Travelling through Belize

Hello,

I am planning a trip in mid April (this month). I plan to land in Cancun (April 14/15) and then head over to Belize via bus. I have till about April 23/24th to see Belize and if possible Guatemala.

My interests are photography, hiking and motorcycling.

I want to know what places are a must see and what places are good to go to. I am not interested in snorkeling or going out into the ocean. I have read about the blue hole out in the sea, but I can't really photograph that, can I (without an aircraft). I do enjoy ruins and culture, however. Even walk in the forests. I have done quite a bit of these in Peru (inca trail hike, amazon rain forests etc...)

Secondly, I did a little google search for motorcycle rentals and found a company, based in hopkins (Alternate Adventures). Anyone heard of this? are they good? Also, is renting a motorcycle and touring the countryside a good safe idea? I have read in some countries in central america, that the bike can be stolen or robbed of parts etc...

Any and all recommendations/suggestions/advice/hints/tips are welcome.

Thanks,
Vivek.

The best sites for ruins would be Caracol, Lamanai, Xunantunich and Cahal Pech.

In Belize City, there's a small museum & House of Culture (don't know if I'd call them "must see" but there's a jade head that might be worth a look).

What about caving?? The ATM cave trip.

If you want to see some native animals, there's a zoo and a baboon sanctuary.

For culture, I think the further south you go (from Dangriga to Punta Gorda), the more you notice the cultures of the Garifuna & Maya -- the music, food, dress, etc. -- but you'll have to get out to the villages.

If you rent a motorcycle, definitely make sure it is secure when you're not around.

Thank you misterbee.

A few questions:

1. I land in Cancun at 10 in the morning of 15th it seems. And searching the ADO website, I do not see any noon buses, only overnight bus to Belize City. Are there other buses/options available so that I can get to Belize earlier?

2. Say I take overnight bus to Belize City, which means I reach there on 16th. To get to the motorcycle rental place, they are suggesting fly to Dangriga from Belize City (cost about 50 USD?) and then bus/cab to Hopkins (how much cost?). How long would that roughly take? Do I assume its going to take a whole day or something?

3. How good is Lamanai compared to the other three? Cause seeing the map, Lamanai is North of Belize, while the other three are south near San Ignacio. I can possibly do those three. Is there much difference? Maybe from photography point?

4. At the moment, the sites I am planning on seeing are: Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech. I am also thinking of taking up your suggestion and doing a small road trip from Dangriga to Punta Gorda. Might not go all the way, depending upon time. How much time would this take? Do I allocate 2 days, 3, 4, 5?

5. Are there some nice hikes/waterfalls that I can go visit? Where is the ATM cave trip? Maybe I can do that as well.

6. With all this in mind, what are the chances (timing wise) of possibly including a quick trip to Tikal in Guatemala?

1. The overnight bus is the only bus that goes to Belize (from Cancun), but every couple of hours, there is an ADO express bus to Chetumal. Go there and change to one of the Belizean buses. You'll find more information about buses on the Belize Bus and Transportation Guide (the link, BelizeBus, is on my profile page).

You could get a bus from the airport to either Cancun City or Playa del Carmen -- if you go to Playa, you'll have to change terminals to get the express bus to Chetumal.

Another option (more expensive) is to use one of the transfer services for all or part of the trip.

1. The flight schedules & fares are on the websites of Tropic Air and Maya Island Air. I think one site quotes fares in BZ$ and the other in US$. Flight time is 30 minutes or less.

There is a bus from Dangriga to Hopkins at 10:30 am and 5:15 pm (a few BZ$ and about an hour).

A taxi from Dangriga to Hopkins would be about (I'm guessing) BZ$50 to $80.

There are buses from Belize City to Dangriga (see BelizeBus) -- they take a few hours and cost about BZ$15. A James bus would be recommended to avoid a change in Belmopan (not a big deal anyway).

1. I'd say Caracol and Lamanai should be at the top of your list. Perhaps Caracol is better -- it's a matter of opinion -- but one of the best things about Lamanai is the trip along the river to get to the site.

