7-Day Belize Itinerary & Travel Guide: Cayo to San Pedro
This year, we were lucky enough to visit Belize, not just once but twice! Our first trip was all about slowing down and settlinging into the island life. Lazy beach days, plenty of scuba diving, and that dreamy Caribbean pace filled with yummy fry jacks and stew chicken.
But our second trip? It was a whirlwind of adventure, culture and pure relaxation. The kind of experience that altered our brain chemistry in the best way possible!
Belize may be small—about the size of Massachusetts—but it packs a serious punch that you wouldn’t expect. There’s truly never a dull moment here, whether you’re wandering the ancient Maya ruins, horseback riding through lush jungles, swimming alongside nurse sharks in the second-largest barrier reef in the world, or learning to cook the array of cuisines that make up Belizean’s diverse culture.
In this 7-day Belize itinerary, I’ve split our journey in two: the first half takes you deep into the jungles and waterfalls of Cayo, while the second half slows down on the island of Ambergris Caye in San Pedro, with plenty of time to explore the vibrant underwater world of the Belize Barrier Reef, below and above the water’s surface.
And trust me. Once you’ve experienced this itinerary with your own eyes (and feet!), you’ll be counting down the days until your second trip back, just like we were.
This blog post was made possible in partnership with Travel Belize (Belize Tourism Board) who sponsored our latest trip to Belize. That said, everything you’ll read here—our opinions, tips, and experiences—are 100% my own.
How Long Should You Spend in Belize
The question you should ask yourself is better yet: how long can you spend in Belize. Truth be told, there’s much more to explore in the country than what our itinerary covers. But as a first time visit for most, one week is a great amount of time to give you a good taste of what Belize offers.
Our first trip lasted 11 days, where we visited Caye Caulker and San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. And that trip was solely for diving! The second time around, we had five days, which was surprisingly plentiful to do everything we wanted.
You could easily spend a month exploring the rainforest, Maya mountains, southern highlands and the islands, on the edge of the Belize Barrier Reef.
But seven days is sufficient enough to experience the jungle and islands, without feeling rushed. WestJet is launching their nonstop flights for the 2025/26 season, from Calgary to Belize three times a week, which will make it even easier for Calgarians like us to make a shorter, yet fulfilling, trip out of whatever time we can spare.
Best Time to Visit Belize
I would always agree that the best time to visit Belize is during the dry season, which coincides with the months of November to May. You’ll typically be met with more favourable weather, and because it’s the country’s high season, more direct flights are available depending on your point of origin!
Instead of dealing with multiple stopovers, potentially with an overnight layover—like we did in June, having to travel via the US—you can get to Belize and home faster!
If you’re divers like us, you’ll be glad to know that April to June is also prime time for diving in Belize. Those months usually offer the best visibility, and whale sharks intermittently pass through the Belize Barrier Reef during the months of March to June depending on the phase of the moon. So spring time is definitely most promising for diving excursions!
March to May is typically the hottest season in Belize, so definitely keep this in mind when planning your trip. If you’re looking for slightly cooler weather, with some chance of rain, but low crowds, we found late August to surprisingly offer a great in-between.
Belize is one of the few destinations around the world that isn’t overburdened with tourists during northern hemisphere’s summer months. Late August this year was all around the perfect time, as we had beautiful sunny weather practically at every turn, it wasn’t overbearingly hot and we managed to visit very popular attractions with few others around.
Places to Explore in Belize
If you had to pick two places to explore in Belize, especially as a first-timer, make it Cayo and Ambergris Caye.
Cayo is the hub for jungles, waterfalls, Maya ruins, cave tubing and so much more in terms of adventure activities. It’s the largest district in Belize, spanning most of the country’s central west area. Cayo is home to rainforests and mountains, boasting landscapes from lush tropical greens to earthy clay reds and Caribbean pines.
There are amazing and secluded lodges and resorts to stay at that are not too far from San Ignacio, and that make for great launching points for your days of adventure. The stays, in themselves, often make the Cayo experience all the more memorable, and have so much natural scenery right on the lodge estates themselves.
Over at Ambergris Caye, the vibe changes a ton. As opposed to the immersive jungle experience with wild animals in every direction, you’ll find yourself on a populated island with all of Belize’s cultures intertwined, and quiet nooks for the perfect island escape. It’s the ultimate home base to explore the underwater world of the Belize Barrier Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world, and home to the Great Blue hole.
If you have more time to spare, you’ll definitely want to add Caye Caulker and Placencia to your itinerary. Caye Caulker is the more laidback, backpacker’s island compared to its sister island, Ambergris Caye. Its walkable atmosphere and cheaper prices make it well suited for smaller budgets and slow travelling. It gives off a homey environment, where you can dive into longer conversations with the locals you encounter.
Placencia is very similar in the sense that it’s somewhat of a “sleepy fishing village”, but also offering easy access to white sand beaches and turquoise waters, and a variety of accommodations. But on top of that, it’s a beach destination of Belize that is well connected to the mainland jungles and all the adventures that come with them, being that it’s just a stone’s throw away from the mainland coastline.
