This forum was also invaluable to me in my planning. Thanks to all the people that answered my questions!
Here’s my trip report from my trip last week to Belize. I’ve spent the last 11 years in Costa Rica and I think Costa Rica has a larger proliferation of animals. I also found Belize extremely expensive compared to other places in Latin America.
We flew on Continental from Houston to Belize City and rented a car for 5 days from Budget. They were very thorough and our rental was $371.00 for five days and included all the insurance. I just wanted to play it safe. We drove over to Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve as we had rented the White House for five days. Delia with the Belize Audobon Society was very helpful in making sure the new refrigerator was put in the house before our visit. When we left the airport, there is a grocery store directly across from the airport exit that had everything we needed. There are also numerous fruit stands on the highway past the grocery store and we loaded up on fruits and vegetables from there. We paid $67 US for groceries for 5 days and $19 for fruits and vegetables. Once you leave the airport and head for Burrell Boom which is the shortcut from the airport, there is no traffic. We didn’t have a problem reaching Cockscomb and it took us around 2 ½ hours. It was after dark and we headed to the ranger station to pick up the house key. The road from the highway into the reserve is unpaved and quite rocky and in the rainy season, you might want to make sure you have a 4 wheel drive. The house is fabulous for a house in the middle of the jungle but it does not have any electricity except for one light in the entryway so don’t plan on charging camera batteries or taking your hairdryer. We used headlamps to read with at night. The mattresses are awesome and we slept so well at night. It was pricey; $150 a night but I prefer to be self-sufficient and cook my own meals. It is cheaper to stay at the ranger station or even camp but I love having some space around me.
We hiked all of the trails in the reserve. Tiger Fern has the most awesome blue waterfall and pool and it is a tough hike to the top. There is a shelter at the top that has amazing views of Victoria Peak. Antelope is also moderate as is Ben’s Bluff. Be careful if you go past the waterfall at Ben’s Bluff as the rocks are slick. The Wari Loop had the most jaguar tracks because of the river. You can tube down the river for $2.50 and it’s a 20 minute float. We took a night tour with William from the Maya Center. He only charged us $60 US and we saw an anteater, a gibnut, several snakes and a deer. I would have definitely gone with him again if we thought the weather was going to hold at night. He took us on the Gibnut Loop trail. We swam in a pool we dubbed Plane Wreck Pool behind the plane wreck on the trail. It was so refreshing every day but there are little fish in there that will nip at you; after all it’s their home! Hardly anyone goes to Cockscomb and we only encountered one family at the waterfall at Ben’s Bluff. We did see several day tour buses come in and out but never saw any of them on the trails. The rangers also told us that your chances of seeing a jaguar are 80 percent on the trails and 90 percent on the access road. They are large and use the trails and the road to leave the park at night to hunt and then come back into the reserve right before dusk. All of the rangers had seen them at night and at 8:00AM and 2:00 PM on the road.
We headed back to Belize City after five days, dropped the car off and flew over to Caye Caulker on Tropic Air. I didn’t want the hassle of the taxi and the water taxi and rain and just paid the price of $62 each way. We arrived at the airport and there are golf cart taxis that will take you into town for $2.50 each. We stayed at Maxhopan Cabins and it was a fabulous place. Louise is so nice and accommodating and gives you bikes to ride for your stay. We paid $50 a night and it had it’s own porch with a hammock, two queen beds, was air conditioned and she provided water every day. It also has a microwave, coffee pot and refrigerator. It’s not on the water but has beautiful grounds that you can sit around and read a book. She will give you great tips on where to go, where to eat and what to do. We ate lunch at the Rainbow Café over the water. The food was really good. I had the fish burrito that was $10 and a pina colada that was $6.
The first day we took a tour with Ragamuffin tours. While Jacob and Ellis were fantastic guides, they were not environmentally and ecologically friendly. I don’t believe in picking up any wildlife in the wild and they picked up the sharks and manta rays as well as throwing overboard tomato pieces and parts of the onions they cut up for ceviche on the way back. Bad practice in my opinion as you have no idea if those things are toxic to something just as some of us are allergic to something. It was an all day trip and was $45 and included your equipment, lunch, fruit on the way and 4 stops. One to see the manatees, to see the Hol Chan Reserve, to see the Rays and Sharks and to stop at Coral Gardens which I think was the best experience because you are free to go wherever you like. The tour also included rum punch and shrimp ceviche on the way back. The tour was around 6 hours as they used the sails to sail back. Just to let you know, the reggae music was blaring away the whole time and it drove a lot of people nuts! We kept turning it down when they weren’t looking! We were pretty full when we got back and had a smoothie.
The next day we did the same trip with Tsunami Tours. Vito was great and does not condone getting too near the animals and will tell you so and chastise you if you do. One of the tourists on the boat was chasing a manatee and he was pretty disgusted as he had just said something on the boat. We made the same four stops, had lunch, rum punch and fruit but Vito gave us some history of the reef, took us through the lagoon on the other side of the island and had a lot to say about the reef, what’s in it and the history of Caye Caulker. It was more of a low key trip and very laid back and enjoyable. I really preferred this tour more than Raggamuffin. That night we ate at Wish Willy’s. The food was really good. We had barracuda sauted with ginger and teriyaki and the board said all you could drink and any meal $9. We got our food but then a party of 6 showed up and we were invisible from that point on. He brought them Cubre Libras and completely ignored us. We never were asked if we even wanted water. He stood out at the street yakking on his cell phone and never even came back to the table. Although the food was good, I would never recommend him.
The next day it was time to go home. It was a really fun trip and both places were really worth going to see. I don’t know that I will go back to Belize soon but it was a great experience and everyone was so accommodating and friendly and I never felt unsafe.
