Janet179

We need advice on where to go for a 3-5 day largely snorkel & beach stay in Belize and if anyone has used a good travel agent for Belize and Guatemala. We're visiting and traveling with our 22 year old daughter who is working in Guatemala, fluent in Spanish, and has ideas about the Guatemala part of our trip...but Belize is a complete unknown to all of us. We may rough it somewhat in Guatemala so the Belize part should be nice but not necessarily 5-star type accommodations! However if anyone has any tips or advice about Guatemala, that would also be most welcome...there we plan to visit Tikal, Antigua, Lake Atilan, Nebaj.

Katie_Valk

You can fly from Flores/Tikal to Belize Intl or drive from Tikal and enter Belize at the western border. Are you flying back home from GUA or BZE? You can fly from BZE to GUA. If you drive in, you can stay at one of the lodges in the Cayo district for more Maya sites, caves trips, zip lines, river and horse trips and waterfalls. Or travel direct to the beaches. The easiest would be Ambergris Caye, an island one mile from the reef with great snorkeling, diving, fishing, many nice hotels and condo-hotels, restaurants and more. Or further south to Hopkins and Placencia with better beaches. Hopkins is 10 miles from the reef and Placencia is 19 miles from the reef. Placencia has a quaint village and also, a great assortment of good and fine dining. Numerous very good options for places to stay in each area.

Patty

Or consider one of the atolls (Turneffe, Glovers) or one of the cayes on the reef (South Water). These would have better and/or easier access to snorkeling. The downside is that there's not much else to do (only a few resorts on each) and requires more coordination to get to. Just depends on your priorities.

hopefulist

Sounds like a great trip. I spent a week in Nebaj in 2007 and found the area naturally beautiful and culturally fascinating; it's an unusual choice for someone who hasn't traveled extensively in Guatemala before and I'll look forward to your travelogue to hear how you liked it.

If you decide to stop in western Belize, check out the ATM cave trip: http://www.pacztours.net/pages/tours/ATM.html

If you head straight to the water my recommendation for a quick visit would be Caye Caulker, even quicker to ferry to than Ambergris and more laid back. If you want a nicish place on Caulker, consider the Sailwinds Suites: http://www.staycayecaulker.com/sailwinds.html

Great location near the ferry dock right on the beach, clean and attractive with a kitchen so you can buy fresh fruit, cake from the cake man, fresh fish from the fisherman and cook some of your own meals. We were there in the summer and their low season prices are barely over half of the high season rates. I highly recommend a snorkeling trip with Raggamuffin Tours: http://raggamuffintours.com/hol-chan-snorkel/

We did that our last full day on Caulker and it was a great finale to a wonderful trip (5 weeks split between Guatemala and Belize). I've pasted the link to my travel photos below and my recommendations are in the blogs and travelogues linked on the main page of each collection. Happy trails! Keep us posted!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

hopefulist

Probably your best bet for a travel agent for Belize is Katie Valk who posted above. In Guatemala I've had good success with both Rainbow Travel: www.rainbowtravelcenter.com
and Adrenalina Tours: www.adrenalinatours.com

I usually plan everything on my own and make all my own reservations but purchased flights to Flores through Rainbow Travel a few years ago and all my ground transportation for a group of 15 through Adrenalina last summer.

Janet179

Thanks all for your advice. We may fly into Belize and fly home (two weeks later) from Guatemala city. Are there direct flights from Belize City to Flores...I did a search and kept coming up with a two stop long trip involving San Salvador and Guatemala city before Flores...that didn't make sense to me! What about taking a bus from Belize city to Flores? Doable?

JeanH

Yes, you can fly direct from Belize City to Flores.

http://www.tropicair.com/

It appears the cost is about US$130.00 one way. Two flights a day. I didn't look to see if it could be done from the municipal airport rather than BZE.

Katie_Valk

Maya Island air flys direct from BZE to GUA. Tropic flys direct from BZE to FRS.