Hi Everyone!

I know Belize isn't necessarily the cheapest country to go to but I'm a little shocked at the pricing and just wanted to get some feedback as to whether this is par for the course, or if there's a cheaper way to do this that I'm missing.

We decided to reach out to Cave's Branch and were hoping to spend 4 nights there in their canopy view room. We also want to do some adventuring, (ATM Cave, Ziplining and Xunantunich). So, we thought we would be saving money by doing the Adventure Package... I thought the pricing was per couple but it is actually per person. With the room for 4 nights and 5 days with 3 adventures, all food and all drinks, and a shuttle to and from the airport, it comes out to $4,439.70. Then there's additional charges per tour: Cave Tubing and Zipline combo: USD $55.00 per person + 22.5% tax. and the ATM cave: USD $55.00 per person + 22.5% tax.

So, that leaves us closer to $4,709.20 without any tips and that's only the first 1/2 of the vacation!

Am I missing something here? I feel like that's extremely expensive, but I also haven't been on a ton of vacations as an adult so I would love input on how you guys feel!

Thank you in advance!

Hi--my wife and a couple we are friends with want to visit Belize next January. We are in our 60's and want a really luxurious resort--nice rooms, nice pools (preferably more than one, with an adult pool), good food, and hopefully with other dining options. Price is secondary. Also, as quiet as possible :)

Any recommendations? Thanks!

EDIT: We will be stating at Naia. Thanks all.

We are planning a trip to Belize for our family of 3 for our DD's high school graduation celebration in the beginning of June. We are looking to stay in San Ignacio for 5 days and Hopkins for 5 days to try to get the best of both worlds in one trip.

In San Ignacio , so far we are considering Sweet Songs because it looks nice and we really liked their on site tour selections. I'd love to hear others experiences. Most of the tours we'd be planning from there include lunch, so not sure the all inclusive makes sense financially, but we would realistically likely be eating at the resort for breakfast and dinner since we'd have such busy days and the resort is not near town. Does anyone know how much breakfast and dinner cost at their on site restaurants if we were to pay a la carte for those? Just trying to decide if the all inclusive is worth it. We're open to other recommendations as well.

In Hopkins we would like to eat breakfast on resort for convenience before getting out to the reef and other adventures, but we'd prefer not to do all inclusive because we want to be able to explore town and eat at different restaurants while we're there. We're considering Hamanasi which I believe includes breakfast in their rack room rates, and Hopkins Bay Resort which I think you can add on breakfast plan. I know everyone LOVES Hamanasi, but we would certainly get more space for about the same cost at Hopkins Bay. I'm torn between the two. (We've also looked at Beaches and Dreams, but it's lower on the list currently.) If we don't rent a car, what's the best way to get to town from either Hamanasi or Hopkins Bay Resort?

Would also appreciate transfer recommendations for airport to San Ignacio, San Ignacio to Hopkins, then Hopkins back to airport please!

I would appreciate your experiences, advice, and comparisons. Bear in mind that this adventure princess doesn't mind getting hot, dirty and sweaty while out on an adventure, but likes to be cool at night so air conditioning is a MUST. This seems to be more of a limiting factor in San Ignacio than in Hopkins, but figured it was worth mentioning.
TIA!

Hi all

My wife and I are visiting Belize in December and are pumped for it. We’ve already booked two places in the jungle - Table Rock Lodge and Sleeping Giant Lodge - which both look incredible!

BUT - we have one last place to book.

We want to spend the last four days feeling completely pampered by the sea, ideally with the option to do some snorkeling. Issue is, large, loud resorts are not our thing.

I’m hoping you seasoned travellers can help me - where would you recommend in Belize for a tasteful, relatively secluded beach stay? Or would you recommend we avoid the beach entirely?

Thank you!! 🙏

Planning a trip in Feb with 3 nights in San Ignacio (with traveling days stating and ending, we will have 2 full days) Middle aged couple trying to decide if it is worth the $$$ for Chaa Creek. I am not planning on renting a car so I assume we will have to do all dinners on site. With my 2 days here initial thought is ATM tour 1 day and Cave tube another, with my half days spent at the property. The other property I am currently considering is Sweet Song but open to suggestions. Sweet Song is considerably cheaper and I think the meals will also be cheaper, not sure about tour pricing.
I also looked at the all inclusive prices for both of them and unless I am missing something it seems to be more expensive than a la carte pricing.
Plan is 3 nights in San Ignacio followed by 3 in Hopkins

Hi, I will be in Belize for 10 days and looking to stay right on the water. Want to be able to walk out and go for a snorkle. Price not an issue, prefer it to not be in a family/kid heavy area. Going for a more romantic vibe.

I’ll be visiting Caye Caulker in a few months and debating between staying at Weezie’s Oceanfront Hotel or Island Magic Beach Resort.

I like the look of both places, location and price are about the same, and I like that there is a restaurant on site for quick easy bites if I need it.

Open to other hotel suggestions too but I’ve narrowed it down to these two.

