Belize Travel Forum

After reading many advices the itinerary started to look like this:

Sat: arr. to BC around 10, renting a car, driving to San Ignacio. If have time, go to see Xunantunich.

Sun: Go to caves (which?) and ziplines (which?). Is "Green Hole Drop Caving and Abseiling Adventure" a good choice? It would be nice also to do some hiking.

Mon: Driving to Tikal in the morning, day at Tikal, stay overnight at Flores

Tue: Possibly see sunrise at Tikal, possibly do something at Lake Peten Itza and drive to BC. If we can make it, take a ferry to Cayes Caulkes (?)

Wed: Ferry to Cayes (if not on Tue), day at the beach.

Thu: Diving for me, snorkeling for the children

Fri: Deep sea fishing
Sat: Ferry to BC and flying out.

What do you think? Is this the best way to spend days at San Ignacio?
Any recommendations for places to stay?

How long is the drive BC-SI? SI-Tikal? Tikal-BC?
Any interesting places to stop along the way?

Be sure that you can take your rental car from Belize into Guatemala. I was there last May and was advised that many rental cars will not permit you to cross into Guatemala (no insurance). I flew from BC to Flores and took a taxi from there to Tikal (truly amazing!) - the taxi took about 1 hr to 1-1/2 hrs and it was some crazy driving (dirt roads and lots of farm animals so be prepared to stop suddenly for cows and horses that like to stand in the middle of the road).

Some problems for you... Driving across the borders is not possible every where and from San Ignacio to Tikal its long...
Xunantunich is close to San Ignacio and you can visit it in 2 hours...
I dont know anything about caving but the best places seem to be near El Caracol Some of the group did it in a day...

We drove from Belize to Tikal a few years ago. We had no problem with taking a rental car across the boarder, but I agree that flying might be a better option. The ride is a few hours and is proported to be not at all safe, although we had no problems. No matter how you have to go, be sure to make the effort to see Tikal. Well worth the trouble, IMHO.

One more thing, when are you going? We were there in the Spring and the "Easter winds" were so bad that the snorkeling boats wouldn't even go out. Great disappointment! We didn't know that this is typical spring weather.

Also, we stayed at Caulker Cay. Depending on what you're expecting this could either be a nice experience or a disappointment.

Your trips tight but doable.I like the idea of spending the night at Tikal.That'll take some pressure off.Last I heard only Crystal car rental allows their cars in Guatemala.You can walk across the border and hire a driver to take you to flores.I stayed at Xunantunich Inn right across from the ruins and a 10 min drive to the G border.Quieter than San Ignacio but a few more miles up the road.
Caulkers nice -It can be windy anytime though-you take your chances .You can fly a bit cheaper to the cayes from the Municipal airport and maybe you could turn your car in there-Save a taxi ride to the water taxi stand from the car rental place-Have fun-C

re: staying overnight in Tikal, I might also suggest (if it's within your budget) that you look into staying at one of the hotels on site. As I noted earlier, it is quite a drive from Flores to Tikal (now that I'm thinking about it, I believe it's closer to 2 hrs each way). Staying overnight at Tikal will also provide you an opportunity to go back to the site for sunrise without having to wake up in the middle of the night. I did a self-guided tour through the ruins - overall it took us about 4 hours to see most of what is there. That was going at a fairly brisk pace while still allowing for lots of climbing up and down the temples. The jungle heat also takes its toll and is quite exhausting, so it's nice not to have to climb back in to a vehicle after trekking around and climbing all those temples! We stayed at the Jungle Lodge and were able to take a relaxing dip in the pool before touring the site. Late afternoon was great to avoid the heat and we were on top of Temple IV by sunset - truly amazing!! If you're there for sunset, just remember that Tikal is huge and it's going to take you some time to get back out of the park. Make sure you leave yourself enough time or bring a flashlight or you may not find your way out in the dark.

Why fly to the cays? My understanding was that it is a short ride on the ferry.

Yeah I know-but it's only 20 minutes by plane -and the view is neat.Better than an hour or so on a packed boat.

I agree re: flying to the cayes if your budget allows. it's a cool experience and a great view of the reef. plus the ferry is quite a bumpy ride (more of a large motor boat than a typical ferry) and an hour is a bit long to be jostled around like that. plus if you are arriving mid-morning to mid-afternoon, it will likely be very hot and you'll be exposed to the sun on the water for an hour - so keep that in mind if you take the ferry. have a great time - i really loved Belize. I highly, highly recommend snorkeling in Hol Chan/Sting Ray Alley. it's a unique experience unlike any other you'll find in the carribbean.