I want to say a giant thanks to everyone on this board. You all have been extrememly helpful & informative. I have gathered info off this board that I have not found in ANY book :p :p

I have created a tentative itinerary as follows:
12/26 arrive in AC (homebase)..travel to Placencia & PG - stop at places along the way. Back to AC for New Years..Then go to Cayo & Caves Branch, Tikal...eventually return to AC to relax.

LAST MINUTE QUESTIONS: I will be traveling part of the time by myself w/ my daughter, & I really want to take buses to gain the most insight of the country. Should I be concerned about safety (yes I am a woman)issues? Is there a particular route I should be leery of, or even routes I should have no fear taking? Will I miss out on much by not visiting the north (except Lamanai which I do plan to see)? Any last minute must do's, must see's, or names of excellent trustworthy tour guides in any of the areas I plan on visiting? THANKS !!!

I guess my comment would be that if you're basing in San Pedro and traveling to Placencia and PG, and back, and then to Cayo, especially by bus, you're going to be spending a heck of a lot of time travelling. Belize isn't a big country, but with connections and some bad roads it's a full-day trip one-way to PG, for example. Even Placencia takes most of the day because of connections in Belize City, Belmopan (if you go that way) and Dangriga, unless you fly.

Buses are safe. There basically are only a few routes with any amount of service -- Northern Highway, Western Highway and then in the south down the Hummingbird to the Southern Highway. And now basically only one bus company, Novelo's and its subsidiaries Northern and Southern Transport... except for some local operators on short local routes.

Buses are inexpensive and you do get a lot of local color, although the cramped school-bus type seats get to be tiresome after a while, as do the long rides and waits.

--Lan Sluder

You mentioned a trip to Lamanai. We visited Lamanai on our last trip to SP during Thanksgiving week and used the services of Tropic Air Tours (inquire at your hotel or at Tropic Air). We were able to get a flight to Orange Walk at 7:30am, arriving before 8am. From there we had a 1+ hour boat ride up the river to Lamanai, seeing all the flora and fauna along the river (crocodiles, birds, orchids, etc.). We arrived before the majority of the tourists that take a boat to Corozal Town and then up the New River to Lamanai. This way we avoided a long day, mostly in a boat! Additionally, Tropic Air provided us with two pilots that accompanied us to Lamanai and a 4 seat airplane that was at our disposal from 7:30am to nearly 2pm. I don't know how they make any money on this tour. We were back in our room enjoying a cold one by 2:00pm, while the "boat people" were still on the water until 4:30 or 5pm. I believe that this is the only way to see this site. And best of all, the price of this tour was only slightly higher than the price of an all day boat excursion. Well worth the premium,IMHO! I highly recommend this trip.