Getting Around Belize
Belize is a relatively small country. It only takes about 6 hours to drive from the northernmost point of Corozal to Punta Gorda, the southernmost point. The road are not too difficult to drive on or navigate, at least on main roads, and many visitors will rent their own car while travelling the country. An IDP (International Driving Permit) may not be required—though is always good to have on hand—but you’ll need a valid foreign driver’s license in order to rent your own vehicle.
If you’re only exploring a couple of areas and don’t plan on road tripping, you can book land transfers very easily ,and I mention later in this post a couple that we used to get from Belize City to Cayo.
Buses are also available for travel between the main hubs of Belize and many stops in between. On a lower budget, the bus system is still a reliable mode of transportation, and you can book tickets in advance online through third-party sites like Busbud, or direct through local bus companies like James Bus Line, though their offerings would only include their lines.
To get around the islands, fast boat water taxis will get you from A to B. Our journey going from Belize City to Caye Caulker then to San Pedro and back to mainland was as smooth as can be.
There’s also a fourth option that we loved, though it does come with a higher price tag. Domestic flights operate throughout the country, primarily with Tropic Air and Maya Island Air. There are small domestic airports in Belize City (as well as the international BZE), San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Placencia, Punta Gorda and Corozal to name a few.
The planes are small, capable of seating 3 to 14 passengers, but spacious enough to settle some anxiety surrounding small spaces. The short time needed for check-in prior to departure, and the duration of the flights themselves, make this a great option for those who want to maximize their time in Belize as much as they can.
Belize’s Currency and Languages
The official currency of Belize is the Belizean dollar (BZD). It’s fixed against the US dollar, and is at all times fixed at 2 BZD = 1 USD. That makes it super easy for most of us, as USD is easier to come by at banks and currency exchange offices in most people’s home country. At least for us, we can go directly to our bank to retrieve USD, usually also at a favourable rate.
In our experience, you could pay for anything at any place in USD. Even a little fry jack stall or local market vendor will accept USD, and will either supply change in BZD or USD depending on what they have. The lowest increment we used in USD was a single dollar bill, though American coins may not be accepted.
The official language of Belize is English, making the country very easy to navigate for English speakers. But you’ll also still hear an abundance of Spanish, as nearly 60% of the population speak it. About 50% of Belizeans speak Belizean Creole (or Kriol) which is more colloquially spoken.
Depending on the districts you’re visiting, you’ll also hear Mayan spoken, especially in the northern districts of Corozal, Cayo and Orange Walk, as well as the southern district of Toledo. Mennonites are also an establish community across Belize, primarily of Russian and Canadian descent. If you walk through the market of San Ignacio, you might hear some German dialects being spoken.
7-Day Itinerary Breakdown
Our week-long Belize itinerary will entail spending 7 nights in the two main regions we’ve come to love that I mentioned earlier: Cayo and Ambergris Caye. It’ll be split with 4 nights in Cayo at one stay and 3 nights in San Pedro at a second.
In Cayo, it’s all about the jungle adventures and maya ruins with some relaxation. And in San Pedro, your time can be dedicated to underwater and seaside adventures, beach unwinding and diving into the distinctive culinary worlds of some of Belize’s most prominent cultures.
It’s a schedule teeming with activities and offers a little bit of everything! From nature escapes to massages by the beach, food tasting to scenic flights, you won’t miss a beat with my 7-day Belize itinerary.
Day 1: Arrival in Belize City & Transfer to Cayo
After arriving at the Philip Goldson International Airport in Belize City, and getting your passport stamped through immigration, hop on your 2-hour land transfer from BZE to your stay in Cayo. You can book a shared or private shuttle from the airport directly to your accommodation in San Ignacio/Cayo, though we’ve found that it’s predominantly private van transfers that are offered.
Belizing has favourable pricing, especially the larger the group, but we selected Mayawalk Tours for our round trip transfers and their drivers were amazing. You can also book your round trip transfer directly with your accommodation in Cayo, as most of the lodges partner up with reputable tour and transportation operators.
If you’re not too exhausted from your travel day, keep an eye out the window for any toucans on the road to Cayo! Our driver spotted a ducante of at least six keel-billed toucans, Belize’s national bird, on our way back up to Belize! It was such a sight and such a bittersweet closing to our time in Cayo.
But let’s start at the beginning of the Cayo journey!
Staying at the Sweet Songs Lodge was honestly one of our top highlights. It’s so nature immersive and meets the jungle where it’s at, instead of altering the surroundings to make room for the resort. It’s next door to the Belize Botanical Gardens and is steps above a sandy beach with towering cliffs all around, creating the perfect shoreline to set off on canoe and tubing adventures down the Macal River.
There are only twenty or so rooms currently, which all come with a rustic and slight bohemian touch. We stayed in their Signature Treehouse, which features a cozy air-conditioned room, an outdoor open-air bathroom, a stretch of private balcony that looks out to the endless jungle and cliffs, a built-in daybed net on said balcony, and even a private entrance suspension bridge that leads to your treehouse door.
We had a warm welcome upon our arrival, with a lovely tour of the property and a delicious welcome drink made with local rum at the pool. We got settled into our room in no time and honestly, we could’ve sat on that—surprisingly, bug-free—porch all afternoon, but our hunger stirred after a long-ish travel day.
