Central America - Belize Mayan Ruins - Caracol (or other suggestions)

Booked a quick 5 1/2 day trip to Belize for the first week of November. There is some great advice on Flyertalk (as usual), especially in this thread: Belize Value Tips (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/central-america/882046-can-anyone-offer-value-oriented-belize-tips.html).

I've decided that the majority of my time will be spent lazing on Caye Caulker. However, I'd like to see some Mayan Ruins as well.

Caracol seems the most impressive, so I was thinking of doing a night in San Ignacio, seeing the ruins the next day, and then going to Caye Caulker that evening. I was thinking of perhaps doing my first night in Belize at San Ignacio, therefore, BZE to San Ignacio at around 3:30 PM on Saturday.

I have a few questions, if people know...

What options are there for buses to and from Belize City to San Ignacio? Is there a schedule I can see online?

Can you get independently from San Ignacio to Caracol, or do you need to book a tour? Can these be booked on short notice in San Ignacio?

Conversely, is it worth instead going direct to Caye Caulker and just booking a day trip to one of the sites closer to the island?

Thanks for all your assistance!
Greg

http://www.tanishatours.com/ This site has descriptions of tours offered. There are many tour operators willing to sell you. Just walk around and pick the one right for you.

Now that I have returned from Belize, here's the answers to my questions, for the ages...

What options are there for buses to and from Belize City to San Ignacio? Is there a schedule I can see online?

I found this site with a photo of the bus schedule (http://belizebus.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/updates/), but not sure how accurate it was. Either way, buses seem to leave about every 20 minutes, and cost $BZ 7 one way. The trip takes 2 1/2 hours.

Can you get independently from San Ignacio to Caracol, or do you need to book a tour? Can these be booked on short notice in San Ignacio?

Caracol is a distance to get to from San Ignacio. Tours can be booked, but there is a minimum number of people (from 2 to 4 depending on the company). As I was a solo traveller, and during the low season, I couldn't book one. However, I did go to Xunantunich, which is very easy to get to from San Ignacio.

To get to Xunantunich was very easy. From San Ignacio, I took the bus towards Benque ($BZ 1.75), got off at the hand-cranked ferry and then it is a 20 minute walk up to the site. $BZ 10 entrance fee. When I was there, there were very few other travellers, so I was often able to wander around the site without seeing another person. It was very good!

Conversely, is it worth instead going direct to Caye Caulker and just booking a day trip to one of the sites closer to the island?

I ended up booking two nights in San Ignacio, and in addition doing a cave tour. It was worth spending a little more time in San Ignacio.

Greg