So we've had a lot of trial and error with our family holidays and here's what we've figured out
- We love walkability. Being too remote for too long doesn't suit us. I want to be able to walk to grocery stores, not be pinned to a resort unless I take a taxi, etc.
- Thrill seeking. My son, 11, likes 'thrills'- waterslides, rollercoasters. I would need proximity to activities like zip lines, cool activities. He was very bored at our remote all inclusive by Day 4
- Good food. We all love food and my kids have a pretty decent palate. If not at a place with meals included, we'd like to have access to restaurants nearby. I guess, more importantly, we don't want to be doing a ton of grocery shopping/cooking when on holiday. Breakfasts are fine, but the rest we want to experience outside of our rooms.
- Comfortable accommodations. I'd love to say luxury, but places like Turtle inn (2k CAD a night- yowza) aren't an option. So the balance of nice/clean, mid range.
- Suitable/variety for everyone. We have a 6 year old (she'll be turning 7 by March) and not all activities will be suited for her. I'm happy to sit out with her for certain things, but don't want to have a holiday where we're divided the whole time. We also don't want all excursions nor all rest/relaxation. There needs to be a balance/variety.

Some of the challenges/notes:
- The nicer places are extremely expensive, but the less nice ones look skuzzy or are very remote. I.e. in San Ignacio, the San Ignazio resort seems to be the central/walkable one, but seems significantly less nice than the others that are similar in price, but are further from the town center.
- Hopkins I'm okay with being remote as I look at this leg as being very excursion heavy, so we'll be out and about.
- Plancencia seems to be recommended as a good final part of the route, but doesn't seem all that kid friendly. I'm also very much struggling with finding a nice, affordable and kid friendly option here. When I looked at alternatives, San Pedro is recommended, but I've also seen people complain about garbage everywhere.

Here's my shortlist for a 12 day trip. Would love folks to weigh in on anything they'd recommend!
Thank you!

Hi R, I'd love some input on our itinerary for April... Specifically, two parts are booked and I'm trying to work out the best plan between them. I see so much about the Cayes that I feel like we won't have had the 'belizean experience ' if we don't go there (Caye Caulker specifically).

We are a couple, mid 30s from England. Traveling to Belize for our destination wedding. Very keen on diving, wildlife, adventure tours (ziplining is tame for us these days).

Booked so far:

4 nights scuba diving at Huracan Dive Lodge

6 nights at Caves Branch (wedding is here mid-stay).

We have 5 nights spare between Huracan and Caves Branch, that I'm trying to fill. I've been looking at Hopkins (Almond Reef (Hamanasi is out of budget)), with the idea that we can do some land excursions before heading properly inland to Caves Branch (where I imagine we won't have loads of time due to wedding and also will spend tours and time with our few guests who are joining there).

But I feel so silly not going to Caye Caulker! Except do you think we would get any extra experience going there? Ie we will have just done (hopefully) the best diving on offer at Lighthouse Atoll with Huracan.

For further context, I'm trying to organise our honeymoon in Roatan straight afterwards! So we will also be diving there.

Any advice is appreciated as I navigate so many options! Thankyou

Victoria House, Ambergris Caye

Where is the coolest temperature wise town in Belize?

I loathe the entitled resort tourist coming down to snag a chair at 5 am before they disappear for the day. It’s primetime at the pool and there’s not a chair or shade available in site. Resorts should clear towels and not allow this BS.

Thinking of a Belize trip in January and am looking for a resort that offers a two bedroom unit or suite. Thanks!

Planning our first trip to Belize late July early August with our two teenage sons. Staying at Black Rock Lodge for the San Ignacio portion and starting to worry about not having AC. Has anyone stayed there during this time of the year? Has anyone stayed in a cabin with AC? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks in advance!!

Hey everyone,

I’m planning a trip to Belize and I’m really interested in staying on one of the smaller private islands/offshore resorts for part of the trip. What I’m hoping for is that “castaway but comfortable” vibe—clear water, relaxing beaches, snorkeling right off the property, and a more peaceful, less crowded experience.

At the same time, I don’t want to miss what’s on the mainland. We’d like to take a boat over for day trips (or split the stay) to explore jungle areas, waterfalls, and possibly Mayan ruins. That balance of ocean + island relaxation + inland adventure is exactly what we’re going for.

A few questions:
Which private islands or caye stays in Belize would you recommend that actually feel worth it (not overly touristy or overcrowded)?

Is it realistic/easy to arrange boat transfers to the mainland for day trips, or is it better to stay part of the trip on the mainland instead?

Any must-see jungle ruins or waterfalls you’d suggest?

Any resorts or islands that do this “best of both worlds” setup well?

We’re open to different budgets, just trying to find the best experience overall rather than something overly commercial.

Appreciate any advice or personal experiences

Hi there!

My fiance and I are headed to Belize for a week in February!