For your first night, depending on the time you arrive, keep your schedule open for some resort relaxation, hit the pool, especially if you’re staying at Sweet Songs Lodge, and enjoy your dinner at your accommodation.
At Sweet Songs, you can opt in for the half board (i.e. breakfast and dinner) package. They change the dinner menu every night and write out the 3-course options on the blackboard at the restaurant. For our first night, we ordered the beet and feta salad to start, a delicious curry shrimp and juicy lamb rack on mashed potatoes and curried vegetables for our mains, and bread pudding with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Great start to our stay and the tasty food got us nice and sleepy for a good night’s rest.
Day 2: Maya Ruins, San Ignacio & Cave Tubing
Xunantunich Mayan Ruins
We’re starting off strong with a walking tour of the grand and ancient Maya Ruins, specifically the Xunantunich archeological site. Only 20 minutes away from San Ignacio, it’s really close to the jungle lodges like Sweet Songs, allowing you to save your time for exploring.
We booked our guided tour directly with Sweet Songs Lodge, and reached Xunantunich with a short drive with a small river crossing on a pullied car ferry. We arrived nice and early, before 9am, well before any large tour groups came, and took great advantage of the crowdless landscape and cooler temperatures.
We ventured off to different parts within permitted areas, playing Indiana Jones in the lesser of the 32 structures, surprised to see no other visitors roaming where we did. The site continues to be excavated, so there are certain sections that may be barred off while the archeologists safely unveil them.
We loved getting up to the pyramid that faces out to the massive open field in front of El Castillo, the central and largest pyramid, standing tall at 40 m (130 ft).
Later rejoining our small tour group and and our amazing guide Selvin, we climbed up to the top of El Castillo, a short yet steep way up, gaining panoramic views of the site and endless hills, stretching past the Guatemalan border.
It can get really hot and sunny, even during the morning hours, so definitely pack lots of water, sunscreen and shades with you for your Maya ruins walk.
There are other incredible Maya archeological reserves that are worth keeping in mind during your trip to Belize, if you’re a history buff and want to explore more of Maya’s deep and mysterious history. Cahal Pech, Lamanai and Caracol being the largest in the country, can you keep you busy on your feet for a couple of days!
San Ignacio Lunch & Market
For lunch, head to San Ignacio to dine at the renowned Guava Limb restaurant. They have such a broad menu, featuring everything from pizzas and pastas to Thai curries and Indonesian Gado Gado, Mexican comfort foods to Mediterranean grills. Guava Limb’s take on flavours from all around the world is really exquisite, and after our morning exploring, we were ready to eat to our hearts’ content.
The servers started us off with a delicious Sorrel Flower infused water which quenched our thirst before we ordered some fresh fruit juice nectars, rose apple for Jason and soursop for myself.
Jason and I opted to get the Thai shrimp summer rolls which were so fresh and the Caribbean style shrimp ceviche, which was a meal in itself as it was served on a big platter complete with tons of tortilla chips. We were already pretty stuffed before our mains arrived because the portions here are more than satisfying. But we still had a delicious tomato curry chickpeas and eggplant chicken pizzaiola which truly did us in!
If you don’t go overboard like we did, check out the San Ignacio Market for some fresh fruit, drinks and cheap eats. Though the morning time is when the market is most lively, it’s still a sight to see all the local communities coming together to buy and sell their goods. It’s a great time to do any souvenir shopping as well while you’re in town.
Cave Tubing
Cayo is well-known for its extensive and sacred cave network and the district is often considered to have the largest network in all of Central America. The Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave is the region’s most coveted caves, made famous in the 1990’s by National Geographic. But it’s one of the most physically demanding caves requiring more hiking and wading in water, perfect for thrill-seekers and cave enthusiasts.
If you’re up for a little chill adventure in a dark and echoey place, save a few hours of your afternoon for some cave tubing at St Herman’s Cave. It’s an hour east from San Ignacio but away from the larger crowds. Once you get there, it’s a short walk and relaxing river tube ride in turquoise waters once you’re in the cave. After the lazy river tubing, you’ll get to enjoy a peaceful swim at the Inland Blue Hole, a gorgeous shallow sinkhole, encircled by white limestone, that emits its signature sapphire hue.
Though it’d be a full day out, we find this cave tubing excursion to be the perfect way to unwind and cool down in fresh water, especially on a hot day.
After your afternoon of swimming and tubing, you can either pick up some dinner in town at San Ignacio, or go back to your lodge to freshen up before taking your dinner in-house. Get lots of rest before another adventurous day!
Day 3: River Canoeing, Waterfalls & Wildlife
Macal River Canoe Adventure
What we loved about Sweet Songs Lodge is that we could walk the short stairway down to its golden sand beach to launch straight into the Macal River. We met with Carlos, our guide for the day, before walking down to the beach and getting set up for the canoe. It was already looking like a gorgeous day, with light pouring through to illuminate the beach and the dense, lush forest hugging the cliffs giving us some cool shade as we started our 2-hour river journey to San Ignacio.
The canoe ride was one of our favourite highlights of our time in Belize, and fortunately, we had Carlos in the back of our 3-person canoe to help us steer and row, so we could also get a few moments to relax and snap some pictures.
He was so great at pointing out some incredible things about the landscape, and pinpointing stunning animals and birds that are endemic to this pocket of Central America. So many different species of birds we had never seen graced us with their presence, including a couple of different kingfishers, warblers, flycatchers, egrets, and a huge flock of cormorants that would move in unity downstream every time we’d get close to where they stopped.
We even managed to spot a beautiful keel-billed toucan up above in the trees towards the end of our canoe ride!
But the best part was when we docked at the Chaa Creek Lodge, seeing a whole family of at least a dozen howler monkeys taking a snooze up in the bamboo tree. It was incredible to see the adults lounged on their tummies on the branches, while the babies roamed awkwardly wide awake as they looked at us curiously. They were so incredible to look at in their midnight black coats!
Visit San Ignacio’s Green Iguana Sanctuary
After our wonderful, yet tiring row down the river, with barely another soul in sight, completely immersed in the jungle and its animal inhabitants, we made it to San Ignacio. A couple of the tour drivers brought the car around so the three of us could set off to our next spot, the Green Iguana Conservation Project at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel.
Rodolfo led us through a private tour of the conservation project, a well built set up that they have that comes across as its own botanical garden with lavish homes for the iguanas. We got to meet Gomez and his three ladies, adult iguanas who’ve become well accustomed to humans since their rescue, either from the wild or as abandoned pets.
We learned so much about green iguanas that we had so little knowledge of before. Like how their size is not capped at a certain age, how the mature males change to an orange or red colour to signal their aptitude to potential mates, what their dewlaps serve for in thermoregulation and communication, and how they have the cutest little pink tongues!
I honestly had no idea that green iguanas—not iguanas as a whole species, as black spiny-tailed iguanas are doing just fine—were endangered and a protected species in Belize. Due to loss of their habitat, the pet trade, overhunting—not just their eggs as they’re considered a delicacy, but adult ones too since they are known as “bamboo chicken”—their population has declined, and the conservation program is in place to restore their numbers.
After we got to pet and feed lettuce to the gentle adult iguanas, we went over to meet some juveniles, separated in large glass tanks by age, from just a couple of weeks old to a couple of months. Jason even held a cute little one and she was so calm in his palm! I wasn’t as daring to, although I kind of regret not doing so now.
Swimming at Big Rock Falls
It was a fun hour’s break at the resort before we set off on a longer drive! We were originally going to go swim at the Rio On Pools, which is such a relaxing place for a refreshing swim. But with after lots of convincing from other Sweet Songs guests, we opted to visit Big Rock Falls instead, where we could swim and admire the view of a tremendous waterfall.
Carlos drove us to the secluded area in Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, where we parked the car and set up for our lunch. It wasn’t the picnic set up he had planned for us, as Big Rock Falls doesn’t have a recreational area with seating, but a simple and small gravel car park. So instead, we popped open the trunk, and he organized our prepared meal so that it was easy to serve ourselves.
We had ordered the rice & beans with stew chicken for lunch at the lodge to have packed in the cooler for our day’s excursion. Rice & beans with stew chicken is the staple household dish, and is often considered the national dish of Belize. It sates and sustains, hitting all spots for flavour and texture. If you’re on a budget for food, you can always depend on this dish to be the best bang for your buck! We had it practically every day during our first day in Belize and never tired of it.
After a satisfying lunch, we made our way down the short but steep trail down to the natural fresh water pools and falls. There are steps built into the steep trail, with added nail heads for grip, to make for an easier descent and ascent. But you’ll still want to very careful. I personally wouldn’t recommend Big Rock Falls to anyone with high mobility issues, not only because of the trail down, but the need to maneuver your way around the jagged and slippery rocks by the water.
But after five minutes, you should be down by the stream and getting your first peek at Big Rock Falls! The waterfall is wonderfully picturesque, flowing straight into a small pool of emerald which opens up to an immense pool. We loved walking right into the large pool/lake to immediately cool off after our hot day, and slowly swim our way to the next one at the base of the waterfall.
There’s a large boulder at the edge of the large pool you could jump from if you love a little cliff jumping! It would make for an exciting entry. But whatever you do here, watch your step as the mossy rocks at the shoreline can be extremely slippery while getting in and out of the water. And the rocks just below the surface of the water at the edges can be pretty obscure, so be gentle with your strokes as not to bang your hand or foot on them!
Tons of folks, locals and foreigners alike, come out here to cliff jump. We saw some daring visitors climb up to short, rocky edges on the cliffs near the waterfall and jump off from almost 10 m (30 ft) heights. As much as I love a good cliff jump from a constructed platform at well vetted locations, this just wasn’t for me! We gladly lived vicariously through others by watching them from the sidelines and cheering them on.
Dinner at Lodge at Chaa Creek
A full day of outdoor adventures with canoeing and swimming will leave you with a big appetite. If you don’t opt into a dinner package with your lodge in Cayo, then you’ll definitely want to head to the Lodge at Chaa Creek at their Mariposa Restaurant for a dinner. The lodge is owned by the same owners of Guava Limb, so you’ll know that the food is going to be great.
