Holidays

I have, but so long ago...my experience isn't relevant.....very jealous though.

 

I've been to Belize twice on cruises . Be very very aware of what's going on around you and stay safe. I only stayed a day each time. First time someone was shot (killed) very close to our boat and second time we got hassled loads by con artists. Wouldn't go back if I'm honest as it has nothing to offer for the hassle.

 

Yeh Belize City is where we docked I believe. I wouldn't take my girlfriend there but I'd walk around with a few mates if that makes sense. Not that it makes much difference as they just shoot you but what I mean is that I wouldn't take anyone I care about.

I got told someone gets shot every day there but not sure how true that was.

 

Some relatives holidayed in Yucatan once. There was a severe hurricane. The good news is that they escaped with their lives.
PS This is not a joke.

 

The diving is meant to be great.

 

you're braver man than me Gunga Din - 6th most violent country in the world ? That's like erm, Birmingham on a Saturday night

Belize 2013 Crime and Safety Report

 

We spent time in Belize this time last year at the start of a tour of Central America. Belize as a country is fairly dull, run-down, basically a bit shabby and not very interesting. And Belize City should generally be avoided - there's nothing much to see and like most of the Capitals in Central America, it's the bigger cities which attract the dodgy b*stards. We hot-footed it from the ferry to the bus station and didn't feel entirely comfortable until we were on our way out.

The best bits of Belize are the islands of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker which are sleepy caribbean beach havens with a focus on watersports / diving and chilling out. Caye Caulker is all sand and doesn't even have roads or traffic. Very chilled but you probably don't need to be there more than a few days. The diving was good although the weather had been poor when we visited and conditions were more murky than normal. The world-famous 'Blue Hole' was actually rather dull, grey with barely anything to see unfortunately!

If you have time to travel inland then San Ignacio, near the border with Guatemala, is worth a visit. It's the centre of a fairly busy adventure-tourism industry, with lots of tour operators offering trips to local Mayan ruins, cave systems, rafting and canoeing. And it's an interesting town in itself, with bustling local markets and not less of the sunglasses and flip-flops of the caribbean coast. Definitely worth a visit is the Mayan site of Xunantanich where you can climb to the top of one of the structures and get 360 degree views for miles around.

cheers,
Dom

 

Hi Anthony,
we just took public transport - buses primarily, but occasionally taxis. You can fly in to Abergris Caye with Tropic Air and get a water taxi transfer to Caye Caulker. For chilling out Caye Caulker is best as it's just smaller, no traffic and you can walk around the whole island pretty much. There's some great fresh sea-food available and even a small outdoor cineman.
But you kind-of have to visit both anyway as you can only get to Caye Caulker from Ambergris Caye, so it's more a matter of how you divide your time between the two.

have a great time!,
cheers,
Dom

 

Many ex-RAF Harrier people spent most of their careers try to avoid a tour of duty in Belize. I was one on the lucky ones who never had to go. The stories of nasty insects trying to eat you, dead animals floating down the river in Belize city and the violence put me off.

 

Incas?

 

This has been a useful thread. I think I've crossed Belize off as a future holiday destination. I seriously considered it in the past, for the diving. But there are plenty of other places you can go to dive.

It seems that Central America has become very violent. Can't think of many people who'd like to go to Honduras on holiday.

 

... with the exception of Costa Rica, which is famously stable, peaceful, and democratic.

 

We spent three months last year travelling the length of Central America, and in general I'd recommend it all, with the caveat that each country's capital has at least some very dodgy areas. Guatemala City is a place you don't hang around, there are districts to avoid in Managua and even San Jose in much more tourist-oriented Costa Rica doesn't feel particularly safe after dark. Basically many people are pretty poor in these countries and the chance to steal a camera, phone or a wallet full of US$ is too much of a temptation for some. And there are drug problems, and gangs - often running protection rackets on their own little patch of turf.

But outside of the big cities there was much less petty crime and we found people to be very friendly, and life was very bustling, vibrant and positive. We travelled mostly by public buses or scheduled coach services, though everywhere we stayed we took advice on where not to go, and sometimes the hostel would say 'don't take this particular bus, or go that side of the river'. But with a small amount of care and being generally sensible (not carrying much stuff, especially expensive gadgets) then we soon got the hang of it and in the entire three months there were maybe two or three occasions where we felt a little unnerved, and even then nothing unpleasant actually transpired.

Belize is not very interesting though. It's easy cos they speak English, but the beach-bum life of the Caribbean coast and islands is pleasant but not fascinating. Diving was good but no better than Nicaragua or Panama. Supposedly one of the wealthier nations of the region, it actually feels poorer and more shambolic and there was a lot of talk of corruption and poor public services, so whatever wealth there is, there's little sign of it.

We did really enjoy Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua and would heartily recommend each. Avoided Honduras as we had heard some recent reports of random bus-jackings and stuff. Costa Rica is supposedly 'the Tourist destination' of the region but we found it dull and very commercialised. As soon as you get off a bus you're surrounded by tour guides wanting to take you to hotels / coffee plantations / cloud forest blah blah. It is one big outdoor Theme Park if you like, but you don't get the feeling you're visiting an actual country with it's own culture and history. It's all tourist resorts and $$$.

Panama was a very pleasant surprise, with fantastic diving at Coiba on the Pacific Coast (seriously thinking of going back) and a relatively undisturbed rural life with rain-forested mountains and beautiful coastline. It's less tourist-oriented because I guess they make so much money from the Panama Canal that they don't actually need the tourist dollar. The countryside is sparse and dry with occasional busy towns: lots of activity, building roads, agriculture, etc etc. But no theme parks

Panama City is a proper modern high-rise, glitzy commercial hub with plenty of towering hotels and a nice coastal promenade / park, fish market and so on. The old city and port 'Casco Viejo' is well worth a visit for it's architecture, and definitely go and see the Canal and museum. The history of the various Canal projects is very interesting, and watching big container ships pass through what looks just like a slightly bigger Victorian canal lock is fascinating.

Anybody want to see pictures?

 

Yes.
Esp of the canal and ships.

 

I'll PM you some links to photos.

We flew into Cancun, but didn't explore Mexico itself simply because there are direct flights from Gatwick so we figured we could 'do Mexico' any time, whereas the rest of Central America is harder to visit.

cheers,
Dom

 

Here ya go Glid: