rjbriskin

My husband, 21 year old son and 17 year old daughter just came back from Belize. Despite the weather we had a fabulous time. A few observations first: We were all impressed at how nice and smart the Belizian's were and while we had overcast -damp weather and no sun every day, it never interfered with our excursions- thankfully. So here is our daily itinerary:

Day 1-
We flew direct on Continental from Newark, NJ to Belize City. Thankfully I upgraded to first class because when we got to ther airport 1 1/2 hours earllier than the scheduled time to leave, because of the heightened security ,the Continental personnel said we should have been there 3 hours earlier, but with the Elite status we were whisked through pretty quickly. We arranged for Chaa Creek to pick us up at the airport to take us to their resort in San Inguacio. Joe Awe was our driver who was as nice as could be and certainly pointed out all the sites on our 2 hour drive and gave us a great education about Belize. Since we were going to get there around 3:00 in the afternoon we had Joe call in and arrange for massages for all of us. We were staying in the Treetop villas for 3 nights but it was unavaialble for the first night so we stayed in the Spa Villa on the first night. It was a 3 bedroom villa. Very nice and quite large. We ate dinner at Chaa Creek which was very good. Our accomodations only included continental breakfasts so we had to pay for dinners. They offer 4 course dinners which were very good. What we didn't learn till later is that you did not have to have all 4 courses. The food was reallly good though.We went to bed after dinner as we had an early start in the morning getting to the airport and tomorrow we were getting up early to go to Tikal.

Day 2
I had arranged prior to arriving in Belize the Tiakl excursion and the ATM tour with Pacz tours. As it turns out Chaa Creek uses Pacz tours as well and "belize it or not" the prices were not that different if I had booked through Chaa Creek directly when we arrived. We got up at 5:30, had breakfast and was picked up at 6:45. Our guide was Juice who was very informative. We got to the border of Guatemala, went through immigration and then we were driven 2 hours to Tikal. We toured Tikal and climbed 3 temples. It was all quite fascinating. At 3:00 we were taken to an outdoor restaurant for a very good chicken lunch. On our 2 hour trip back to the border, right before the border, we asked Juice to stop at a souvenir /art shop we had heard about- "Antigua". We bought a hand sewn wall hanging of the Mayan calender. As it turns out we saw several versions of it else where but it was the cheapest in Guatamala. We went back through immigration and driven back to Chaa Creek. We were taken to our new room, the Tree Top Villa, overlooking the Macal River. It was amazing. We were in #9 but for the record #10 is the better tree top villa to request. We were thinking about going to Belize last year but since the Tree Top Villa was not available my husband wanted to wait another year until it was available. It is a very special accomadation. We loved it. The kids took a hot bath in the oudtside hot tub and we all got dressed for dinner. Again we really enjoyed dinner. We signed up for an 8:00PM nature hike, which was really interesting. We saw birds, torantulas, possums, and other wild life. We went to the bar after for a drink and then back to the Tree House to get a good night sleep.

Day 3
We woke up, had breakfast and was picked up by Orlando of Pacz tours for our ATM excursion. After an 1 1/2 hour drive we arrived. Since I was quite nervous if I was going to be able to hike, swim, etc. I was behind Orlando the entire day and he literally held my hand the entire time!!! We hiked for about 45 minutes, 2 miles, walking through water and up and down muddy trails to the mouth of the cave. It was challenging at times but soooo fascinating. We stayed in the cave for about 3 hours and then headed back to the mouth of the cave to get out and hike back. We saw some amazing skelitons and relics. Truly fascinating. I question how long they will keep the cave open to the public??? It seems that at some point the authenticty might get comprimised. We had lunch, sandwiches and fruit when we got out of the cave and then took the 2 mile hike back to the van. When we got back to Chaa Creek we went to the internet to retrieve our e-mails since we got no reception anywhere on our blackberrys. Afer dinner we went to the bar and had lots of drinks, played some games with the other guests and headed back to the Tree House. At about 4:00AM my husband and I were woken by the howling monkeys. They really sound like dinosaurs in Jurasic Park!!!

Day 4
We woke up and were driven down the road to Chaa Creek's horse stables. We met the owner Mick. His story of how he and his wife came to purchase Chaa Creek was really very interesting. Having spoken to him for a while it became apparent why everyone who works at Chaa Creek is so nice and accomadating becuase they all love workng for Mick and his wife. As our driver Joe said, he was amazed at how Chaa Creek tolerated him for the past 10 years!!! They are all thankful to be employed there and it really shows, in every way. Our guide Robert guided us through the woods and it was a truly beautiful ride. When we got to the top we dismounted and Robert, who is studying archeology, showed us some very interesting artifacts that he has picked up while riding through the 365 acres that Chaa Creek owns. At the top was also a great view of the Kunantunich temples. Since my son used to ride hores often years ago he asked Robert to take him for a while to cantor, which Robert gladly did and my son loved it. My daughter uesd to ride too and used to love to clean and brush the horses so Robert had her stay on and said he would take her back in a while so she could meet us for lunch after she helped him clean the horses. We ate lunch and then went to the water and took canoes down the Macal River around 2 hours to the town of San Inguacio. While we were in our canoes there was another canoe with a guide and 2 women. The guide actually rode down the river with us and pointed out iguanas, bats, monkeys and other wildlife to us as well. We returned our vests and paddles to Eva's as instructed by Chaa Creek. We shopped around town for a while. It took all of 1/2 hour!!! We ate an early dinner at Hannah's which was a good local cheap Belizean restaurant. Chaa Creek picked us up there exactly at 6:00 as we had asked. Again we went to the bar , had some drinks and played some games with some of the other guests.

Day 5

We slept in a little and had breakfast. They actually had finished serving breakfast but accomodated us anyway. We took a 7 minute walk to the tent camp that Chaa Creek owns. I must say for relatively no money one can stay at the camp,public showers and toilets , but be in an upscale resort. While it is not for me it was a really beautiful camp site. At the bar we met a few of the young couples staying there and they all loved it. Apparently the home cooked meals up there are great!!!! We went back to the Tree House to finish packing and took some pictures of monkeys and iguanas that were in the trees right outside our villa. We were being picked up by Turtle Inn at 1:00 so we sat by the pool and read for an hour until our transportaion arrived. We were sad to leave Chaa Creek as we really felt at home there. I recommend it highly to anyone going to San Inguacio. Our driver, Theo, was an older gentleman who was the 3rd person in all of Belize licensed to be a tour guide and proud of it!! He was very knowledgable. We asked him if he could stop at the Orange gift shop on the way to Placnecia. He was happy to stop. It is quite large and we did buy a few things. I think their prices are a little higher than the other places we went to but they had a great selection.We had a 3 hour ride to Placnecia where we were scheuleded to take a boat for the last 20 minutes of the transport, although Turltle Inn appreantly never told Theo that, so he had to arrange for the boat on our way up to Placencia??? At one point Theo put the van in neutral and the van went in reverse, He called it the Hill of Mystery- a magnetic hill??? At the Hokey Pokey boat place we were picked up and taken to The Turtle Inn. We did see dolphins on our ride to the resort. We were taken to our 2 bedroom 2 Bath with 2 outdoor showers Sea Side Villa which was right on the beach. The women who took us was somewhat disinterested, she barely showed us around, which was a bit annoying as we were paying allot of money to stay at Coppola's property on the beach, Oh well??? The Villa was beautifull. We changed and took a taxi to town and had dinner at the Secret Garden. It was delocius.It is owned by a Canadian couple who really created a charming setting with very good food. After dinner we went across the street to the Placencia Ice Cream place, because Tutti Frutti was closed, which serves soy milk ice cream. It was actually pretty good. We got back to the resort and the kids went to the bar for drinks and we went back to sleep.

Day 6

We woke up early as we were going snorkeling at 8:15. We were told that the boat leaves from across the street at the Dive Shop at 8:15. By 9:00 we still hadn't left as there was another family of 3 that was going with us but they were scuba diving so the crew had to check the tanks, etc. Not sure why this wasn't all done before we got there. The manager Gary, when I went to complain, explained that they had to do a pick up before we were going out on our tour so he was sorry for the inconvenience??? We boated out for about 40 minutes to Hummingbird Key where we docked and left all our belongings. We put on our wet suits as it was a bit cold and headed into the water for our first snorkel out. with our guide Rico, a really nice guy. It was beautiful. When we got out after an hour of snorkeling we were pretty cold so we changed into dry clothes and had lunch on the picnic tables The kids and I were too cold to go for a second snorkel so my husband and Rico went out together. They actually said it was warmer and they saw a whole lot more than the first time in!!! The kids and I realxed and read. We headed back to Turte Inn at around 2:00. On the way back there were about 6 dolphins trying to race us and then started doing jumps in the air. My daughter got a pictue of 2 in the air making a circle. The guides were even impressed and actually gave us their e-mails to send them the picture!!!! We got back and quiickly changed as we arranged for masaages in town at the Secret Garden Day Spa by Lee Nyhus. She was really good. The kids went first and my husband and I walked through town and on the boardwalk, which is a tiny street with a few stores and locals selling their wares on the side of the walk. We bougfht a few things and then met the kids at the spa. They want back to the resort and my husband and I had our massages. When we got back we changed and had dinner at the resort's restaurant across the street, Auntie Lubbas. The menu never changes. It is a very simple restaurant and it is true Belizean food, rice and beans with different meats and fish, It was really good and of course Coppola wines offered!!! We came back to the resort for coffee and dessert at their Italian restaurant. We went back to the villla and played a game and went to sleep.

