Feedback on Belize interior lodging

[Leejnd]

I realize this isn't exactly a diving question, but I've gotten so much help in here on my other questions for my trip to Belize that I thought I'd go ahead and post this question too.

We're doing our upcoming Belize trip in July as what I guess they call "surf n turf" -- the first half will be on Caye Caulker doing a ton of diving, the second half will be in the jungle doing topside adventures. I'm all set for the Caye Caulker portion, but I'm struggling to pick a place to stay for the second half.

Right now the places I'm looking at are all near San Ignacio, on either the Macal or the Mopan River. Top of the list right now is Clarissa Falls and Black Rock Lodge. Anybody know either of those places? Or do you have any recommendations for places nearby, in a similar price range?

Also, I'm trying to determine if it's better to rent a car (which is pretty damn steep there -- about $60-70 bucks a day!) or if we should do the guided tours instead, that all the hotels seem to be able to arrange for you. Any comments?

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[peterbj7]

Have a close look at Belize Jungle Dome, and what they offer. It may help you decide against a car. Look at http://www.belizejungledome.com/ and http://www.greendragonbelize.com/. Sadly they don't use my dive shop on Ambergris Caye, but who knows what may happen in time!

 

[mich327]

A lot of people do guided tours, but I guess it depends on what you prefer. I've been to Belize a couple of times and have spent about 5 weeks in the interior. I like the flexibility of having my own car...but that's just me!

Most hotels WILL arrange tours. I highly recommend a visit to the Caracol archaeological site. It's a few hours from San Ignacio, but when we went (over x-mas) it was almost empty. It's really beautiful.

Have fun!

 

[Doc]

Also, I'm trying to determine if it's better to rent a car (which is pretty damn steep there -- about $60-70 bucks a day!) or if we should do the guided

I say the same thing about Honduras and the Bay Islands. Drive a car? Whaddya, nuts? It's a tad worse in Honduras, but Belize aint no picnic either.

The liability that you would are exposed to is absolulte, all encompassing and extreme. Your physical exposure is also huge. Hire a driver for the day.

 

[Leejnd]

Thanks for the feedback!

Peter, thanks for the links. I checked them out, but their tours are a bit pricy. I'd love to do that Extreme Jungle tour, though! Wow!

Well it seems we're pretty settled on Clarissa Falls. And I think we're going to skip the car and just do tours. They have a nice list of tours that they can arrange for us, and the prices seem good -- certainly we'll get more for our money than if we paid the big bucks to rent a car and drive ourselves around. I do usually prefer to have the flexibility of a car, but since we'll only be there five days, I think we'll just spend our time doing day tours.

Can't wait! Thanks again for the help.

 

[hopefulist]

A lot of places you can easily visit using buses with taxis in a pinch, Xunantunich and Tikal, for example.

 

[oceancat]

We stayed at Clarissa Falls for almost a week and I liked it. It is a working ranch too, lots of parrots in the mornings. I was out bird watching and was so focused on the parrots I walked into the electric fence that keeps the cows in! That woke me up. The breakfasts there are awesome--fresh fruits and tortillas The cabanas are basic, but big and clean. The owner's son (his daughter was 6 and a really cute, smart little girl) was a little weird--I wanted to arrange tours before I got there and they said just to wait--I was too type A to wait, so I had arranged tours ahead of time and once we got there, he warned us about the guide we were using and I thought it was sour grapes. In the end, the son was totally right and the guide was a poser. SO, moral of that story is listen to their advice-they live there and know everyone . If you are adventuresome, I highly recommend the 'crystal maiden' cave--it's one of the coolest things I have done, but it's work to get there. You can take the taxis into town too to arrange tours. Eva's is the place to arrange tours and have a beliken afterwards.

A different belize trip we stayed at Ian Andersons and that was a blast too. You are more confined to his place, but the tours are fun there. I love belize. Have a blast!

 

[Leejnd]

Thanks Oceancat! That's the kind of stuff I was hoping to hear. I've heard elsewhere we should wait till we're there to arrange the tours, which goes against my normal practice -- I tend to pre-arrange EVERYTHING! But it'll be off season, so nothing will be filled up, and your post just confirms for me that we really should wait. So I'll just sit on my hands and try to be patient.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Darnold9999]

Check out car rental when you get there. We rented a jeep for a week in San Ignacio, dropped it off at the airport and I don't recall it being $70 a day - more like $50, but we wanted to drive the Hummingbird highway to the coast. Great trip.

 

[diverrex]

If you stay near San Ignacio make sure you do the ATM tour. One of the best things I've ever done in my life. Go to Mayawalk tours, ask for Jimmy to set up your tour, and ask for Ted, an ex British army officer, to be your tour guide.