8-day Trip to Belize
Signature trip
Take yourself on an adventure holiday during this 7-day trip to Belize – Explore jungles and reefs. Adventuring through Central America can be some of the most memorable and exciting trips you’ll always remember.
While Belize offers some sun and sand relaxation options, there’s also plenty where you can explore the luscious jungles, see ancient ruins, and dive into beautiful paradise-like reefs. As a result, you’ll feel energized every moment of this exciting excursion.
Mayflower Bocawina Park
Jungle hikes
Sittee river
Belize’s tallest mangrove trees
Belize Barrier Reef
Snorkeling tours
South Water Caye
Pristine beaches & marine reserve
Highlights
-Feel like a true explorer with a canoe trip through the winding rivers of the jungle.
-Head deep into the Mayflower Jungle with the expedition leading towards a remote waterfall.
-Walk down ancient Mayan steps to explore the St. Herman’s Cave and limestone formations.
-Get up close with the Glover’s Reef Marine Atoll by swimming and snorkeling through them.
Itinerary
On your initial day, you will arrive at Belize City International Airport (BZE). Upon arrival, you will take a quick 15-minute domestic flight to Dangriga.
After the overall journey is complete, one of our drivers will eagerly welcome you and pick you up to bring you to your lodge in Hopkins. From here, you’ll rest for the adventures to come.
- Four nights in Hopkins
We start first thing in the morning, where you’re going to be able to explore some of the beautiful exotic tropical birds. Depending on the season, you’ll be able to see a wide range of colorful birds in the region, whether it’s parrots or toucans. But, of course, those are only two of the several hundred species of birds that call Belize their home.
You will be able to savor a hands-on experience of how to do proper birding, regardless of your experience. This is a mild hike focusing on the location and scouting of some of these beautiful birds in their home.
After you’ve had your fill and count of the many birds possible to view, your first slightly more rigorous adventure begins: getting into a canoe and exploring the jungles as explorers did in the past! The journey will take place on the Sittee River near the Maya mountains. It will all begin at a small idyllic village and wind its way out to open waters.
During the exploration, you will not only be powering the canoes yourself but also see all the wildlife from the jungles themselves. What you’ll see will go beyond just the tropical birds from the bird watching previously but also go to the local nature in the waters, from fish to manatees, or see some iguanas relaxing in the rising sun.
Then it’s heading back to the lodge for a well-deserved rest.
We continue the rigors of adventure with the Mayflower Jungle Hike. After a quick drive to the site itself, the hike will begin. Keep in mind that this is quite an intense hike, so pack accordingly and be prepared. As we complete our journey to the top of the waterfall, we’ll get beautiful, picturesque views of the surrounding area and even a glimpse of the Sea from a distance. We’ll take a break here and cool off before heading further in.
Then it’s off to Mayflower, which is an old Mayan City. It’s an active archaeological site with new discoveries continuously happening and the histories of this great civilization continuing to take shape. All of this with gorgeous nature all around you.
With rivers and hiking conquered, we move into the depths of the earth and head into St. Herman’s Cave. We get here by heading to Herman’s Blue Hole National Park. Once we get to the cave, you’ll notice Mayan engineering as their steps are the foundation of the more modernized version overlayed on top of them. You will also be quick to see some ancient history as there’s Mayan pottery to be found throughout the cave.
We’ll provide you with headlamps in the dark, and you’ll also be going down nearly a mile into the earth to exit from the other side. But, don’t worry; you’ll have expert guides who will take all the necessary precautions to enjoy the limestone formations coming off the ceiling and see through the eyes of ancient Mayans.
These guides will also help explain how the Mayans used the caves and everything that is using these caves as a natural habit, flora and fauna alike.
Keep in mind that some places will be particularly dark here, hence the helmets with the headlamps, so make sure to always keep your ears open for any instructions and ensure that you’re able to do some climbing and navigating through some large rocks to get through the caves. It’s meant to be easily passable and doesn’t require any type of specialized cave exploration equipment. Everything needed will be provided ahead of time.
Day five is a transportation day to help to bring you to your next part of the journey while at the same time giving you a much-needed recovery from the previous intense adventures. First, you’ll be driven back to Dangriga. Once you arrive there, you’ll take a boat to the small island known as South Water Caye.
