Compare Belize: Essentials Tour by Vibe Adventures vs Belize: See & Experience it ALL in 10 Days, 1st Class Custom Tours by Charlie The Traveler
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| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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5 | Excellent
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| Duration | 9 days | 10 days |
| Price From | $ 1,590 | $ 2,856 |
| Price Per Day | $ 177 | $ 286 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Small group tour | Private guided tour |
| Lodging Level | Standard | Luxury |
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| Countries Visited | ||
| Cities and Attractions |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
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Lunches are included specifically on days 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9. Breakfasts and dinners are not included. We do our best to ensure you are being offered healthy and tasty local cuisine. |
| Description |
Join our 9-day tour around Belize to get to know all the travel essentials of this beautiful country. Exotic wildlife, jungle rivers, tropical forests, Mayan ruins, waterfalls, coral reefs, and lots of adventures – all of this is packed in this trip around the top natural & cultural attractions of Belize. |
You absolutely will not find another tour out there as packed with activities and attractions as this one, provided by CharlieTheTraveler. You will also not find another tour out there that offers it all ""FIRST CLASS,"" yet for a relatively low price. We have thousands of travelers taking this specific tour every year and that's because no competitor can beat us on quality, price and substance. Below are just some examples of what you will see and do on this tour:
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Day 1: Belize City – Community Baboon Sanctuary
Belize City Port
Arrive at any time & transfer to our accommodation at eco-lodge near Community Baboon Sanctuary, just 30 minutes from the airport. Enjoy the peacefulness of surrounding nature before meeting your group and Tour Leader in the evening: welcome meeting, optional dinner & get-together with the rest of the group in a local restaurant.
- Accommodation: eco-lodge near Community Baboon Sanctuary
- Activities Included: welcome meeting
Day 2: Community Baboon Sanctuary – Lamanai Ruins – Placencia
Altun Ha Maya Ruins, Belize
In the morning, after a black howler monkey tour in nearby Community Baboon Sanctuary, go to visit Lamanai – one of the oldest continuously occupied Maya sites in Belize. After that, follow to Placencia, a charming, low-key fishing village at the southern tip of the same-named peninsula. Evening arrival, accommodation, optional dinner & get-together with your group.
- Transportation: private vehicle/mini-couch
- Accommodation: conveniently located, locally-owned hotel/B&B/guest house in Placencia
- Activities Included: guided visits to Lamanai Ruins and Community Baboon Sanctuary; walking tour in Placencia
Day 3: Placencia
Crystal waters in Placencia, Belize
Free program, therefore decide by yourself whether to chill on the beach, explore the area by yourself or join some of the local tours: snorkeling in Silk Cayes and Turtle Alley, cave tubing in the Inland Blue Hole, open-sea fishing and snorkeling, kayaking expedition at Laughing Bird Caye, etc. Optional evening get-together and dinner with a group in Placencia.
- Accommodation: conveniently located, locally-owned hotel/B&B/guest house in Placencia
Day 4: Placencia – Hopkins
Kayaking on Setee River, Hopkins, Belize
Kayaking on Setee River, Hopkins, Belize
From Placencia, we will move to Hopkins – a friendly coastal village that attracts travelers looking to soak up sea breezes and Garifuna culture. Upon arrival and orientation walk around the town, we will join the Garifuna Drumming Lesson & Performance. Then it’s up to you what to do: relax on the beach, do snorkeling in the nearby palmed Tobacco Caye, venture to a nearby wildlife sanctuary, or rent a bike and explore the area. In the evening, opt to join an optional dinner & get-together with a group.
