Belize

[Craziblondi]

Hi Can anyone tell me how far Belize is and if you can go to Belize for a day trip? Thanks!

[krazy4playa]

I want to say Belize is about 6 hour drive. (Correct me if I'm wrong). I have heard you can't take rental cars into Belize and that getting accross the border can be complicated at times. And I don't think there is a lot to see in Belize just over the border. I know Mexico and Belize are not allways on best relations. I went on a cruise last year and stopped in Belize. We have been wanting to go for years. I'm glad I was only there for a day of SCUBA. We took and hour and half boat ride in the pouring rain to Ambergris Caye. The SCUBA was beautiful the people and food was great. But there was not enought to do to keep me busy in San Pedro and Belize City is not really a tourist destination. I have heard they have some great echo tours in the jungle. You will need a passport to enter and tourist VISA if you are US.

[Mitch]

Hi Craziblondi, of course it depends where you want to go in Belize! You would probably want to go to San Pedro. I try to go a couple of times per year and the fastest I have been able to get to San Pedro is in about 6 hrs, if you time everything just right! That is going by car to Corazol and small plane to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. Another great place is Caye Caulker, but that would be another short water taxi ride further. I would take two or three days to enjoy these two places! Mitch

[Susie Q Roo]

It's about 4 hours actually. Getting into Belize was a little sticky as we were just going in for the day as well and they didn't "get" it. There is no "tourism" and they can't figure out why you'd wanna see it. You just need your passport when you get there, then fill out their forms. Pretty certain you can't take a rental car in, but there is a bus station in Chetumal where you can catch a bus to Corozal (or is it CorAzOl?) or Orange Walk pretty easily.

[Craziblondi]

Thanks, I wanted to go down to Belize because I heard itwas beautiful. We are going to be in playa for 12 days so that is why I thought about going down to Belize, but I dont know if it is worth all the hard work.

[krazy4playa]

It was definately worth the visit. And I may try a couple of days on an echo tour. But for me a couple of days would be pleanty. San Paedro is nice no paved streets golf carts no cars. Population about 3,000. Not much in the way of night life or beachs. I had always invisioned that it was more like Playa or maybe Isla Murjeres. I was way wrong. It is very low key. So if your looking for a few days of SCUBA or snorkeling and just a very quiet night maybe a beer or two and bed by 11. I would give it a shot. They speak English but when they speak to eachother it's their version of English amazingly you won't understand a word.

[Craziblondi]

Thanks, I have never been to Playa and we will be going in April and I was not sure if I would get bord or tired of the same thing that is why I was thinking about going to Belize, & that it is beautiful. So I figures we will be close so I will try to get to Belize. Can you tell me some fun things to do or places to go. Any help would be great because I am a newbie!

[krazy4playa]

Here is a link to some places on Ambergris Caye, Belize. We spent most of our time at Fido's Courtyard and Pier. Good food cheap drink and good people.

http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/g...staurants.html

As far as Plya. Wow the sky is the limit. Any kind of liesure sport, adventure trips, history excursions. Click on the Trip Planning tab at the top of the page. Playa has a very Bohiemian feel. Kind of hippie trendie. Nice mix of people from all over the world not all American like Cancun. It makes for a nicer time. Mostley people in late 20's and above. You'll see the 60 year old keeping right up with the 30 years olds. Just very diverse. Very safe. Great food, music. People tend to dress up a little in the evening and get out of their shorts (except some American's and it's usually their 1st day) And you'll find the occational Minnesotan wearing socks with their sandles.

[Anna]

There's definitely enough to do in Playa and surroundings to keep you from getting bored on a 12 day vacation. Having said that, Belize is fantastic too. My tip is to not go to Belize for the beaches, because the beaches in Playa and the Mayan Riviera are much better. The keys are worth a visit if you're into diving or snorkeling.

For anyone who has the time to spend, a visit to the jungle town of San Ignacio and the on to Tikal in Guatemala is THE thing to do in Belize, IMHO. From San Ignacio (or one of the eco lodges in the area) you can do a number of very cool outings, from hiking, visiting caves, river trips, water falls and horse back riding. I had one of my most memorable horse back riding experiences of my life there (and I've traveled a lot all over the world and have gone riding in many countries). We went out for a day with this great woman called Charlie, who turned out to be Swedish, just like me, but had spend like 20 years in Africa before coming to Belize. Her horses were very nice and well trained, and we went galloping through the jungle with Charlie chopping down branches with a machete as we went along. We visited Mayan ruins in the middle of the jungle, covered with vegetation, and swam in a river with low grade jade rocks. Very very cool. There's also some nice Mayan ruins in the area, especially Xunantunich.

From San Igancio it's not far to Flores in Guatemala, which is the base for visiting Tikal, arguably the most impressive site in the Mayan world. To make this trip you'd need at least 3-4 days from Playa, preferably more.

[StephenB]

Isn't Belize also any easy way to get your tourist card reissued for another 30 days if you have exceeded your stay?

[Craziblondi]

Thanks! Can you give me some ideas about things to do stuff to see and places to go when in Playa? Because I have never been, and I dont know what to expect. Thanks!!

[Anna]

For ideas of what to do and see in and around Playa, just look around this site. Look under Read More, Trip Planning and Directory, and read the forum and do searches for the things that you're more interested in. Most people try to visit a Mayan ruin or two, lay on the beach, scuba dive, do a day trip or two and eat and drink well. Have fun!

[lovbuds]

Heres a link to the Corozel airport with cost and times. We will be doing this trip again. http://corozal.com/tourism/airport.php

[Ivan]

You can also take a boat ride from Xcalak, Mx to SanPedro. Through XTC www.xtcdivecenter.com

[Rob Stevenson]

How's April sound? We'll be in Playa April 1st, and plan on taking a bus or renting a car on the 2nd, it depends on how many people we get to go.

Originally Posted by lovbuds

Heres a link to the Corozel airport with cost and times. We will be doing this trip again. http://corozal.com/tourism/airport.php