Thinking about Belize, Where to stay? What is there to do?

[Gaz]

Oh forgot about the loads of cool local bars and nightlife such on wednesdays Chicken Drop at the pier lounge where you bet which number a chicken is going to poop on. also beach partys and bar b ques, also wet willys on wed is ladies night. for late night revellers there is Big Daddys and Jaguars nightclub.

If your into Poker why not take on the locals,there are currently 3 different poker nights at 3 local establishments Legends Pedros and Cubano Caverna.

I could go on and on but you get the idea

Gaz Cooper
DIVE BELIZE The Complete Guide to Diving Belize

 

[skyward]

Doug,

What are the "other things" that you and your wife would like to do besides diving? I haven't been to AC but my understanding's that there's a fair amount of night life and other stuff there, so if that's what you're looking for maybe someone who knows the place can chime in.

The other things includes nature oriented stuff like bird watching, anything involving wildlife (preferably not captive), hiking, a jungle tour sounds good, we like the Mayan ruins but we've seen lots in the Yucatan, anything to do with local culture and a little live music would be cool, particularly some good blues. I realize that isn't likely but we did stumble across a little blues bar in Playa Del Carmen so you never know.

Doug

 

[Downing]

The other things includes nature oriented stuff like bird watching, anything involving wildlife (preferably not captive), hiking, a jungle tour sounds good, we like the Mayan ruins but we've seen lots in the Yucatan, anything to do with local culture and a little live music would be cool, particularly some good blues. I realize that isn't likely but we did stumble across a little blues bar in Playa Del Carmen so you never know.

Doug

My impression is that AC is Belize's version of Playa, which is meant to be a compliment to both. I've spent some time in PdC and it's one fun town, especially Quinta Avenida.

The other stuff you mentioned is more mainland Belize material.

A couple of quick thoughts:

The Belize Zoo is worth seeing if you're ever in that neck of the woods. It's about 30 minutes west of Belize City, founded by an American, Sharon Matola. The animals are obviously captive but well-cared for in very large enclosures. Many exotic animals you will never see in the wild.

The Lamanai ruins are as much about the journey as the the site itself. You have to take a boat 26 miles up the New River from Orange Walk to get there. How cool is that?

The Altun-Ha ruins aren't that great but sure beat sitting around the airport waiting for your flight out.

Early on in this thread I recommended a guide book, Insight Guides Belize, available at Amazon if not locally. It really is a great book and should give you and your wife a lot of good ideas. Pretty much the whole country, with the exception of Belize City, is a nature oriented person's paradise.

 

[diverrex]

Pretty much the whole country, with the exception of Belize City, is a nature oriented person's paradise.

I'd agree with that. As an earlier poster said probably the best way to explore Belize is a few days inland in the jungle, then continue on at AC for some diving. The ATM tour near San Ignacio is probably one of the top 10 vacation adventures we have had, with a two-day visit to Tikal, right across the border in Guatemala, also cracking our top ten. It wasn't just the ruins at Tikal that were so cool, but its setting in the thick unspoiled jungle. We loved watching the spider monkeys fly through the trees, listening to the howler monkeys in late afternoon, and seeing all kinds of colorful birds. On an early morning trek through one of the jungle paths between ruins we even saw a small wild cat of some kind up in a tree, definitely not a domestic cat nor even a feral cat, but a real wild cat like a baby Puma or something (sorry I'm not up on what kind of wild cats roam Guatemala).

If you make it to AC, check out Elbert Greer, a dive instructor who is also a big birder, currently running White Sands Dive Shop.

 

[Hank49]

On an early morning trek through one of the jungle paths between ruins we even saw a small wild cat of some kind up in a tree, definitely not a domestic cat nor even a feral cat, but a real wild cat like a baby Puma or something (sorry I'm not up on what kind of wild cats roam Guatemala).

.

We definitely have "wild" cats around here. At about 2 am one morning 4 years ago, my neighbor awoke to a loud noise and a dog...my dog...whining furiously and went to his front door, tried to open it but couldn't due to a jaguar's butt jammed against it as it held my dog by the throat. He finally chased the jaguar away and the dog survived. She's never been the same though.
We lost 4 dogs to pumas in 4 years.
A Mennonite friend of mine was helping to make a road up in the jungles near Gallon Jug and turned to see a puma behind him, growling and shaking its tail. He took a shot at it with a 12 gauge and chased it off. (the Blue Creek Mennonites here in Belize strayed a bit from the more conservative mainstream Mennonites. They carry guns and drive 4x4s and ride motocross)

 

[Ralph Capeling]

I would suggest you do the diving first and end up with the inland tours due the no fly rule after multiple days of diving plus be in a place where you can do inland adventures in the event of adverse diving weather. Regarding wildlife and birding, the southern half of Belize is where the vast majority of the protected areas are so that is where to go. Look at a map of Belize and you will see that Placencia is an excellent place to base yourself for both diving and inland adventures. The migration of the scarlet macaw is in southern Belize (less than an hours's drive from Placencia), Cockscombe Jaguar Preserve is an excelllent place for hiking and rain forest exploration and can be done with or without guides (also less than an hour's drive from Placencia), there are several excellent maya ruins in southern Belize and even the Cayo district is more accessible from Placencia than Ambergris Caye. If you are interested in mor information you can go to Splashbelize.com or e-mail Patricia Ramirez at SplashBelize.com

 

[sarakenna1]

We just got back from Ambergris Caye, a sweet little island in Belize. It was fabulous! There is wonderful snorkeling for your wife in the marine preserve, and amazing diving for you! If you go, I recomend you look up a guy named Oliver Stuart at Cari'Bean Tours and go on a beach BBQ with him. He's a dive master, and also does snorkeling tours. He was so great. We dove with him for a week. His wife (Cari), owns a spa in the Pheonix hotel that was also wonderful. A few hours there and your wife will be putty in your hands! I'm going to post a trip report soon. Look for it if you want. Its called Mad Skills.

 

[Gaz]

I have known Oliver for many many years and he is a great guy he used to work for me when i owned my dive biz on Ambergris he is a really great guide and a real personable guy.

 

[sarakenna1]

More about Oliver... He provides a lot of services; scuba, snorkel, day trips to other islands, beach BBQ, manatee tours, fishing... Go to caribeantoursbelize.com to check him out. His wife owns Sol Spa in the Pheonix hotel. Spa info at thephoenixbelize.com

I can't say enough about these people! They were awesome!!!