Planning a honeymoon next summer and we may have landed on Belize as a destination, but I know very little about the place and don't think I know anyone who has been there.

Any tips appreciated!

I just booked Mahogany Bay for some other clients. Just know most resorts you will need to take a puddle jumper or a ferry boat over to the where most of the resorts are.

JMac03 said:

---

I just booked Mahogany Bay for some other clients. Just know most resorts you will need to take a puddle jumper or a ferry boat over to the where most of the resorts are.

---

Correct. The mainland coast is nothing but mangroves and mud. If you want any that looks like a sandy beach you'll need to be on one of the islands and even then it's hard to find sand. The problem is due to the offshore reefs, there is very little wave action which creates sand and pushes back the vegetation. Belize is supposed to be a world class destination for scuba diving. If you are not a scuba guy, then it's a bit, meh. We took a day tour back to the mainland and then on to the ruins. It was a long day, but nice change of pace to driving a golf cart around the island.

One idea might be to spend a few nights in San Ignacio to visit the jungle/ruins and hike and then head out to the coast. We saw several ruins, did a day trip to Tikal, and did a river float thru some caves. It was pretty awesome. We then went to San Pedro for a week to snorkel and fish. As mentioned, beaches aren't great but the activities on the water are pretty awesome.

I see threads often about the fishing. Salt water flats and others.

Neither of us are into scuba and I don't see the fiance wanting to fish much, so maybe we should reconsider this! Appreciate the feedback.

I've been wanting to get back to this place for years.

https://www.matachica.com/

Victoria House. San Pedro on ambergris caye.

Enjoy

The Phoenix

My son and I recently returned from fishing at El Pescador in Belize and had a wonderful time. It is absolutely gorgeous.

I agree that if you aren't into scuba or fishing, you may want to think elsewhere. One of the all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, maybe? Seems like sargassum is a problem everywhere, though.

I went this summer and stayed at Portofino - around 6 miles north of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye.
Small, very personable resort. But kinda far from the main town (around 30 mins).

Food recs: Truck stop, PUR. Everything I had was delicious!

To do: Rent a golf cart for your entire trip, Secret Beach, and take a snorkeling trip (my fav thing I did)

Might want to check out Coco Plum Resort. Small, adults only all inclusive we really enjoyed. Outstanding service. At least half or more of the couples there on the small island were on a honeymoon or anniversary.

My wife and I were the managers of El Pescador north of San Pedro in 2018 & 2019. We got to visit a lot of other resorts during that time.

Our favorites:
Private Island www.shakacaye.com

Mountains, Jungles, adventure and wildlife
https://sleepinggiantbelize.

Sleeping Giant also has the Jaguar Reef resort and will shuttle you between the two if you want ocean and rainforest in one trip.

We did a week in Belize in the summer and loved it. We stayed half in the jungle and half on Ambergris.

Our jungle lodge was near the "town" of San Antonio and was a perfect jumping off place to Big Rock Falls (highly recommend), Rio on Pools, many ruins and Guatemala / Tikal. We rented a car for the freedom to do the adventures at our own pace.

Second half was at a "beach" resort -- like many said, the reef side of the island is basically rocks and seaweed close in. But you can paddle board or canoe past it, and the reefs for snorkeling are incredibly close and awesome.

Better beach and sand on the other side at Secrets Beach, reachable by golf cart.

Food -- we loved Truck Stop too - lots of choices. We also like The Garage steakhouse. Make sure you get some local specialties like stew chicken and johnny cakes.

My wife and I did our honeymoon on the Placencia Peninsula in Southeastern Belize. We rented a house down there, and it was heaven. Great beaches, great restaurants, etc. You do have to take a Tropic Air flight from Belize City to get there.

www.casabeyabelize.com

Belize travel reco -- if you do go to Guatemala, immigration and customs on both sides is a total CF, especially if you have a car.

But most important -- make sure they actually stamp your passport upon re-entry on the Belize side. I'm certain it is a scam, but my passport was not stamped upon re-entry even though it was with the 4 others that I handed immigration. I got a pretty good shake-down at the airport with multiple threats of me having to go back to the Western Border station to get a stamp. That's a solid three hour drive, even if I did have a car, which I had turned in days ago. They knew that. Turns out - shocker - that a cash payment for the missing stamp would be accepted. And conveniently, there was an ATM right outside the shake-down office. It was $200 Belize, which is about $100 US, so I readily paid. That's probably the sweet spot for getting some cash and not causing enough trouble to get US state department attention.

