Learn about Belize’s geography, history, climate, and people.
Chaa Creek naturalist guide and Natural History Centre assistant manager Brion Young said that several people had recently called his attention to an April 2013 article in Travel + Leisure magazine, and that this highlights the importance of celebrity endorsement of local conservation efforts.
It’s a country of freedom-seekers. The pirates came to ply their pirate trading out of view. The Mennonites came from Germany and the Netherlands so they could be Mennonites without anyone bothering them. The British came to do their banking in private. And the folks from the surrounding countries have made their way across Belize’s borders over the decades in search of safety.
Ambergris Caye hovers in a vacation sweet spot: just enough amenities to make it exciting, but not so overdeveloped that you’re tripping over flip-flopped tourists. A mangrove swamp is the eye of this white beach island, the largest in Belize, and golf carts are the main form of transportation along the sandy roads.
With the easterly breeze and the calm waters, conditions on Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye are perfect for wind and kite surfing. There are schools on both islands offering lessons and rentals. For the serious surfers, it is possible to windsurf the 12 miles between Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye and back, although a pit stop is recommended!
If you are looking for a holiday destination that is small and friendly, plan a trip to Belize. This beautiful country is often overlooked by those searching for a Caribbean paradise, but their loss is your gain because if you take a trip to Belize you will soon discover paradise on earth. And there is more than enough to keep you occupied 24 hours a day as you will see from the following list of the 25 things you can do on a Belize vacation.
Bryony Fleming Bradley, who manages the Hilltop Spa at Belize’s Chaa Creek eco resort, said that the March 16 2013 Huffington Post article confirms that the health benefits of a tranquil vacation are now well documented.
Yes, in the heady multicultural mix that is Belize, the Irish are well represented. From the early days of the Baymen and buccaneers, many of whom hailed from the Emerald Isles, to present day Belize, Celtic surnames and even the odd lilt of a brogue are common. Irish priests have always been an integral part of Belize’s religious and educational life, and the Royal Irish Rangers were stationed here for years.
Ms Fleming and her husband Mick moved to the tiny English speaking country over 30 years ago just as it was making the transition from the former crown colony of British Honduras to the modern, independent nation of Belize.
Often described as entries into the watery Maya underworld, caves were used by the Maya for religious purposes and they strongly believed that life and death occur at the liminal zones ( see anthropological definition of liminal below) between this world and the other world.
Protected rainforests, Maya ruins, Caribbean beaches and the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. Add English as the official language and the widely accepted U.S. dollar, and you can get a great vacation on easy mode in Belize.
“We were happy to see Chaa Creek picked as one of Fox News’s best ecofriendly resorts, and then, I noticed that our good friends and partners in two all-inclusive Belize vacation packages, Chabil Mar, were also on the list,” Mr Waight said. “What that means for our guests is that when you book one of those packages, you can rest assured that you’re getting the best, most eco-friendly inland and Caribbean beach resorts.
Mick Fleming is something of a legend in this part of Belize, a larger-than-life character who, more than 30 years ago, with $600 in his pocket, made his way to Belize City, where he met a guy in a bar who owned a piece of land in the jungle he was interested in selling. Mick bought, thinking he’d try his luck as a farmer. The farming was tough going, but, in time, Mick identified another opportunity. Travelers were beginning to find their way to this remote region. They’d happen upon Mick and ask if he had a place where they could spend the night.
This visit and the Masterclass shows how dramatically new media and social networking has changed the face of communications and global marketing. Just a few years ago, Belize would not be attracting speakers of Mr Meerman Scott’s calibre. We simply wouldn’t have had the budget or the reach to attract the attention of people like him.
When the Belize Tourst Board offered me a press trip to Belize. I jumped at the opportunity. When they told me that upon arrival I would be whisked off to the Belize Zoo, I was skeptical if this first stop would be worth a visit. My feeling is that zoos are mostly depressing places. I figured that there would be imported Lions, Tigers, and Giraffes. I could not have been more wrong.
