07 Days: Really hot Caribbean vibes @ Belize

Welcome by your team at the Belize City International Airport (BZE) and private transportation to the beach town of Placencia. A charming village located on the gorgeous Placencia emerald Peninsula of Belize with 16 miles of sandy beaches.

This village has become one of the leading vacation destinations in the country. It is internationally best known due to its calmness and charming beach shores and watersheds’ ideal location.

With the Belize barrier reef and the rainforest located just around the corner, there’s no better location than this one, and by the way, try to arrive in the country before midday and enjoy the sunset in Placencia with a refreshing coconut drink.  

Meals: None. 

Lodging: Boutique Hotel in Placencia. 

Activities: Wellcome transfer, sightseeing, leisure time at Placencia (free and easy). 

*Note: We recommend you arrive in the country during the day to take the maximum advantage during your first day in Placencia.

Morning typical breakfast and your transport to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, a nature reserve in the Stann Creek District of south-central Belize, as established to protect the forests, fauna, and watersheds eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains. Actually, this is the first protected area for the protection of the jaguar (Panthera onca), and it is regarded as a premier site for jaguar preservation.

Its name ‘Cockscomb’ derives from the appearance of the Cockscomb Mountain ridge, which resembles a rooster’s comb, situated at the northern fringe of the reserve and easily visible from the coastal plain of the Caribbean Sea. 

So get ready for an adventurous hike on several trails, each with its unique characteristics having a spectacularly breathtaking view of the entire basin, followed by tube-float down the South Stann Creek River for a uniquely close-up look at the jungle, and then take a short hike to an exceptional natural setting of a waterfall for a cool dip.

Lunch and the continuation of your trip to learn everything about the ancient Mayan currency, the cocoa (or kakaw), by learning everything related to this superfood from its cultivation, care, different processes, fermentation, roasting, etc., and finishing up with a mouthwatering chocolate treat. You cannot get a bar of more real chocolate than this one, ok 

Meals: Breakfast.

Lodging: Boutique Hotel in Placencia. 

Activities: Cockscomb Basin expedition, Mayan cacao cultural immersion and free & easy time at Placencia.

Breakfast and your visit to the famous Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve (GSSCMR), a protected marine reserve in the central part of Belize’s Barrier Reef off the coast of Placencia. 

One of the world’s hot spots destinations for snorkeling, offering excellent scuba diving on the nearby barrier reef makes the Silk Cayes a perfect getaway.

Silk Cayes are part of a marine reserve established to protect the outer reef and have an abundance of aquatic life, fish stocks, coral reef biodiversity, and healthy corals. 

Lunch and head back into the water to explore more corals and residents who make Silk Cayes their home. But hold on, because the best is yet to come! After the second snorkel expedition, you are going to head to a spot just inside the barrier reef where local fishers clean their catch and you are almost certain to have the opportunity to snorkel with huge turtles, rays, and sharks. 

Meals: Breakfast and lunch. 

Lodging: Boutique Hotel in Placencia.

Activities: Snorkel at Silk Caye & Turtle Alley and free & easy time at Placencia.

Morning typical breakfast and your free and easy time to explore one of the country’s most pristine beaches and picture-perfect hot spots; Placencia. A gorgeous emerald peninsula in southern Belize with 16 miles of sandy beaches, so get out there, explore them and have fun.

The Caribbean Sea is to the east, and the charming Placencia lagoon lies to the west, most significantly looking towards the Maya Mountains on the mainland. The entire peninsula can be easily navigated on a beach cruiser bike. 

The active part of Placencia lies in the south, where you will find a greater concentration of coffee shops, bistros, internet cafes, the harbor, and plenty of local restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast. 

Lodging: Boutique Hotel in Placencia.

Activities: Free & easy time at Placencia.

Morning breakfast and your drive to one of Belize’s most important Mayan sacred sites, Xunantunich (located in the Cayo District, above the Mopan River).

Xunantunich, which translates to “maiden of the rock” (alluding to a woman who appears on the site), is a Classic Period ceremonial center of the ancient Maya. The picturesque site has numerous stone structures, with its main building “El Castillo” or “The Castle,” looming at an impressive 130 feet in height.

This makes it one of the tallest manufactured buildings in Belize. It is also referred to as the place where the stone woman appears and then ascends and disappears on top.

From the top of the “castle,” those who braved the climbing and altitude can spot a great bird’s eye view of the great foliage around them. Below, one of the lower temples is known for its large stucco frieze. 

So get ready to explore this place and learn about its stories and living legends that date back to the Classic Mayan Period. The whole site has six squares with around twenty-five palaces and surrounding buildings.

Meals: Breakfast. 

Lodging: Boutique Hotel in Placencia.

Activities: Xunantunich expedition and free & easy time at Placencia.

Morning breakfast and your drive to the village of Hopkins situated on the beautiful Caribbean coast of the southern parts of the county, for you to learn about this interesting ethnic group and share with them about its culture on a cultural immersion day.

And to make a long story short, the Garifuna people trace their ancestry to West African and indigenous Arawak people, who around 1600 came to America with two Spanish ships carrying West Africans destined for North America. Still, the ships were wrecked near St. Vincent (in the West Indies), and over the next 150 years, the settlers began intermarrying, and the Garifuna ethnic group was formed.

Nowadays, its population is located in the Caribbean islands off Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

So prepare yourself to dance under the rhythm of the African drums and more instruments and eat like you most likely have never tried before. 

Meals: Breakfast and lunch.

Lodging: Boutique Hotel in Placencia. 

Activities: Garifuna cultural immersion and free & easy time at Placencia. 

*Note: During this day you need to take an antigen or PCR test to fly back home on the next day, and your team is going to help you to coordinate that one.

Morning breakfast and your final transfer to the Airport.

Goodbye from your team and until the next time! Buen Camino.

Meals: breakfast. 

Lodging: none.

Activities: Exit transfer and sightseeing.