2. It should take about 2 hours to get to PG. After that, it depends on how much time you want to spend exploring. There's not much in PG Town. You might want to stay in town (or at Hickatee Cottages -- they know a lot about the region) and spend 2 day trips exploring the region.

3. You can do the ATM trip with one of the tour companies in San Ignacio -- Pacz gets positive comments.

4. Tikal would be recommended.

Just a comment that with only a little over a week you can't see all of Belize, much less Guatemala. At most you can see a few highlights. I've been traveling around Belize for 21 years and still haven't seen it all.

Better buy a guidebook and pick the two or three places that interest you most.

Just about everything takes more time than you might think. For example, seeing ATM is a full day trip from San Ignacio. Likewise, just getting from Cancún to Belize City takes a day. Caracol is a full day tour from San Ignacio. Lamanai is a full day tour from Orange Walk Town.

" I am also thinking of taking up your suggestion and doing a small road trip from Dangriga to Punta Gorda."
This is no small road trip especially on a motorcycle. Lan is right. You have very little time plus you are landing in Cancun and leaving from Cancun? You don't seem to have a good grasp on what can be done in that amount of time. You will be lucky just to do two or three things before you need to return and definitely not have the time to travel to southern Belize. Try to be more realistic.

I 2nd Lan's 'better buy a guidebook' recommendation - lots of cultural background, suggesting itineraries, and travel specifics. I'd suggest a few stops coming or going in the Yucatán, then have Lamanai, the Belize Zoo,, and the ATM Cave as your priorities. I don't share your interest in motorcycles but also don't recommend heading clear to southern Belize - even Hopkins (though we like it there) with such limited time. Loads of photos and recommendations below. Have a great trip, whatever you decide!

yes, buy a guidebook, to get the lay of the land. not any brand in particular, just get a GOOD one, not some third rate piece of crap suitable only for use as hygienic paper. will advise if solicited by PM.

Thank you all for the input, a few more questions

General Questions
1. For the ATM trip, I have read that it involves diving and swimming perhaps? I dont know swimming, but am 6 feet tall. Would I still need to swim ? If so, then I guess I can't really do the ATM trip.

1. I did a quick search for flights from Belize to Cuba, and couldn't find any. Either the travel websites are american (and thus, cuba doesn't appear as a destination), or due to american restrictions, the sites wont service cuba. In any case, is travel to Cuba by flight possible from Belize? Or do I have to go to Cancun and then fly to Cuba?

2. Reason for question 2 is so that I can fly directly to Belize and not have to waste time travelling to/from Cancun. Is it even recommended? Cause reading several threads, there seems to be sometimes issues with overcharging/scams/hassles etc for the border crossing.

3. I read in a guide book, that you can get onto the local inter-city busses and ask to be dropped off at any spot in the middle. Is this true? If so, can you also 'hop on' to another bus afterwards?

4. If answers to question 5 are YES and YES, then is it really worth to have your own mode of transportation (such as rental car/motorcycle) in Belize? I like the freedom that a rental provides, but the prices of buses I read in the book (could be outdated by now) were like 5 BZ$ to 10 BZ$ one-way compared to 275 USD for a week long rental for a motorcycle. It suddenly begs the question of whether its worth it or not... What are your opinions?

5. Here's a rough intinerary I came up with based on assumption that I am landing in Cancun, and possibly renting a motorcycle (from Hopkins): Suggestions/Recommendations/changes welcome. Please let me know what you think.
   Day 1 (15th) Land in Cancun. Overnight bus to Belize City
   Day 2 Reach Belize City early morning. Travel to Hopkins.
   Day 3 Hike Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve
   Day 4 Hike Mayflower Bocawina park
   Day 5 Rest Day (if tired from hike?). Do the zoo. Head to San Ignacio.
   Day 6 Caracol
   Day 7 San Ignacio - The other 2 ruins.
   Day 8 Return to Hopkins (for returning bike). And to Belize City. And to Orange Walk (if possible/recommended?)
   Day 9 Lamanai. And overnight bus to Cancun (if possible).
   Day 10 Fly out of Cancun.

