I just got back from a 2 1/2 month trip to Central America. I was traveling with my boyfriend. Here is a travel report on Belize, May 1st-May 15 2008. We spent about $2000 in two weeks in Belize. The most expensive out of all the countries we visited.
May 1: Arrived into Belize City at 3pm. We met another couple on the plane who had reservations at Smokin Balam's Guesthouse in Belize City. A shuttle came to get us for $20 total. Smokin Balam's guesthouse has a very friendly owner Ana, with a restaurant and internet - both relatively inexpensive. Breakfast for two and 30min internet use was $8. The double room has two single beds, a table and a ceiling fan, and a basic, but clean shared bathroom for $16. The only downside about the hotel was that it is on the main street and as such it was very noisey at night (dogs, drunken people, car alarms), ear plugs were a blessing.
May 2-7: Caught the water taxi for $7 per person to Caye Caulker at noon. We walked from the hotel. We stayed at Bella's, a relatively small hostel in "the bush" as they say, basically not on the beach but on a mangrove lagoon. Double room with a fan and a double bunkbed was $25. Bonus about Bella's free use of canoes! Totally worth the lack of breeze and mosquitos at night, which really wasn't that bad. There is a kitchen too. Tips for Caye Caulker: great dock to the left of the Split for swimming. There's no one there as long as the kids are in school. Eat at Little Kitchen, ask any local where it is, a plate of fish with sides is $6, chicken $5, lots of little appetizers for a dollar or two a piece. A beer will cost about $2 from the store, $3-5 at a bar. We did a snorkelling tour to Hol Chan, coral gardens and shark ray alley for $45 per person including lunch and drinks on the sailboat. Worth it, though diving is probably much more exciting! Great thing to do at Bellas is to take the canoe out at night with a headlamp or flashlight and go spot crocodiles in mangroves.
May 7-8: Took the 8:30am water taxi back to Belize City. Walked to the bus terminal, and caught a bus to Orange Walk, bus trip took an hour and a half. Orange Walk is very unremarkable, spanish speaking, with very few budget hotels. We stayed at Lucia's for $13 a night with a bed that we slept on with sleeping bags, a fan and cable TV. There was a public pool in the back which is great since its ridiculously hot. However, we were fairly certain that rooms were rented by the hour, though we didn't encounter anything directly. Ate at Juanitas for a typical chicken, rice and beans dish for $5 per person. Did a tour to Lamanai for $45 per person with Jungle River Tours. Great tour, guides were amazing at spotting wildlife from the river. Lamanai was interesting, and there was no one else there. Left Orange walk at 6pm for San Ignacio, the bus was supposed to be express, but it stopped in Belize City where we had to catch another bus at 7pm. The whole experience was a tad scary but locals were quite friendly in the end.
May8-14: Arrived in San Ignacio 10pm or so. We stayed at the Hi-Et hotel. Very nice room with private bath, ceiling fan,various peices of furniture for $20 a night. San Ignacio is my favourite place in Belize. Very pleasant little town, with a few great value restuarants, Hanna's was particularly good, we split all of the portions. Everything is slightly less expensive in this town compared to Caye Caulker. Great inexpensive thing to do... rent a canoe and go up the Mecal River, for $12 half day (10am until sun down). We canoed four hours up river, really scenic and tons of birds, beautiful cliffs and jungle Definitely a must. Tours we did from San Iganacio with Maya Walk (all lunches included): Tikal, $80 per person plus exit fee $23 per person. Ironic thing about Tikal: there were very few people in the park when we were there (10am-3ish) since the 'thing to do' is the sunrise tour. Actun Tunichil Muknal cave/ruins, $75 person exciting tour 4 hours through the cave knee to waist to chest deep in water until you climb up to a dry section where Mayan sacrifices took place. Amazing experience. The guide, Aaron, was very knowledgable and patient. Swimming tour in Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, $40 per person. First stop to Rio Frio Cave, then to Rio on Pools little rapids and waterfalls to bathe, the best is saved for last, Big Rock falls. You can jump from a cliff into the pool at the bottom and sit under waterfall. The last thing we did was a day trip to the Belize Zoo from San Ignacio, it took about 2hrs to get there. I think the entrance was around $10. The Zoo was one of the best I have been to as far as habitats go. Worth the sweaty bus ride there and back for sure. We left San Ignacio at 8am, first to Belmopan and then direct to Placencia (6h). Probably better to catch the water taxi instead since the road on the peninsula is extremely dusty, so for an hour or so we were covering our mouths.
May 14-16: Last stop before Honduras. Personally, I did not like it at all. Here's why: The beach is full of sea weed. The water is not calm enough for swimming, but not enough waves for surfing or just plain old fun in the waves. The sand is very coarse and hurts to walk on. The town lacks good affordable restuarants. A meal is $7 on average. We stayed at Lydia's guesthouse, $20 a night for a room with a very comfy bed, two fans, and a nightstand. We ate at Wendy's (not the chain) a lot. Its air conditioned. Free internet at the something monkey restaurant, don't remember the name exact;y, we never bought anything and used it all the time.
We left Placencia by boat to Puerto Cortes Honduras at 9am. $50 each. I will write a seperate trip report for Honduras soon. Hope someone finds this helpful since I found this forum quite useful in planning my trip.
