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Belize Upgraded
9 days, Belize City to Caye Caulker
Itinerary
Day 1Belize City/Burrell Boom
Arrive at any time in Belize City and transfer to the hotel, located near the village of Burrell Boom.
Today is arrival day so there are no activities planned. You are free to arrive at any time to the Belize City airport where you will be met and transferred to our hotel near Burrell Boom village, which is about 30 minutes from the airport.
Hotels vary greatly throughout Central America and even within Belize depending on the location. We do our best to pick comfortable accommodations, but in remote places, options can be limited. It also is important to remember that hot water shortages and power outages can be fairly common in Belize (even in upgraded hotels). We appreciate your patience and understanding that these occurrences are outside of our control.
The heat and humidity of Belize may affect you upon arrival. You may have a general sense of lethargy and/or loss of appetite. This is no cause for alarm; it is simply your body’s reaction to the heat. Be sure to drink plenty of water (cold bottled water is available everywhere) and do not attempt too much in any given day.
Arrival Transfer
You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel to start your adventure.
Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting
The adventure begins tonight. Feel free to explore before your welcome meeting, but make sure you’re back in time to meet the group. Check for the meeting time on the welcome note at the hotel. After introductions, your CEO will review the details of your tour. Please note that normal check-in times apply at our start hotels, but you can usually store your luggage for the day if you arrive early.
Day 2Burrell Boom
Travel by boat for a full-day excursion to the Mayan archaeological site of Lamanai, Explore the ruins with a local guide and look out for for wildlife in the dense surrounding jungle. Return to the hotel in the afternoon for some free time to relax by the pool.
Lamanai Ruins Guided Tour
Lamanai is located on the shore of the New River Lagoon and is one of the largest Mayan ceremonial site within the region. Lamanai translates as “submerged crocodile” in ancient Mayan, and the site was occupied as early as 1500 BC. The onsite museum has interesting artifacts on display.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Orange Walk Riverboat Wildlife Excursion
Enjoy a thrilling boat ride upriver to Lamanai, past lush forest dripping with vines, orchids and air plants. View the abundant wildlife along the way including tropical and migrating birds, spider monkeys and freshwater crocodiles.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 3Burrell Boom/San Ignacio
This morning, we’ll visit the Community Baboon Sanctuary and observe these endangered monkeys in the wild. Then head to the village of San Antonio to visit a G Adventures–supported women's cooperative. Try your hand at throwing clay in the cooperative’s pottery workshop, and learn how to prepare corn tortillas using ancient Maya techniques. After lunch, continue to the bustling town of San Ignacio.
The town of San Ignacio is situated on the banks of the Macal River. All activities here are optional, so the choice is yours: explore the Mayan cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal, visit the butterfly gardens, or go tubing or canoeing through the natural limestone caves of the region.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Howler Monkey Experience
The Community Baboon Sanctuary founded in 1985 is a conservation project that works to protect the natural habitat of the black howler monkey in Belize. Through community education and sustainable ecotourism practices they have worked tirelessly to sustain the local population of howler monkeys. Visiting this sanctuary also helps to promote economic development in the surrounding communities. Over 200 private, local landowners in seven villages, have voluntarily pledged to conserve their land in order to protect the black howler monkey, which has resulted in a population increase of the species. To see for yourself, take a nature walk in the rainforest with a community guide to observe these creatures in the wild, and enjoy a cultural demonstration of rice beating and cashew roasting during your visit.
Your G for Good Moment: San Antonio Women's Cooperative visit with Pottery Class and Local Lunch
Like in many places around the world, education for women in the village of San Antonio isn’t prioritized. Girls don’t typically attend school beyond primary levels. So a women’s cooperative was founded here, as a way for underprivileged women to earn income, learn new skills, and share centuries-old Mayan techniques and knowledge. Visit the pottery workshop, which is newly expanded with an investment from G Adventures. Meet some of the women who’ve found community within its walls and gain insight into the tradition of throwing pots. Try your own hand at these ancient techniques during a pottery class. Afterward, enjoy lunch together with these inspiring and unforgettable women, sampling traditional foods of the Cayo region.
