Belize?
 

Just curious if anyone in this forum has been to Belize? We're planning a trip there at the end of October. Any suggested itineraries? Must-sees?

Any and all advice is appreciated.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada

I have been there. I spent a week in San Pedro, on Ambergris Key. It's very low-key there. I did not spend any time in Belize City, and I don't think there is a strong reason to do so. San Pedro is about a 20-minute flight from Belize City, and if you are lucky, you will fly in the seat next to the pilot (it's a really small plane).

The main attractions in Belize are the water and the Mayan ruins. Belize has the second-largest barrier reef in the world, and the diving and snorkeling are fantastic. But because of the reef, there is not good swimming off of San Pedro - the water is very calm, but overgrown with weeds. You can take a boat out to the reef for snorkeling for around $20. You can also take a boat trip into the jungle to see Mayan ruins - this is a worthwhile day trip.

English is widely spoken, and the US dollar is widely accepted with a fixed exchange rate. And when you leave, be sure to stop in Eddie's Bar in the departure terminal...

Well, with nearly 75,000 members on FT, what do you THINK the answer will be? :p Not to mention that there are a few MILLION posts on FT.... which leads to....

the more important question is, where is the best forum to find/share info on Belize? There are several existing threads on Belize in the Latin/Central America forum, and they are easily findable using the FT Search function with "Belize" as the search term.

I second KathyWdrf's recommendation to search the Latin Forum. Another FTer posted the same question about Belize and only got four responses a few weeks ago.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=452104

I think every country and continent in the world has been visited by at least one FT member.

I gave some fairly complete suggestions in this thread back in 2004: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298217

That being said, I don't think it helps anyone to attack the OP with yet another one of those condescending "do a search" slapdowns. Why don't we concentrate on contributing to the topic and let the moderators do their job if need be?

You might enjoy reading Jailer's trip report Tease Me, Belize Me, Please me.

Where is the attack? :confused: (Pot - kettle - black???)

I don't understand why posters who provide useful information are accused of "attacks" and "slapdowns."

The OP now knows more places to look. Perhaps he/she didn't before. @:-)

I spent a day in Belize while on a cruise and went cave tubing. It was the best day I had on the entire cruise. And out of all the ports, I decided Belize was the one place I'd like to go back to. The fact that it's an English speaking country was also a plus.

Good Grief :rolleyes: Is this the same KathyWdrf who was lighthearted, carefree and as nice as can be when we met in VCE (and didn't you have a wonderful room)? Anyway--what's up? It appears that you are being a bit less than gentle with "newbies,." I know that you can be a really kind and helpful FT'r. Just haven't seen any evidence lately :(
O2K

I think some posters are being too harsh. I though she was detailed and informative about where to get the information and how to get it. She could have just said use search and leave it at that. I didn't find it at all nasty compared to some replies I've seen on here.

Hope the OP has a great time in Belize! I'd love to see the Mayan ruins there.

The second half of the post in question was fine.

The first half:

"Well, with nearly 75,000 members on FT, what do you THINK the answer will be? Not to mention that there are a few MILLION posts on FT.... which leads to...."

Was snotty and reeks of "I am better than you".

I went about three years ago and loved it. We spent several days on Ambergris Cay - stayed at Paradise Villas which were nice condos, not really a hotel, per se. San Pedro is a really small and walkable town, there's no need to rent one of the ubiquitous golf carts to get around unless you plan to go farther afield. We loved the snorkeling excursions we took out to the Hol Chan underwater reserve and Sting Ray Alley - the water is crystal clear and it is like swimming in an aquarium. Our favorite restaurant in San Pedro was Elvi's Kitchen - the fresh fish was excellent and we ended up going back three nights in a row!

We also spent a few days inland in the Cayo district - we stayed at the Windy Hill Resort, which was quite nice - well equipped log cabins set back in the jungle. Francis Ford Coppola's Blancaneaux Lodge is also nearby, and is supposed to be very nice and a bit more luxurious. From Windy Hill we took a day trip into Guatamala to Tikal, which was absolutely amazing.

I spent a week in Belize in 2000. Skipped the beaches, and went straight to San Ignacio. There are some nice day trips from San Ignacio (the previously mentioned cave tubing, for example).

I would also recommend going to Tikal in Guatemala (and overnighting there if possible), since it is a spectacular sight and it is relatively easy to get to from Belize.

Well at least better in searching.