We absolutely loved the outdoor (and bug-free, might I add) setting here, with its mixed Hispanic and Mayan architecture style under a massive thatched roof, and low ambient lighting. The staff were great here, and gave of some of the best service we received in Belize.
Fresh bread and butter came along with our fresh juice orders, and the dish I eyed earlier but didn’t get at Guava Limb was found on this menu as well! I highly enjoyed my Sriracha Shrimp curry dish, while Jason inhaled his big bone pork chop with pineapple sauce. We finished with a tuxedo style chocolate cake which Jason couldn’t get enough of.
On the way back to Sweet Songs Lodge, we stopped when our driver spotted the cutest armadillo hunting in the grass just a few feet away from the quite road we drove on! We gazed at it with a torchlight as its small shell slowly made its way under the night sky, looking for its own meal to eat.
Day 4: Rest Day & Jungle Horseback Riding
R & R at Sweet Songs Lodge
After two days of heavy exploring, you’ll probably want some time to rest and rejuvenate, and take advantage of the amenities at your jungle resort on your own time. What we loved about Sweet Songs Lodge was that there were different trails you could wander along for a bit of self-guided safari and birdwatching, the Macal River was right at our feet, the Belize Botanical Gardens was just down the road and the resort pool was the perfect place to reset amidst the jungle.
If you opted not to do the cave tubing on Day 2, this is the ultimate time to take a tube provided by your stay and ride the lazy river. At Sweet Songs, they have the perfect route, with a launch and end point on the Macal, so that you can enjoy river tubing right from your resort at no cost.
Horseback Riding Wine & Cheese
Later in the afternoon, head on an evening horseback riding adventure through the Cayo hills and forest! Many of the jungle lodges in Cayo have their own horse ranches, which means you just need to walk over to the stables and you’ll be on your way for a relaxing yet exhilarating journey on horseback.
There are a few excursions you could do, different trails you could follow, but we decided on doing a wine & cheese outing at a secluded and private viewpoint with the horses. Jason was paired with a lovely, mature mare who was really chill on the trail, while I had an adorable yet naughty colt, Payaso (which literally means “clown” in Spanish), who wasn’t always the best listener, but put a smile on my face and kept me on my toes (sometimes literally).
You can let your guide know what your previous experience and comfort levels are and they’ll pair appropriately!
The trail we rode through was easy going most of the way until we reached the uphill and narrow course that ran steep between the trees. The horses did so well in climbing and navigating, and it was maybe just over half an hour from the start when we reached the top and dismounted.
A charmingdining set up was already waiting for us, with a massive wooden platter of cheeses, charcuterie and fruits were displayed, as well as some red wine. We were grateful for the abundant shade, late afternoon sun and breeze coming through, and we honestly could’ve sat there all night munching on our snacks and sipping on our wine with the soft wind blowing in our direction.
With this horseback riding experience, there’s really no time limit and you could stay up there to catch the sunset, if you’re comfortable making your way down in the dark with the horses. It was a wonderful way to spend the evening, heading up to a private spot in the lush hills with food and drink waiting for us.
Day 5: Transfer to Ambergris Caye & Mestizo Cooking Class
Transfer to Ambergris Caye
It’s time to leave Cayo and head to a very different yet exciting part of Belize! Take the two-hour drive (booked privately or shared) back to Belize, either to the water taxi/ferry port, or to the airport (either BZE or TZA depending on the airport your flight takes off from). We’ve experienced both the ferry and domestic flight from mainland Belize to the islands, and they were both perfectly great experiences, and solely depend on your budget, comfort levels with each craft and time.
It takes just under 2 hours for the ferry, from Belize City to San Pedro, with a quick stop in Caye Caulker on the way. The small plane flight takes about 15 minutes from runway to runway. For both the ferry and flight, you’ll need to check-in at least 30 minutes prior to departure, which is a relatively short period. So it’s a fairly quick journey from mainland to the caye. Even with our departure from our Cayo lodge at 7am, we made it to our resort in San Pedro at 11:20am!
When in Ambergris Caye, the best way to get around is by gas-powered golf carts. It’s the mode of transportation on the island and the way everyone gets around. There are plenty of golf cart rental companies on the island. We contacted Isla Bonita—one of the best and well priced rental shops in San Pedro—in advance for our first trip, and they came to pick us up right from the ferry port. Even upon returning the golf cart, you go straight to the ferry or airport, and they’ll meet you there for key handoff.
You can rent either a 4- or 6-seater, depending on how many people are in your group and how much luggage you may have. It can take a little getting used to driving in San Pedro, but it’s quite foolproof for experienced drivers. You can also opt in to rent directly from your resort as they often partner with rental agencies, and you won’t have to shop around in this case.
This time around, we did just that during our stay at Victoria House Resort & Spa. Our arrival at the resort was so warm and sunny, and we were greeted with the most delicious ginger lemonade drink before a quick resort tour on our way to our suite.
Fortunately, by late August, most of the sargassum that came through this year had subsided and was cleared to reveal the gorgeous white sand beach under our feet as we walked to the elegant Tower Suite, a two-floor accommodation with its own full-width oceanfront balcony, overlooking the sandy shore of Ambergris Caye.
