This trip to Belize felt like our first entry into traveling with the kids, not vacation. We didn’t “backpack” (only carry-ons, though), we stayed in nicer hotels (not bunk room hostels), and we had a fully planned agenda (by yours truly), but the spirit of “travel” was there. We moved around, saw so much of the country, and my god, we came back with stories and a lot of hard-wired family connections. Fifteen years ago, Brian and I, broke and depressed during the recession, backpacked around Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand for 9 weeks. We saw couples traveling with their babies/toddlers, shirking all normal expectations, bedtimes, or routines in exchange for experiencing the world. We naively promised that would be us. And then…we went back to life in LA, circa 2009 – I started the blog, won a reality show, had two kids, bought a house (or two), had a couple mental breakdowns, pandemic, and landed in a farm outside of Portland. Needless to say, we are not those people. But this trip felt so educational, cultural, and adventurous (which I think is my vacation happy place now that the kids aren’t toddlers – see more on that below).
Highly recommended by a few school friends, Belize was described as a “Better Costa Rica” (Impossible! I take offense!). Why? Well, it has the tropical weather and rain forest, but in addition, the Caribbean waters + Belize Barrier Reef + caves, and Mayan ruins. I’m listening. Essentially, just so much to do, learn, and see, but small enough that we could really see the whole country in 10 days. What we didn’t know til we arrived was that English is the official language (it was The British Honduras til the 1980s) and they take American dollars. It’s way more African/Caribbean than it was Spanish, which we didn’t know (despite Mexico being its neighboring country). It’s incredibly easy to travel and felt really safe. That’s all to say if you are thinking about going to Hawaii because you don’t want to deal with a language barrier, currency exchange, then Belize could be for you. It wasn’t as affordable as some countries in Central America, but certainly more affordable than Hawaii, and if you’re in Texas or Georgia/Florida, it takes less than 4 hours to fly direct.
I did a ton of research, read so many reviews on Reddit and Trip Advisor, and I planned the hell out of this trip (and did a fantastic job if I do say so myself). In fact, a couple of the local guides asked me how we were able to find the 3 best places to visit in Belize. Answer: hours of Saturday morning research. I wanted three distinct towns/experiences. And boy, did we get them. So let’s get into the highlights.
We landed in Belize City and took a jumper flight to Caye Caulker (10 minutes, 10 people), which is a tiny island near the reef. No cars, just golf carts, bare feet, sand, and a lot of backpackers and warm locals. We opted for Caye Caulker over Ambergris Caye because it was the smaller, less touristy route, and frankly, I try my absolute best to avoid crowds/traffic on vacation, so I was nervous about that (but turns out Ambergris Caye is not that crowded either, just more established and higher end + cars).
IT WAS RAD. While it’s “touristy”, sure, we met so many guides that lived there from birth, and nary a McDonald’s in sight. Just a lot of backpackers and families like ours who are down for adventure. It’s 3 miles long and you can eat your dinner in a swing that sits in the warm Caribbean water while later feeding/petting sting rays at sunset (not to mention the tarpon feeding). We stayed at El Ben, which was great, but too far away from town for us (across The Split, which required a 10-minute walk and a tiny 3-minute boat ride). Next time we will stay in town. (El Ben was very peaceful and quiet, great thatched style rooms, AC with good bedding – it was great, just further than we wanted to be – awesome honeymoon spot).
One of the best places in the world to snorkel, along a great barrier reef. We booked a full day with Caveman (fantastic and run by locals). The highlight was the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, which is a break in the reef where all the marine life comes in from the ocean to feed on the bay life – we saw dolphins, families of manatees, sting rays, huge schools of fish, nurse sharks – it was WILD. We just looked down and saw them all crossing the “street” right below us, coming in to feed. BLOWN AWAY.
Shark Alley is also a must. If you are doing a more private group tour I think you can skip some of the other locations for those two (also we got burnt out after 5 hours – our PNW skin is very sensitive and I felt like it was my full time job to put on sunscreen which then we had to wait to get into the water for eco purposes, etc). Oh, but afterwards we sat in swings in the teal Caribbean water and sipped on drinks.
The Split is a dope place to hang. You don’t need more than 2 full days/nights in Caye Caulker, but if you stay longer, there are a lot of boat excursions to other islands. Oh, and the Great Blue Hole (a famous heritage site) is more for diving than snorkeling, and is a 2-hour ride out to it, so what we were told is that skip it unless you are diving.
The Caribbean beach is GREAT, but if you can stay longer in Belize, you have to get to the rain forest – and Belize is famous for its caves and Mayan ruins. YOU CANNOT MISS THE ATM CAVE. It’s basically a 4 mile long cave re-discovered in the 80s that houses centuries, millennial! of Mayan sacrifices that are well preserved – real Indiana Jones shit.
