Five Things You Must Do in Belize

  1. Snorkel or dive Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley: Affordable and hands down the best thing we did on our trip! My favorite part of Belize was enjoying time in and around the bright and clear teal waters via snorkeling and swimming. Belize is a scuba-diver’s paradise, so if you’re looking to make the most of your certification or even just do a discovery dive, this is the place to do it! If you can’t afford it or just don’t want to dive, you can still spot a ton of fishies and marine life by snorkeling the reef. You can also easily negotiate the price of this trip so definitely ask what deals you can get! The trip to Shark Ray Alley is typically included in a half day package with Hol Chan and you can spot nurse sharks and sting rays. So fun!
    Fishies
    Shark Ray Alley
  2. Take a scenic flight over the Great Blue Hole: It’s expensive but worth it. If you can get 3 people, it’s $160 USD per person (including tax) via Maya Island Air (call them directly, do not go through any third parties). This is the cheapest airfare we found and we researched a ton. It is an hour long flight and you get incredible views of the hole as well as the massive reef that extends beyond it (just make sure you go on a clear day). Check out this video on my Instagram for an idea of the flight experience! The tiny plane you get on is a bit shaky, so I would recommend some Dramamine if you’re prone to motion sickness. 
    Barrier Reef
    Selfie in the plane
  3. Visit The Split at Caye Caulker: It’s free and fun. The “go slow” island of Caye Caulker is very relaxing and chill, with no cars in sight everyone gets around via bike or golf cart. It’s a bit pricier to stay on Caye Caulker versus Ambergris Caye but not by much. We did two separate day trips there and it cost under $20 USD round trip for the ferry. The Split is the area that divides the island in two and is a fun area to hang out and day drink, snorkel, swim, and sunbathe. Swimming here can be a workout due to the intense current underneath. At the end of the split there’s a restaurant called Lazy Lizard which is a bit pricey but you can get really yummy pina coladas 🙂 The water is super bright teal which makes for epic photos…
    Views from The Split
    Jumping into The Split
  4. Chicken Drop Bingo on Thursday nights in San Pedro: In the heart of San Pedro at Wahoo Lounge on Thursdays you can line up in the evening hours to buy tickets for the chicken drop bingo! My friend and I got a few ticket stubs (1 Belizean per stub) and watched the show hoping we would win. They drop the chicken into the bingo ring and the number that it takes a dump on wins. Whoever wins has to clean the shit off and then you get $100 Belizean ($50 USD). My friend Iris actually won – yay!
    Ticket Stubs
    Chicken Bingo
    My bestie won $100 BZ
  5. Cave Tubing: We loved the cayes so much, but we broke away on our last day to go to the mainland and check out a mayan ruin (Altun Ha) and go cave tubing. It was both relaxing and adventurous! Everyone raves about tubing ATM but we went to a different cave called Nohoch Cheen and it was amazing! For the cave tubing and Altun Ha, we paid $100 USD (plus tip) from Belize City. Most companies we researched offer hotel pick up and also most prefer to be paid in cash. Note that in order to enter the caves they require you to wear water shoes, so if you don’t have the proper footwear you have to rent from them ($3 usd). Consider bringing your own!
    Cave Tubing
    Entrance to the cave…
    Tubing!

ONE thing yOU SHOULDN’T do

  1. The Secret Beach on Ambergris Caye: For some reason everyone tells you to go here, but it isn’t worth it. It takes about 30 minutes via golf cart to get there and not only do you have to rent the golf cart but there isn’t much to look at on the way. When we first heard of it we were expecting a secluded spot no one really knew about, then we saw a huge giant sign that said “The Secret Beach — This Way.” It was a huge letdown when we finally pulled up, given it isn’t even a beach! There are two stands with beer, otherwise not much to do. Definitely skip this.

Have you been to Belize? What are your recommendations of must do’s and see’s?