Our suite had a colonial touch in its design, and felt like its own apartment with the two floors spreading across 1520 sqft, a private entryway, full massive bathroom downstairs complete with a jet tub jacuzzi, and balconies on both sides of the Casa Azul building.
The resort itself sits on an elongated stretch of a prime area of beach, and offers four different pools that we can access. So if one gets a little busy, you can hop over to another one! I was honestly ready to just sink into our plushy king bed and pool hop all afternoon with this sunny weather we were having, but a loud grumbling tummy called for something else on the day’s itinerary.
Elvi’s Kitchen Mestizo Cooking Class
We hopped on our golf cart and headed into town to Elvi’s Kitchen, one of the islands oldest restaurants that is thriving even more today. Next year will be their 50th anniversary, and Chef Jennie Staines carries her mother Doña Elvia’s legacy, continuing to make it an internationally recognized and award-winning restaurant.
We came here with the purpose of learning how to make authentic Mestizo foods, a mixture of indigenous Maya, Spanish and Mexican cuisines. It carries huge significance in Belize as over half of the Belizean population is Mestizo. Though, as you’ll see on our last day of the itinerary, Belize is a unique blend of cultures and there are even more rich cuisines you’ll have to try.
We met Chef Jennie in the comfort of her late mother’s loving home located right above the restaurant. Upon coming in, we were greeted by her and her daughter-in-law, with some of the key ingredients and tools already laid out on the island. One of the servers from downstairs came around for our complimentary drink orders as we got started. Elvi’s Kitchen’s fresh juices and smoothies are seriously off the hook.
Our private cooking class started off strong, and Chef Jennie put me straight to work, grinding the annatto seeds on a traditional Mayan stone called a metate. It was a workout, but from these hard pepper-like seeds came a reddish paste that would be the key spice ingredient in the three Mestizo dishes we were about to make: salbutes, escabeche and tamales.
Another vital ingredient in these dishes is of course masa, a ground corn dough that is a staple in Mestizo cuisine. From using the tortilla press to create the salbutes before we fried them, to mixing the fresh masa with masa that’s fried with lard into a polenta-like dough for the tamales, there are countless ways to use the ground maize in Mestizo cooking.
For protein, we used chicken for all three dishes, and even that was cooked to perfection in different fashions to suit the dishes. From stewed in a rich broth then shredded for the salbutes and tamales, to grilled on a Japanese charcoal grill for the escabeche soup, the chicken tasted drastically different in all three courses.
The most time-consuming dish by far was the tamales. There’s a reason why people make Belizean tamales in huge batches to feed dozens of people, because there are so many steps to the process. Softening the banana leaves with a torch is just the first step. It ended up being such a long yet rewarding process and we enjoyed our tamales for dinner! And another round of refreshing drinks came our way as we worked and chatted around the kitchen.
Day 6: Hol Chan & Shark Ray Alley Snorkelling & Catamaran Dinner Cruise
Snorkel or Dive at Hol Chan Marine Reserve
You can’t visit Ambergris Caye without hitting the water and reefs! So today’s the day to go snorkelling the underwater world that Belize is so well known for. Or better yet, scuba diving, if you’re a diver like we are!
Truth be told, we didn’t see a whole lot of vibrant corals or abundant schools of multicoloured fish, within or outside of the San Pedro reef. What we did see, however, were multiple sightings of large marine animals—from green and loggerhead turtles, to Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks, massive eagle rays more than once and even dolphins on our last ascent!
But if you’re looking for a unique diving and/or snorkelling experience, you’ll definitely want to book an excursion to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. It is one of our most memorable dive sites, given its structural beauty and clarity, it wasn’t too shallow nor deep, and was home to many schools of large fish like snappers, as well as a ton of sleeping nurse sharks.
Hol Chan also provided an all around fun dive, as we had to crawl on the sandy sea floor to slow ourselves from the current while we progressively got deeper, then came up the reef before swimming through a small tunnel passing so many fish inside, then swimming against the current hugging the wall of the underwater cliff before reaching the shallow corals once again.
On this dive we saw countless snappers, groupers and other fish in huge conglomerations, enough nurse sharks to make them commonplace, porcupine fish out in the open, three large eagle rays in the distance, the cutest green turtle and we came arm’s length from a little yellow stingray swimming right under us on the sand.
For snorkellers, you’d get to explore the shallower areas of the reef, swimming above the many corals. Everything you see pops so well against the white sand of the sea bed, and you have the possibility of seeing practically every type of animal that we saw! Even manatees aren’t a super rare sighting in Hol Chan as they come and graze on the seagrass of these shallower reefs.
Swim With Sharks and Rays at Shark Ray Alley
After Hol Chan, practically every tour—dive or snorkel—will take you to the Shark Ray Alley, a vast, shallow area, located between Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, made up of seagrass and sandbars that is highly frequented by reef sharks and stingrays. We came here once during our surface interval while staying on Caye Caulker, and another time after our afternoon Hol Chan dive coming from San Pedro.
Both times offered us completely different experiences, and no two times are ever the same. The first time, we were among other boats and in the shallow sandbar area, where we could wade in the water and watch rays and sharks swim all around us.