It’s challenging (7 hours including the drive, hike, and cave, many cave swims up to your neck, squeezing between rocks all miles inside the earth) and yet the payoff is so WORTH IT. You can’t watch videos online or even see good photos because they aren’t allowed inside, so we almost skipped it (it’s also expensive, like $70 per person). I don’t want to spoil what you’ll see, and I’m sure your experience will rely on how good your guide is – ours was great. It has to be guided, BTW, and only 70 tours a day – and it’s likely going to close to the public in the next 10 years due to wear and tear on the artifacts. I rank it 15/10. We learned so much fascinating history about the Mayan culture, and seeing it with your own eyes really imprints. Since there were no photos or videos, we had the kids make a video describing it, and they retained so much insane information about Mayan religion, shape of heads, etc. Oh, and I think the youngest you could be is 7/8 – Elliot was by FAR the youngest at 9 years old, and she was great, but much younger, we would have been nervous. Def not for everyone.
We stayed at Chaa Creek resort, which is one of the first rainforest resorts (30 years old) and it’s fantastically run. I was afraid it would be a little basic, tired, old, but it was wonderful. Delicious food, great service, and a billion guided tours (so no need to rent a car – but the guided tours aren’t cheap). Wildly family-friendly and for all ages. Pool, spa, horseback riding, butterfly farm, and wonderful thatched roof style rooms that are quiet and clean. Not cheap but not crazy luxury – properly priced for how good it was IMHO. We did a 5-mile canoe trip to town, hiked the ruins (you don’t need to see more than one IMHO), and one afternoon we gave the kids back their precious devices so we could get massages. ABSOLUTE HEAVEN. Live music, delicious N/A and happy hour drinks. 10/10.
To round out our tour, I booked us a beachside room in Hopkins Village, a fishing village that is quaint, quiet, and very special, full of Guanaese African influences (who were exiled and settled here). This came at the end of a lot of physical adventure and felt like a true VACATION. The beach is teal and clean, and the sand is bright white. And it has a very low population. Not a lot of big action, so expect to take day trips, chill, or just hang out on their incredibly memorable dock bar with hammocks. We had a big “down day” here – biked to lunch, read together on hammocks, watched a movie – just ate and drank and chilled. The beach was incredible (but windy, not sure how normal that is).
We stayed at The Lodge at Jaguar Reef, which was great and on the more luxurious side, but not pretentious. Felt a bit honey-moony but pretty darn great for families, too. We didn’t get in the water much (there were a lot of jellyfish and again the wind was high), and I felt that the restaurant was a bit too fancy for the vibe, but this is the resort that the kids loved the most (I think because it gave “fancy”). We liked it and would go back, but 8/10 because of the wind and the oddness of the restaurant (seating times, expensive, and oddly far apart tables). The dock bar/restaurant was a 20/10 and likely one of the more memorable places of our lives (thus why we would go back). We spent hours out there all reading together in the hammocks and jumping off the top (not me, did it once and was TERRIFIED).
We forced the kids out on a big hike on our second-to-last day (like I said, Hopkins is pretty slow), it was intense and paid off. We did the Antelope Falls hike in Mayflower Bocawina National Park. It was pretty difficult (needed ropes a lot, very vertical, often rock climbing, kids would have complained the whole time had we not bribed them). But they were totally able to do it, and the payoff was this incredible waterfall swimming hole at the top that felt secret (and no one else was there). We asked them at the top if it was worth it, and they both reluctantly said, YES. So special. Bring a ton of water and snacks – it took us 3-4 hours.
We truly loved Belize and would absolutely go back – A solid 10/10 for an adventure, nature-based vacation (and also GREAT for groups of friends and couples – you can also just lie out and drink all day in the water should that please you). People ask all the time which country/trip we liked more, Costa Rica or Belize, and I’d say we loved them equally for different reasons. A bit more adventure/history in Belize, but we preferred the food and eco-friendly culture in Costa Rica. Both are very nature-based and extremely friendly to tourists. We feel so so so grateful to be able to do this with our kids and came back with incredible family memories that are now part of our shared history. Y’all Central American, FTW :) Ask questions in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer! (P.S. I used Reddit and TripAdvisor a ton, too.)
Also, I’m a TERRIBLE travel blogger, with just janky, totally unedited iPhone shots, but hopefully it helps you if you are ever thinking of going there. I can’t recommend this family-friendly Belize vacation enough! :)
Looks like a very, very good time! Two questions. I’m a single mom, would you feel safe traveling to Belize and Costa Rica alone without Brian, just you and the kids? I typically vacation 4-5 days at a time. For a 10 day trip, did you pack 10 outfits each launder back home or less clothes and washed there?
