A Fabulous Family Adventure in Belize
Tour Introduction
A rare tropical treat awaits the lucky family that chooses this exceptionally adventurous family holiday. It will provide a plethora of exciting experiences and profound insight into the manifold attractions to be found in Belize.
From the major Maya ruins of Lamanai on the banks of the New River Lagoon to the Tapir Mountain Reserve; to the many choices of activities on offer at Caves Branch to the idyllic isle of South Water Caye: all our locations will entrance you and the children and allay any fears of boredom or ennui.
Climbing Maya plazas; canoeing on a lagoon in the early morning; catching crocodiles; watching keel billed toucans; reaching an ancient burial chamber on a caving excursion; spotting nocturnal wildlife; kayaking in the Caribbean Sea; island hopping; snorkelling on colourful coral reefs – all are on offer in this tour.
Give your family a holiday they will never forget in the only English-speaking nation in Central America, with its friendly people, barrier reef, Maya heritage and vast expanses of forest.
Full Itinerary
Arrive in Belize City then transfer by road north to the small Mayan community of Shipyard. There you will board a boat with a naturalist guide to travel along the beautiful New River (offering excellent wildlife viewing along the way) to your lodge on the banks of the New River Lagoon. The lagoon and its waterways are fringed by gallery rainforest and hold a wide variety of waterfowl, raptors, bats, mammals, reptiles and other wildlife, many species being in surprisingly large numbers and altogether providing many hours of excellent nature viewing. Nearly 400 bird species have so far been recorded at the lodge and the surrounding forest is home to a large population of black howler monkeys. Jungle cats such as the ocelot and jaguar are some of the more elusive residents. Accommodation is in a garden view cabana.
Staying at Lamanai Outpost Lodge. Includes All Meals.
Two guided activities are included per day (on shared bases - private services available) including: Spotlight safari boat cruises along the river at night to spot sleeping birds, bats, iguanas and hunting crocodiles; visits to the Lamanai Maya ruins and museum; guided canoe safaris (usually at sunrise); guided rainforest walks through primary and secondary forest; daylight lagoon cruises for exploring and wildlife spotting; guided birdwatching at dawn and dusk.
Staying at Lamanai Outpost Lodge. Includes All Meals.
Two guided activities are included per day (on shared bases - private services available) including: Spotlight safari boat cruises along the river at night to spot sleeping birds, bats, iguanas and hunting crocodiles; visits to the Lamanai Maya ruins and museum; guided canoe safaris (usually at sunrise); guided rainforest walks through primary and secondary forest; daylight lagoon cruises for exploring and wildlife spotting; guided birdwatching at dawn and dusk.
Staying at Lamanai Outpost Lodge. Includes All Meals.
After breakfast, transfer by boat and road to Jade Jungle Resort.
The small, friendly, family-run lodge surrounds a small Maya plaza with trails leading to the creek and lowland rainforest bordering the Tapir Mountain Reserve, with its wealth of birds and wildlife. There are eleven spacious detached, thatched cabanas with hot water and private bathroom, bar and dining room. Electricity is provided in the cabanas with the bar, dining room and reading area atmospherically lit by kerosene lamps.
The lodge has a network of well-marked rainforest trails to follow at leisure. Optional guided walks and activities are also available. It is also in close proximity to a wealth of ancient Maya archaeological sites - some of which have only recently been opened to the public and which few tourists have the chance to see.
Staying at Jade Jungle Resort. Includes All Meals.
Day at leisure or joining the specified guided activity that day.
Each day, there is a different group activity you are able to participate in (no scheduled activities on Sundays). Please ask us for more details about the activities on offer.
Staying at Jade Jungle Resort. Includes All Meals.
Day at leisure, exploring the trails, or joining in the scheduled group activity for that day.
Staying at Jade Jungle Resort. Includes All Meals.
Transfer by road, down the Hummingbird Highway to your next lodge, Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. Established for over 25 years, the lodge is dedicated to showing guests how to enjoy sustainable adventure in the lush Belizean rainforest.
Staying at Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. Includes All Meals.
A full day to participate in the various activities on offer at the lodge.
Staying at Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. Includes All Meals.
A full day to participate in the various activities on offer at the lodge.
Staying at Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. Includes All Meals.
Morning pick up from the lodge and transfer by road along the picturesque Hummingbird Highway to the small coastal town of Dangriga. Met on arrival at the airport and transfer to the dock. Transfer by boat to idyllic South Water Caye.
Located right on the edge of the Belize Barrier Reef (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) the 15-acre island is known as perhaps the most beautiful of all the reef cayes and is within a designated marine reserve.
Situated on the lovely southern end of the cay, with its coral sand beach adorned with coconut palms, the hotel consists of a main wooden building, Pelican’s Pouch, once a convent for the Sisters of Mercy, with five rooms on top and a restaurant below where you will take your meals.