The second time around, we were the only boat in the area, and dozens of nurse sharks all came right up to us at the sound of the engine that they are accustomed to mean there might be an easy meal. I immediately geared up in my snorkel gear and jumped off the boat, giddy to be so close and encircled by the gentle nurse sharks. We only saw the sharks this time, though it was the most we’d ever encountered.
It’s such a unique experience hard to come by anywhere else in the world. The only other place we’d swam with sharks and rays right off the boat was in French Polynesia, and the blacktip reef sharks you encounter there are a little shier.
The whole Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley diving/snorkelling excursion only takes about 3 hours. If you book this top-rated snorkelling tour, you can choose to start at 8:30am or 1:30pm. Or if you do the dive/snorkel combo with a dive shop like Scuba School & Family Dive Center like we did, it’ll typically be an afternoon excursion unless you ask otherwise.
Either way, you’ll get plenty of time in the day for other activities, and can adjust your itinerary as needed for Days 6 & 7!
Lunch in San Pedro at Blue Water Grill
Whether you’ve opted for the morning or afternoon Hol Chan/Shark Ray Alley excursion, you’ll definitely want to reserve some time for lunch. While still in San Pedro’s city centre, head over to Blue Water Grill for some tasty bites.
It’s located right on the beach within the Sunbreeze Hotel and served up some of the best contemporary foods we’ve had. With some of the freshest ingredients, including their fish, and amazing combos of flavour profiles, their chefs really know what they’re doing here.
We mostly came here for the fish, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity of having some of their raw selection. The Fresh Catch Carpaccio made with a large portion of snapper crudo was divine, especially topped with salad and a mixture of roasted habanero oil, avocado aioli and citrus vinaigrette.
The Butt Naked Sushi Rolls were impeccable, made rice-less and focused on the fish using lobster, tuna, salmon and mango. You could definitely taste the freshness and quality in this one.
We ended with our mains, myself going for the Blackened Catch of the Day and Jason with the juiciest Smoked Brisket Sandwich. The food quality was some of the best we’ve had at what appeared to be a casual beach bar.
Catamaran Sunset Dinner Cruise
Assuming you opted to do the morning dive/snorkel experience, you can head back to your resort to freshen up and come back out for a second time out at sea. If you decided on the afternoon excursion, you can swap this dinner with that of Day 7.
This was one of our favourite experiences in San Pedro and I hope you come ready to relax and with an appetite! Because the food you’re about to eat might just top any other meal you’ve had at sea.
In the late afternoon, Xsite Belize Sailing and Adventures offers private sunset dinner cruises aboard their catamaran. It was a restorative getaway for the two of us and the crew were so amazing and attentive, especially our host Danny who made us feel right at home.
As we sailed within the reef and enjoyed the ocean breeze while relaxing on the catamaran net, Danny came around with some rum punch, as well as an appetizer of fresh shrimp ceviche with tortilla chips. We didn’t get much of a sunset on this cloudy evening, but the crew anchored us near the marine reserve and we enjoyed the views of the corals beneath the water’s surface as the daylight turned blue hour.
Soon enough, we went inside to the indoor dining area, where Chef Mir served us the most exquisite surf & turf I dare say I ever had. Four delicious prawns, a juicy ribeye, a lobster tail cooked to perfection on a bed of buttery mashed potatoes and vegetables was all I needed to make this a fantastic evening.
It was so filling that I didn’t think there’d be any room for dessert, but Danny insisted we have at least a bite. He was right. Even when I didn’t think the day could get any better, the slice of soft chocolate Oreo cake made it so.
Day 7: Beach Day & Blue Hole Flyover
Victoria House Morning Massage
It’s your last day, and what better way is there to relax and reset other than getting a full body massage at an award-winning spa? Victoria House is home to Ambergris Caye’s largest spa, La Luna Spa, that has has won awards for its signature massage selections. You can choose to have your treatment on the beachfront, right on the open-air and shaded docks, relaxing to the sounds of the waves and embracing the sea breeze. Or you can indulge in your massage in one of their private treatment salons in-house.
After taking an earlier breakfast at the resort, we luxuriated in a 60-minute signature couple’s massage in their large couple’s salon. Our massage therapists seemed to have years of top training, as they knew to hit the exact pressure points needed and the pressure level was to our liking.
They also applied some aromatherapy and hot stone work which really helped loosen us up after an adventurous week. It wasn’t just their technique but the massage table equipment and bedding used that ultimately made our experience all the more comfortable. If you’re going to get a massage in San Pedro, it’s got to be at La Luna Spa.
After your morning massage you might as well continue being in relaxation mode by spending time on the white sand beach at one of the palm tree held hammocks, or lounging at one of the handful of Victoria House’s pools. We couldn’t pass up the sunny weather that we were having in Belize and spend our time indoors!
Blue Hole Flyover
You can’t leave Belize without doing the biggest bucket list of Belize, which is flying over the Great Blue Hole! This marine sinkhole found in the Lighthouse Reef, a subsection of the Belize Barrier Reef, is 124 m (407 ft) deep and 300 m (1,000 ft), and creates the most perfect circle in nature. It stands out like a deep blue jewel in the sea of aqua and coral patches all around.
