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The Caribbean side of Central America: Belize and Guatemala

As I wrote before, we have had the chance to visit Central America a few times over the last few years and we love it. While we love Costa Rica and Mexico, we also had a great time visiting the Caribbean side of Central America during our trip to Belize and Guatemala. It was a quick 6-day trip but we packed a lot during that time. As we often do, we moved a few times in these 6 days, visiting 2 countries and a total of 3 hotels.

Our itinerary was as follows.
Belize, sea side
Red eye from Los Angeles to Belize airport. Right after breakfast by the dock in Belize City, pick up by boat and day-trip around the Cayes on the way to our first destination, Ramon's Village Resort on the little island of San Pedro. During the tour, we got to look for (and find) manatees, visited a beautiful island with perfect white sand for lunch, swam/snorkeled with sharks and enjoyed a full day of bumpy boat ride. Nothing better to keep us awake after the red eye! That said, we were glad when we arrived at the hotel and got to enjoyed a beautiful evening at the resort.

Bumpy boat ride
One of the sharks we snorkeled with


Day 2 was spent at the resort for the most part. Between pool, beach and a short walk to the island center for snack, we had plenty to do. The divers in our group got to enjoy a dive at the Blue Lagoon which offers fantastic diving.

Enjoying the pool


Guatemala, Tikal
On Day 3, we left our hotel on the way to Tikal, Guatemala. We were eager to visit this well known Maya center and archaeological site. While it was a long trip, we had felt that we couldn't miss being so close to it and not visiting... and it was all worth it. The journey was a combination of boat and bus ride with a few stops in nice, country-side villages. When we arrived at the beautiful hotel in the middle of the jungle, we were glad to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. We enjoyed a quick swim at the pool during sunset and our 2-year old loved seeing the capuchin monkeys visiting us from the trees nearby. What a fantastic Welcome!
The beginning of the journey

The destination


On Day 4, we visited the majestic Tikal, which is still impressive after all these years (and on my 2nd visit). The kids enjoyed discovering another type of monkeys, the howler monkeys, which seem to be the kings of the jungle at Tikal. In the afternoon, we made our way to our final destination, back to Belize, but this time in the jungle. Our hotel of choice was Black Rock Lodge, which is beautiful and surrounded by amazing jungle. But a long bumpy drive away from the main road.

Visiting Tikal


Belize, jungle
On Day 5, we got to visit the surroundings, with a fun experience canoeing in a dark cave (nice way to enjoy an hour in the shade) and a butterfly farm. At night, we got to do a night walk to discover the creepy crawlies around us. Daniel loved it!

Entering the cave

Butterfly farm
Night walk


On Day 6, we visited the local zoo and enjoyed the jungle around the hotel. There is nothing better on a warm day to jump off a rope into the river. What a great end of a packed but amazing trip.

The best entertainment in the jungle



 


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