I need help with some trip planning for a friend. My daughter is getting married in San Pedro in May 2011. Either before or after the wedding, my friend would like to do 3 tours - Lamanai, the Baboon Sanctuary, and Tikal since she's coming so far. It seems more cost-effective to do those trips separately from the trip to Ambergris Caye for the wedding, but I'm having a problem figuring out where she should stay to do them. In and out of Belize City as day/overnight trips? With the already high airfare from Oregon to Belize, she would like to make the best use of her time and money. Any creative ideas? Thanks for any suggestions!

DebbieF

Hi Debbie,

Given the nature of the trips you might want to consider spending a few days on the mainland especially for a trip to Tikal as getting there from San Pedro requires a flight there and back and will really limit your time to enjoy this enormous and spectacular Maya site in Guatemala.

Community Baboon Sanctuary is about a one hour drive from Belize City. I believe Tanisha Tours offers a day trip there from San Pedro along with a visit to the Maya Altun Ha site. I'm not sure if you'd want to squeeze in a trip to ruins on the same day though. You can get information here. http://tanishatours.com/. Tanisha also do a very popular trip to the Maya Lamanai site too as do many other very reputable tour companies.

If you decide to do them all from San Pedro, keep in mind that they are all long day trips.

San Ignacio is a good base for the Tikal trip and you will find it a lot nicer than Belize City. San Ignacio is much closer to the border and many good tour companies do trips from there to Tikal. San Ignacio is also a lovely town and will give you the opportunity to enjoy so much more of Belize. You could then hit the Baboon Sanctuary on your way to San Pedro. The Lamanai trip from San Pedro is worth doing because the river boat ride is such an amazing part of the experience.

Hope this gives you some ideas to get started.

Thanks for those suggestions! I do think my friend may be trying to do too much in a short time, but I promised I'd give her some help since she is traveling a long way for the wedding. We suggested doing Lamanai and saving Tikal for a future visit, but she has her heart set on Tikal. I hadn't considered staying in San Ignacio rather than Flores. Good idea!

Thanks for pointing us in the right direction!

DebbieF

I have lived it tourist destinations for most of my life and noticed some recurrent problems. People usually bite off more that they should and try to do more than is reasonable in the time they have...and don't fully enjoy the things they do. Slow down, relax, take a few deep breaths and enjoy yourself!

Jesse, your last sentence definitely applies to my philosophy when I travel. My trips to Belize are so relaxing they aren't exciting enough for a trip report!

/

Collyk:

My friend loved the idea of staying in San Ignacio for the Tikal trip! Any recommendations on where to stay? She has trouble making a decision and TripAdvisor has so many choices. . . .

Thank you!

DebbieF

Hi Debbie,

San Ignacio is a cool little town, so I know she'll love it. It is really hard to pick where to stay as there are so many really good options. It depends on whether they want to stay in town - San Ignacio Hotel is really nice or on the outskirts in some of the more jungle like locations. The riverside resorts are amazing too. Maybe if you could find out what she wants from her stay in San Ignacio - just convenience and a nice place to stay, or a bit of the jungle/rain forest ambiance, people on this message board could give you their view points. Cahel Pech and Mahogany Hall are just a couple of resorts that have been recommended to me in that area recently.

Cahal Pech is a great place to stay and they offer a great package for a stay at the resort and the day trip to Tikal. We made the trip last year. They also pick you up at the international airport and drive you to San Ignacio. WONDERFUL people and incredible trip! I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Dita and Collyk:

Thanks SO much! I've forwarded the Cahal Pech info to my friend. It looks like so much fun I might have to do it myself one of these trips (then I could actually write a trip report!).

Debbie

I have also visited Cahal Pech with my family. A great place and nice resorts. People really have a blast there.

Thanks to everyone for the replies and suggestions. My friend has now booked her flights and made her resort reservations on Ambergris Caye and the mainland for the May 2011 trip. After helping her plan this trip, it looks like Cahal Pech will have to be part of my travel plans one of these days!