San Pedro Holiday Hotel

Lamanai... a journey into the past...

by wreckloose

When we were preparing for our vacation, one of our personal "must-do" tasks was to visit the Mayan ruins... any one of them. Once we got there, and after speaking to some of the locals, we decided on Lamanai. Our travel package, which included breakfast, had us on a water ferry to Belize City first thing in the morning. Once there, we were put into a van and after a beer and rum punch stop at the store we were off to the Orange Walk District in Northern Belize.

Upon arrival at the New River dock, we met our guide Eddie and he started the tour off by educating us on the various plant and vegetable life growing around the launch site. In order to get to Lamanai (or 'Lam'an'ain' as recorded by the Spanish missionaries over a millenium earlier and means "submerged crocodile" in Yucatec Mayan), we had to take a boat (roughly an hour long) up the New River and were exposed to the many exotic plant and wildlife along the way. Many species of bird that I had never seen or heard of previously including some animals I thought that I'd be terrified to see without a the comfort of a cage separating us (crocodiles). Getting to the ruins was merely the highlight of an already "highlight-filled" journey.

Walking through the jungle underneath dozens of howling monkeys was one thing, but walking into a clearing to see a temple built over a thousand years ago was jaw dropping. If you've never seen a Mayan site, its hard to describe the feeling. Surrounded by that level of history, for better or worse, was seemingly palpable... though it could've been the humidity. Eddie, was filled with a wealth of information and had the gift of being able to impart a great deal of it in the simplest, yet most humorous of ways. Amazing guy.

All in all, I would recommend this trip to anyone with even a remote interest in the Mayan culture. If you happen to get Eddie as your guide, consider yourself lucky, and make sure you take advantage of his knowledge by asking questions.

San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

by lacole

I learned about Belize, but more specifically, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, when scouting out a place to have my destination wedding. We invited 22 close friends and family to attend our wedding on Ambergris Caye. We spent 8 days there with the first 4 days preparing for our wedding. However, we did manage to break away and participate in the activities we'd planned for our guests, which included a sunset cruise on a catamaran and a tour to the Mayan Ruin, Altun Ha.
If you're like many others, you're thinking why Belize? First, WE LIKE TO TRAVEL!!!!! Second, if you're a diver(like my husband) and a snorkler( like myself), you have the Barrier Reefs and The Blue Hole at your sight and fingertips. Third, who can pass up having a beach wedding? Feeling the white sand in between your toes, looking up at the blue sky and inhaling the scents of the sea as the wind gingerly your kisses your skin. What a feeling.

Eight days in Paradise, who could ask for more? The people were very friendly and welcoming. The food was good.

Most of our guests arrived on the same day and took the same flight into Belize. So, that evening we surprised them with a private sunset cruise on a catamaran by Unity Tours. They were quite surprised. That day, some conquered the fear of flying and some overcame the fear of the water too.
They spent the time getting to know one another, relaxing, swimming, drinking and dancing.