Hello! I have never been to Belize but I am trying to plan a trip for either August 15-20 or August 16-21. I am taking the California bar exam at the end of July and this is my reward afterwards with my boyfriend. We only have 5 nights/6 days so we can't see everything so I'd appreciate any advice about what we shouldn't miss. We are thinking of either going to Ambergris Caye and spending all of our time there (with trips to snorkel and maybe day trips inland), or possibly splitting our time between Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, or even Ambergris Caye and Placentia (flying to Placentia). I know I'm trying to do too much in not enough time but that's all the time we can take right now. We are on a budget but it seems like Belize has decent, good prices if you look hard enough. I want a hotel that is somewhat quiet (not tons of kids since this is a relaxing, romantic vacation), but also simple and not too far out of town. I really want the hotel to have a pool and be close to the beach or on the beach, and it'd be great to have its own bar and maybe even a restaurant or some place for snacks.
From my little research thus far I've been looking at Banana Beach Resort and Mata Rocks. They are right next to each other and I don't know which is "better." Any advice? We definitely can't stay at Mata Chica or someplace that is like $150+ a night but if there is a truly wonderful place we should stay and not miss then we can consider higher prices. We are thinking in the Banana Beach or Mata Chica range ($75+ a night, looks like around $80-$90 is the norm for the simplest rooms since it's low season).
Would it be worth our while to split our time -- say 3 nights in Abergris and 2 in Caye Caulker or Placentia? Or would it be best to just stay in Ambergris the whole time and take day trips to see other spots (Caye Caulker, inland to see the Belize Zoo, etc). Thanks so much for any help. We're 25 and 27 and are adventurous and like to see new things and don't need luxury -- we'd rather find cool unique, different experiences and restaurants etc. than spend a lot of money on Americanized resorts....that beind said, every hotel/resort in Belize looks super unique and wonderful so I'm having a hard time narrowing it down.
Please email me or post back to this if you have any advice.
[email protected] Thanks so much!
-Rita