Day 7

It was a lazy kind of day so we slept in and had breakfast brought to the villa looking over the ocean. It was really relaxing. We literally lied around all day( the weather was drizzly and damp) read, went on the computer and just hung out. My husband and I took a walk around the property and saw Coppola's villa and Sophia's villa.The property is really charming. I am very glad we opted for a waterfront villa as the others have no view of the water. At about 1:00 we all had lunch and drinks at the outdoor pallazzo by the pool. It was a really good lunch. After lunch we went back to the villa to rest some more!!!!For dinner we took a taxi into town and had dinner at the French Connection. The food was good, not great, and very expensive. Don't know if I would recommend it????We walked to Tutti Frutti for gelatto after, which was quite good. We took a taxi back to see that they never made up our beds nor did they take the breakfast dishes away from the morning. I called to have them deal with it which they did right away.???

Day 8

We woke up and had breakfast and was scheduled to go fishing for a half a day. It was really raining out and the captain thought it might be rough out there and thought it was not a good idea to go. There were quite a few famlilies at breakfast that were getting ready to go home as it was Saturday and that is the only day that Continental offers a direct flight to Newark. We were scheduled to leave the next day, Sunday, with a stop over in Houston.The weather did not look promising for the rest of the day or tomorrow either. So I quickly went to the reception to get Continental on the line and was able to change our flights for $50 per person and we were able to get on the Tropic Air flight from Placencia to Belize City. We had 1/2 hour to pack and get picked up to go to the local airport. We got to the Belize City airport pretty early so we shopped some more and had an uneventful flight back home. My husband was just as happy as he likes to have a day after vacation to relax before we have to go back to work,

The vacation was amazing, in spite of not having any sun at all. As you can see I wasn't overly impressed with The Turtle Inn. In actuality my husband wanted to stay at the Victoria House in San Pedro but I opted for Turtle Inn in Plancencia because I was told the beaches were allot nicer. It appears that when an owner is at the property 100% of the time, like in Chaa Creek, rather than having a manager mange a property, the service one experiences is very different. I also found Belize very simlar to Costa Rica which we went to a few years ago and loved. All in all we loved Beize, loved the people, loved Chaa Creek and would pass on Turtle Inn (even though the sea front villa is amazing inside and the view amazing as well).

hopefulist

Thanks for posting such a detailed report! We had a wonderful trip to Belize (our 2nd) last summer - so different from yours yet perfect for us. That's one of the many positive aspects of Belize - different strokes for different folks.

SnR

rjbriskin, thanks for the great, detailed trip report. We are going to Belize next November for our 40th. We are debating between Chaa Creek and duPlooy's. Did you meet anyone from there to compare? CC looks so much nicer, but also so much more expensive.
Sally in Seattle

hopefulist

You should consider Macal River Jungle Camp which rjbriskin mentions above. We had a wonderful experience there - a beautiful jungle setting (motmots, parrots, toucans, and iguanas viewed from our hammocks), sweet tent-cabins, delicious meals, friendly camp host, romantic kerosene lighting, hot water showers, access to hiking, canoing, and all of Chaa Creek's amenities including the pool, internet, tours, butterflies, etc. I think the cost is still $55/pp which includes dinner and breakfast.

If you want a manicured place, Chaa Creek is beautiful. If you want a jungle experience, pick the Jungle Camp. www.belizecamp.com

ShellD

Thanks for the great report! We loved Chaa Creek as well. It's an amazing place. I agree about ATM as far as it being opened to the public - it's so amazing, it would never be something you'd be allowed to do in the US! Glad the weather didn't slow you down....thanks for the details!

Patty

Wow, you're quick! We were in Belize the exact same days and stayed next door at duPlooys for the first part of our trip. We canoed over to Chaa Creek the day you went to Tikal. Good call leaving on Sat as it seemed like the weather was getting even worse. Thanks for your report!

