Signature Belize: Rainforest, reef and ruins

Day 1

Arrive Belize City, transfer to mountain lodge.

Arrive in Belize City and transfer by road to your remote forest eco-resort, Pook’s Hill Lodge, on the edge of Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve; a journey inland of about 90mins. The thatched property is surrounded by flourishing tropical foliage and rugged hills populated by a multitude of birds and mammals.

Stay at - Jade Jungle Resort

Day 2

Excursion to the Actun Tunichil Muknal caves.

Today you have a day trip to the Actun Tunichil Muknal caves (often referred to as ATM caves though you can’t withdraw any cash there!). Here you hike into the caves, cross over underground rivers and enter a giant chamber which was long ago the setting for Mayan religious ceremonies and is stuffed with relics including ceramics and, rather gruesomely, skeletons.

Stay at - Jade Jungle Resort

Day 3

Optional excursion to Tikal or Caracol Mayan ruins.

The Mayan peoples have had a presence in Mexico and Central America since well before the birth of Christ. Their civilisation, which was at its height in the 1^st-9^th centuries AD  has left a legacy of remarkable buildings, sculptures and artefacts featuring their hieroglyphics and reflecting their artistic creativity and knowledge of astronomy and mathematics.

Tikal and Caracol, shrouded by extensive rainforest, are two of the most impressive, long-abandoned Mayan sites, now reclaimed for visitors with their pyramids,  sculpted temples, broad plazas and and ball-parks. You can choose to visit either on your free day at leisure.

Stay at - Jade Jungle Resort

Day 4

Transfer to lagoon-side, multi-activity lodge at Lamanai.

Transfer back to Belize City and continue by road and river to Lamanai on the woodland-fringed banks of New River Lagoon.

Stay at - Lamanai Outpost Lodge

Day 5

Visit to Lamanai Mayan ruins.

Don’t miss the opportunity on one of your days here to discover the nearby Lamanai Maya ruins. In the company of an expert guide, you’ll explore the mysterious abandoned jungle-cloaked temples. The ruins encompass over 700 structures, a visitor’s centre and museum.

Stay at - Lamanai Outpost Lodge

Day 6

Transfer to eco-resort in the southern district Toledo.

Transfer by water and road back to Belize City airport and take an exhilarating light-aircraft flight to the little port of Punta Gorda on Belize’s less-visited southern coast.  It’s just a short drive on to another adventure-filled, family-friendly property, the Lodge at Big Falls.

The lodge is crammed between the Mayan mountains and the Rio Grande, on a meander of the river with over a kilometre of river frontage.

It’s great accommodation for families, with each hardwood or thatched cottages having its own bathroom and three their own kitchenettes.

Stay at - Tanager Rainforest Lodge

Day 7

Optional active and cultural adventures.

Again, there are loads of activities on offer which will suit all sorts of interests and enthusiasms. Try kayaking, snorkelling, caving, and hiking. Cultural activities include a visit to a Mayan or Garifuna indigenous community, to learn about how their long-standing settlements have maintained their traditions and customs.

Stay at - Tanager Rainforest Lodge

Day 8

Excursion to Hokeb Ha cave and Ixcacao cocoa plantation.

You’ll follow the path to Blue Creek running along the base of steepening limestone cliffs to arrive at a waterfall and the entrance to the Hokeb Ha Cave. The creek runs out the entrance of the cave, cascading over limestone boulders in the shadow of the surrounding rainforest.

Archaeologists have found many Mayan ceramics and an altar inside the cave, so it was probably a place where religious ceremonies took place.  Strong swimmers can travel upstream to the point where the river cascades into a deep pool from a higher cavern, enjoying the limestone formations along the way.

Afterwards, visit Ixcacao, a small-scale, family-run chocolate manufacturer in San Felipe. Ixacaco is the only Mayan chocolate-maker in Belize and supplies the famous company Green & Blacks with organic chocolate. Tour the cocoa grove and have a demonstration on chocolate production with a meal that includes mole sauce – scrummy.

Stay at - Tanager Rainforest Lodge

Day 9

Transfer to Caribbean beach resort at Placencia.

Transfer to Placencia, a friendly and low-key beach resort which sits on the tip of a long peninsula in the south of the country. The village is typified by its ramshackle and colourful wooden houses built on stilts, linked by paths weaving under swaying palms rooted in powder-white sands.

Nearby Monkey River and Placencia Lagoon provide good opportunities for spotting wildlife including the rare and comical manatee.

Stay at - Itz’ana Belize Resort

Day 10

Optional water sports and wildlife spotting.

At leisure in Placencia: explore the village, relax on the beach or by the pools or take out a kayak or paddle board.

Several optional activities can be done in the local area, such as snorkelling trips off idyllic atolls on the barrier reef at Silks Cayes and Laughing Bird Caye. You may see a multitude of technicoloured tropical fish and pristine corals, as well as barracuda, rays and even nurse sharks.

Stay at - Itz’ana Belize Resort

Day 11

Further beach time and sea-sport opportunities.

At leisure – or perhaps sign up locally for trips in search of the West Indian manatee, a huge, aquatic mammal whose closest relative is the elephant. They have extraordinary, prehistoric looks, at the same time rather sweet and cuddly, with bodies that taper to a flat, paddle-shaped tail, flippers, and heads and faces wrinkled with whiskers on the snout. On your boat trip gliding through lush mangroves in their feeding grounds in Placencia lagoon, you have a good chance of getting up close to these amazing creatures.

Stay at - Itz’ana Belize Resort

Day 12

Transfer to Belize City airport for international flight.