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).

Why Belize?

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.

Caye Caulker – A Tiny Island, Ambergris Caye’s Little Sister

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).

The Snorkeling – Out Of This World

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.

San Ignacio – The Rain Forest

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.

Hopkins Village

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 Garufina influences (a lot of African influenced food). 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).

Ended With The Best Hike

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.

Good To Knows: 

1. Like Disneyland/World, if you are only going to Belize once in your kids’ childhood, you should wait til they are 8, the age they can happily snorkel and do the ATM cave and understand the ruin stories. It’s totally toddler-friendly, but you will be missing out on some of the best “rides”. 
2. Our food at Chaa Creek was awesome because they have their own farm, but the rest of the trip was rice and meat-friendly. Good for sure, we were never bummed, but don’t expect organic or a large variety (Costa Rica food impressed us greatly – couldn’t get a bad meal). Embrace the Creole culture (fried whole fish) and tropical drinks :)
3. There are a lot more affordable family-friendly resorts than where we went – more rustic and totally fun. Brian and I can be bougie, so we wanted nicer places to stay to ensure we slept well and could walk places since we didn’t have a car, but if you are on more of a budget, this resort and others were highly recommended and probably more charming. The Jaguar Reef is admittedly on the more expensive side (although a beachside 2-bedroom condo with a big kitchen and tiny plunge pool for $600 felt totally reasonable to us).
4. We hired the hotels to transfer us (a service they advertise as easy, and it really was), which was awesome, but it added up for sure. The country is set up for tourism, so it’s easy. The guides are great, and we learned so much from these long drives with the drivers. I asked them all my burning questions, “What is elementary school like? Can gay people get married here? How do they feel about Americans retiring here? Why are there so many Mennonites and Amish here? Do you watch American news? What do people here think of Trump?, etc. I was met with such openness, and they were all so grateful for my curiosity (thus me continuing to ask…I read the room). Listen, I’m not going to another country without my kids understanding the actual culture and finding out that the perception of America is always fascinating and mind-expanding. We learned so much about Mayan culture and even the challenging history of Guatemala (bordering country). The guides in the tourism industry take a lot of pride in their knowledge, and we were so grateful for it.
5. Bring American cash (in 5’s, 10’s, and 20’s). Which brings me to tipping – As a water/bartender from the ages of 15 – 25, I am a massive believer in the power of tipping. That bump from 15 – 25% simply makes your day/life/rent. If you can, tip a lot (20-30%), it can really make such a huge difference for people.

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! :)