Belize is a great place for a long weekend getaway, but not yet a popular destination, (which is crazy because it’s so beautiful!) Belize is the only country in Central America whose national language is English. Because of this, most people there understand and speak English, making this easier for tourists. It’s also one place that has not been affected by the American culture, which truly makes it a unique getaway. You won’t find any Starbucks or McDonald’s there… instead you will find a ton of other great options 🙂
My friend, Asha and I booked a spontaneous trip to Belize for five days. It was just what we needed to step back from our busy schedules. It was a mix of some adventurous fun as well as a retreat from our busy daily lives to reflect and do some soul searching! Some of our favorite relaxing activities to do was to sit near the beach, walk along the shore and go into deep conversations about life and travel!
Belize City
Mayan Ruins & History
Asha and I flew into Belize City (to an extremely small airport) and spent two days touring Belize City. The owner of the Airbnb home we stayed at introduced us to a great guide! With him, we booked a day trip to Altun Ha, which is a famous Mayan ruins with several stone altars that you can climb and walk around on. We left early in the morning and was able to get in before opening hours, so we had the whole place to ourselves for majority of the time. There are several other Mayan ruins you can choose from such as the Xunantunich Ruins, Cerros Ruins, Cahal Pech Reserve and Belize Mayan Ruins. All are different sizes and located in different parts of Belize, so you can pick which one to visit depending upon your interest in exploring them.
Cave Tubing
The next stop was cave tubing and we loved it! Our tour guide hooked us up with another great cave tubing guide and she was amazing! We hiked through the forest and walked through several streams before getting to the start point of the cave tubing. As we hiked, our guide stopped to explain interesting facts about the trees, streams, and sounds we heard along the way. We got in the tubes (with life jackets, of course) and went through the caves and sink holes in between the caves that were more than 50 feet deep. Since we had our personal guide, she took her time and explained in detail about the animals and cave formations. We loved that we were able to go slow and fully enjoy the whole experience rather than rushing through with a bigger group.
TIP: Staying at local homes through Airbnb allowed us to meet the locals, eat at local restaurants and book private tours. It is important to pick good hosts and carefully accept or decline the tours suggested by them. Only choose to do tours once you have communicated with the guide and you feel at ease going forward with it.
San Pedro Island
We decided to go to the island of San Pedro, a 90 minute boat ride from Belize City. It’s located in the Ambergris Caye (pronounced Key), which is the bigger sister island of Caye Caulker, also a popular destination. We airbnb’d in San Pedro and were very happy with our stay (at Zen Blue). Besides the rides to and from the water taxi, which was provided by our Airbnb host, we did not need any transportation around the island. We were able to walk all around the island on foot for the 2 days we were there. Our Airbnb host provided us with several options for water sports and animal interaction activities while in San Pedro. Continue reading to see what we did there!
Swimming with Nurse Sharks
Asha and I always try at least one activity that is out of our comfort zone during our trips. This time, it was swimming with nurse sharks in the Caribbean Sea, off of San Pedro Island. We took off in a boat and came to a stop in the middle of the sea. The nurse sharks came to the boat and swam around, thinking they will be fed. As soon as the boat came to a full stop, we put on our goggles and flippers and jumped out. We were assured these type of sharks won’t harm us. Other bigger sharks won’t be in this area because they live in much colder waters, further into the sea.
Side note: I do NOT know how to swim and I had a life jacket buckled on tight the whole time. This prevented me from going under water all the way, but this way I was more comfortable and safe!
*TIP: Go with reliable and established tour groups for activities like this, so they will know what to do in the case of an emergency.
Another thing we did a lot of while in Belize was eat. Again, this is nothing new while traveling, especially with Asha! We tried some local chicken empanada, which are fried folded dough with meat, potatoes, or any type of fillings. Salbutes, a deep fried tortilla with a meat topping and veggies is another common dish in Belize we enjoyed. And then, we also had plenty of chicken, rice and beans which is the local cuisine of Belize.
One thing we did not get to do was a airplane ride or dive in the Great Blue Hole. We went to the air travel services to find more details on flying over it. A helicopter ride over the blue hole was over six hundred per person and you have to book it ahead of time. Since neither of us are big divers, we didn’t plan on a diving trip there either.
Would I visit Belize again?
YES! There is so much more to Belize and we have only seen a small portion of it. If I go again, I would like to visit the smaller towns and do some hiking in the forests!
When I plan a trip abroad, I collect all the information I can get that will be useful during the trip. Here are some information I collected about Belize and have kept in my itinerary.
Money conversion: $1 Amercian Dollar = $2 Belizean Dollars.
US embassy number in Belize: 501-822-4011
STEP program call line: 1-202-501-4444
Transportation within the country: Tropical Air & Maya Air (for flying)
Prices for water taxi (Belize Express): ~$27 from Belize City to San Pedro round trip. ~$20 one way
I’ve included more information about the STEP program in my India blog post.
Major TIP: Once you make book your day trips, make sure you communicate that to your airbnb host or the hotel/resort. If you are traveling solo, make sure to tell someone back home what your plans are and when to expect to hear from you again. Always remember, safety first!
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Photo courtesy; Asha Daniel (@ashaan1110)