HI! I think its totally safe. Tourism is their main industry so its very protected and all the locals are soooo nice. I’d probably book the hotel shuttles/transfers so you don’t have to deal with navigation on top of kids or stay in one place and take excursions. Caye Caulker felt SO SAFE and the kids had so much freedom there since its so small and without cars. I don’t think we did laundry, so just wore same clothes over and over (Mostly my andie suit + swim shorts all day and loose dresses at night). def not a place where you need to look cute/fashiony. Just so water/nature based so can be ‘rustic’ :) Re Costa Rica – FOR SURE safe. the roads there were way more rustic (read, super hard to drive due to potholes or no guard rails) – I also hate driving, as you can tell, lol. I think Costa Rica has fantastic all inclusive resorts that are super family friendly and affordable (maybe people can comment if they know any?). I guess as a single mom I would save on hotels (affordable all inclusive) and spend more on guides/shuttle services/excursions so you don’t have to… Read more »
Yay! So glad you had an amazing time and thank you for sharing this!!
Actually Belize WAS part of Guatemala. The British decided they wanted part of it, it became British Honduras, then Belize. On a tour to a Mayan ruin in Guatemala, there is a sign saying, if I remember correctly, ‘entering Guatemala, but coming back into Belize there is no signposted saying entering Belize. Wonderful country!
Guatemala is currently trying to claim the southern part of Belize. The matter is going through the International Justice Court currently.
learning about it all was super interesting. Obviously only got the Belize perspective but wanted to learn more.
I’ve been to Costa Rica and loved it, and Hawaii several times, so based on this, Belize has now been added to the list! Curious about the bug situation, as I’m a magnet. Were there mosquitos? Were you constantly applying bug spray?
Not that I remember! i’m a TOTAL MAGNET. Costa Rica was worse for me for sure. I honestly don’t remember it being a problem here, elliot is next to me and said ‘kinda’. But nothing like the bay in Costa rica.
Very little bug situation! mellow compared to Costa Rica – i’m also a magnet. But it wasn’t really a memorable problem. the bay in costa rica was much worse for me.
This looks like an amazing trip!! I am also the primary planner for my family so I have questions :) Can you break down some of the travel/logistics specifics for us, for example:
*Day 1 – Flew into ___airport, how did you transfer from airport to hotel (did hotel arrange a bus then boat to Caye Caulker?) How long did that take?
*Spent Days 1-X in CC, then transferred to Rainforest hotel – did the rainforest hotel make those arrangements from CC or did you have to do that yourself? How long did that transfer take?
*Spent days X-X at rainforest hotel and saw ATM cave. Did you arrange that excursion through the hotel?
*Ended at Hopkins Village. If you had to skip a leg of the trip, would you skip this one? Just asking in case someone has less than 10 days to use on vacation…
Thanks for sharing, Emily! Glad you had a safe trip.
Sure her you go! flew into Belize city (I think the only international airport). we took the jumper plane so didn’t need to take the ferry (and should be noted no ferry after i think 4pm so that was one of our main drivers for doing the flight instead). the jumper flight was $100 each which was a bummer, but getting there in 10 minutes versus getting to the ferry (cab ride) then taking the ferry (an hour and half). and I think our flight didn’t get in til 3 so we weren’t going to make it and have to stay in belize city which isn’t ideal. travel time from portland was 10 hours (through dallas I think, atlanta on the way home). We took the ferry from Caye Caulker back to Belize city where our shuttle from Caye Caulker picked us up (they had great customer service, all arranged via email). the ferry is super easy to navigate (we bought tickets in advance but I don’t think you need to). the drive to san ignacio was 3 hours. chaa creek has all the excursions arranged in-house by concierge (def easy, but again not cheap) so its all on their… Read more »
Garifuna are the people from Hopkins. Garifuna are from Honduras not Guyana.
Well, shoot. We learned something different but trusting that I have no actual idea what i’m talking about besides what we were told while there. Happy to edit!
well shoot. That’s not what we learned, but will edit!
sorry – our new comment editing system didn’t publish my first response. lol.
I love these posts! My kids are a year or two behind yours so this helps me to plan our summer vacations for 2027! We frequently plan our trips 1-2 years in advance so these recommendations are so so welcome.
You and me both. :)
This is so interesting as someone who has considered both Costa Rica and Belize. I have heard that Costa Rica was the first to truly embrace eco-tourism – learning a lot from the ravages Guatemala has endured from outside investment. Belize then followed, learning from Costa Rica. I’m sure there is a lot more to the story but talking to people who have visited all three they say some of the differences support this narrative. While the food scene of Costa Rica sounds compelling (we can be a little bougie too), I am fascinated by the cave swim you described. Thanks again for your generosity in sharing your experiences. Although I can’t help but be curious about the answers to some of your questions. What ARE there so many Mennonite/Amish people there? Do they look like they do here in the midwest?