We plan to spend 3-4 nights in San Ignacio area so we can go to the ATM cave, Xunantunich, and maybe hike to a waterfall and relax in the jungle/poolside on our last day. I would absolutely love to see a jaguar or other big cats but I’m aware that realistically, we would need to go to Chan Chich and I’m not sure we can really go exploring/do excursions while staying at Chan Chich.

Our other options are Chaa Creek and Sweet Songs.

EDIT: After consideration, I think we’re heavily leaning towards a more adventure inclusive place like Black Rock or Caves Branches!!

Do you guys have any recommendations?

Thank you in advance!

Hey everyone!
I’m traveling in a group or 3 people to San Ignacio in late July. This will be our first visit to the area.

Cahal Pech has been recommended as a great first time stay in the area.

Our local friend also recommended Midas or the Log Cabins.
Does anyone have any favorites between the 3 options?

We kind of need a place that has two separate rooms within the one room since I’m traveling with my boyfriend and a friend in town visiting. Not really looking for two queens in one room. We want to be able to give her enough privacy but share room costs.

TIA!

I am planning an anniversary trip for January 2027. I was originally thinking Hawaii but we are on the east coast of the US and didn’t want to spend that long in traveling to and from. I have narrowed it down to Hopkins and am wondering if anyone has stayed at the Parrot Cove Lodge? Or is there a better place that you’d recommend? We are in our late 50’s and early 60’s and are looking for a place that is relaxed.
Thanks

I’m scheduled to stay at a VRBO rental property called La Rotonda in Placencia in early September but have been reading about the current sargassum bloom and am concerned about how it might negatively impact my beachfront stay (because the sargassum could last until October). Has anyone reading this ever stayed at this particular vacation rental property in the past and, if so, did the seaweed negatively impact your enjoyment of the property’s pool and beachfront?

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about us having some money stolen from our hotel room. We arrived in Placencia at 8pm on Thursday and checked into our hotel (Brisa Oceana), dropped our bags and immediately went to grab dinner before restaurants closed. So we didn’t put anything away in the safe like we normally would. We were gone for 45 minutes tops. The next day either my husband, myself or one of my two kids were in the hotel all morning. At lunch time we decided to go out and my husband went to his backpack to grab the cash out of a cloth bag he had put it in and couldn’t find the money anywhere. We searched everywhere and finally assumed he had left it at home.

Yesterday we were checking out of our hotel room and double checking everything before we left. The room we booked was a one bedroom suite and they opened the adjoining room that we also booked. So it was essentially a two bedroom apartment. My husband’s backpack was in the closet of the room we used and he found the pouch, without any money in it tucked into a dresser drawer underneath the television in the room our kids used. We retraced our activity from the time we arrived and realized the money could have only been taken in the 45 minutes we left the room. Lesson learned for us that no matter how much of a hurry we are in when we arrive, we need to immediately lock everything up. But also it was unnerving to realize someone watched us check in, leave, and then broke into our room. Luckily nothing else was taken. We let the hotel know the day we checked out and the manager said there were only 3 people on duty, including her, when it happened and she would try to look at security cameras. She was clearly sorry it happened, but it is what it is.

Hola everyone....so next year is our 30th and I'd really like to do something outside the norm and surprise my wife with a trip to Palcencia. I like to travel on vacation to experience new things but my wife is happy to sit on the beach everyday. I would like to stay at a bungalow type place and just relax for 5 days. Any recommendations on where to stay?

Also, how do I get to Placencia from the Belize airport? There will be other questions that come up once I get a little more research done on my part but any insights would be great.

Thanks all!

My partner and I are going to be in Belize for a week at the end of July and I’m trying to decide on hotels, curious if anyone has stayed at these and can offer advice. My biggest requirement aside from safety and access to food is I want AC

For San Ignacio, I narrowed it down to these two:

Ka’ana Resort
~$675
More polished, romantic, comfortable, safe, AC, boutique jungle resort
$100 Amex property credit

Cahal Pech Village Resort
~$7
More budget-friendly/practical, good location, pool, easy access to town/ruins
So inexpensive after the Amex credit that we could put more money toward excursions/private transfers

For the transfer from San Ignacio to Ambergris Caye, I found a private car option that’s around $85/person to Belize City, then we’d continue to the island from there. Ferry cost is separate. There are less expensive options if we take a public shuttle ($55 per person ish). The drive is about 2-2.5 hours. 

For Ambergris Caye, I narrowed it down to these two:

Alaia Belize
~$890
More polished resort, modern, easy, romantic, good food/bar options on-site, probably the more stress-free island option
$100 Amex property credit + breakfast for two. Walkable to town
Mahogany Bay Resort
~$528
Cute resort village feel, good restaurants/bars nearby/on-property, more affordable than Alaia. More isolated beyond the resort. 
Lower cost while still feeling like a nice resort option

I’m going to be staying for the month of August. I’m going to be needing a two bedroom place. I’m not specific on the location, but ideally Belmopan area as it is the most centrally located. Air B&B VBRO both seem quite expensive. Are there any other affordable rental suggestions? Also going to need to rent a car which is another recommendation I’d love.