My first trip to Central America is was to Belize and it did not disappoint! Came here to spend some quality time with my childhood best friend (hi bbffaeae!) and then to hop around to a few different islands. The biggest surprise was how diverse Belize is in terms of things to do. Most people go there for beaches and snorkeling/diving, but there is lots of hiking and jungle on the mainland to explore as well.

Keep in mind, that just because Belize is in Central America, does not mean that it is cheap. Local beer, and fruit is cheap. Wine or anything else imported is very expensive. If you are hitting up the typical tourist locations, it will be expensive. There aren’t really any all-inclusives, so if you are looking for something like that, you are better off looking at Mexico or other countries. Most places have two prices, one in Belize dollars and another in USD.

The first part of my trip and where I spent the majority of my time there, was in Placencia with Lish. We had the opportunity to spend a lot of time outside and we went to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Reserve, Antelope Falls, Mayflower Bocawina National Park. Make sure to bring good footwear (maybe not hiking boots if your suitcase is limited, but for sure runners), and work out attire. And A LOT of water!!

If you have the chance to go more inland to San Ignacio or even Hopkins, definitely do it. Very different vibe from Placencia and the islands and worth the trip to explore! We went to
Cahal Pech Mayan Ruins which was very cool to see all of those ruins.

Unfortunately there was some heavy downpours and our river tubing activity got cancelled. But we made the best of our situation and went to the Green Iguana Conservation Project and it was honestly one of the highlights of my trip! You got to learn a lot about iguanas and even hold the babies AND the adults (if you aren’t scared that is). And since we had the whole day, we had a slower morning and were able to see a Toucan while we were eating breakfast at hotel – which is the national bird of Belize.

The last part of my trip was Ambergris Caye (San Pedro) and Caye Caulker – which are the touristy hot spots. These islands are where you’ll be able to book a lot of excursions and activities. I did the Hol Chan Marine Reserve tour and it was incredible! I got to swim with sharks (!!!), saw some sea turtles and so many fish.

Feeding stingrays is at your own risk, but WOW what a cool experience. The bottom of the stingrays are soooo soft (like jelly) but the tops of them are rough like sandpaper.

On a tour I did on Caye Caulker, I also got to feed tarpons which was kinda scary with the speed of which they come up out of the water but again, super cool and happy I did it!

I really loved my time in Belize. I was able to spend so much quality time with my childhood friend, explore nature, go on hikes, see waterfalls, have multiple tours in the water and see so many animals! More than I expected. I loved this trip because I was able to explore so much of the country and have so many more experiences than just the typical touristy things. As always, make sure to do your research before you travel, do your due diligence and read reviews!

Until next time bbffaeae!
With Love,
Murs ❤