February 2024
Transportation to:
We took a direct flight to Belize City. I saw costs as low as $450 and as high as $1,500 from the Midwest.
Transportation while there:
We had transportation through our hotel/lodges so I have no information on car rentals. It seemed everything I read was that it was better to utilize what the hotel/lodges and excursion companies had to offer verses trying to drive yourself. Our first lodge Caves Branch met us at the airport and brought us to lodge. When we left the lodge and headed to Caye Caulker they brought us to the dock for the water taxi. They have packages that include transportation to and from, and you can pick you locations of pick up and drop off. When we returned from our island time on Caye Caulker we took a small plane back which landed right at the airport for easy transportation back to the airport. We went with Tropic Air to fly back and had a great experience. Check out flight options here!
Jungle Area Lodging and Activities
Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch: In the Cayo district jungle area 1.5 hr drive from Belize City we LOVED it! It felt like we were staying with family friends. The staff was amazing as well as the food, lodging and all the tour guides. They have all-inclusive packages with transportation, food and an excursion each day. They have a few lodging options to pick from. We stayed in a river-view treehouse. The tree house was wonderful for families. It had a king bed, bunk bed, and pull-out couch. One of my favorite lodging experiences. It has great pools and a botanical garden and monkeys hanging out in the trees. Be aware you might get a nighttime show of monkey sounds like you have never heard before!
Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch Booking options: you can book through Trip.com or directly with Caves Branch. When you book directly with Caves Branch you will submit information online on their website. Their staff will get back to you with options. This was very different from how I have booked anything else, but it went smoothly. I had to fax them information which felt odd but everything went well. I assumed my information was being stolen, but not the case :).
Excursion/tours while staying at Caves Branch: Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch website has great descriptions of each excursion!
We chose the 3 listed below, and loved all of them. Can’t say enough about how wonderful each and every guide was!
Waterfall Cave Expedition– amazing cave tour where you walk through pools and up waterfalls. The guides were amazing at helping the girls (ages 11,9,9) up and down the waterfalls. You wear helmets, headlamps, and life jackets and a back pack all provided by the guides. You will get wet, have a waterproof option for you camera and make sure you wear pants that go all they way to your shoes (not capri’s) and hiking shoes or boots or grippy athletic shoes that you are ok getting wet and walking in wet for a long time.
!!! Bring at least 2 pair of hiking/athletic shoes as one pair may not dry out before the next day’s excursion !!!
Black Hole Drop– you hike about an hour easy slow pace to the black hole area. The guides carry all the heavy equipment! Then they set up all the rappelling equipment and safely help you lower down into the sink hole/large open cave area. Again the guides were amazing at helping the girls with this. You have lunch down below, walk around and climb a ladder out and hike back. Both cave and black hole tours the guides bring food for lunch.
Xunantunich & Cahal Pech Maya Temple Tour– They drive you to the temples, about 1.5 hours, guides are very knowledgeable and give great detail about the area and structures. We learned so much about the area and history. We had never been to any ancient temples before so had to explore this option.
Spending part of you time on a local island
Island options:
There are so many great little island options off the coast of Belize to choose from. We stayed on Caye Caulker (pronounced “key caulker”) San Pedro is also a very popular island area to visit. I was told by 3 different people who had visited San Pedro that they would recommend a different island as San Pedro was a bit busy and dirty.
Caye Caulker is known for its go slow chill Island vibe. It is a 40’ boat ride https://belizewatertaxi.com/ or 10 min plane ride https://www.tropicair.com/ from Belize City. The boat cost less, but the plane ride was also a very cool experience. We took the boat to the Island and the plane back which made for easy return to the airport without having to drive/taxi through Belize city. From what I read the less time you are in Belize city itself the better.
Island Lodging:
It is on the north island of Caye Caulker. To get there you can take their complementary taxi from the boat dock. It runs certain times of the day and the front desk will send you the current times through WhatsApp. It feels very secluded and safe. It is also known that many of the beaches in Belize are often full of sargassum seaweed but we had no issues with this at Blu Zen. It was very clean, quiet, and perfect for spending our last 3 days enjoying the beach, pool, and a snorkel tour. Very cost-friendly and the food was decent. It was more of a condo set up and the inside felt brand new and again a great setup and space for families. They have complementary kayaks and bikes. There are 2 restraint/bar options along with a little grocery store. The pools are saltwater but you could barely notice, very clean and great for the kids. It looks like they are building onto the current area so there was construction on the south side of the resort but not near where we were staying.
You can book through Trip.com or directly on their website https://www.bluzenbelize.com/. Both sites seem to have limitations on required nights to book. When we booked I contacted them directly to ask if we could book just 3 nights. They were very helpful and able to work with my request and also found us a space that was perfect for a family of 5! We booked a sea view penthouse which was middle of the road cost. I didn’t feel we missed out on the “sea front” option as they are all very close to the water. It was nice being on the top level for view but their didn’t seem to be a bad location there. It seemed all condo’s had a decent view and location.
While on Caye Caulker we mostly relaxed, beached and pooled. We also set up a catamaran half-day snorkel tour through the resort with Wanderlust Sailing. It was a very nice boat and the staff was nice. A great way to get out on the water and snorkel in 3 different areas.
Happy Planning- We loved our Belize Adventure and hope to return someday!
~Sadie