5 Best Hotels in San Ignacio, The Cayo District

This was the first true jungle lodge in the Cayo, and owners Mick and Lucy Fleming (he's from England, she's from the United States) have spent more than three decades polishing The Lodge at Chaa Creek to a fine, rich patina, while adding features like a gorgeous bi-level swimming pool. The gracefully landscaped grounds, surrounded by 365 acres of rolling hills above the Macal River, are magnificent. All on-site tours are included with your accommodations, including early-morning bird-watching with a naturalist, Belize Medicinal Plants Trail, Natural History Center, Blue Morpho Butterfly Farm, and canoeing or tubing on the river. For an additional charge, there are horse stables and one of the best spas in Belize. The whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs and custom-made furnishings as well as the suites and tree houses are elegantly stylish, but prices can be high. There are all new ultramodern suites at the highest price point. For cost-conscious travelers, there's the Macal River Camp, with small A-frame rooms on raised wooden platforms. At the lodge itself, dinner is a special event, starting with cocktails in the bar and perhaps ending with brandy and a Cuban cigar under the soaring thatched palapa. Chaa Creek's tours, although not cheap, are among the country's finest, and horseback riding is also available.

Some 800 feet above limestone cliffs and the Macal River gorge, across from Elijio Panti National Park, Black Rock Lodge has one of the most beautiful settings of any lodge in the country. The well-shaded cabins have stone or tile floors, custom-made hardwood furniture, and stunning views of the Macal River. There's also a spring-fed swimming pool. Savvy, eco-conscious owner Cameron Boyd runs the lodge on hydro and solar power and keeps room rates low. However, because you're a 35-minute drive from San Ignacio (mostly on a narrow, single-lane trail), you'll need to take all your meals here (they don't come with the room rate) and do most tours with the lodge.

The low gurgle of nearby Mopan River rapids is the first and last sound of the day at Clarissa Falls Resort. Warm and friendly owner Chena Galvez and her family have spent their lives on a cattle ranch here, a rolling 900-acre expanse of grassy pasture. Over the years Chena and family have built a small colony of homey thatch cabanas for visitors to stay in. If you're on a tight budget, there's camping available and, for students only, rooms in a bunkhouse with three meals daily. The open-air restaurant by the river serves tasty mestizo dishes at modest prices.

With clean rooms, a good restaurant, and convenient tours, the four-story Martha's Guesthouse provides just about everything you need right in the heart of downtown San Ignacio. The regular rooms are a bit smaller, but for a little more money, you can get a larger room with cable TV, a refrigerator, and a balcony. An annex called the Inn at Martha's about a block away adds six rooms. Martha's Restaurant, with local art on the walls and a sweet garden patio, is open every day, serving pizza and local dishes.

High above a bend in the Macal River is this remarkable, relaxing lodge whose grounds are right next door to the 45-acre Belize Botanic Gardens. From a vantage point 30 feet above the forest floor on the covered deck and canopied walkway, you'll see iguanas sunning in the trees. You can swim and dive off the rocks from the sandy river beach below. The food is excellent, and there's always a vegetarian option. The lodge also offers horseback riding and a full range of tours.