The accommodation is simple yet very comfortable and uses sustainable technology such as solar power and captured rainwater. There is excellent snorkelling right off the beach and diving can be arranged from a facility at the other end of the island or the mainland: the reef drops off to 2000ft just thirty yards offshore allowing fabulous wall dives.
Staying at Pelicans Beach Resort. Includes All Meals.
Day at leisure to enjoy any of the included or optional activities.
Snorkelling equipment, kayak use and three half-day guided snorkelling boat trips are included.
Optional activities include: scuba diving boat trips; fishing trips; boat rides to other cayes for snorkelling; boat tours to the Man O War Caye to see the impressive frigate bird and booby rookery (can be used as one of the included boat trips).
Staying at Pelicans Beach Resort. Includes All Meals.
Day at leisure to enjoy any of the included or optional activities.
Staying at Pelicans Beach Resort. Includes All Meals.
Day at leisure to enjoy any of the included or optional activities.
Staying at Pelicans Beach Resort. Includes All Meals.
Day at leisure to enjoy any of the included or optional activities.
Staying at Pelicans Beach Resort. Includes All Meals.
Morning departure from South Water Caye to Dangriga by boat. Domestic flight to Belize Airport, to begin homeward journey.
Includes Breakfast.
Tour Accommodation
Pelican Beach Resort
Overview
One of only a handful of islands located on the edge of the Belize Barrier Reef (a World Heritage Site), the 15-acre South Water Caye is perhaps the most beautiful of all the inhabited reef cayes. It forms part of the South Water Caye Marine Reserve, Belize’s largest marine reserve covering an area of over 100,000 acres and considered to be one of the most biodiverse marine areas in the country.
Situated on the lovely southern end of the caye on a coral sand beach adorned with coconut palms, the hotel consists of a main wooden period building, Pelican’s Pouch (once a Convent for the Sisters of Mercy) with five rooms on top and a restaurant below plus five separate wooden cottages comprising eight units.
The accommodation is fairly simple and has been designed to have the lightest environmental footprint including solar power, captured rainwater and state of the art composting toilets.
There is excellent snorkelling right off the beach and diving can be arranged at a resort on the island or from the mainland: the reef drops off to 2000ft just thirty yards offshore allowing fabulous wall dives. The resort is owned by a prominent local family, the Bowmans, who once owned the entire island and others nearby; the food is excellent and the Belizean staff are very friendly and quietly efficient.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Five separate cabanas comprising eight units: Osprey’s Nest (two rooms, each with double and single beds, shared balcony) shared private dock, sea views; Heron’s Hideaway (for honeymooners, with dbl bed and sea views); Sandpiper Suites (duplex - one dbl, one dbl plus sgl, beach view); Egret’s Escape (first floor unit, dbl bed); Kingfisher Cottage (first floor unit with dbl bed, lagoon and beach views). All have composting loos and hot water showers. The main building, Pelican’s Pouch, has five large first-floor rooms, en suite toilet and basin, shared hot showers on ground floor, east facing verandah with hammocks, restaurant, bar, dining room with large deck. On the property are a boat dock, hammocks, canoes and Lazer sailboats for the use of guests.
Local Wildlife
Snorkelling for eagle rays, stingrays, nurse sharks, tarpon, corals, reef fish; Man ’O’ War Cay for large numbers of roosting magnificent frigatebirds and yellow-footed boobies. Around the island, pelicans dive constantly for fish, frigatebirds soar overhead and hermit crabs scurry along the beach, pure white and fringed by coconut palms. The island’s resident ospreys can be observed hunting for fish and tending their nest above the radio mast.
Optional Activities
Swimming, snorkelling (gear for hire), diving (no dive shop – tanks and gear can come from a mainland operator or nearby resort), canoeing, sailing, boating, birdwatching, bone fishing, drop-line fishing, kite surfing (bring your own gear), exploring the island (you can generally walk anywhere), visiting other islands, mangrove tour, relaxing in a hammock.
Jade Jungle Resort
Overview
Having recently been modernised and revamped under new ownership, Jade Jungle Resort was previously known as Pook’s Hill Lodge, a long-standing jungle lodge hugely popular with its guests. Adjacent to Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve, the accommodation retains its original low-key ambience and enjoys a spectacular position on a ridge above Roaring Creek river. The lodge is built in an ancient Maya plaza which has been lovingly restored.
The lodge’s own 300 acre private rainforest reserve is listed with the Belize Association of Private Protected Areas and is a natural extension of the neighbouring 6,700 acre Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve, expanding an important wildlife corridor connecting the reserves in the south of Belize.
