Honeymoon in Belize Review

Hi Mindy,
We had an amazing time in Belize. Everything was absolutely perfect. We are extremely grateful for all of you planning and advice. We don't think that we could have possibly had a better honeymoon.

So here are our reviews.
Jaguar Reef Resort in Hopkins, Belize was incredible. Our beachfront cabana was clean, spacious and homey. The white sandy beach was clean and empty. There were
never more than about 6 people on the entire beach. The ocean water was warm and then tides were calm enough for us kayak daily. There was a gorgeous swimming pool right outside of our cabana. We were the only people who used this pool. Most other guests were located further down the beach near a larger pool with a swim-up bar. The staff at Jaguar Reef was
unbelievable and the food was pretty good. The only possible downside to this resort was that there was absolutely no nightlife. The poolside bar closed at 6pm and the other bar closed after dinner (9:30ish). The resort was located in the village of Hopkins, which was an extremely poor Garifuna village. We rode bikes from the resort into the village for a few excellent (and dirt cheap) meals. The people in the village were very friendly to tourists.

From Jaguar Reef we went on 2 excursions. We went snorkeling in the Belize Barrier Reef and we also went zip lining and cave tubing. The snorkeling was one of the major highlights of the trip. Neither one of us had ever snorkeled, but we loved every second of it.
The zip lining and cave tubing was also really fun. The excursion was based out of Jaguar Paw Jungle Resort, which was actually located just outside of Belmopan, the capital of Belize. In retrospect, we should have planned this excursion out of Chaa Creek, because Jaguar Paw is much closer to Chaa Creek than it is to Jaguar Reef. Oh well, we still had a fantastic time. The ride to Jaguar Paw was about 2 and 1/2 hours from Hopkins. It would have been about
an hour from Chaa Creek.

Chaa Creek Jungle Resort was the most unbelievable place I've ever seen. We felt like we had absolutely no business being in such a luxurious place. We felt like it was a place where people like Spielberg must go, not regular folks like us. Our treetop suite was huge and beautiful. The staff at Chaa Creek was extremely helpful and outgoing. Everyone made us feel welcome and appreciated. The food at the resort was great. Our only warning about this resort is that it
is not for people who are afraid of insects. The bugs didn't bother us at all, but we met another couple who was anxious to get out of the jungle and away from all of the spiders. It was not unusual to see wolf spiders or moths inside our our suite.

On the grounds of the resort we went horseback riding through the jungle and took a guided night
walk, where we spotted tarantulas, scorpions, a kinkajou, armadillos, a grey fox and numerous other interesting insects. The guides for both the horseback riding and the night walk were friendly and knowledgeable. From Chaa Creek we took excursions to Tikal and to
ATM. Tikal is an ancient Mayan city located in Guatemala. We had a fantastic guide who taught us a ton about the Mayan civilization and the current political climate in Guatemala. This was another major highlight of our trip. ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) is an amazing cave that is filled with Mayan remains and artifacts. The caving trip was exhilarating! It all started with a 45 minute hike to the opening of the cave. From there we jumped into the water and started swimming into the cave. At times we were wading through water that was neck high, at other times the water was only up to our ankles. While in the cave, we viewed gorgeous rock formations. Eventually we arrived in the main chamber of the cave, where we had to take off our shoes and climb up
giant rocks to get to the chamber filled with Mayan artifacts. Once in this main chamber, we walked around in our socks and examined various artifacts and skeletons. The excursion is definitely only for the adventurous traveler. On several occasions, we said, "I can't believe they let people do this. This is insane!" We loved it! Once again, our guide was knowledgeable and informative.

You have probably already figured out that we enjoyed every second of our honeymoon. It was exciting, relaxing and educational. We are telling everyone that they have to go to Belize.

Thank you so much for all of you help. Hopefully these reviews are helpful. Let us know if you have any other questions.


Thanks for everything. We'll send you pictures.
~Maura & Ed
Honeymoon to Belize July 2007