Tortilla-Making Lesson
Corn tortillas are a staple of Belizean cuisine, and the fresher they are the better. Drop by the San Antonio Women’s Cooperative for a tortilla-making lesson and demonstration. Help grind wet corn kernels on an ancient stone that’s been passed down through generations to the special ladies who work here. Then try your own hand at making perfectly round tortillas, which is harder than you may think. Afterward, enjoy the results of the group with a cup of atole, a local corn drink.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 4San Ignacio
Stretch your legs as you climb up the steps of El Castillo to enjoy sweeping views of the jungle in the Maya ruins of Xunantunich. Meander through intricately carved stelae and well-preserved temples and palaces. The afternoon is yours to spend how you wish, choose from a variety of optional activities like a visit to Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave or a trip to a butterfly house.
Free Time
Relax in the jungle or choose from the many optional activities in the area.
Xunantunich Visit
Hike to the top of this impressive 9th-century Maya centre, set high on a natural limestone ridge, and admire the view of the Mopan River, Cayo District and neighbouring Guatemalan countryside. The tallest temple, El Castillo, is partially excavated and explored and there’s a unique stucco frieze on the east side of the structure. Discover why Xunantunich is Belize’s most visited site with intricately carved stellae, 25 temples, and well-preserved palaces.
Optional Activities - Day 4 HideShow
Cave Tubing
95USD per personStrap on a headlamp, sit on an inner tube and get set to enter the underworld. Float on an underground river past stalactites hanging above and through shafts of filtered light. Discover firsthand why the Maya selected these sites to make offerings to their gods.
Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave Visit
140USD per personThe Actun Tunichil Muknal cave has only been open to the public since 1998. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to see up to 1400 artifacts, including pottery, tools and vessels used by the Maya for a thousand years. Hike 45 minutes to the cave entrance, wade/swim through deep pools, past calcite formations, to explore this damp, dark place of ritual and sacrifice. With a helmet and headlamp, see the skeleton of the “Crystal Maiden,” a young girl whose bones have calcified over the past 1,100 years, making them appear to sparkle.
Barton Creek Cave Canoeing
120USD per personStrap on a headlamp, step in the canoe and paddle along an ancient Mayan waterway inside the Barton Creek Cave. Bring your camera to take memorable photos of cathedral rock chambers, stalactites and stalagmites. Upon return, opt to swim at Big Rock Falls.
Butterfly Gardens
20USD per personEnjoy a visit to the serene butterfly house and gardens. Learn about the fascinating life cycle of these beautiful insects and enjoy the scores of brightly coloured and varied species flitting about the gardens. This place is a treat for visitors of all ages.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 5San Ignacio
Enjoy a free day to explore San Ignacio and the surrounding countryside. Opt to descend into the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, an ancient burial site where mysterious rituals took place; visit a butterfly garden; or go canoeing or tubing through the region’s breathtaking limestone caves.
Your Discover Moment
There's plenty to see and do in San Ignacio, and we wanted to make sure that you had some time to take it all in. Feel free to relax or try optional activities like cave exploring, visiting Mayan ruins, and horseback riding. Your CEO has more ideas if you need them. Just ask!
Optional Activities - Day 5 HideShow
Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave Visit
140USD per personThe Actun Tunichil Muknal cave has only been open to the public since 1998. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to see up to 1400 artifacts, including pottery, tools and vessels used by the Maya for a thousand years. Hike 45 minutes to the cave entrance, wade/swim through deep pools, past calcite formations, to explore this damp, dark place of ritual and sacrifice. With a helmet and headlamp, see the skeleton of the “Crystal Maiden,” a young girl whose bones have calcified over the past 1,100 years, making them appear to sparkle.
Cave Tubing
95USD per personStrap on a headlamp, sit on an inner tube and get set to enter the underworld. Float on an underground river past stalactites hanging above and through shafts of filtered light. Discover firsthand why the Maya selected these sites to make offerings to their gods.
Barton Creek Cave Canoeing
120USD per personStrap on a headlamp, step in the canoe and paddle along an ancient Mayan waterway inside the Barton Creek Cave. Bring your camera to take memorable photos of cathedral rock chambers, stalactites and stalagmites. Upon return, opt to swim at Big Rock Falls.
Butterfly Gardens
20USD per personEnjoy a visit to the serene butterfly house and gardens. Learn about the fascinating life cycle of these beautiful insects and enjoy the scores of brightly coloured and varied species flitting about the gardens. This place is a treat for visitors of all ages.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 6San Ignacio/Caye Caulker
Catch a ferry to Caye Caulker, located along the Belize Barrier Reef. Take some time to relax in your hotel and choose to walk around the laid-back Caye Caulker village, to explore this small diverse community of locals and expats.
