The only English-speaking country in Central America, small enough to cross in three hours: the second-largest barrier reef on earth, near-empty Maya cities in the Chiquibul forest, a sacred cave entered by swimming, and the Garifuna coast in the south.
Caye Caulker
From the airport straight to the water taxi. Caye Caulker has a sandy main street, no cars worth mentioning, and a sign at the dock reading Go Slow that functions as an ordinance. Adjust accordingly.
Hol Chan
Belize’s first marine protected area, established in 1987 — a natural cut through the reef where fish concentrate, with the adjoining Shark Ray Alley for nurse sharks and southern stingrays. Snorkel rather than dive; the depth is not the point.
Turneffe, or the Blue Hole from the air
Turneffe atoll is the better dive by a distance. The Blue Hole is a serious deep dive with stalactites and very little life — the honest recommendation is the scenic flight over it instead, which is the view everyone actually wants.
Inland to the Cayo
Water taxi to Belize City and west along the Western Highway to San Ignacio, near the Guatemalan border — a river town that is the base for everything in the interior.
Actun Tunichil Muknal
A ceremonial cave entered by swimming, then waded and climbed for a kilometre to a chamber holding ceramics and human remains left as offerings — including the calcified skeleton known as the Crystal Maiden. Licensed guides only, and no cameras of any kind since a visitor dropped one on a skull.
Caracol
Deep in the Chiquibul forest, one of the great cities of the Classic Maya period, which defeated Tikal in war in the sixth century. Caana, the sky palace, is still among the tallest structures in Belize. The road is rough and the site is almost empty.
Xunantunich and the border river
Reached by a hand-cranked ferry across the Mopan river, with a temple you climb for a view straight into Guatemala. Afternoon: canoeing the Macal, or the Green Hills butterfly ranch.
South to Hopkins
Down the Hummingbird Highway — the prettiest road in the country, through karst hills and citrus — to the Garifuna coast. Hopkins is a village strung along a beach where drumming is taught and practised rather than performed.
Cockscomb, or the cayes offshore
The Cockscomb Basin is the world’s first jaguar preserve — you will not see a jaguar, and the forest, waterfalls and birds justify the day anyway. The alternative: a boat to the Silk Cayes for reef with almost nobody on it.
Out
Back up the coast to Belize City, or fly from Dangriga or Placencia on one of the small domestic planes that land on strips beside the sea.
Dobré vedieť
Actun Tunichil Muknal requires a licensed guide, involves swimming and confined spaces, and permits no cameras at all. Book directly with a certified operator in San Ignacio.
Belize is more expensive than its neighbours — the currency is pegged to the US dollar at two to one, and both circulate.
Sargassum has affected mainland and caye beaches seasonally since 2011. It is unpredictable, and no operator can promise a clear beach.
Kratšie či dlhšie?
Caye Caulker and the Cayo district only — reef, cave and one Maya city.
Cross west from San Ignacio for two days at Tikal in Guatemala; the border is forty minutes away.
Time it for the spring full moons at Gladden Spit off Placencia.