March 2019

We were so blown away by our trip to Belize! From the isolated jungle resort that we had to ourselves for several days, to experiencing the history of the Mayans, to snorkeling with sharks and sting rays, I can’t get over how awesome this country is. If you have a sense of adventure and are willing to stretch your comfort zone, plan a trip to Belize immediately. You will not regret it.

Accommodations: Belize Boutique Resort and Spa in Maskall, Belize. Highly recommend staying here if you get the chance. It’s a pretty isolated eclectic resort on a jungle preserve about 45 minutes from the Belize City airport (and they provide transportation to/from the airport). We went during the slower season and had the place to ourselves for the first three days of our trip, which felt odd but awesome at the same time. The food is fantastic, the owners and staff are super friendly, and you can book all of your tours (including transport) directly through them. Melanie, the owner, was so flexible and accommodating, scheduling last minute tours for us and even getting us water shoes as we came unprepared for the ATM cave. She is lovely to chat with and brings a lot of the charm to this resort.
The resort overall is pretty quiet and relaxing, which is nice after a long day of hiking through ruins or being out at the Cayes. The mud massage was something like we’ve never experienced and I would suggest doing it earlier than we did before you get sunburnt.

Tours and Activities: We did a full day tour to the Lamanai Mayan Ruins (probably my favorite part of the trip). The resort staff drove us about 30 minutes to the New River where we joined a few others on an hour boat ride down the river, which is the only way you can access Lamanai. Our guide pointed out all of the different trees and plants and how they were/are still used in Belizean culture. We stopped to look at birds, turtles, and even a crocodile as part of the boat journey. The ruins themselves are super impressive and you can even climb up to the top of the temples for some awesome views. Keep your eyes up as you’re walking around to see Howler Monkeys hanging out in the trees!

The next day was an early start as we rode about two hours to join a tour group for the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave. This tour is not for the faint of heart but not as strenuous as some googling led us to believe. You have about a 30 minute hike through the jungle to get to the cave, including several river crossings with one up to your chest in water. You aren’t allowed to bring anything in the cave, hence why we don’t have any photos. When you get to the mouth of the cave, you have to swim about about 30 feet to the first landing and then are basically in water between ankle height to neck height (over your head if you’re as short as me…) for the next hour or two navigating the twists and turns of the cave. The highlight is about a half mile into the cave where you climb up onto a ledge with pottery and other artifacts from Mayan sacrifices. You then climb up a ladder to another ledge to see an intact skeleton along with other human remains and Mayan relics. This was Dave’s favorite part of the trip and we definitely suggest it to anyone who can swim and isn’t afraid of tight or dark spaces.

Our last tour was snorkeling at Caye Caulker. The resort staff dropped us off at the water taxi terminal where you take a 45 minute ferry out to the island, Caye Caulker. Again, this being a slower season, we had the half day snorkel tour to ourselves. Our guide took us out to several locations along the Belize Berrier Reef. I have a slightly irrational fear of ocean creatures, but I got in several times and we were able to see different types of coral, sea turtles, barracuda, and other fish. The highlight is a spot called Shark Ray Alley where nurse sharks and sting rays swarm to the boat knowing they are about to be fed by the guide. Dave got in the water solo on this one and got to be face to face with the sharks. Afterwards, we got to see a seahorse breeding area and feed tarpons by hand. We had about two hours after the tour before our ferry back to the mainland so we grabbed some food and pineapple mojitos at The Split, which is like adult spring break every day. Despite reapplying sunscreen several times throughout the day, we both still got so burnt and recommend reapplying even more/wearing a rash guard or more coverage while snorkeling.

*Just need to add in a special shoutout to Anne Marie from the Delta help counter in ATL, wherever she may be, for comping the fee for us to catch an earlier flight from our layover on the way back to RDU and not having to sit in the airport for 5+ hours!