Belize Highlights: Maya Temples, Jungle and Reef
Eleven days from the Maya cities and caves of the western jungle to the beaches and cayes of Placencia, the Belize holiday that shows you both halves of the country.
Your trip
Your 11 days in Belize
Most people picture Belize as a reef, and it is, but half the magic is inland. This holiday starts there. You stay in a jungle lodge in the Cayo hills, cross the Mopan river on a hand-cranked ferry to Xunantunich, spend a day at Caracol, the largest Maya site in the country, and go deep into the ATM cave, where the Maya left their pots and offerings more than a thousand years ago. Then you float through a cave on an inner tube, zip line through the canopy and roll down the Hummingbird Highway to the Caribbean. Four nights on the Placencia peninsula give you a snorkelling day at Laughing Bird Caye, a boat trip up the Monkey River and a sunset sail. It is a first Belize holiday done properly, at an easy pace, with your own driver and licensed local guides.
At a glance
11 days
Private tripJust your own party
ModerateActivity level
Flights includedATOL protected
Flexible datesYou choose when you go
BelizeOur destination guide
What makes it special
Highlights
Xunantunich and Caracol
Xunantunich by hand-cranked ferry, then the temples of Caracol, the largest Maya site in Belize
The ATM cave
The ATM cave, Actun Tunichil Muknal: wade and swim in to a chamber of Maya pottery
Lunch with a Maya family
Maya cuisine in a family home: tortillas straight off the comal, then lunch at their table
Cave tubing
Float through a cave on the Caves Branch river, then fly through the canopy on a zip line
Laughing Bird Caye
Snorkelling at Laughing Bird Caye, a national park on the barrier reef
The Monkey River
Howler monkeys and, with luck, manatees on a boat trip up the Monkey River
Sunset off Placencia
A sunset sail off the Placencia peninsula
Flights from the UK
Return flights from London, so the whole holiday is ATOL protected
Day by day
Your itinerary
Day 1Arrive in Belize, into the Cayo hills
You land at Belize City, where your driver is waiting. The road runs west through savannah and orange groves into the green hills of Cayo, about two hours, to the jungle lodge that is home for the next six nights. If your flights land late, we book the first night near the airport and you drive out the next morning.
Day 2Xunantunich and San Ignacio
A short drive to the Mopan river, where a hand-cranked ferry takes you across to Xunantunich. The climb up El Castillo is steep but short, and from the top you can see over the forest into Guatemala. In the afternoon, San Ignacio: the market, a coffee and a wander through the twin towns on either side of the river. Breakfast included.
Day 3Caracol and the Mountain Pine Ridge
A full day to the south, up through the pine forest of the Mountain Pine Ridge and on into the Chiquibul. Caracol was one of the great Maya cities, bigger in its day than Belize City is now, and its main temple, Caana, is still the tallest building in the country. On the way back you stop at a waterfall or the Rio On pools for a swim. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 4A day with a Maya family
A morning in a Maya village near San Ignacio. You grind corn and pat out tortillas for the comal, try your hand at clay with a local potter and sit down to lunch in the family home. The afternoon is yours: the butterfly farm, the pool, or a hammock and a book. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 5The ATM cave
The big day. Actun Tunichil Muknal, the ATM cave, starts with a walk through the forest and a swim into the cave mouth. Inside you wade, scramble and climb by headlamp to a great chamber of Maya pottery and the calcified skeleton the guides call the Crystal Maiden. Cameras are not allowed, so it stays in your head, which is where it belongs. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 6A free day at the lodge
A slow day after the cave. Take a canoe on the river, ride out on horseback, go birding at dawn, or join an optional trip to Barton Creek Cave, which you explore by canoe and torchlight. Breakfast included.
Day 7Cave tubing, zip line and the road to Placencia
You leave the hills with a stop at the Caves Branch river, where you float through a cave system on an inner tube and fly through the canopy on a zip line. After lunch the Hummingbird Highway takes you over the Maya Mountains and down to the coast, and on to the Placencia peninsula for four nights by the sea. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 8Laughing Bird Caye
By boat out to Laughing Bird Caye, a tiny island national park on the barrier reef. You snorkel over coral gardens with rays, turtles and shoals of reef fish, then have lunch on the sand. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 9Beach day and a sunset sail
Nothing planned until the evening: the beach, the village, a long lunch. As the sun goes down you sail out on the lagoon side of the peninsula with a drink in hand. Breakfast included.
Day 10The Monkey River
A boat ride down the coast and up the Monkey River, through mangroves where manatees sometimes surface, to a walk in the forest with howler monkeys calling overhead. Lunch is in the little village at the river mouth. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 11Fly home
A short flight from Placencia back to Belize City for your flight home, arriving in the UK the next day. Breakfast included.
Your price covers
What's included
Flights
Return flights from London to Belize City, changing planes in the US or Canada (other UK airports on request)
We can also book other airlines, including flights with one stop, to suit your dates and preferences.
Accommodation
Ten nights in a jungle lodge in Cayo and a beach hotel in Placencia, twin or double rooms, named in your quote
Meals
Breakfast every day, and lunch on the trip days in the itinerary
Transport
Private transfers by road, and the short flight from Placencia to Belize City
Guides and tours
Every trip in the itinerary with a licensed local guide
Also included
Entry to every Maya site, cave and national park on the route
ATOL protection
ATOL protection on the whole holiday
Not included: Travel insurance · Meals not listed · Drinks · Tips for guides and drivers · A US ESTA or Canadian eTA for the connecting flight · Personal spending
Your next step
Dates and price
No commitment, we reply within one working day
Before you book
Frequently Asked Questions
We price every Belize holiday to your dates, the lodges you like and the flights on the day, so there is no set price on this page. Tell us when you would like to travel and we will send a full quote, with flights, hotels and every trip included. Nothing is booked until you are happy with it.
Fit and happy in water. There is a walk of about 45 minutes through the forest with river crossings, a short swim into the cave and a few hours of wading and scrambling inside. Children need to be old enough to manage that, so ask us. If it is not for you, we swap the day for Barton Creek Cave by canoe, which is gentle.
There is no direct flight. Most routes change planes in the US, often with a night on the way, and on winter Sundays one route via Montréal lands the same evening. The days on this page start when you land in Belize. We book the flights with the holiday, so the whole trip is ATOL protected, and you will need an ESTA or a Canadian eTA for the connection.
The dry season, February to May, is the best time for the reef, the caves and the ruins. June to December is the rainy season, with heavy showers that tend to come in the afternoon, and the hurricane season runs from June to November, with most of the risk from August to October. It is warm all year, around 29 degrees.
Yes, it is tailor-made. The most common changes are a few nights on Caye Caulker or Ambergris Caye instead of Placencia, or a night at Tikal across the border in Guatemala. Tell us what you want and we will build it in.
Plan your Belize highlights holiday
Tell us your dates and how you like to travel, and we will send a full quote for your Belize holiday, with flights, lodges and every trip included.
Photo/Video courtesy of the Belize Tourism Board
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Tailor-made · ATOL 10898
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