AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize by District Cayo BLANCANAEUX LODGE LOCATION

We are going to be visiting Cayo (staying at Blancanaeux Lodge) and Ambergris Caye (considering Victoria House). How far are the "jungle activities" from Blancanaeux Lodge?

Blancaneaux Lodge is in the Mountain Pine Ridge. In Belizean usage, "ridge" refers not to a geographical feature but the kind of trees common in that area, and around Blancaneaux it is a pine tree, the Mountain Pine, which is closely related to the Caribbean Pine.

So, this is not jungle as you would think of it -- in many ways it looks like North Alabama -- but don't be fooled: This is the subtropics and there are orchids growing on the trees (and on the thatch roofs of cabanas at Blancaneaux, beautiful waterfalls, coffee and bananas growing around Blancaneaux, scorpians and tarantulas and even some fer de lances).

If you want to go to "real" broadleaf jungle, you can drive toward Caracol an hour or so into the Chiqibul wildnerness or go south a little. Not too far from Blancaneaux is an escarpment which separates the pine ridge and broadleaf bush areas.

Blancaneaux is beautiful, especially the villas and the grounds.

--Lan Sluder
Belize First Magazine http://www.turq.com/belizefirst/

Lan,

You mention Blancanaeux as being quite beautiful, and we are so anticipating our stay with them. You also mention tarantulas, scorpions and poisonous snakes. Are these usually a problem? I'm thinkin... of coming back to our wonderful room, sharing it with a scorpion. Yeechs!

Would you recommend staying with a "tour guide" or branching out on our own?

Thanks a bunch for your input, it is invaluable!

Lori (in PA)

Personal opinion- spend the money for a guide. The tours will be so much better, the guides know their country and you will miss out on a lot if you do it by yourself.

I agree with Karen -- a guide can really provide local insight that you won't get by yourself. I think that's especially true of nature trips, caving and anything to do with wildlife spotting.

On the other hand, I think there are some trips that can be done just fine without a guide or without the high cost of having a tour company provide transporation. Things like trips to the zoo and tours of some of the ruins.

Sometimes a mix works well -- a combination of independent exploration and guides.

--Lan Sluder

If you are someone who doesn't love the creepy crawlies...like me...we stayed at Hidden Valley Inn which is in the same area as Blancaneaux but doesn't have thatched roofs so we felt safer. We proudly state that we took a "no thatch roof" vacation, staying at Hidden Valley and then at Victoria House. Both were awesome! PS Our first night at Hidden Valley, we did wonder what might be crawling into our room but nothing did!