English-speaking, with the second-largest barrier reef in the world and Maya sites in the jungle behind it.
Before you go
When to go
December to May is dry. June to November is wetter, with hurricane risk.
- Dry Dec–May
- Wet Jun–Nov
- Whale sharks Mar–Jun
- Warm year-round
How long you need
Eight to twelve days combining the cayes and the mainland.
- 8–12 days
- Cayes plus inland
- Ambergris or Caulker
- San Ignacio for ruins
Getting around
Water taxis to the cayes, short domestic flights, and hire cars inland.
- Water taxi to the cayes
- Domestic flights
- Car inland
- English is official
Diving and ruins
The Blue Hole, Hol Chan reef, and the Maya sites at Caracol, Xunantunich and Lamanai.
- Blue Hole for experienced divers
- Hol Chan snorkelling
- Caracol and Xunantunich
- Cave tubing at ATM
Highlights
The cayes
Ambergris Caye for the infrastructure and San Pedro's restaurants, Caye Caulker for a slower, cheaper version.
- Water taxi from Belize City
- Golf carts, not cars
- Split at Caye Caulker
- Snorkelling straight offshore
The reef
The second-largest barrier reef in the world, with Hol Chan Marine Reserve for snorkelling and the Blue Hole for experienced divers.
- Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley
- Blue Hole: advanced, deep
- Whale sharks Mar–Jun
- Turneffe and Lighthouse atolls
Inland
Maya sites at Caracol, Xunantunich and Lamanai, plus cave tubing and the ATM cave, which is one of the more remarkable things in Central America.
- ATM cave: guided only
- Xunantunich by hand ferry
- Lamanai by river boat
- San Ignacio as the base
Planning notes
Belize is English-speaking, which makes it markedly easier than its neighbours for Australians, and small enough to combine reef and jungle comfortably in ten days. Prices are higher than Guatemala or Mexico. The dry season runs December to May; June to November is wetter with hurricane risk. Domestic flights between Belize City, the cayes and the south are short and save a lot of road time.
Where this leads
Blog attracts, things to do informs, tours convert — in that order.
- Journal in Belize
- Things to do in Belize
- Tours in Belize
- Talk to a Cooee travel specialist