Yah, in my experience Costa Rica was magical in its eco tourism – not wasteful, full of love for mother earth in their Pura Vida, spiritual way. There was no ‘we are sustainable’ splashed everywhere next to plastic water bottles, it just WAS (with zero extra ‘stuff’ in the hotels and smaller portions of food – which we loved). Just no waste. we didn’t experience that with Belize, although there was a lot of local food, for sure. But when we tried to book the more expensive “eco tourism” snorkeling cruise everything we heard from the locals was that they just put that sign on the boat to get people like us to book them, when really the local snorkeling was actually better because it was family run (they all did almost the exact same tour and knew each other and seemed friendly with eachother). hard to navigate, so we relied on the local guides to give us the scoop.
Are there any places that you would add or go to next time that you heard about while on the trip?
Not really! Placencia is meant to be awesome (its not an island but a long peninsula) but just a fancier vibe than Caye Caulker or Ambergris Caye (more condos I think, but also more nice restaurants, etc – haven’t been but what i’ve read). Caye Caulker is beachy/casual – there are a couple nice-ish restaurants, but its mostly flip flop vibe even in those. But I scoured each town using reddit and trip advisor and have zero regrets except wishing we stayed in the south side of Calker instead el Ben. I mean there are some crazy luxury resorts, too (The Coppola resorts look insane) if you wanted to splurge and didn’t have kids (i’m sure they are kid friendly but just not sure they need/deserve that type of luxury, lol). Would love to hear others experiences though!
Thank you so much, this might be our summer trip!
Jaguar Reef!! We went to Belize for our honeymoon ten years ago (?!) this October, and stayed at Jaguar Reef after an amazing stay in the rainforest at Sleeping Giant. Now you’ve got me thinking we should plan a reunion trip with our son!
My husband and I went in 2013 for our first anniversary! I was looking into it last year as we wanted to take our kids and was shocked to see it had been completely redone! We stayed in a thatched roof cabana with terracotta tile floors and it’s now all chrome and modern!
Have been considering this destination for a while. Thanks for taking time to share your trip! Very helpful. Pics are perfect :)
Aww, I love Belize!! In fact, I was just trying to get back there for Christmas.
How was the sargassum grass situation? It doesn’t look bad in your photos.
I’ve been to both Belize (and Costa Rica) several times and I agree that they both have their own appeal. I can’t wait until I can take my kids out to Caye Caulker/Glover’s Atoll as I’m trying to get them into diving; their water-spots adventure package is so much fun but we’d definintely have to go in to the rainforest for a bit as my kids would go crazy for the ATM cave. Thanks for sharing.
the grass was fine! none in Caye Caulker that I can remember. We also want to start diving with the kids when they are older (although I see the below comment that the blue hole should not be our first, LOL). not sure we’ll ever make it and it looks rather terrifying but maybe some day … DEF do that cave. WILD STUFF.
Hey! Just wondering what time of year you went? We went to Ambergris Caye for Christmas and it was crazy hot and buggy! We couldn’t be outside unless we were in the water and all 15 of us had a bazillion horrible itchy bug bites!
As a diver who adores Belize… The Blue Hole is amazing, but it should definitely NOT be your first deep dive. Have a couple of 100+ and night dives under your belt before you go, and you will enjoy it so much more. Besides the hole, the reef diving is absolutely amazing, and a lot easier. Very caribbean-like.
Good to know. all the tourism sites so head out there so I was glad that enough locals said it wasn’t worth the boat ride just to ‘see’ it (and we were NOT interested in a helicopter ride – so scared). but the snorkeling and ocean animal wildlife was incredible.
MIL here. Even thought I got to hear about the trip from you, Brian & the kids, this post really brought it to life. Sounds like paradise. Loved all the photos & honestly, I think you have a future as a travel writer.❤️
We love Belize! Central America really is where it’s at! Fun story, my husband and I stayed at Jaguar Reef in 2013 for our 1st anniversary so i immediately looked into it last year when we decided to take our kids (8&10). I was shocked to find it had been completely torn down and redone! We stayed in a thatched roof cabana with a hammock on the porch and terracotta tile floors. I had to dig out our pictures and compare the reception building to verify it was the same place! We were going for a different vibe and ended up at Beaches and Dreams down the road, and it was wonderful. So glad your family loved it, definitely noted a few new ideas for next time!
hello! Was the water calm for snorkeling. Would you recommend it for non-swimmer adults? My kiddo is a strong swimmer but I am not.
We are headed there in December this year!