AmbergrisCaye.com Home
Posted By: Gump 16 days in Belize (part 1) - 12/14/11 12:09 AM
Trip report for Belize November 20 through December 6, 2011
San Ignacio to San Pedro and beyond
Day 1- Sunday Nov 20
Leave Dulles (IAD) at 0600 on American Airlines flight 2503 to Miami. AA cancelled connecting flight 2103 to BZE. I had read that AA has done this in the past. They have 2 flights leaving MIA for BZE, one leaves Miami at 0955 and the later flight at 1315. Apparently, if both flights have a low census, it is not uncommon for them to cancel the early flight and combine both flights to the later 1315. I understand their reasons for this; however it really messed up our first day of vacation as we had planned to stop at the Belize Zoo for a couple hours enroute to San Ignacio and the later arrival did not allow for this. When I complained to AA they offered me a free cup of coffee. So, buyers beware. If you plan to travel out of Miami on AA in the morning, be prepared to get put on the later flight.
Arrived at BZE and went through customs without as much as a bag opened. William Hofman http://www.parrot-nest.com/belize_shuttle.html was waiting at the door with a smile on his face. He was everything that has been said here on the forum. He does talk a lot, but it makes the time pass while you are traveling.
Checked in at Rosa's http://www.rosashotelbelize.com/contactus.html on Hudson Street. Rosa's was clean, minimal, and very noisy. The people there were very nice. If you need a cheap place to stay and can put up with the nightclub next door, you will not be disappointed. We had a room with TV and AC for $27.50 a night. (all prices in this trip report are in US dollars unless otherwise noted) You get a breakfast of coffee/juice/toast/peanut butter & jelly and fruit.
Dinner was a short walk over to Hannah's where I had the chicken with rice and beans and Andrea had a quesadilla. The food was excellent (I could not get enough of the sauce on the chicken) including a couple of Belikins and the tip, dinner was $20. I don't recommend the ice tea.
Walked from Hannah's across to Pacz tours and signed up for Tikal on Monday. Picked up a prepaid SIM card from the little store next to Pacz for $27 with $5 in minutes included. I was worried that finding the card would take a trip to BTL, but these cards are sold everywhere. Just bring a GSM 850/1900 dual band phone with you and you will be good to go.

Day 2 - Monday Nov 21
Had the breakfast at Rosa's and headed to Burns Ave at 0715 to head to Tikal. Pacz tours did take care of all details. We were paired with another couple from Texas and our guide's name was Juice. We drove about 20 minutes to the border. Parked Pacz van in Belize, Took another 20 minutes to get through border due to about a dozen people with another tour company in front of us. We then got into another van in Guatemala with another driver and continued on our way. It takes over an hour and a half to get to Tikal. The roads go back and forth from paved and smooth to sand/rock and very rough. Tikal was amazing. It covers a lot of area, so 1 day doesn't give you a lot of time to explore. Juice remained with us throughout. At the end of the tour, you get lunch before loading back into the van for the ride home. Don't worry too much about bringing extra water with you; they sell it on site for only $1 a bottle. This trip costs $135 per person.
After returning to San Ignacio, we had dinner at Mr. Greedy's. Food is a little pricey, but the place is fun. Sand floor. We had one slice of pizza, a veggie sub, 2 Belikins and a soda for $18.
Day 3 to follow�
© Ambergris Caye Belize Message Board