We bet you didn’t know that Caye Caulker is a long thin limestone caye off the coast of Belize and home to fewer than 2,000 people full-time. Its eclectic mix of backgrounds from Mestizo to Maya and Creole to hippies makes a trip here especially diverse and fun. Travel along the sandy pathway of the main street, eat some sensational seafood, and think about going snorkelling and boating along the Belize Barrier Reef.
Caye Caulker is very small and has a limited number of accommodations available. For this reason, we often use different hotels, depending on the departure and time of year. Accommodations are a bit rustic, and rooms will have ensuite, electricity and hot water, but due to the remote location, there may be occasional interruptions to these services. The stunning location and natural beauty of this off-the-beaten-track island more than make up for a few minor inconveniences.
Ferry
Get to the next spot on your route aboard a convenient and efficient ferry boat.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 7Caye Caulker
It’s time to explore the island on a leisurely bike tour with a local guide from the G Adventures–supported Bike with Purpose project. In the afternoon, choose to go on a snorkelling excursion on the Belize Barrier Reef and spot sea creatures as you move through the warm waters. If you still want more time on the water after this, choose to take a cruise around the island at sunset.
The barrier reef off Caye Caulker is a true wonder of nature. Optional snorkel trips get you up close and personal with nurse sharks and rays, to name a few of the wondrous resident creatures.
Your G for Good Moment: Belize Bike with Purpose Tour
Take a leisurely bike tour around Caye Caulker with a guide from the G Adventures for Good supported Bike with Purpose project. See the island through the eyes of a local on this two-hour tour, and live the island's motto of 'Go Slow'. Feel the island breeze in you hair while knowing you're supporting a program that helps youth from Caye Caulker build skills for tourism jobs upon graduation from high school.
Your Discover Moment
There's plenty to see and do in Caye Caulker, and we wanted to make sure that you had some time to take it all in. Feel free to relax or try optional activities like snorkelling, sea kayaking, and sailing. Your CEO has more ideas if you need them. Just ask!
Optional Activities - Day 7 HideShow
Sunset Sailing Boat Tour
60USD per personSet sail just before sunset. Relax with reggae music and rum punch, snack on shrimp ceviche and snap a few photos as you sail around the island as the sun sets to the west of Caye Caulker.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 8Caye Caulker
Spend the day as you wish, opt to embark on a full-day sailing and snorkelling excursion to Hol Chan Marine Reserve or lounge by the water simply enjoying this piece of paradise. To finish the day we’ll head out on a cruise back to Caye Caulker just before sunset and then indulge in a farewell dinner at a popular local restaurant where there will be plenty of reminiscing.
The barrier reef off Caye Caulker is a true wonder of nature. Optional snorkel trips get you up close and personal with nurse sharks and rays, to name a few of the wondrous resident creatures.
Free Time
Options abound or choose just to kick back and relax in true Caye Caulker style.
Optional Activities - Day 8 HideShow
Hol Chan Marine Reserve Visit
100USD per personEnjoy a full-day snorkelling trip that visits three different spots to snorkel, the Coral Gardens, shark and ray alley, and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Depart late morning, enjoy lunch in between snorkels, and see hundreds of varieties of tropical fish in this natural aquarium including angelfish, nurse sharks, stingrays and green moray eels. Be sure to check out the Coral Gardens to see a rainbow of colours – red, purple, pink and green – and depending on the season, float past manatees while you marvel at nature’s underwater artistry. End the day with a cruise back to Caye Caulker just before sunset with a complimentary glass of rum punch in your hand.
Tour Includes: snorkeling mask, fins/flippers, lunch, assortment of tropical fruit, water, and other snacks.
Meals included:
Breakfast | DinnerDay 9Caye Caulker
Depart at any time.
Should you wish to have additional post nights in Caye Caulker or Belize City, please ask your sales CEO.
This trip finishes on Caye Caulker, which is located 1 hr by water taxi from Belize City (an additional 30 min by taxi to the airport). There are frequent ferry departures between 7:30am and 5pm. You can purchase your return ferry ticket easily once you get to Caye Caulker.
If flying out of Belize City today, please ensure to book your departure flight after 11:30am to allow for enough time to reach the airport.
Departure Day
Not ready to leave? Your CEO can help with travel arrangements to extend your adventure.