Sally,
We really enjoyed our stay at duPlooys and for us it was a better match than Chaa Creek. You're right that Chaa Creek is more lux but we loved the more jungly setting of duPlooys. Chaa Creek seemed just a bit too manicured (I didn't get a chance to see their MRJC.) I think they're both good choices but very different from each other in atmosphere so it depends on what you're looking for.

rjbriskin

SnR- I would definately go to Chaa Creek. We actually did bump into a family that was going to be staying at duPlooys. From what they said I think duPlooys is more rugged??? Having not stayed there myself I can tell you that I thought Chaa Creek was really amazing.

Patty

I wouldn't characterize duPlooys as rugged. The accommodations were very comfortable but not luxurious. We stayed in the 3 bedroom Macal Suite (there were 3 of us) and I have some pics in this album http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...05%3A628702044 The food was simple but well prepared. I loved their birding deck and elevated boardwalks. I'm sure Chaa Creek is wonderful too.

volcanogirl

Thanks for a wonderful, informative trip report. I had fun reading it!

hopefulist

If you're wanting a "resort" and you're willing to spend the money, Chaa Creek would be a good choice. If you're wanting a jungle experience with good food and comfortable beds, pick the jungle camp. My impression is that DuPlooy's is somewhere in between in terms of amenities and landscaping.

It's nice to have so many options in that general locale - although beautiful, Chaa Creek was too groomed and fancy for our taste and the jungle camp was comfortable and just the jungly experience we were looking for. For others, having groomed trails and a pool may be the order of the day.

SiteC_er

Enjoyed your report....especially the info on Turtle Inn. We stayed in the Tree Top (#9) at Chaa Creek and really really enjoyed our stay (2 yrs ago). They must have made some changes as #10 was identical to unit #9 during our stay. I hear they've also added a pool (not a plus in my opinion).Glad you got a chance to meet Mick...his story is definitely very interesting (e.g. though he's originally from England he used to play in reggae / rock band in Africa).

rjbriskin

SiteC_er The only reason I said #10 was better is because I think it has better views of the river than #9, otherwise they are still identical. It's funny, my friend who referred us to Chaa Creek said there was no pool there. To me it looks like the pool was there forever. It really is a beautiful pool. I would have loved to spend more time at it but we never had sun!!! Mick never told us about the reggae band. Interesting!!!

ShellD

The pool at Chaa Creek was added in the last year I believe. We loved the pool - each day after getting back from an excursion we'd relax at the pool. It was a great way to cool off and talk with the other guests about what they had done that day. It's a very tasteful pool, it's beautiful. To be honest, I wouldn't have chosen to stay there if they didn't have a pool - it's just much too hot there in the summer without a way to cool off after a hot day!

SiteC_er

I would probably love the pool. However, maybe it's just us, our family really enjoyed the short nature type hike along the bamboo trail to the river swimming area. My kids still talk about playing in the river with Mick's golden lab. I guess I need to go back and judge for myself :-0

SnR

Patty, thanks for chiming in on DuPlooy's. It sounds more like "us" also. Nice to hear that the food was good. The Fodor's book said it was "excellent"! I think swimming in the river will be an interesting experience for my 4 yo granddaughter. I ran the numbers and the Macal suite is the best option, about half the price of Chaa Creek when all is said and done (they have a 15% off special for the time we are going). I really appreciate your posting. Your pictures are AWESOME! I don't have to worry about DuPlooy's anymore, it looks just right for us.
Sally in Seattle

Patty

Glad I could help and have a great trip!

hopefulist

Please post a travelogue.

dcorey

As a professional working in a public health disease control setting, I would caution travlers to consider the risks involved with swimming in rivers and creeks. I see travlers returning with Giardia and other enteric diseases that can be difficult to get rid of and ruin a vacation. Having said that, it is possible to get other enteric diseases from pools, rare though. Streams, creeks and rivers are fun but there are risks, even in the USA. Travlers are adised to drink bottled water; streams of anykind are not made of bottled water. Five people can go swimming and only one gets ill........you just never know.

joeyi

Sally, I was the third person with Patty at Duplooy's and I can concur with all her comments about it. I really enjoyed the stay. The Macal suite worked out perfect for us. Enjoy your trip.

joyce

SnR

dcorey, thank you for taking the time to post about the dangers of swimming in the river. Giardia is not a fun thing, so we will have to weigh the dangers. I would hate for my darling granddaughter to come down with it!

joeyi, thank you also for the rec on DuPlooy's. I am sure we will have a blast.
Sally in Seattle