This trip has traveled! Contact me if you’d like to learn about future ones!
First of all, let me say I’m STOKED that you’re interested in traveling with me! For this first group trip, I chose Belize and Guatemala and decided to partner with my favorite company, G Adventures! I picked it because it has a good trip length which means only 5 days off work. It’s a comfortable flight time from most places in the US where most of the people would be coming from. The itinerary has a solid mix of action and relaxation, jungle and beaches, and architecture and water.
Main Details:
DATES: June 10 – 18, 2023
PRICE: $1149 or add $639 for your own room (only 2 of those available)
Highlights
- Caye Caulker
- Tikal
- Flores
- Belize Bike with Purpose Tour
Itinerary
This is the basic itinerary, but we can also add some stuff before or after! Let me know if you want to come early or stay late!
Day 1 ~ June 10
The first day is just arrival in Belize City! You can arrive at any time. We can see if we can coordinate flight arrivals and share some airport transfers. That evening, we’ll meet our local guide and kick off the trip!
Day 2 ~ June 11
On the first full day, we will cross the border into Guatemala and continue on to Flores. It’s only about a 3.5 hours drive, so it won’t take all day. That will give us some time to explore Flores. What a fun-shaped city! Almost an island!
Day 3 ~ June 12
Enjoy a guided tour of the Tikal archaeological site. It’s a Mayan city located in the jungle! It’s a UNESCO world heritage site, and fairly well-preserved. Then, we’ll return to Flores and can choose to relax or go for a swim in Lake Petén Itzá.
Day 4 ~ June 13
Cross back into Belize and the town of San Ignacio (less than 2-hour drive), and enjoy a free afternoon to explore or choose from optional activities like a visit to the nearby ruins of Xunantunich.
Day 5 ~ June 14
Take a free day to choose from a long list of optional activities from San Ignacio. Opt to visit the sacred Mayan caves of Actun Tunichil Muknal, check out Barton Creek Cave, Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve, or visit the ancient ruins of Caracol or Xunantunich.
Day 6 ~ June 15
Travel by bus and boat to beautiful Caye Caulker, where “go slow” is the island’s motto. Later, explore the island on the G Adventures-supported Bike with Purpose tour. It’s less than 2 hours from San Ignacio to Belize City, and then about another hour ferry to Caye Caulker.
More info about the Bike with Purpose is in the following video, but Bike with Purpose is a Planeterra project which is G’s non-profit. What I love about their projects is that they help local communities by showing them how to help themselves. What I love about this particular one is that because they are so isolated, many kids weren’t able to go to school. So a school was built for them, and now the kids run local bike tours to help support themselves. Check out this video!
Bikes With Purpose from G Adventures on Vimeo.
Day 7 ~ June 16
With free time, opt to snorkel in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, or just chill out, Belizean style. There are lots of other activities to do around here, like sailboats and tubing. So there will be something for everyone, including doing nothing and enjoying the beach 😀
Day 8 ~ June 17
Continue to explore Caye Caulker and its water or land-based activities during free time.
Day 9 ~ June 18
The tour officially ends today! You can either fly back home, stick around a bit more, or head off somewhere else! I’m happy to help with those decisions.
Deposit
The deposit is $350! Also, these are LIFETIME deposits, so if something comes up between now and then and you can’t go? No worries, that deposit is good for any trip with G Adventures forever, so your money is safe!
Payments
After deposit, the payments are up to you! You can wait until full payment is due on April 11, 2023. Or you can chunk it every few months. Or can do a monthly payment. Very flexible. Payments are collected by G and remain with G, so again your money is safe!
What’s Included?
Once the tour starts, all transportation is included! We’ll also have a local guide who can help us with Spanish, history, and hopefully the wildlife we’ll be seeing! Any of the excursions listed are included, but some cost extra like snorkeling. Accommodations are also included on a twin share basis unless you wanted to upgrade to get your own room (only 2 of those are available).
If you’re a couple or traveling with a friend, you can be paired up with them, if you’re solo, then we’ll match you with someone of your gender.
Optional Extras
There is Hol Chan Marine Reserve Day Tour for $90.00. Explore the oldest marine reserve in Belize with a full-day tour filled with snorkeling and sightseeing. The tour includes stops at three popular snorkeling destinations – the Hol Chan Channel, Shark and Ray Alley, and Coral Gardens. Stop at two additional viewing spots to marvel at tarpon and manatees. Expect to see an abundance of angelfish, blue-stripped grunts, schoolmaster snappers, and hundreds of other varieties of species in their natural surroundings. Keep your eyes peeled to see green moray eels poking out from their tiny caves.
I’m also planning on doing some scuba diving in Caye Caulker!
Perks of Coming with Me!
Well, besides really terrible puns and my forever-long list of fun facts I’ll randomly share… But I like to think I’m a pretty good photographer! I’ve got my fun 360 camera that takes epic pics like these (from Antarctica)
So you’re welcome to the pics that I take of landscapes and us, but I’m also willing to help you take silly and fun pics of yourself. For example, I bring a fun skirt for quick photoshoots! Just pops on over other clothes and takes no time at all!
And of course, because I’m a travel agent, and I’ve traveled a lot… I’ll take care of everything! All you need to do is show up and everything is handled! I’ll help with flights, insurance, packing list, and anything else you need! Also here are some testimonials 🙂
Flights
Flights aren’t included, but happy to help you find a good flight price. It’s pretty far in advance, but I think flights will go lower. Southwest flies there, but they don’t have flights to next June yet, but I did find a nonstop Delta from Atlanta for $700 just for a baseline. I think prices will fall, and for me, I’m budgeting about $500 for the flight.
Airport transfers
We can look into this when we have a better idea of how many there are, but I can help us find transfers and good prices.
Interested?
Fill out this form here and let me know! Once we get 8, I’ll contact the 8 and get the ball rolling to collect the pertinent information. Only 16 spots total, so let’s go! [email protected] if you have any questions!