Victoria House or Matachica Lodge on Ambergris Caye

Pro Tip- When flying back into Philip Goldson on Tropic Air or Maya; those porters all have a buddy or a sweetheart working at the US airlines ticket counters. Letting them carry your bags and a US$20 tip will get you through the lines very fast.

Also, Tropic Air's colors are Maroon, White and Gray because the owner is an Aggie.

Been there a couple of times. If you want to dive go to Ambergris Caye. If you just want beach I'd try a different country.

If you want something different we stayed at Turtle Inn on the beach (not great beach) a few days then headed to Blancaneaux in the mountains for a few days (both owned by Francis Ford Coppola). On way to Blancaneaux we went to ATM cave which was incredible. It's best to get private guide and go very early so you are first people in cave. As more people arrive it gets loud and not nearly as enjoyable.

Take a boat out to turnefe atoll for some snorkeling, spear fishing and fresh fish for lunch. We swam with manatees out there, was an awesome experience

V8Aggie said:

---

Victoria House. San Pedro on ambergris caye.

Enjoy

---

Second this.

We have stayed at Grand Caribe on Ambergris which was very nice
Just stayed at Sirenian Bay in Placencia and it was great as well - folks that own it live in Dallas area.
Both areas require fairly short puddle jump air transfers

Ambergris - more activity/party type atmosphere
Placencia - think 1950 Key West...or I assume what it was like:-) Really laid back
Golf carts are your mode of transportation at each location

email in profile if you want additional feedback or have questions

FriscoAggieFan said:

---

We have stayed at Grand Caribe on Ambergris which was very nice
Just stayed at Sirenian Bay in Placencia and it was great as well - folks that own it live in Dallas area.
Both areas require fairly short puddle jump air transfers

Ambergris - more activity/party type atmosphere
Placencia - think 1950 Key West...or I assume what it was like:-) Really laid back
Golf carts are your mode of transportation at each location

email in profile if you want additional feedback or have questions

---

We were just down from Grand Caribe at Belizean Shores. We loved it. I think it was 12 villas with a smaller first floor unit and a larger one with a loft on the second floor (what my family had). Awesome pool and location, and it had its own dive shop, so we walked out of our villa and straight onto the boat in like one minute.

Second the Phoenix on Ambergris

We've been staying there most years for the last 10+. It's a great place to relax!

Troof

Has anyone priced summer flights to Belize? Yikes!

Yep. United seems like it's not even an option. I'm seeing $2k a ticket.

I have noticed that United is almost 2-3x everyone else lately. What's their deal?

evan_aggie said:

---

I see threads often about the fishing. Salt water flats and others.

---

came here to post this. I'm jelly.

texican08 said:

---

Yep. United seems like it's not even an option. I'm seeing $2k a ticket.

---

Doesn't look like they priced them yet. We got ours this year for the week of July 4 for $785 or 70k miles roundtrip.

texican08 said:

---

Yep. United seems like it's not even an option. I'm seeing $2k a ticket.

---

Try flying from somewhere besides Houston. United loves to screw Houstonians over on routes where they are the only ones with a non-stop option. Oftentimes flying from Austin or San Antonio through Houston will put you on the same flight for half the price.

87Flyfisher said:

---

Mountains, Jungles, adventure and wildlife
https://sleepinggiantbelize.

Sleeping Giant also has the Jaguar Reef resort and will shuttle you between the two of you what ocean and rainforest in one trip.

---

Just got back from Sleeping Giant. Great Place and people working there could not have been nicer. Good location, about 1.5 hours from the airport and no traffic. Easy to get to the places we wanted to go like Ziplines, Mayan ruins and jungle hiking.

Highly recommend my good friends place!!!!!!

https://www.stillwatersbelize.com/

txags92 said:

---

texican08 said:

---

Yep. United seems like it's not even an option. I'm seeing $2k a ticket.

---

Try flying from somewhere besides Houston. United loves to screw Houstonians over on routes where they are the only ones with a non-stop option. Oftentimes flying from Austin or San Antonio through Houston will put you on the same flight for half the price.

---

United screws everyone connecting through IAH. SWA's fares are up now!

Belize is awesome! If you like to dive, there are so many places that can meet anyone's skill level or amount of diving they want to do.