- Transportation: private vehicle/mini-couch
- Accommodation: conveniently located, locally-owned hotel/B&B/guest house in Hopkins
- Activities Included: orientation walk and Garifuna Drumming Lesson & Performance in Hopkins
Day 5: Hopkins – St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park – San Ignacio
Belize Essentials tour
St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park, Belize
In the morning, after checkout from our accommodation in Placencia, join a Spicy Sauce Factory Tour in Dangriga before arriving at St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park. There you will find St. Herman’s Cave and the Blue Hole – a perfect place for a refreshing afternoon swim formed by the collapse of an underground limestone cave. In the afternoon we will continue to San Ignacio, a vibrant traveler center that is a great base for exploring Maya ruins and cave systems in the Western part of the country. Evening arrival, accommodation, and optional dinner in San Ignacio.
- Transportation: private vehicle/mini-couch
- Accommodation: conveniently located, locally-owned hotel/B&B/guest house in San Ignacio
- Activities Included: Spicy Sauce Factory Tour (Dangriga), visit St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park
Day 6: San Ignacio – Xunantunich – Belize City
Meals: San Ignacio Market Food Tour
Belize Essentials tour
Xunantunich Mayan Ruins, Belize
In the morning, follow your Tour Leader for a Market Food Tour & Tortilla-Making Lesson in San Ignacio, then go to visit Xunantunich ruins, before leaving to Belize City in the late afternoon. Evening arrival, accommodation, optional dinner & get-together with a group in Belize City.
- Transportation: private vehicle/mini-couch
- Accommodation: conveniently located, locally-owned hotel/B&B/guest house in Belize City
- Activities Included: a visit to Xunantunich Ruins; Tortilla-Making Lesson (San Ignacio)
Day 7: Belize City – Caye Caulker
Belize Essentials tour
Sunset from the Split – Caye Caulker, Belize
In the morning join a walking tour to explore Belize City – the historical capital of the nation with its handsome colonial houses and porticos, seaside parks, bustling shopping areas, and sailboats that bob at the mouth of Haulover Creek. Afterward, in the afternoon, we will take a water taxi to Caye Caulker – a long thin limestone caye inhabited by less than 2,000 people, famous for its car-free policy, sensational seafood as well as snorkeling and boating along the nearby Belize Barrier Reef. Accommodation, optional dinner & get-together with a group in one of the popular beach restaurants/bars in Caye Caulker.
- Transportation: water taxi
- Accommodation: conveniently located, locally-owned hotel/B&B/guest house in Caye Caulker
- Activities Included: walking tour in Belize City; orientation walk in Caye Caulker
Day 8: Caye Caulker
Belize Essentials tour
Underwater life near Caye Caulker, Belize
After a morning bike tour, enjoy the day on the beach or join some sailing and snorkeling tours to nearby UNESCO-protected Hol Chan Marine Reserve and the Belize Barrier Reef. There you can closely see numerous underwater species such as nurse sharks, rays, groupers, porcupine fish and yellow-tail snapper, to name a few. In the evening, join optional farewell dinner with a group at a popular local restaurant.
- Accommodation: conveniently located, locally-owned hotel/B&B/guest house in Caye Caulker
- Activities Included: bike tour in Caye Caulker
Day 1: An Island Where the Singer Madonna Fell in Love
Our tour starts on the island of Ambergris Caye. It can be reached from the capital Belize City via a 1.5-hour boat ride or a very short and cheap flight. We pick up most customers from the airport in Belize City. Some customers prefer being picked up at the airport in Ambergris Caye. It's your choice. Ambergris Caye is commonly referred to as ‘Isla Bonita’ (beautiful island) thanks to the singer Madonna, who made reference to this island and its turquoise seascapes in a 1987 hit. We explore the island with a tour guide/golf cart driver.
Day 2: A Great Blue Hole & a ‘Secret Beach’
Today we make a daytrip to the Great Blue Hole by boat.
In 2012, the Discovery Channel ranked the Great Blue Hole as number 1 on its list of ‘The 10 Most Amazing Places on Earth’. This giant marine sinkhole is a part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which is a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
*Note that in the event the boat company cancels the tour to the Great Blue Hole, which happens on occasion due to bad weather, we would offer you a suitable alternative for the day. A popular option is a visit to Secret Beach, which is about a 45-minute drive away from downtown. Alternatively, if a plane ride over the Great Blue Hole is available and if you are interested in that, we could offer it to you at an upcharge. Included with this upcharge is a visit to Secret Beach.