There are private trails leading to the river where you can enjoy river tubing, amongst other activities. The reserve is home to over 300 species of bird as well as many of Belize’s mammals with tapirs and jaguars being occasional visitors.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Eleven thatched cottages including two Boardwalk cabanas (No.10 & 11) accessed by walkway below the main lodge, which are the largest and most private of the rooms. The others are standard cabanas dotted around the grounds. Restaurant, bar/lounge area with small library; on-site naturalist birding guide; private reserve with trails; hot water
Local Wildlife
Mainly birds, including rare hummingbirds which feed on the flowering trees in the gardens. Excellent birding can be had in the resort grounds during the early mornings.
Optional Activities
Canoeing; butterfly farm; Tikal (Guatemala) excursion; Xunantunich Maya ruins; zip-lining; horse riding; excursion to nearby ATM cave – a real adventure with three hours of swimming, wading and walking through a remarkable cave system revealing many weird stalactites and, at the end, a spooky Maya ceremonial chamber with pottery shards and petrified skeletons.
Lamanai Outpost Lodge
Overview
A long established, well-run, family-owned lodge with rustic-chic, comfortable cabanas set on a huge 28-mile freshwater lagoon and right by Lamanai Maya ruins, one of Belize’s most important sites. Plenty of on-site activities and excursions are available, and you might even see Menonites (similar to Amish) on their horse-drawn buggies. The lodge is ideal for wildlife and waterfowl lovers perhaps with an interest in Mayan civilisation.
All activities are on-site or very near the lodge. The package generally includes two standard activities per night’s stay, as follows: jungle dawn guided nature walk; sunrise canoe expedition; visit to Lamanai ruins; Maya medicine trail; sunset cocktail cruise; spotlight nocturnal wildlife safari; night nature walk. If you are not on a package, all activities are optional.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Private bathrooms, mini bar, verandah, fans, restaurant, bar, TV in rooms, dock with boats, canoes
Local Wildlife
Birds including various raptors and kingfishers, jabiru stork, keel-billed toucan and water birds such as northern jacana, Morelet’s crocodile, manatee, neotropical otter, northern racoon, bats, mantled howler monkey. The sight of reflective crocodile eyes shining at you in the night is unforgettable as they hunt the water birds such as jacana. Jaguar and other wild cats are occasionally seen near the lodge but it’s rare.
Optional Activities
If you are not on a package, all activities mentioned above are optional.
Caves Branch Jungle Lodge and Adventures
Overview
Caves Branch Jungle Lodge hosts a stunning collection of luxury treehouses to stay in with a lush riverside jungle setting. If you are keen to try some real adventure, then it’s worth going on one of their signature excursions throughout the day. The focus of this lodge and the staff is to provide adventures, heartfelt service in all aspects and to be as environmentally conscious as possible.
They specialise in Caving tours however many of their tours come highly recommended due to the guides and expertise knowledge of the surrounding area for wildlife, Mayan culture and bird spotting.
The food and staff at the restaurant are excellent. Meals are served in a family communal style, which means eating with other guests, which is a lovely way to meet other like minded people and to compare your adventure stories at the end of the day. Worth a special mention is that the lodge produces their own selection of cheeses and fruit which they use regularly on their menu.
The rooms are beautiful and spacious with welcoming warm interior designs. All the treehouses include an amazing additional separate outdoor shower near the room’s entrance off of the main deck.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
A Bar, Lounge, Restaurant, Hot tub, Outdoor Pool, Tour excursions available to book, Laundry Service, and a recreation centre with games for rainy days.
Local Wildlife
Lots of wildlife call the grounds and surrounding rainforest home. You are guaranteed to see a variety staying at the Caves Branch Lodge including monkeys and plenty of birds.
Optional Activities
Caving tours, Birdwatching, Exploring Mayan ruins, Nature Hikes, Swimming in the river (depending on the time of year), Horseback riding, Snorkelling and Diving excursions, try a zipline Aerial Adventure, wander around or have a guided tour of the onsite Botanical Gardens, request a massage in your room or in the gazebo.
Route Map
Departure Dates
Travel Information
Are International Flights Included?
No. Please contact us for a quote if required.
Flight Info:
Domestic flights within Belize included
Best Visited:
November to May
Are you ATOL Registered?
Yes. This means we are legally able to book your international flights in conjunction with your ground arrangements so you can book with us with complete confidence. Read more about our ATOL license here.
Claire Pote
Area Specialist
As you must spend at least one night in Cancun, Mexico, or a city in the USA such as Miami en route to Belize, why not add an extra dimension to the trip by spending a few nights exploring another country before arriving in Belize.
If you have any questions regarding this Tour, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
Really enjoyed eating traditional Belizian food and the variation between hotels. Every single member of staff we met was friendly, pleasant and helpful and we had a fabulous time. The holiday itinerary fulfilled out brief and our expectations – a big thank you for that.