There are scenic plane flights run by Tropic Air and Maya Island Air, as well as helicopter door-off rides operated by Astrum Helicopters, taking off from San Pedro, Caye Caulker and Belize City. Tropic Air currently hosts their flights at 1pm on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays while Maya Island Air holds theirs at 9am on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. So you may need to adjust your San Pedro itinerary to line up your flyover with the day and time you prefer.
The scenic flight lasts about 1 hour and you’ll need to check-in about 30 minutes before the flight at the respective airport. If you’re taking the afternoon flight with Tropic Air like we did, you might want to have a quick but small lunch prior. JC’s Mexican Tacos takeaway stall in town would be our choice!
You’ll be assured to know that every passenger has their own window seat. They use the same planes as they do for the commute flights between domestic hubs in Belize, which seats about 14 passengers. But for the scenic flyovers, they only sell up to the number of window seats on the plane.
I’ll also go ahead and give you some peace of mind regarding any slight fears of cramped spaces you may have. These planes are not built very tight like the seaplanes we’ve taken in Maldives, or the scenic whale watching flight we took in Kaikoura, New Zealand. That latter one even gave me a bout of motion sickness, especially with the endless spins we were doing. You won’t get that here nearly as much.
Upon checking in for the flight, you can let the desk clerks know whether you’d like to request the copilot seat or not and they’ll do their best to give your request priority. I got to sit copilot and it was such a stellar experience. The view you get through the front, as well as your side window, is much less obstructed, and it’s an epic experience to see the pilot at work and all the controls in front of you.
It’s a short 15 minute, calm flight through the clouds as you approach the barrier reef and then have the Blue Hole be revealed right in front of you. And what a sight to remember! Have your camera at the ready and peer out as the pilot dips the plane on both sides for everyone to get a good view of the deep blue icon.
After some time around the Blue Hole, the pilot will fly you over to see a massive shipwreck stranded on the edge of Lighthouse Reef, and then Half Moon Caye with its long stretch of white sand dotted with lush palm trees, extending out into turquoise waters that I hope to one day come to snorkel and dive.
The flight’s not over yet, and you’re lowered so close to the water. So keep your eyes peeled for any sea animals breeching! I spotted a large ray (eagle, most likely) gliding across the shallow bright waters near Half Moon Caye as we started heading back to San Pedro.
Garifunas Cultural Dinner
For your last dinner in Belize, I implore you to try out Gariifuna cuisine and experience a taste of their culture through music and dance. It’s not a fancy dinner outing, but one that will leave you wishing the night would never end.
Head over to Black & White: Garifuna Restaurant and Bar and come hungry because you’ll be feasting. We sat down, ready for our cultural presentation and ready to eat. The servers came around with a snack platter of mouthwatering green banana fritters, banana chips seasoned to perfection and pico de gallo for added freshness and dip.
Along with these appies, they poured us each a large shot of gifiti, a traditional alcohol and folk remedy that blends rum with various herbs and roots, including allspice, cloves and star anise. It’s got that heavy and sweet spice going down, and warmed our stomachs right up. The servers also brought us fresh coconuts, which was the hydration we needed for the dancing to come.
Next up was the main attraction, the rich, creamy, sweet and savoury hudut, a soup that encompasses many of the core flavours and ingredients in Garifuna cuisine. Primarily a coconut fish stew, you’ll typically find onions, cilantro, okra and habanero added in, along with a white fish (typically snapper), typically whole but can also be served as battered fillet.
On the side, hudut always comes with fufu, an African style ball made with mashed green and ripe plantain, yams and cassava. It sometimes comes with rice as well, and we got both. We ate the hudut by adding rice and bite-sizes of our fufu into the broth, and eating it all together to allow the rice and fufu absorb the soup. Though the spice flavour profiles differ, hudut reminded me so much of a Thai tom kha gai, which is my favourite Asian-style fish broth.
For our sweet finish, they brought over these soft and sticky coconut clusters that were addictively sweet. One type with a molasses base and the other that was very much like fudge, with a nutty and salty taste. I loved the latter and could’ve eaten them all if I didn’t know better.
All while we enjoyed our dinner, the Garifuna musicians sang and drummed on the stage. We were also graced with a few dance performances, but it was only after we finished eating and learned about Garifuna history and culture that we were brought onto the dance floor for a little dancing of our own.
Learning three basic dances used in Garifuna performances was enough to make us get out of our awkward funk and move to the music played by the live drummers and vocalists. It’s incredible to watch the dancers as they use their bodies for storytelling, and being able to join them in a piece of that was a gift we could keep with us after that night.
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you enjoyed journeying with us into the depths of Belize’s jungles, islands, reefs, and culture, and that this 7-day Belize itinerary will jumpstart you into planning the ultimate trip that works best for you! With land and river adventures, sailing cruises and scenic flights, marine wildlife encounters and unique culinary experiences, you’ll leave Belize with a taste that will make you count the days until you can go back.
Until then, be sure to check out our other Central American content, including our 3 days in Antigua, Guatemala video or what we did in Bocas del Toro, Panama!
