Question about Belize locations for honeymoon
Jan 29, 2014, 9:06 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 238
Question about Belize locations for honeymoon
Hi All,
My fiance and I are pretty set on going to Belize this June for our honeymoon (however, if anyone thinks it's a terrible idea - I'm all ears).
We've done a fair amount of research and seems like there is a lot to be enjoyed. I'd like to book my whole trip within the next week and have communicated with a few resorts as well as some VRBO locations. The good news is that I've come to the realization that I think no matter what we end up doing, it's going to be a great time.
What I'm most curious about is what area I should be booking in. We ideally want to do beach/ocean stuff as well as inland stuff. The list of activities we're primarily interested include the following...
It seems like caye's are the best spot for the water related activities but they're also quite far from the inland/jungle stuff. We're going to go for about a week (maybe 8 days) and my thinking is that if we stay at Ambergris that we would need to spend maybe 5 days there and then 3 days at another location inland (I've heard that it takes forever to do the inland excursions based out of ambergris). The other option I was thinking would be to stay at a place like Hopkins which is more centrally located and might allow us to stay in the same spot the whole time.
Any advice for me would be really appreciated. As I said, I'd like to just finalize the whole thing very soon.
Thanks in advance. everyone.
My fiance and I are pretty set on going to Belize this June for our honeymoon (however, if anyone thinks it's a terrible idea - I'm all ears).
We've done a fair amount of research and seems like there is a lot to be enjoyed. I'd like to book my whole trip within the next week and have communicated with a few resorts as well as some VRBO locations. The good news is that I've come to the realization that I think no matter what we end up doing, it's going to be a great time.
What I'm most curious about is what area I should be booking in. We ideally want to do beach/ocean stuff as well as inland stuff. The list of activities we're primarily interested include the following...
- beach/relaxation
- snorkeling/scuba (possible to do the whale shark thing stuff?)
- fishing
- cave tubing
- mayan ruins
- rainforest stuff (jaguar safari if possible)
It seems like caye's are the best spot for the water related activities but they're also quite far from the inland/jungle stuff. We're going to go for about a week (maybe 8 days) and my thinking is that if we stay at Ambergris that we would need to spend maybe 5 days there and then 3 days at another location inland (I've heard that it takes forever to do the inland excursions based out of ambergris). The other option I was thinking would be to stay at a place like Hopkins which is more centrally located and might allow us to stay in the same spot the whole time.
Any advice for me would be really appreciated. As I said, I'd like to just finalize the whole thing very soon.
Thanks in advance. everyone.
Jan 31, 2014, 7:18 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: West Michigan
Programs: DL, UA, AA, B6, BA (airline status-free leisure traveler), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,963
My wife and I just got back from an eight night trip to Belize last week. We spent five nights on the mainland, in Placencia, then three nights on Ambergris Caye.
Since it was our first trip to Belize, I think that it was the right thing for us to split up our nights in two seperate areas. Placencia gave us the land attractions and Ambergris gave us the wonders that are in the water.
Placencia is a nice little town in the southern part of the country. We got a great deal at the Laru Beya Resort via Groupon. We liked the slow pace of Placencia and its close proximity to the monkey river tour.
The OP mentioned Hopkins. You have to take four miles of very rutted dirt roads to get there. Hopkins is closer to the Cockscomb Swamp (jaguar preserve) though.
Ambergris, at least near San Pedro where we were, seemed like a conjested party town. That is not our style. We very much appreciated the close proximity to the outstanding barrier reef though. We snorkeled Hol Chan, Shark and Ray Ally, and Mexico rocks, each with its own interesting animals and topography.
I heard that Caulker Caye is less congested and more laid back. If we went again then we would probably do four nights in Placencia and four nights on Caulker.
Since it was our first trip to Belize, I think that it was the right thing for us to split up our nights in two seperate areas. Placencia gave us the land attractions and Ambergris gave us the wonders that are in the water.
Placencia is a nice little town in the southern part of the country. We got a great deal at the Laru Beya Resort via Groupon. We liked the slow pace of Placencia and its close proximity to the monkey river tour.
The OP mentioned Hopkins. You have to take four miles of very rutted dirt roads to get there. Hopkins is closer to the Cockscomb Swamp (jaguar preserve) though.
Ambergris, at least near San Pedro where we were, seemed like a conjested party town. That is not our style. We very much appreciated the close proximity to the outstanding barrier reef though. We snorkeled Hol Chan, Shark and Ray Ally, and Mexico rocks, each with its own interesting animals and topography.
I heard that Caulker Caye is less congested and more laid back. If we went again then we would probably do four nights in Placencia and four nights on Caulker.
Feb 1, 2014, 6:15 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2
I'm actually on my flight back from Belize (via ATL) to LGA and can offer some advice. We arrived last Thursday in Belize City and flew into Belmopan, to spend 4 days/3 nights at a lodge by the ATM cave tour. Our lodge (Pook's Hill Lodge) was very close to ATM, allowing us to be the first group to visit. IMO, this is a must see, as it has to be seen to be believed. You will get wet and dirty, but it's a true Indiana Jones experience.
The jungle was awesome - you hear and see nature the entire time, and can relax at the lodge if you're so inclined. My g/f and I loved the communal nature of Pook's and highly recommend it. We met another couple who was honeymooning who stayed at Gaia lodge, and they loved it; do your research as this may be more appropriate for honeymooners. Pook's is nice - but it's not super luxury. It's an eco-lodge, meaning you won't have hot water 24/7, for example. IMO, the tradeoffs are worth it.
We then flew to San Pedro and spent 5 days at Victoria House. Victoria's House is really, really nice. It caters to honeymooners and the like, and it's definitely top notch. You can sign up for tours to do snorkeling/diving/fishing/etc right from the hotel. In addition, you can use the free bikes or cab/rent a golf cart to head into town to take the ferry to Caye Caulker (which is adorable, but pretty small). San Pedro the town is a bit noisy, but it's fun to visit and they have some great restaurants (Waruguma is the best, IMO).
Anyway, writing this quick before the wifi goes off. Good luck and feel free to PM me with more questions.
Belize was fantastic. You'll have a blast.
The jungle was awesome - you hear and see nature the entire time, and can relax at the lodge if you're so inclined. My g/f and I loved the communal nature of Pook's and highly recommend it. We met another couple who was honeymooning who stayed at Gaia lodge, and they loved it; do your research as this may be more appropriate for honeymooners. Pook's is nice - but it's not super luxury. It's an eco-lodge, meaning you won't have hot water 24/7, for example. IMO, the tradeoffs are worth it.
We then flew to San Pedro and spent 5 days at Victoria House. Victoria's House is really, really nice. It caters to honeymooners and the like, and it's definitely top notch. You can sign up for tours to do snorkeling/diving/fishing/etc right from the hotel. In addition, you can use the free bikes or cab/rent a golf cart to head into town to take the ferry to Caye Caulker (which is adorable, but pretty small). San Pedro the town is a bit noisy, but it's fun to visit and they have some great restaurants (Waruguma is the best, IMO).
Anyway, writing this quick before the wifi goes off. Good luck and feel free to PM me with more questions.
Belize was fantastic. You'll have a blast.
