Spending your days kicking it beach or poolside surely isn't a bad way to enjoy a stint in Belize, but if you ask me, you would be missing out.
Here are some of the incredible tours and activities I tried on a recent 10-day trip to Belize from Vancouver. We'll start our advenutres on land before finishing with one of the most extraordinary sights I've ever seen, Belize's famed Blue Hole.
To ATV or not to ATV? This shouldn't ever be a question
Over half of Belize is covered by tropical rainforest, part of the Earth's second-largest barrier reef, savannahs with pine trees, and mangroves - trees and shrubs with roots submerged in water, typically thriving in salty, muddy areas that would kill most plants.
What does this varied landscape mean for visitors looking to ride an off-terrain vehicle? Well, it means immeasurable fun, quite frankly.
Belize is an adventure enthusiast's dream-come-true, but you don't need to put on your daredevil horns to enjoy it (a teenager rode her own ATV in the group I joined).
I was staying at the tip of the island's southernmost peninsula, in Placencia, when I embarked on a shuttle trip north to participate in an ATV and zipline experience.
Truly Wild Belize operates tours across the country, including fully guided options in land and sea, covering experiences like Mayan ruins, chocolate-making, and cave kayaking.
I ventured out to a slightly marshy area to go on an exciting ATV ride to the Maya King waterfall, located off the peninsula on the mainland, just past the Santa Cruz village. It took about an hour to drive there, but my driver, Victor, was a tour guide in his own right, sharing seemingly endless information about Belize.
The ATVs move quickly across the terrain, but they are safe. That said, you will get dirty. Getting muddy is part of the experience, and by the end, you'll be excited to push through massive puddles in the marshes. If you visit during the "off" or rainy season, like I did, you'll get even dirtier. I got the best of both worlds: bright sun and plenty of mud. It was messy heaven. Our group had one guide who led us to the waterfalls and another, absolutely hilarious one who weaved around us to give us tips, keep us smiling, and jump in if we screwed up (it happens, but it usually just means you get stuck, since there are hills).
The waterfalls will take your breath away. And they're where you can finally wash off all of that mud in one of the most enchanting oases Belize-wide. This popular spot has a couple of swimming areas, including a lower one and one that you have to walk up some steps to. It's great for families, so all ages can enjoy. By the time you head back, you may feel more confident on the ATV, and you might even encounter water buffalo on the road (okay, I can't promise that, but I did!).
Ziplining in paradise
Ziplining in Central America is the stuff of dreams and I went on two zipline experiences during my stay.
Truly Wild Belize took me to the zipline area after the ATV experience. Our large group navigated multiple stretches of very high and very long ziplines through the mesmerizing jungle canopy, home to monkeys, birds, snakes, and other sorts of Belizian wildlife.
If you are afraid of heights, do this. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but if you're going to face your height fears anywhere, Belize is a top contender. I faced mine nearly two decades ago on the Tibetan border in Nepal at a bungee spot, and time felt like it completely stopped as I fell from the platform. It was life-changing. This is less terrifying, but if you're nervous about heights, this glorious location serves as the perfect place to destroy your fears.
You will embark on a nine-part ziplining course at the Bocawina Rainforest Resort & Adventures that features sweeping jungle panoramas and long lines, with some reaching impressive speeds.
My other zipline was private, and although the runs weren't as long, my guides were hilarious, knowledgeable, and downright awesome. I was taken there on a package through Black Orchid Resort, an accommodation located in the Burrell Boom village in the jungle. This one is great if you want to do a a couple of zipline "selfies," because the aforementioned one moves way too quickly and you need to "break" -- put your hand behind you toward the end -- to avoid ramming into one of the staff.
Garifuna cooking and drumming class
At a private Garifuna drum-making class in the village of Seine Bight, located a short drive from Placiencia at the southern tip beyond the small airstrip, Bobby and Kim Nunez regaled me with tales of all things Seine Bight and the history of Garifuna.
Garifuna people are descendants of the indigenous Arawak and West African peoples, and there are several Garifuna villages across the country. Kim is from Hopkins, a coastal town about halfway up the country, which I'm told is one of Belize's top spots.
The mahogany tree is an integral part of Belizean identity, featured on the national flag's coat of arms. The couple fashions drums from mahogany wood, completed with lamb's skin stretched over the top.
They also make an instrument from calabash, which is a type of gourd; they use a standard screwdriver to remove the contents, which Kim says are similar to breadfruit. However, unlike breadfruit, which is a delicious and versatile food, they don't eat it. Instead, they use it for medicinal purposes.
Nearly everything Kim and Bobby grow is used for food, building materials, or healing.
During our cooking class, Kim broke open a fresh coconut and we grated the contents, using the strained milk to make a type of gravy for a traditional hudut (a coconut fish stew). However, we could also eat pieces of coconut, and the skin could be fashioned into earrings.
This made my hands oily; Kim said to rub them all over my arms (nature's free moisturizer).
To make the hudut, we also used boiled green and ripe plantain, smashed together in a large mortar with a pestle about half my height. Kim joked that I should imagine an ex-boyfriend to squash the two together (she's got a good sense of humour).
