Is Belize worth a visit?

Nice report, looking forward to my trip in a month..

BTW- you can dive 4 tanks for $66 in Bay Islands...

The only reason for travelling to Belize is to get to Guatemala. The country has improved marginally since my first visit in 1990, most notably roads. Of the CA countries I rate belize 7th, Costa Rica 6th, Panama 5th, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador tied for 2nd, Guatemala 1st.

I rank El Salvador 3rd, although I've never been there. So take that cum grano salis, as you would advice from someone who's never been to Belize. And I think we all know, who I'm talking about.

I love Belize. I've been twice, including once solo. I find it friendly, laid back, pretty (both the coast and inland, near to San Ignacio) and, if anything, I found the food rather better than in neighbouring Guatemala - in Belize the food tends to be spicier. Yes, Belize City is somewhat grim but so is Guatemala City. It's a great mix of cultures European/Mayan/Garifuna etc and a great mix of languages. It doesn't have anything to rival Tikal in terms of edifices but there's lots of see and do.