Booking the trip
I’ll start by saying that this isn’t typically how I prefer to travel. For this trip, we decided to go with a travel company, mainly because I was traveling with family. My sister, who tends to get anxious while traveling, really benefits from having everything pre planned. If something goes wrong, she has someone to talk to, which helps ease her stress. We were also traveling with a toddler, so having everything organised made that part of the journey a lot smoother as well. While I usually prefer to skip the package deals (since you end up paying a premium for the agent’s fees), it was the right choice for this trip and made everything a lot less stressful for the whole family.
Getting there
We flew out of Manchester Airport with Virgin, with a layover in Atlanta. We had a day to explore the city before catching our flight to Belize.
Lamanai
We were met at the airport and transferred to a river a few hours away, where we climbed into a boat and cruised through winding jungle waterways to Lamanai Lodge. The journey itself felt like the start of the adventure (think it was one of my Dad’s highlights).
The lodge is absolutely incredible – set deep in the jungle, surrounded by the sounds of wildlife. You could constantly hear howler monkeys calling in the trees, which made it feel so wild.
The staff were all so welcoming, the food was fantastic, and the guides were honestly exceptional.
Our package included several activities, with plenty of optional extras to choose from. We opted for sunrise canoeing to spot crocodiles, night boat safaris (definitely one of my highlights – we saw so much wildlife and the stars were amazing), a sunset cocktail cruise along the river, night jungle walks, and more.
We all really enjoyed the medicine trail, where we learned how to use natural plants for healing, just as the ancient Maya did. One of us had a sore throat, and we tried a plant remedy recommended by the guide and it genuinely worked!
Even walking from our lodge to the restaurant felt like a mini safari, with animals everywhere you looked. I kept hoping to spot a jaguar, as I was desperate to see one, but sadly we weren’t that lucky. We did, however, see plenty of howler monkeys.
During our stay, we also visited the nearby Lamanai Maya Ruins, where we learned about the history of the site – it was more interesting than I’d expected!
If you’re not a fan of spiders, you might want to skip this part! At night we always wore head torches so we could see what was around us. When you shone the light on the ground, thousands of tiny eyes reflected back at you. There were spiders, scorpions, tarantulas, frogs everywhere you looked.
Caye Caulker
After a few nights in the jungle it was then time to head to the coast. We hopped back on a boat back to mainland and then headed to catch the water taxi to Caye Caulker. You essentially hand over your luggage to a guy and cross your fingers that it makes it – ours actually ended up on a different boat (definitely didn’t help my sister’s anxiety).
The primary mode of transport here is golf carts, so you can easily grab one to take you to your accommodation, and they’re really affordable.
Arriving on the island feels like stepping into paradise – conch shells scattered everywhere, white sand beaches, no cars, and fresh seafood being cooked at every turn. The island is located on the Belize Barrier Reef, which offers some of the best snorkelling and diving in the world.
We stayed at Iguana Reef Inn, and it was the perfect spot. Right on the beach – not just any beach, but the one famous for its stingrays. While these stingrays are drawn to the area because the hotel owner feeds them, I made sure to visit outside feeding times. Even then, there were still plenty of stingrays gliding around, coming up to you (mostly searching for food, but it’s important not to feed them).
My favorite experience was the half day trip to Shark Ray Alley. It was the perfect length for us – half of the group could go out, while the other half stayed at the beach with my niece since it wasn’t suitable for little ones. We saw so many nurse sharks, turtles, and eagle rays! There was also a stop to feed some tarpons, which was a pretty funny experience.
I had booked a scuba dive as well, but unfortunately, it got cancelled due to strong winds out at sea.
The restaurants in Caye Caulker were incredible, so much fresh seafood. We tried conch which was interesting. It was a bit too chewy for my liking, but since it’s a local specialty, I had to give it a try!
San Ignacio
After three nights on Caye Caulker, it was time to hop back on the water taxi to the mainland and begin our 2.5 hour drive to San Ignacio. We were heading into the rainforest, ready for some more adventures.
When we arrived, it was pouring with rain, but it actually added to the whole rainforest vibe, with the sound of birds singing and the calls of howler monkeys in the background.
