shanna135

Want to spend a week on the beach in Belize in 2015. What airline and hotel points would most be needed. Broad question but I looked through the destination forum and didn't find much about using points. Just starting the planning. thanks..

Air Rarotonga

Use this excellent tool to find out the possibilities of award tickets to belize:

http://www.economicalexcursionists.com/travelTools/

And for the hotels, you maybe need to make some homework and check what brands have hotels there...

SJS58

Airline points depend on where you are from. United can bring you down from Newark and Houston. (35k for saver economy). American through Dallas or Miami. (30k for saver economy). Usairways out of Charlotte and delta out of Atanta. I have no experience with either on redemption.

Hotel points don't help you. No hotel chains that get you on the beaches of ambergris Caye or Caye caulker or Placencia, etc. Belize city has a best western or raddison...but you don't want to stay there. Check VRBO for condos and houses. Or check tripadvisor for one of the many nice options in local hotels.

SpammersAreScum

Agreed on the hotel points. Probably the best selection of places most like a high-end hotel chain is toward the north end of Ambergris Caye, but there are a few nice ones close to San Pedro as well. I second VRBO and TripAdvisor -- I've used them for both Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker.

Air R, thanks -- that's a handy site. One caveat when it comes to Belize, though: it claims you can fly DCA/IAD-BZE 1way for 14.5k Avios, and technically you can via CLT, but as far as I can tell the CLT-BZE-CLT non-stops only exist on weekends. You have much better availability via MIA for 15k.

aBroadAbroad

Yes, it's honestly much too broad. FTers can give you pointers on narrowing down the options you identify, but it's not magic. You're going to have to do at least some of the initial work yourself.

Get started by determining which airlines offer flights between your origination airport and the destination airport.

Research hotels in the area where you want to stay, and identify a short list of preferred properties/chains to figure out the program to focus on, if one even exists.

Then, once you've come up with your preferred trip options, if you still need feedback you should post specific questions in the appropriate airline, hotel or alliance forum in order to receive advice from the members who know the most about it.

You should also update your profile to include your home airport and the programs you participate in so other members can more readily assist you when you do finally post specific queries.

Good luck!

beckoa

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

And check out the forums talking about Belize as a destination. Fun place to pick up a variety of hotsauces as well from Mary Sharps

unleashlife

I just got back from Belize -- getting there on miles is no problem. What programs do you have? It's only 35k round trip saver on United, 30k (off-peak) to 35k (peak) on American, etc. United and American both have short flights from Texas (United's Houston hub or American's Dallas hub). With United, you can often expect a long layover in Houston.

As mentioned above, the real problem is hotels. Anything outside of Belize City is not part of a major chain with a points program.

If you want to go explore Mayan Ruins, go cave tubing, or anything on the main land, then you may want to spend 2-3 nights on the main land and rent a vehicle.

The Radisson is nice, very close to the water taxi port (if you decide to take that to the Cayes) and not far from the Municipal Airport (cheaper flights to the Cayes, closer to Belize City than the International Airport which you'll fly into). The other chain options are Best Western (mentioned) and Ramada.

Just a random tip, but avoid food near the resorts if possible. It's all American-style and overpriced. Every morning outside my resort on Ambergris Caye, a gentleman would come by with a basket full of breakfast burritos for like $2.50 USD. On the main land, there's a million options on the side of the road which are dirt cheap and blow away the quality and prices of restaurants at Radisson for example. If you stay on Ambergris Caye, you can take the water taxi into San Pedro (the local town) and eat delicious food much cheaper.

KennyBSAT

From a large section of the country, Belize is within the 4000 mile roundtrip sweet spot for ANA miles on United flights, requiring only 22K miles roundtrip which can be transferred from SPG or AMEX MR points. Or possibly even better using BA Avios for AA flights. The more info you share (origin, date ranges, any preferences, miles to work with, etc.) the more helpful we can be.

shanna135

Thanks for the help. Getting there shouldn't be a problem. It's more about when and where to stay. Trying to find an affordable place where my wife is happy,while I'm trying to catch some bonefish. So many places to choose from.

JDiver

Alaska Airlines would require 20,000 miles iirc for an airline and partner award.

And yes, nobody would want to spend a week in Belize City (or Belmopan) as a visitor. For where to stay, don't overlook resources like TripAdvisor.

constantflyer

I have a second home in Belize. Getting there on miles is no problem. As other have said the only chain hotels are in Belize City, a Radisson and a Best Western. Niether is spectacular. Belize City is not a place to spend time on the Beach. You need to go to San Pedro, Caye Caulker or Placencia for that. Good luck with your trip!

pricesquire

If you're interested in fishing or hiking, or want to see the Belize rainforest in general, check out the stunning Bel Campo Lodge.

Was in NYT Top 52 places to go in 2014 I believe. Unreal.

ahab

Ambergris Caye. There's a "fast" 2-hour water taxi from downtown Belize City but the best way to get there is via Maya island Air or Tropic Air. If there are a bunch of you take a taxi from the International airport to the Municipal airport (About $50) and enjoy a significant discount (about $50 per person negotiable).
On Ambergris: Coral Bay Villages would be my 1st choice.

SpammersAreScum

Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Placencia are all good choices. The two indicated airlines (Maya Island and Tropic) have flights to all 3 from the international airport on little 15(?) seaters; if you're into it, you can ask for the co-pilot's seat which I've gotten a few times.

Note that if you're looking for peace and quiet, in and near San Pedro is not the best choice, but far enough out of town would be fine; lately I'm finding Caye Caulker preferable, and will probably give Placencia a try next trip.

You can book fishing trips out of San Pedro. Not sure about Caye Caulker, but that's only 20 min by boat from San Pedro.

beckoa

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

Wish I'd of flown OW to Caye Caulker. Took the boat which was fine- but the flight seems scenic and much shorter!