This was truly a dream come true. Ever since I got a book on Maya people of Guatemala, from my dad for my 12th birthday, visiting here has been a dream of mine; this is no longer a dream but a wonderful dreamy experience.
Belize City
The weather was beautiful, not too hot or cold. Airport procedure was a breeze. We landed and were out of the airport within an hour or so, mainly due to the sheer volume of people coming in. We were told by the local couple that drove us around and took care of us not to go to the south side, so we listened. Belize City is a rather small city compared to others in Central America. It has no or little skyscrapers, no taxis as we know (you have to call for them; we gathered taxi numbers at the airport), and a very sparsely populated city with limited nightlife.
We stayed at the DB Tower Vacation Rental – Highly recommend.
We visited Altun Ha from Belize City, then San Pedro Island then Caye Caulker Island (read below). There are several daily ferries (water taxis) going between the two islands and Belize City, or you can also fly to each island; we opted for the ferry for $$ reasons.
Altun Ha
Altun Ha is an archaeological site 31 miles from Belize City, a significant ceremonial center in the Maya Culture. Discovered in 1963, Altun Ha functioned as a central trading link between the Caribbean Coast and Maya Centers in the interior during the Maya Classic Period. The Maya occupied this ancient city from 250 BC to AD 1000 and reached its peak with a population of 8,000 to 10,000 people. Altun Ha is the Yucatec translation for “Rockstone water”.
After excavation, thirteen (13) plazas, two (2) main temples, and residential structures on the vast 1,500-acre land are visible. One of the prominent temples is the “Temple of the Masonry Altars,” which stands approximately 53 feet high (this temple is on the Belikin Beer logo design). (credits).
Getting here from Belize city: We hired a car to get here (90US including the entrance to the site and the guide who explained the historical facts about the site), it took just over an hour drive there, 2 hours to explore the site and hour back.
After the tour of Altun Ha, we were dropped off at the ferry to get to the awesome island of San Pedro. 90 minute ferry ride in relatively calm waters and we were on the Happy Island. This is where the fun began!
San Pedro (Happy Island)
Do you like to drive around aimlessly in a tiny island in a golf cart? San Pedro is your place!! The golf cart island. We arrived in Sam Pedro from Belize city. Water taxi ride is 90 minutes, bit crowded but smooth ride on a boat with bathrooms and friendly staff.
We rented a golf cart for 2 nights (90us). It is a small island, small enough to go everywhere on a golf cart in 2 days. Driving around, we discovered hidden gems of beaches and restaurants, just pull in and explore. One of those restaurants we found was actually called Hidden Jewel.
Caye Caulker (Happy Island2)
The island of Caye Caulker (pronounced “Key Caw-ker”) is a small island (5 miles long) that sits midway between Belize City and Ambergris Caye (San Pedro). Caye Caulker is less touristy and less populated than San Pedro, it looked to us that it attracts more of the younger crowd compared to San Pedro. If you are on the fence to go to Ambergris Caye or Caulker, here is an article that might help you – Deciding Between Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. If you ask me, I would say visit both.
We opted to stay at The Bounty, an amazing place on the beach. This is on the east side of the island. We realized after that the west side of the island gets beautiful sun sets everyday. That is something you should consider when booking a place here.
Everything you can do in San Pedro you can do it here too, including renting golf carts and booking a tour to the reef etc. For us, we decided to do all the tours etc. in San Pedro and just relax here before we left for Belize city and then onwards home.
Things to do on the islands...
Rent a golf cart
This is the best way to explore the island. We paid 90 90US for a 2-day rental. We used the cart to the max, exploring the entire island (San Pedro). We just drove around aimlessly, taking random turns into corners that we would not have otherwise gone to, and explored beaches that we didn’t know existed. It was very fun.
Swim with the Sharks
We took a half day tour on a boat (90$ pp), which took us to see the sharks, snorkel in the reef, jumping fish etc.. The tour lasted for 4 hours. It was money well spent! These are Nurse Sharks, they are almost blind and live in packs. The tour offered little fish to throw at them so they would come to us, it was very much fun.
Corel Reef...
Must do? Secret beach, Belize chocolate shop, eat, iguana sanctuary to just name few.
Secret Beach
Must do? Secret beach, Belize chocolate shop, eat, iguana sanctuary to just name few.
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