Two Belizean canoe builders with a special connection to a Canadian canoe builder were commissioned to build a racing canoe for His Royal Highness Prince Harry. As part of his tour of Central America in March, the Prince visited the small, British Commonwealth country in celebration of his grandmother’s Diamond Jubilee.
CNN International has named the Great Blue Hole of Belize a top diving site in the world. According to the Belize Tourism Board, the famous Blue Hole is being recognized as the seventh best spot among fifty locations in a story written by Jade Bremmer.
In January of this year, the BTB was proud to share with you that Trip Advisor, the world’s largest internet travel website, had ranked various hotels in Belize as some of the top 25 hotels in the world.
Prince Harry enjoyed both his stay at The Lodge at Chaa Creek and the real life rags-to-riches story about how his fellow countrymen turned an overgrown little farm on the banks of a then remote part of Belize into a 365 acre luxury eco-resort fit for, well…
Prince Harry was as comfortable climbing Xuntunantich as he was participating in some of the indigenous cultural dance. Certainly one of the highlights of his tour of Belize, His Royal Highness also sampled fine Belizean cuisine and even their prized libations.
Hosting a member of the Royal Family is a responsibility in itself, but for the managers and staff of The Lodge at Chaa Creek one of the most important tasks was keeping Prince Harry’s visit under wraps until the royal entourage departed, Chaa Creek owner Lucy Fleming said today.
“Wow, this place looks so relaxing!” HRH Prince Harry exclaimed as he arrived at the Lodge at Chaa Creek, setting the tone for what he and Chaa Creek’s staff described as a very pleasant stay at Belize’s premier eco-resort, according to Chaa Creek’s owner Lucy Fleming.
For the celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales has traveled to Belize. After climbing to the top of El Castillo at Xunantunich, he is beaming with great things to say about Belize.
Every visitor to Belize shares the common experience of enjoying a product of Bowen and Bowen Limited. After all, it bottles everything from water and Coca Cola products to energy drinks and fruit juices and it is the only national bottler of local beer and Guinness Stout. When Prince Harry of Wales arrives in Belize on Friday, he’ll get the royal treatment from the beer company. At the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Block Party, company executives will introduce Prince Harry to all their products and allow him to sample and savour their prized Belikin beer.
The ancient Maya civilization’s many achievements include a written language, advanced mathematics, sophisticated surgery, and astrological calculations that continue to astound scholars… and the list goes on.
But for many people, the Maya’s greatest achievement is something loved all over the world today—chocolate.
The highly sought after Green Globe worldwide certification is considered to be the “International Standard for Sustainability” and is granted only after a rigorous auditing process against recognised benchmarks and carbon footprint calculations. The Lodge at Chaa Creek has once again been awarded the Green Globe Certification “as a mark of quality, sustainability and climate action,” according to Green Globe.
Belize is a wonderful melting pot of culinary extremes; a tantalizing mixture of Caribbean spices, African vegetables and Central American cooking styles can be found in all corners of Belize. The seafood is delicious and the lobster is world-class, particularly along the Northeast part of the country. The following is a list of my favorite foods in Belize
March 01, 2010 Preparations are underway for the thirteenth annual La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge. The race will begin on Friday in San Ignacio … Read more
Chocolate, a name derived from the Maya word Xocoatl, was revered as a favored food of the Mayan gods during the golden age of the Maya Civilization in Belize in 500 BC. The Maya, once the world’s most advanced horticulturists, cultivated cocoa beans that were used throughout Mesoamerica as money.
Lucy Fleming, 62, and her husband Mick own the Lodge at Chaa Creek, Belize’s first jungle resort, which opened its doors in 1981. Chaa Creek … Read more
The tiny Central American country of Belize attained its Independence in 1981 from the United Kingdom. The National Anthem of Belize: O. Land of the Free by … Read more