I am just starting to research a honeymoon trip to Belize.
There are many guided trips available. I would prefer going sans guide with just my wife.
Has anyone done a trip here? I will be doing some research then i will post more pointed questions soon.
The Trip is planned for january 2011.
Thanks in advance for any help.
RE
Of course i mean a sea kayaking trip.
Island Adventures
Take a look here
http://www.islandexpeditions.com/ie-outadven.html
While I do not have any first hand experience with them, I did talk to a few folks down there who had just come off one of their excursions and only had positive comments.
There are lots of outfitters (?) in Belize, some with a good reputation some not so.
Google it. Lots of reviews to sift through.
Paul
Going there for 2nd time end of March
Three friends and I went to Belize in March 2008. We rented kayaks from Sherry Finkbeiner (http://www.kayakbelize.com/index.html) in Placentia. We paddled out to the Silk Cays, then spent the rest of the week paddling down the line of Cays to the end at Sapodilla Cay, where we had arranged for a boat to pick us up and take us back to Placentia.
This year two of us are going to to the same thing, but instead of being taken back to Placentia by boat, we are going to be dropped off at the mouth of the Monkey River and spend a couple of days there and then paddle back to Placentia.
hey arledge:
How many days did it take to paddle down to Sapodilla? How many miles per day did you do? 30 miles total? Would you have liked to have more time or could you have traveled a greater distance?
We were looking at leaving out of Dangriga and wanted to see the truffle islands, lighthouse and glover’s reefs.
There is a fair amount of open water paddling/sailing between these atolls. Did you have any must see points in the southern reef area?
Still just starting my research so i will check back in on this thread this weekend with more info and questions.
Thankyou.
Yup…
This is the sight that i first ran across. Seems nice. It is our front runner early on to rent a kayak and just go it alone.
From the dusty archives of my memory
– Last Updated: Feb-17-10 8:28 PM EST –
We spent three nights in Placentia, one more than planned due to a forecast of wind. Then it was a 20 nm paddle out to Silk (Queen) Cays. We took breaks on a small mangrove cay and Little Water Cay on the way out.
Silk is a government park with toilets; my estimate is that it is closer to half an acre than an acre. We spent two nights on it, the first night by ourselves and the second night with an outfitted group. The outfitter baked fresh bread and gave us a loaf. A women in our group taught one of the guides how to roll. During the day several snorkeling and diving tour boats came out and there were about 30 people on the island during the early afternoon. The ranger stopped by and collected the camping fee. We paid USD 10 per person every night every night of the trip except for Ranguana Cay.
It is about 27 nm from Silk to Sapodilla Cay so it could be paddled in one day. We took four days at a very leisurely pace. We snorkeled at least twice a day.
Our next night was on Round Cay, a private cay where the caretaker let us camp for the going rate.
Next was Ranguana were there is a lodge. The lady running the lodge said we were not supposed to camp there, but let us camp anyway since we bought meals from her, but we couldn't set up our tents until sunset.
Then we camped on Tom Owns Cay. The man there, Raphael, was extremely nice. He and a helper were building a resort, they had been at it for three years and figured he had a couple more years to go. He let us sleep in the unfinished lodge and his wife fixed us a fish dinner. We more or less had to force him to take the $10 per person.
We spend the last night on Lime Cay and did a day trip to Sapodilla Cay. We had arranged for a fellow from Placentia to pick us up the next morning, which he did. We spent one more night in Placentia then flew out the next day.
I thought there must be some animosity toward rich tourists by the residents, who are relatively poor, but if there was I saw no sign of it. I was walking by a site in Placentia where a crew of young men were working on a building. One of the laborers turned toward me an yelled something. He must have seen the startled expression on my face because he walked over to me an apologized; he said he was yelling a a friend behind me. Everyone we meet was friendly and helpful.
We had benign weather and the trip was idyllic. The only moment of concern was while snorkeling; the quarter of a second between seeing a shark right under you and realizing that it is just a nurse shark, wakes you right up.
THANKS
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. It really put my fiance at ease. (She was worried that I was going to take her on some “crazy adventure” but in a bad way)
I will let you know what we come up with next week.
I too liked this thread
and we just got back from a super trip to Lighthouse Reef with Island Expeditions. Tony the consultant chef put out some amazing meals… Apparantly the food used to be just so so, but now it was mouthwatering.
Next time we will howver want to do it on our own and appreciate the tips.
Belize has some amazing people. While the country looks like third world, the people are friendly open minded and aware of the potential of their country for ecotourism while protecting the habitat for the animals.
Great trip…
Spent a week in Placencia last spring, had a great trip. we did a paddle up the Monkey River, which was cool. The people are great, the country is poor, fresh fruit and veggies are hard to get, and there are some health issues to be prepared for. We met a couple who had contracted dengue fever, and I was bitten by a mysterious unidentified insect and had my hand swell to alarming proportions. Not trying to scare you, but be aware that there are some issues to be aware of.
http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/mamerica_carib/belize.html
Headed there this afternoon for a month.
This is my third year there, we’re building a house near San Ignacio which is in the west, 8 miles from Guatamala. There’s mucho adventures to be had all over Belize, so far I’ve stayed away from the tourist scene at Caye Caulker and San Pedro but the rest of the country is delightful. Did a trip with Island Adventures my first year and it was great. Happy to talk with you more if you’d like.
TRIP PLANNING
We are in the early stages if trip planning for a Belize honeymoon adventure.
We are going to spend a week in kayaks first then head inland. (Or perhaps the other way around) Likely out of Dangriga and Placencia.
So far on the list of must sees are: Tikal, Caracol, Barton Creek Cave.
Likely sights: Rio On Pools, Rio Frio Cave, Gales Point, Actun Loch Tunich Cave, Blue Hole Natl. Park.
We would likely use San Ignacio as a base in the north.
What do you recommend as must see/do in Belize?
Thanks in Advance for any comments.
A couple recommendations
I think a visit to the Lamanai mayan ruins is a must see. You could kayak to it, but a motorboat tour is quicker and allows you more time at this relatively inaccessible ruin.
Crooked Tree wildlife sactuary is very impressive, good birdwatching.
Look up canopy zip-line tours…there are a couple available in Belize.
The Community Baboon Santuary is pretty neat, in Bermudian Landing. This quiet village is a nice central location to stay too. Look up Howler Monkey Resort.
-Chuck
Trip Report
No kayaking in this one, just a bit of wandering we did there a couple years ago.
http://tulum.info/showthread.php?2756-Tulum-Belize-2008&highlight=
Paul