The dish also included cooked okra, onions, sweet pepper, and fried amberjack, a fish with red meat in the tuna family. It was, and I do not exaggerate, one of the best dishes I have ever eaten, and even more impressive as I watched everything come straight from the garden and ate a piece of fish the family caught that day.
Sadly, this lovely family experiences discrimination.
"Seine Bight village ends at the airstrip, but we are living under a certain stigma and discrimination, even though we live in Seine Bight. We are known as North Placencia," he explained. "We are unrecognized in many ways."
If you get the chance, book the tour via Taste Belize and say hi to Bobby and Kim. They also host fishing tours, where you can catch something and cook it up after.
Cavetubing
Can you imagine going on a lazy river through an ancient cave home to glistening walls, mini-waterfalls, and some cute bats in an inner tube?
These are the kind of awesome things you can do on a jungle excursion in the heart of the Belizean rainforest in the Caves Branch River at the Nohoch Che'en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve. This archaeological reserve includes a massive network of limestone cave systems with the Caves Branch River flowing through them.
My Black Orchid resort tour guide, Edmond Dawson, is in the running for one of the kindest and coolest people I've met (I know I keep raving about the locals, but the country is ripe with them). He drove me out to the spot after the early morning zipline (the less scary one), and we picked up the inner tubes before hiking to where you drop your donut (not the sugary kind, the floatie, people-fitting variety).
Edmond will tell you about every bird, bug, fruit, insect, or piece of history along the way. You might spot toucans and other brightly-coloured birds along the float,too.
Snorkelling off Ambergris Caye
Belize is a haven for divers, with several spots offering opportunities to come up close and personal with a range of marine life. Unfortunately, I didn't get my diving certification in time for my trip, so I had to "settle" for snorkelling. I say settle with a massive helping of sarcasm, because snorkelling in the crystal-clear, turquoise Caribbean sea isn't exactly a let down.
Many spots along the coast afford ideal opportunities for snorkelling, but my excursion with Serious Adventures included a visit to Hol Chan, which my guide, Shamir Sutherland, explained means "Little Channel" in Mayan. My accommodation, the Sunbreeze Hotel, was located about a three-minute walk from the dock where the speedboat departed on Ambergris Caye.
Hol Chan represents a "break" in the Belize Barrier Reef, where swimmers can observe marine life at an approachable depth of only about 30 feet.
The protected Hol Chan Marine Reserve has distinct ecosystems, including the coral reef, seagrass beds, mangroves, and Shark Ray Alley. The mangroves are where everything starts, acting as a sort of nursery for sea life, before moving to the seagrass beds.
"In my opinion, this is the best snorkelling spot," he explained. "The creatures are pretty tame, and they do check us out from a distance, but aren't dangerous. We can see sergeant majors, barracudas, blue tang, parrotfish, eels, butterfly fish, green moray eels, rays, sea turtles, and nurse sharks."
Some of the ocean dwellers may sound dangerous, particularly the sharks and the barracudas. However, they typically don't interact with humans or swim close to them, Shamir explained.
Other sharks, including hammerhead, blacktip, reef, tiger, and bull, are found in areas with deeper water, meaning it's unlikely you'll spot them in the reserve.
A word of caution: Wear sunscreen on your back! I didn't, and I paid for it with two days of excruciating pain that resulted in an eventual peel-fest. Not the best souvenir, even though it's finally turned into a decent tan.
Snorkelling is easy in the salty Caribbean, and I skipped the lifejacket (you stay buoyant enough). However, you send the entire time staring down with your back skyward. If you're like me, you won't even notice your pain until it is far too late.
Still, the experience was worth the painful price of admission (and that part was self-imposed). I saw dozens of brightly coloured fish, multiple sea turtles, and beautiful rays.
The final treat was a visit to Shark Ray Alley, where I swam with several nurse sharks. The experience isn't scary, but swimmers are reminded to give the sharks space. While nurse sharks aren't typically aggressive, they are wild animals and could get startled.
Great Blue Hole
Flying over a giant, midnight-blue, shimmering sinkhole in a bright-turquoise sea might be one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen.
The Great Blue Hole is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage-designated Belize Barrier Reef System. The sinkhole is over 980 feet wide and 400 feet deep, and is a bucket-list spot for divers. However, the view from above is nothing short of spectacular.
Tropic Air and Maya Island Air offer tours around the bucket-list Blue Hole, providing a bird's-eye view of the stunning natural wonder.
I flew with Tropic Air and enjoyed an hour tour that included several loops around the Blue Hole, although the rest of the trip included jaw-dropping vistas of the barrier reef and even an ancient shipwreck.
Unlike the other tours, there isn't much involved in this one. However, you'll want to bring all of your recording devices and cameras, and capture as many images and videos as possible. This isn't the kind of thing you see every day, to say the very least.
Thanks to Development Counsellors International and the Belize Tourism Board for facilitating a portion of the meals and activities mentioned above. All opinions and inclusions are those of the author and were based solely on personal experience. None of the businesses or entities featured were granted any previews of the story before publication or paid to be mentioned.
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