This island is on the Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve, which itself is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although you’ll have some free time to explore locally, consider this day to take a breather for the rest of the days. This is the staging area for the next few days to explore the Belize Barrier Reef. You’ll be staying in beautiful accommodations that will give you that much-needed rejuvenation from the previous days and what will be possible in the next upcoming days as well.
- Three nights in South Water Caye
On the first day on the island, we’re going to have a half-day snorkeling exploration tour that will take you to the South Water Caye Marine Reserve. Because we have over a dozen snorkeling sites 5 -15 minutes boat ride from the island, we are able to come back ashore between excursions for our guests. Our snorkeling excursions are typically broken up into morning and afternoon sessions.
Our snorkel trips are done on a private boat with a professional captain and guide to the reef and nearby many islands such as Man O’ War Caye, Bread and Butter Caye, Bird Island, and Tobacco Caye, to name a few.
You’ll discover marine bird species or swim with the manatees. You’ll also be able to explore islands such as the Carrie Bow Caye, where you will see critically important coral reefs that are essential to the local wildlife. You’ll see the underwater creatures in their colorful and natural habitats through these snorkeling experiences.
After that, we head back and take a breather and some free time for the rest of the day.
We keep the aquatic theme on this day and head back out to snorkeling. Belize is well known for having the second largest living barrier reef in the world. The area around South Water Caye provides amazing snorkeling opportunities. With clear visibility, spotting eagle rays, sea turtles and exotic fish can frequently be seen. Our guided boat tour is confirmed the day before which can be in the morning or in the afternoon. Time is agreed upon based on availability and guest preference. Our experienced and adventurous guide explains, and a snorkel orientation is also provided.
Guided snorkel trips are to different sites within the South Water Caye Marine Reserve. These trips are 1- 3 hours and are to nearby islands, patch reefs and a bird sanctuary. The best snorkeling sites in the South Water Caye Marine Reserve are: Fore reef Drift, Carrie Bow Patch, Angel Reef/Whale Shoal, Aquarium/Long Reef, and Tobacco Cut Snorkel.
You’ll be in shallow waters enjoying the Belize barrier reefs in the area and see corals in various colors you didn’t expect. You will witness a wide variety of marine wildlife from dolphins to sea turtles, but also eels, lobsters and conch, even smaller sharks, and angelfish.
The list here is just a small sampling as you spend the tour in warm waters that are shallow enough to enable snorkeling. There’ll be so much for you to see that you may want to bring an underwater camera to capture it all.
As with any of our trips, eventually, they must end, which is what happens on this day. After a delicious breakfast of local fares, we’ll get you back on a boat transfer to the Garifuna town of Dangriga. From Dangriga, you’ll head back on a domestic flight to the Belize International airport (BZE) and head on to the next flight that will take you back home.
map, expenses & price
8-day trip to Belize
Expenses included:
-All private transportation
-Domestic flights
-Seven nights of hotel accommodations
-Professional certified guides
-All tours and excursions as listed
-All park entrance fees
-All-inclusive plan in South Water Caye
Extension
8-day trip to belize
As with many of our trips, if there are any parts that you wish to extend, especially with the free time and days on Glover’s Reef Atoll, always let us know beforehand so that we can accommodate and extend your trip as per your request. We try to keep our itinerary comprehensive but always understand that some want to catch a few more sun rays before heading home.
You can add more days before departure, and have a wide variety of options and a flexible schedule. You can explore Glover’s Reef as you see fit, and we’ll help to set up all the arrangements. There’s plenty of water sports available if you want to continue exploring, and you can go on kayaking trips or even stand-up paddle boarding. So take the chance to explore the whole circumference of the island and head out into the open waters to experience that true freedom and connection with the Sea.
Maybe you feel as if you want to head back to enjoy exploring the coral reefs again or other parts of the waterways and head back to snorkeling and exploring directly what’s in the water.
On the other hand, maybe you’re a bit tired from the varied adventures of the past week, so you can take this time to simply work on your tan, soak in the beautiful views surrounding the Atoll, and dip your feet in the warm waters. After all, you’re in paradise, so there are no issues there.
And finally, for those looking for a simpler pastime akin to relaxation, there are even traditional fishing excursions you can go on and fish. There’ll be plenty out there to catch and possibly a chance to even cook it! You can also practice yoga in the middle of this paradise.
