Tucked between the Caribbean Sea and the rainforests bordering Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras lies a small country with some of Central America’s most exciting adventures: BELIZE! We knew that Belize offered world-class diving and snorkelling. So of course we planned to go island hopping and explore the reef! But we discovered so much more in this fascinating country!
In fact some of our top highlights of our travels through central America were in Belize. It just kept getting better and better the more we went on to explore! The main attractions in Belize include wildlife, Mayan ruins and one of the longest barrier reefs in the world!
From scuba diving the Blue Hole to crawling through ancient cave systems, zip lining through the jungle, hiking to waterfalls or exploring wildlife, Belize is packed with ADVENTURE!
1. Sail to the Blue Hole in Belize
Ever since I saw a picture of the Blue Hole I knew I had to see it! But it was a little more complicated and expensive than we had anticipated. With a little bit of luck though, we managed to not only see it, but actually sailed to it. And this also meant visiting all the stunning islands along the way! In fact this experience was so spectacular that sailing to the Blue Hole alone is a huge adventure.
Want to know HOW to get to the Blue Hole?
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Apart from how beautiful the Blue Hole is, especially from above, it is also a pretty special place to dive and snorkel! If you keep close to the reef, the turquoise blue water is pretty shallow and it’s easy to spot many colourful and tropical fish. But to the other side, there is a sudden 125 meters drop where the water has a deep blue colour. This is generally where you spot bigger fish like sharks. The Blue Hole measures 300 meters across and it takes about 30-45 min. to complete the loop if you want to circle it.
What about diving the Blue Hole?
Diving is a completely different experience! Divers descent along a wall and once they reach a depth of about 36 meters, they can see stalactites which were formed by dripping water when the cave was above sea level. However, due to the lack of light the main attraction isn’t actually to spot sea life! The dive is more of a bucket-list achievement suitable for EXPERIENCED divers. So don’t be disappointed if you “just” get to snorkel! My personal highlight? Seeing the Blue Hole from above!
Want to fly over the Blue Hole?
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2. Lamanai Mayan ruins of Belize
The Lamanai temples are not just the oldest and best excavated mayan ruins in Belize. They are actually also my favourite Mayan ruins that we got to explore across Central America. Yep, including famous Mayan sites like Tikal and Chichén Itzá. Why?
Avoid cruise ship days and you will almost certainly have the temples to yourself if you make your way here independently!
The temples are most frequently visited by tours from Belize City by water taxi. Due to their location and you requiring to get there by water taxi, the tours cost upwards of 100 USD. The cost certainly puts many visitors off and if in addition to that you choose to make your way here independently and avoid cruise ship days, then you are almost certain to have the temples all to yourself! You will also save yourself a lot of money as the entrance fee is only 5 USD!
Driving from Belize City to Lamanai temples?
you’ll be passing the MENNONITE communities of shipyard!
Shipyard was founded in 1958 by Old Colony Mennonites from Chihuahua and Durango states in Mexico. Most of the population of Shipyard are Plautdietsch-speaking ethnic Mennonites and very conservative. Horse and buggies are still the main transportation. We got a few friendly waves passing through but it’s definitely not a tourist destination, so ride through respectfully!
The Howler monkeys add to the ultimate jungle feel
I also loved how many howler monkeys live in the surrounding rainforests. You can hear them pretty much anywhere you go. As neither of us had previously heard them they initially really scared us. Then I figured out that all this noise couldn’t possibly be coming from an animal and I briefly suspected that the noises were being played by some hidden speakers in the trees to give you that jungle feel. How tacky I thought … until I saw an entire family of howler monkeys within seconds of forming that thought.
The face carvings of the Mask temple are very unique
We made our way from one temple to another with pretty much nobody else around. I loved the high temple for its stunning views of the endless surrounding rainforest. But the most special one was probably the mask temple which features mayan face carvings. We have previously seen smaller Mayan carvings, but never of facial features. So it was very unique, beautiful and different from all the other Mayan temples we visited throughout Mexico and Central America.
3. Visit the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave in Belize
Visiting the ATM cave was one of THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE and adventurous experiences of our travels through Central America! There is a limit of 120 people who are allowed to enter the cave per day and you’ll only be allowed to do so with a qualified guide! The drive from San Ignacio takes just under one hour. Then you’ll have to hike about 2 miles and cross three rivers before you make it to the entrance of the cave. Back in the days just getting to this point was a mission by itself but these days it’ll take you less than half an hour to get there from the parking lot!
What to expect?
The guided tour will take you deep into the underworld, which the ancient mayans used to refer to as Xibalba, meaning “Place of Freight”. Rightly so, as they were not only used for mayan ceremonies, but often to sacrifice humans!
Making your way through the 3 miles long cave will require you to mostly walk, swim for a short period of time, and towards the end climb a little. So expect to get soaking wet! As you make your way across the cave you’ll notice loads of pottery around you. At the end of mayan ceremonies pots were often thrown onto the ground to break them, so the majority of them are broken. But many are still mostly intact with smaller pieces missing.
But the most astonishing part is not only discovering the pre-Columbian pottery, but rather the many BONES, SKULLS and SKELETONS scattered across the cave. There is currently nothing (not even tape) to separate you from them. So the cave is very much left in the same way archeologists found it in 1989!
The entire experience of getting to the cave and exploring it was very exciting and surreal. It can be a little pricey around 85 USD so many people skip it. But trust me it’s 100% worth it to spend the money!!
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
It is no longer permitted to take cameras into the cave !!!
How to get there?
Your best base is the town of San Ignacio. It’s a nice little town which caters well for travellers. As soon as you walk through the main street in town there’ll be one tour operator after another. So who do you go with?
Which tour operator is best?
Well, you’ll go with the cheapest one and let me tell you why! When the cave first opened to the public in 1998, the archeologists trained a number of local guides who applied to carry out tours of the cave. It doesn’t matter which tour operator you go with, as they ALL use one of the 120 qualified guides. So there is no reason to assume one tour is better than another! They all include transport to the nearest parking place and a basic lunch before you drive back into town. So on this occasion I feel confident that spending more money will not result in an enhanced experience!
Are YOU ready to explore Belize?
Unlike its neighbouring country Belize is certainly on the more expensive side. Especially if you are relying on booking one tour after another and don’t have your own transport. We weren’t quite prepared for it and definitely blew our budget BUT we are very happy that we did. Because Belize was totally worth it!
Did you know?
belize is a former british colony. therefore the official language here is english
(not spanish as many visitors assume)!
When it comes to value for money then yes, neighbouring Mexico or Guatemala offer a lot more bang for your buck. But if money is not a concern, then you definitely shouldn’t rush through Belize and explore all it has to offer!
Questions? Feedback? We are always happy to hear from you so please leave a comment below to share your thoughts 🙂