6. Based on above plan, obviously if I don't rent out the bike, then it saves me a day or something from not having to return it/go to Hopkins. But then, how would I be able to travel to the national parks for hiking and to zoo/ruins etc ? Am I forced into "make sure you take the last bus at 3 PM or 4 PM" ?

hopefulist:
1. the pics you have of the belize zoo - are you very close to the animals? or using a zoom lens? especially the one of the toucan bird.
2. to shoot in the cave, was it easy? i am guessing you probably didn't use an SLR ?

1. There is very little swimming - just to enter the cave. I don't think you can touch the bottom of all of it but perhaps most; I think the guide would help you. Maybe you could practice a little before you go?

2. I think you might have to fly from Cancún to Cuba.

3. It's often cheaper to fly into Cancún but you lose a day coming and going so I've never been tempted.

4. Yes - for example you can ride from Belize City, ask to be dropped off at the zoo, then wait for another passing bus when you're ready to move on.

5. We like the buses and have never been tempted to rent a car in Belize. When the schedules don't work for us we sometimes take taxis or hire a shuttle driver.

6. Here's a rough intinerary I came up with based on assumption that I am landing in Cancun, and possibly renting a motorcycle (from Hopkins): Suggestions/Recommendations/changes welcome. Please let me know what you think.
   Day 1 (15th) Land in Cancun. Overnight bus to Belize City
   Day 2 Reach Belize City early morning. Travel to Hopkins.
   Day 3 Hike Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve
   Day 4 Hike Mayflower Bocawina park
   Day 5 Rest Day (if tired from hike?). Do the zoo. Head to San Ignacio.
   Day 6 Caracol
   Day 7 San Ignacio - The other 2 ruins.
   Day 8 Return to Hopkins (for returning bike). And to Belize City. And to Orange Walk (if possible/recommended?)
   Day 9 Lamanai. And overnight bus to Cancun (if possible).
   Day 10 Fly out of Cancun.

7. You could rent a motocycle to get to the day hikes around there, then turn it in before heading to the zoo and San Ignacio. It really doesn't make sense to have to head clear back down there afterwards to return the bike.

hopefulist:
1. The toucan was almost too close to photograph - very curious. I used a small camera so no big lenses.
2. The ATM photos were taken with a small digital waterproof camera. If your camera isn't waterproof the guide will put it in a dry bag and get it out for you when you get to the dry part of the cave.

Happy trails!

4. I read in a guide book, that you can get onto the local inter-city busses and ask to be dropped off at any spot in the middle. Is this true? If so, can you also 'hop on' to another bus afterwards?

The Regular Belizean buses stop for passengers anywhere along the route.
Express buses stop only at cities and main towns.

Since buses operate in 3 main zones (Northern, Western and Southern), transfers are done at bus terminals in Belize City, and Belmopan.

Alternate Adventures is a good company to deal with and their bikes are less than one year old. I would only rent the bike for the two days you are touring at the parks then take a bus to San Ignacio, eliminating the need to back track to Hopkins to return the bike. You can save considerable time by taking a plane to Dangriga from the municipal airport when you arrive in Belize City from Cancun

Better to plan your trip around Belize after you arrive. Caracol near San Ignacio is a great ruin to see, much better than Lamanai, however, the trip back and forth from San Ignacio is a total of 5 hours. I suggest hiking at Billy Barquidier National Park, it's relatively new, with a pleasant hiking trail and waterfall. It's between Belmopan and Hopkins. If you prefer hiking and photographing at a place more adventurous, where not many tourists have been to, I suggest Davis Falls. It has a spectacular waterfall and surrounded by large pools. I, myself, live near Billy Barquidier and Davis Falls. The Belize Zoo is also worth visiting, as my uncle-in-law donated the first jaguar to the Zoo, his pet named Pinto.