We stayed at Black Rock Lodge, and it was such a cool place! Our cabins were nestled in the jungle, and the main seating area was elevated high up in the trees, offering stunning views of the river and so much wildlife. Each morning they put fruit out for the birds and there were so many different species, including toucans!!!
The food was incredible – definitely a 10/10. The fresh banana milkshake is a must try and quickly became a family favourite (especially with my niece).
There were so many activities to choose from here, like hiking trails, canoe trips down the river, tubing, and wildlife walks.
We really enjoyed the canoe trip, which took us about an hour down the river to another lodge where we stopped for a lovely lunch. Even though lunch was included at our lodge, they have an arrangement with this lodge, so we didn’t have to pay for it, which was a nice bonus. Some of us canoed and others kayaked. The river does have crocodiles, so we kept a careful eye out.
We’d actually been swimming in the river before we found out about the crocodiles, and our guide later sent us a photo of one lounging right where we’d been swimming – just an hour after we left! Thankfully, there’ve never been any issues with crocs here, but as I kept reminding everyone, there’s always a first time!!
I’d been hoping to spot a classic red eyed tree frog in Belize, and after failing to find one in the jungle, I was determined to track one down in the rainforest. I could hear them calling every night, but I never managed to spot one. It became my mission to go out each evening in search of one. With some tips from one of the guides, we finally found one on our last night. My sister and I ventured into the rainforest with our head torches, searching for one. Along the way, we also stumbled upon a small crocodile, which was pretty freaky in the dark! The tree frog was high up in a tree, and we had to follow its calls to find it -but the little night time adventure was totally worth it!
We decided to do the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave day trip, which started with a 45 minute jungle hike to the cave. Along the way we crossed a few rivers, which were really refreshing in the heat. Once we reached the cave, we ventured through tunnels and rocks, wading through waist deep water. After about half an hour, we reached the main chamber, which houses a Mayan burial site with calcified remains, ceremonial vessels, and various artifacts used in Mayan rituals.
It was such an interesting tour, and we all learnt a lot. Unfortunately this wasn’t suitable for my niece, so my sister took her horse riding at a local riding center instead, which she absolutely loved.
Placencia
After an amazing three nights in the rainforest, it was time to hit the road again. We were headed to Placencia, about a three hour drive away.
Placencia is home to some of Belize’s most stunning beaches. It is a long stretch of land bordered by a lagoon to the west, with views of the Maya Mountains in the distance. Placencia Village has a very laid back/quirky vibe. It’s full of dive shops, restaurants and bars. Just off the coast, there are great dive and snorkel spots.
We stayed at Umaya Resort, which had a spacious pool with a bar, a pizza restaurant by the pool and a modern restaurant on the main side of the hotel.
There were crocodiles in the lagoon so you were not allowed to swim in the lagoon. But, you were able to swim in the sea on the other side of the hotel (one side was ocean and the other side was lagoon).
We divided the group again for the snorkelling trips – half of us went on the snorkelling excursion, while the other half relaxed at the hotel’s beach and pool. You can also try paddleboarding and kayaking at the hotel.
For the snorkelling, we traveled to Silk Caye Island, which was about an hour by boat. The waters were full of vibrant fish, stingrays, nurse sharks, eagle rays, and stunning coral reefs. We also enjoyed a BBQ lunch on the island, freshly prepared in front of us – it was absolutely delicious.
The next day, I joined the other half of the group for their snorkeling trip as I wanted to go scuba diving. While my sister and brother in law snorkeled, I joined the diving group for a dive. The site was beautiful, and we were followed by several nurse sharks throughout the dive.
We also had a free day with no planned activities, which was really nice. It gave us the chance to just relax on the beach and enjoy the hammocks.
Goodbye Belize
Sadly, this is where our trip came to an end and we got our 3 hour transfer back to the airport.
It was an incredible experience – perfect for adventure and wildlife lovers. This trip was not like any trip we’d gone on as a family, with something for everyone to enjoy. We made sure the plans and activities suited everyone and it worked out well even with a toddler. There were only a few ocean activities and the caves that she couldn’t join in on.
I can’t recommend this trip enough – during our time there we hardly saw any tourists, so we imagine it will get busier as more people discover it. But I definitely recommend it!
Polly in Paradise 
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