My son wants us to go to Belize this Christmas. I've never been but my Internet searching says it looks nice. We are snorkelers so I guess Belize is good for that. Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks.
Anyone ever been to Belize??
- Thread starter The Boys
- Start date
Best place I've ever been snorkelling is the Cayman Islands. Been taking my boys there since they were old enough to swim...
Not sure how it compares pricewise to Belize.
Not sure how it compares pricewise to Belize.
There are some islands in Belize that are great for snorkeling. I would much rather scuba dive you can get certified for 25 feet in an hour or so. If you go check out the Mayan ruins pretty interesting. Make sure you have everything you need I don't remember seeing a Costco there. :shrug:
I've been to Belize City (3 years ago) which was a cruiseline port stop and It was a real dump. Took a bus deep into the country and went horseback riding right off the Guatamala border which was extremely beautiful.
So I guess it has it good and it's bad like everywhere else. But if you are specifically looking into Belize City I think you will be extremely disappointed.
I hear Scuba and snorkeling is beautiful in Belize but I have no idea where you would want to stay.
So I guess it has it good and it's bad like everywhere else. But if you are specifically looking into Belize City I think you will be extremely disappointed.
I hear Scuba and snorkeling is beautiful in Belize but I have no idea where you would want to stay.
Spent a week at Christmas time in Belize Christmas of 2004. Only reason to get anywhere near Belize City is because that is the only airport in the tiny country.
Belize City is horrible; very 3rd-world-ish and unsafe to be on the streets at night (or so we were told) -- there is also no beach access in Belize City.
But, the scuba diving and snorkeling is some of the best you will find in the world. The world's 2nd largest barrier reef is found off the coast of Belize.
We only spent the 1st night in Belize City as it was our 1st time there and we didn't know any better. We got scuba certified before we went, and once we got there we found out that the cayes(pronouced kay) was were it was at for scuba/snorkeling, so we took a speedboat out to Caye Caulker.
http://www.gocayecaulker.com/
and found a place to stay out there. If you don't want to "rough" it a bit with some stoner college kids on Caulker, you can also stay on ambergris caye..
http://www.goambergriscaye.com/
On the mainland there are many cool things to do as well. One day we went cave tubing
http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/cavetubing.html
and we went to the Mayan ruins near the Guatamalan border, too.
When I go back I plan on either flying into Cancun and renting a car or renting one in Belize City and driving to the northern part of the country. Supposed to be very nice up there.
English is the official language, so thats not a problem and the exchange rate is 2 Belizian dollars= 1 USD makes it easy, too. While its a bit pricy in Belize City and the Cayes, once you get into the countryside its VERY cheap.
Wish I was going back this winter; I had a ton of fun last trip; the diving is unbelievable and its only another 1/2 hour of flying vs going to Cancun.
Enjoy yourself if you go...
Belize City is horrible; very 3rd-world-ish and unsafe to be on the streets at night (or so we were told) -- there is also no beach access in Belize City.
But, the scuba diving and snorkeling is some of the best you will find in the world. The world's 2nd largest barrier reef is found off the coast of Belize.
We only spent the 1st night in Belize City as it was our 1st time there and we didn't know any better. We got scuba certified before we went, and once we got there we found out that the cayes(pronouced kay) was were it was at for scuba/snorkeling, so we took a speedboat out to Caye Caulker.
http://www.gocayecaulker.com/
and found a place to stay out there. If you don't want to "rough" it a bit with some stoner college kids on Caulker, you can also stay on ambergris caye..
http://www.goambergriscaye.com/
On the mainland there are many cool things to do as well. One day we went cave tubing
http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/cavetubing.html
and we went to the Mayan ruins near the Guatamalan border, too.
When I go back I plan on either flying into Cancun and renting a car or renting one in Belize City and driving to the northern part of the country. Supposed to be very nice up there.
English is the official language, so thats not a problem and the exchange rate is 2 Belizian dollars= 1 USD makes it easy, too. While its a bit pricy in Belize City and the Cayes, once you get into the countryside its VERY cheap.
Wish I was going back this winter; I had a ton of fun last trip; the diving is unbelievable and its only another 1/2 hour of flying vs going to Cancun.
Enjoy yourself if you go...
The Boys--
No problem; anytime I hear of someone thinking about going to Belize, I try and talk them into it...:mj07:
The 1st night we were there, we stayed at the Fort George Radisson and it was there that we found all the info on the diving and cave tubing that I mentioned in my 1st reply.
I recommend booking the cave tubing trip through them if you go. It may have changed by now, but we got a small group tour. That was great because there were only 10 of us so we got to go to a starting point further up in the jungle than the larger groups did.
You could either jump off a cliff (maybe 20 foot high) or you could step in at the water level. We jumped in, and the guides let us do it twice while some of the others on the tour climbed in at the waters edge. It was about 100 USD per person, but it was more than worth it.
No problem; anytime I hear of someone thinking about going to Belize, I try and talk them into it...:mj07:
The 1st night we were there, we stayed at the Fort George Radisson and it was there that we found all the info on the diving and cave tubing that I mentioned in my 1st reply.
I recommend booking the cave tubing trip through them if you go. It may have changed by now, but we got a small group tour. That was great because there were only 10 of us so we got to go to a starting point further up in the jungle than the larger groups did.
You could either jump off a cliff (maybe 20 foot high) or you could step in at the water level. We jumped in, and the guides let us do it twice while some of the others on the tour climbed in at the waters edge. It was about 100 USD per person, but it was more than worth it.
Mickstr68 said:
i've been to few spots in that "neck of the woods" & found that every place had pockets of run down areas....to me hawaii is still the best beach place.