Day 3: Swimming with Sharks & Stingrays, Feeding Tarpons & Entering ‘The Split’
Today we make a daytrip via a quick boat ride (4 miles/6.4 kilometers) to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and later a boat ride to Caye Caulker.
Hol Chan Marine Reserve gives us the opportunity to swim with sharks and stingrays. These creatures have a great tolerance for snorkelers and look forward to being fed scraps of food. Caye Caulker measures about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north to south by less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) east to west. There are only 3 roads in town, all of which are sandy. Despite its size, there are over 50 hotels and a number of restaurants and shops. Caye Caulker is especially popular with backpackers. The highlights of our visit there are a tarpon handfeeding center and a beach called ‘The Split’. Our boat ride back to Ambergris Caye takes about 30 minutes.
Day 4: An Archaeological Site Occupied up to the 17th Century
Today we take a boat ride from Ambergris Caye to Belize City, only to check into our room and then immediately drive to a Mesoamerican archaeological site called Lamanai. We return to Belize City in the evening. Lamanai was once a major city of the Maya (indigenous) civilization. Lamanai is renowned for its exceptionally long occupation spanning three millennia. It continued to be occupied up to the 17th century AD.
Day 5: Cave Tubing, a Breathtaking Peninsula & 175 Animals in a Natural Habitat
Today we relocate to Placencia Peninsula’s main village. En route, we first visit the Belize Zoo. It is home to more than 175 animals of about 48 species, all native to Belize. The natural environment is left entirely intact within the zoo, with the animals living in their natural habitat. Next, we head to the Nohoch Cheʼen caves. There we go tubing. It is quite an adventurous experience. Before arriving in Placencia Village, we pass by Maya Beach and the beach in Seine Bight village.
Day 6: The Best Place in Belize to Go Snorkeling
Today we make a daytrip to the Silk Cayes Marine Reserve. It contains some of the healthiest parts of the country's reef system due to its elevation and good water quality. This is the best place in Belize to go snorkeling! Note that the Gladden Spit is included on today's tour only during whale season, which is usually March through June. A trip to Silk Cayes, however, is offered year-around.
Day 7: Canoeing Inside a Cave & an Ancient Ceremonial Center Bordering Guatemala
Today we relocate to the small town of San Ignacio. This is where we are based for the remainder of our trip. Nonetheless, there are some worthwhile stops en route. The first attraction this morning is the Sleeping Giant Rainforest. There we are provided with a guided tour to the top of the mountain, where a beautiful viewpoint awaits us. Next, we head to Barton Creek. There we are provided with a guided canoeing tour inside a cave. The final stop before reaching San Ignacio is an archaeological site called Xunantunich. It is located a mere 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) away from Guatemala. Xunantunich served as a Maya civic ceremonial center in the late and terminal classic periods. The first modern explorations of the site were conducted in the mid-1890s.
Day 8: A ‘Natural Museum’ Home to Ancient Skeletons, Ceramics & Stoneware
Today we make a daytrip to the Actun Tunichil Muknal (a.k.a. ATM) cave. There we climb, crawl and get wet as we check out ancient skeletons, ceramics and stoneware. Serving as an archaeological site and often called a ‘natural museum’ because of its fascinating limestone formations, the ATM cave is one of Belize’s top 2 most popular tourist destinations.
Day 9: Swimming Under Waterfalls & the Country’s Finest Archaeological Site
We make a daytrip first to Rio Frio Cave. There we see stalagmites and stalactites. Next, we head to an archaeological site called Caracol. It was once one of the most important regional political centers of the Maya lowlands during the classic period. After our guided tour there we have lunch, which is included on today’s tour. Lastly for today, we head to Big Rock Falls. There we have plenty of time to go swimming.
Day 10: Our Tour Ends This Morning
Transportation will be arranged for you to reach the airport in Belize City.
