Belize

[Mack Shaft]

I'm going to Belize in the first part of February. It is a family trip for 9 days. Any suggestions? Would it be safe to rent a car and drive around the country?

Thanks!

 

[Adventures With BeeGee]

I've never personally been so this is all second hand knowledge, but my cousin has been to Belize multiple times for college and his masters. He has never had an issue with safety or getting around by car. I hope that helped a little even though its not exactly what you are looking for.

 

[slc_dan]

Probably not helpful, but I believe @langutah has a Belize story?

 

[Nick]

I've never been, but I saw a pretty wild segment on Vice recently about how crazy the party scene has become there. It did not inspire me to go... But on the other hand, I had a coworker who lived down there on and off and she loves it.

EDIT: I think I may have confused Belize with Ibiza. I'm going to go ahead and blame the pain killers I've been on the last two weeks.

 

[Laura]

I spent 10 days there in January 2010. I went with Island Expeditions (www.islandexpeditions.com) who specialize in adventure tours and they were fantastic. They have been in Belize for over 20 years and they use local guides so you get a great perspective. We went caving, diving, kayaking and camping down the Mojo (can't remember the exact spelling) river for 3 days, stayed in a Mayan village. It was not a tour for the faint of heart: we lived in wet, mildewy clothes, no hot water, but it was unforgettable. Stay out of the cities, they are seriously crime ridden, but the countryside was fantastic.




5,000 year old human sacrifice in a Mayan cave. This was straight out of Indiana Jones. Our guide made us leave early so we'd have the cave to ourselves. We had to swim into the cave, waking up a roomful of bats, then 1 1/2 miles of making our way in pitch black (with miner's lights) through a rising river deep into the cave to reach the sacrificial altars.


Stan and I after the cave journey. The cave is that hourglass opening behind me.



The beach at Glover's Reef.



Our kayaks on the Moho River.



The toilet at camp. The guides would dig a hole in the evening when we got to camp, and if you needed to go you hung your butt over the stick and did your business, then threw a handful of dirt over it. By morning it would be filled in.



Having a beer after we survived 3 days of jungle camping!

When I got back to San Diego I had a hard time sleeping because the city was so quiet at night. I had become used to the noises of the jungle-myriad insects, howler monkeys, etc.

 

[Artemus]

Probably not helpful, but I believe @langutah has a Belize story?

Never been... you are thinking of my Bolivia story. I was in high desert and alpine tundra there. Much different.

 

[slc_dan]

Never been... you are thinking of my Bolivia story. I was in high desert and alpine tundra there. Much different.

All those "b" countries are the same right?

 

[HomerJ]

Never been... you are thinking of my Bolivia story. I was in high desert and alpine tundra there. Much different.

I'm still interested in the story!