter one.

Day four: We left Lamanai after breakfast in the tiny airplane on the tiny airstrip. What an amazing way to see the country! We landed in San Pedro at their small airport and were immediately greeted by people waiting for us to help us with the transfer. We checked in at Grand Caribe with complimentary punch and washcloths with eucalyptus oil that were so refreshing. After we unpacked a bit and rented golf carts, we did lunch at Vbar just up the street. It was American food- wings, pizza and panini on the beach. In the soon to be built Venezia hotel. It was nice, but nothing fancy. Then we headed up to secret beach. The thing about secret beach, is its not so secret! Everyone knows about it, but it is absolutely gorgeous. It’s on the leeward side of island so much less windy. It does take quite a trek to get out there. Probably 20 minutes on the golf cart and the road to get there super potholed. Once you get there the Secret beach has clear water that’s Shallow up to 200 yds out. Although there is a food cart out there serving snacks and beverages, Next time I would bring a float and a cooler w Cold drinks and snacks and set up shop for the day. El fogon was highly recommended for for dinner -“authentic belizean food". We got smoked out by the giant fire kettle thing. The restaurant has a sand floor. Food was good but nothing to gush over. After dinner we went to one of our favorites- Annie’s bakery- opens 3-8pm. They had great pastries. We went there multiple times and ate a lot of things, and they were all delicious. We spent the evening at the Casino at captain morgans resort. It was small but had slots, blackjack, roulette, and was a fun way to spend the evening.

Day 5: We made breakfast in our suite. We were supposed to go fishing but it was very windy and small boat so decided to postpone. Our two golf carts got split up so we spent a good amount of time looking for each other, and finally found the other half just south of downtown at The Baker, a small european style bakery. This place was amazing. The baked goods were all simply amazing. We also frequented this place. We kept going south on the road past the Victoria House, past a lot of residential areas and finally made our way to the Mayan Ruins on the island. Cost was $10 USD to get in per person, and according to the staff working, not very excavated, only a few houses partially excavated. We opted not to go since we had seen such amazing ruins at Lamanai. If you do end up going pack a LOT of bug spray, there were tons of mosquitos, you could see the larvae in the potholes. The road there took about 20-30 min driving on a severely potholed road to get to it. There is a taco stand across from Xanadu. DO IT. This is a must eat place on the island. The food was so delicious, and really really cheap. 3 tacos for one tacos from the taco stand across from Xanadu. 3 for one Belize dollar. Fry jack there is really good, its a fried corn dough stuffed with meat filling. Next door is a Bbq man, Kevin, but he was just getting set up so we didn’t eat there. We also had a small meal at Lebanese place across from airport. Not a huge fan. Food was not very good, decor not good. Nothing really great about it. Went to Black and White for dinner, its a Garifuna restaurant and cultural center. Dinner with a historical video, followed by cultural presentation of dancing and drumming. Interesting experience, but be prepared to take 2-3 hrs for dinner and be called on stage to dance.

Day 6:
Again we ate breakfast in the room (delicious!). We then went out on the Catamaran snorkel cruise w Seaduced that we had booked through the hotel. It left at 815am from the dock on a speedboat to bigger boat where we met all the other tripgoers. Altun ha snorkel was great. We saw a 7yr old green turtle, Touched a nurse shark and also saw an eel, baby puffer fish, very large ray and everything from large fish to tiny fish the size of half a grain of rice. Jack fish escorted us around- he was very knowledgeable and nice, a great guide. Then went to shark Ray alley. The guides park and chum the water and start a feeding frenzy of jacks, nurse sharks and rays. Then you jump in the water and swim with them while they feed. One shark was 8ft long. They’re funny, like puppies trying to get scraps of food with their heads out of water on each other's back. One giant ray was 6 ft across. It wa a really cool experience, I wish we had an underwater video camera to document the whole thing. Then on to Caye caulker. It is a very small island, much Less developed. The Split is where a hurricane literally cut the island in half in 1960s. They say like Caye Caulker is like San Pedro was 20yrs ago. We grabbed a quick lunch at a fry jack stand- so delicious, then walked around the island. Definitely try to the coffee shop, their coffee was delicious and they had delicious shaved ice and mini donuts. Then we went to split, strolled the street (there's only front and back) came back to San Pedro. Had some beach/pool time at the Grand Caribe. Showered and went to dinner at Elvi's. Elvi’s was amazing!!!! It was the food experience I had been waiting for. It has a sand floor, a big tree growing out of the middle of it. It’s a bit upscale, but the food is absolutely amazing. Everyone’s dishes were amazing. I would go back to San Pedro just to get more of that food. I’m totally getting hungry thinking about it.

Day 7
Breakfast in the hotel again. We’ve been doing Belize inspired things like hues rancheros and eggs with beans. We left early and went to the Secret beach. There’s a little path up along the shore you can take up to this little bay area that’s very isolated with beautiful water. We spent time up there, then came back down to the regular secret beach area. Left around lunch and went to Kevin's bbq stand (next to taco stand across from Xanadu). Super yummy jerk chicken and pork. Then had dessert at the baker- more cream cheese puffs and mini pies. We explored downtown San Pedro and gift shopped a bit then back to hotel for pool/beach time. Dinner that night was at the hotel at the restaurant there called Rain. It was a nice, upscale restaurant. The time to go is just before sunset, because its at the top of the building and has a very nice Westerly view to watch the sunset. The food there was quite good also. Not my favorite, and definitely doesn’t compare to Elvis, but very good.

Day 8. We woke up early and spent a little time on the beach after breakfast. A taxi picked us up and took us to the airport. We took a tiny plane to BZE airport, had a layover there, and then continued on back to Atlanta. Eat something right before flying or pack a snack- food options are limited. Decent souvenir shops for the usual suspects- t shirts, shot glasses, hot sauce.


Overall my whole family loved this trip, and we would definitely go back to Belieze. There's so much we didn't get to see!
jumpinjess7 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
volcanogirl
Mexico & Central America
20
May 24th, 2014 08:44 AM
koala
Mexico & Central America
0
May 5th, 2013 07:37 PM
schlegal1
Mexico & Central America
18
Sep 18th, 2012 03:57 PM
puckett
Mexico & Central America
4
Apr 11th, 2004 10:13 PM
hightide
Mexico & Central America
16
Mar 12th, 2004 08:04 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -