|
Begin your adventure with a speedboat tour of Northern Lagoon, where you can spot crocodiles, nesting birds, and maybe even glimpse the gentle manatee in their natural breeding grounds. In Peccary Park Adventure Center, hike through the rainforest to ancient Maya caves, used for spiritual rites for thousands of years.
Enjoy a premier, world-class caving and archaeology experience at Actun Tunichil Muknal, one of the most impressive caves in the Maya lowland. Experience the rainforest in Caves Branch National Park on a zipline tour that allows you to swing 100 - 240 feet between platforms 70 feet high in the trees. See crystalline formations, stalagmites and stalactites as you float through a limestone cave system on inflated inner tubes. And enjoy personal encounters with nurse sharks and stingrays as you snorkel the waters of Hol Chan Marine Reserve.
You'll stay in fine accommodations, including Chaa Creek, ranked among Travel & Leisure's Top Ten International Eco-Escapes, Best Resort in Central and South America in Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice, and one of the World's Top 50 Eco Lodges by National Geographic Adventure Magazine. And with a wonderful mix of wildlife-spotting, snorkeling, hiking in the rainforest and cultural sightseeing, there’s something for every type of traveler to enjoy, made even more special in this spectacular tropical paradise.
Price includes:
• 7 nights accommodations: 1 night in Belize City, and 2 nights each at Pook's Hill Lodge in the rainforest, The Lodge at Chaa Creek in the Cayo District, and your choice of two hotels in Ambergris Caye
• Breakfast daily
• Round-trip flights between Belize City and Ambergris Caye
• 3 full-day adventure tours with lunch: Speedboat adventure to Northern Lagoon; Caving and archaeology adventure in ancient Mayan caves; Aerial zipline tour followed by a cave tubing excursion
• 1 Mayan history tour with lunch
• 1 half-day snorkel tour in Hol Chan Marine Reserve
• Professional English speaking guides
• All applicable park admission fees
• All hotel transfers and taxes
|
Note: We strongly recommend that guests be in excellent physical condition for this tour. In addition, some adventure tours are not suitable for children under 12 years of age, or for teens under 16 years of age (valid driver’s license required for Rainforest ATV tour). However, customized family options available upon request.
Day 1 - Arrive in Belize City, Belize
Meet and Greet on arrival at the Belize International Airport. Transfer to your hotel.
Accommodation: Radisson Fort George - 1 night
Day 2 - Speedboat Tour and Rainforest ATV
After breakfast, check out and transfer to your hotel's marina. Board a customized speedboat and cruise via inland waterways to Northern Lagoon. En route you will spot crocodiles, observe nesting birds on “Bird Caye,” and glimpse the gentle manatee in their natural breeding grounds. Upon arrival at Northern Lagoon, enjoy a picnic lunch and leisure time on the beaches.
After lunch, return via inland waterways to Belize City and board your tour bus for the 40-minute drive to Peccary Park Adventure Center in Gracie Rock Village.
Here, experienced guides will brief you on safety procedures, outline the route to be taken and issue protective helmets. You will then explore the jungles of Belize on trails laid out over 100 years ago by loggers in search of precious mahogany trees. The trails are a good mix of various challenging terrains leading to your first stop of the day - the Maya Caves. Here you explore caves once used by the Maya thousands of years ago. To the Maya, caves were sacred places where important ceremonies were conducted to appease the gods of the underworld. As you explore the caves, be on the lookout for ancient ceramic pots forgotten for centuries. After this stop, it is time to loop back to home base via jungle trails. You will then board your tour bus to Pook's Hill Lodge.
Accommodation: Pook's Hill Lodge - 2 nights
Day 3 - Actun Tunichil Muknal
Today, enjoy a premier, world-class caving and archaeology experience that remains restricted to limited visitation. Actun Tunichil Muknal, or “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher” is one of the most impressive caves in the Maya lowland. Located in the heart of the Belizean rainforest, this cave was a sacred place to the prehistoric Maya, who first began to use the entrance during the early classic period (300-600 A.D.). It was not until the late terminal classic period, (700-900 A.D.), that the Mayas traveled deeper into the cave to conduct their ceremonies. The cave system consists of a series of chambers, ending in a 364 by 954 foot cathedral where sacrificial ceremonies once took place. Visitors to this cave have the unique opportunity to travel into the Maya past and witness a living museum where human sacrifices and artifacts can be viewed in their original context.
Day 4 - Leisure morning at Pooks Hill Lodge / Afternoon at Xunantunich Mayan Site
Leisure morning activities include early morning birding, guided walks in old-growth forest and flood-plain jungle habitats, tubing on the Roaring River, or swimming in natural swimming pools. After lunch we continue via the Western Highway en route to the Cayo District and the impressive Maya site of Xunantunich. Before reaching the entrance of this ancient city, you are taken across the Mopan River by a 19th century ferry. “El Castillo” (the Castle), is the largest temple at Xunantunich and shows its dominance by its towering height. From the top of “El Castillo,” view the panoramic vistas of the surrounding rainforests as well as the bordering towns between Belize and Guatemala.
Accommodation: The Lodge at Chaa Creek - 2 nights
Day 5 - Free Day
Enjoy a day at leisure to choose your own adventure. Optional activities include excursions to Caracol, Barton Creek Caves, Tikal, horseback riding, and river canoeing. Or, choose to do nothing at all and enjoy exploring the local scenery.
Day 6 - Aerial Trek Zipline and Cave Tubing
Your return drive is via the Western Highway to Caves Branch National Park for a Rainforest Ziplining Aerial Trek. The zipline tour features an intricate harness system of pulleys on horizontal traverse cables. Supervised by experienced guides, you’ll swing 100 - 240 feet between platforms; 70 feet high in the trees at leaf level. The tour begins with a ten-minute hike through the rainforest to the starting platform up in the canopy of the forest. The next hour is spent flying through the forest with the birds – a truly unforgettable experience.
Next, be prepared for a 45-minute jungle trail hike.
Your guide will point out various plants, roots, and herbs once used by the ancient Maya. An entrance tunnel that heads into the underground cave system is the start of an “eye opening” adventure: Your guide hands out flash lights, and you’ll float on inflated inner tubes assisted by gentle currents taking you through the cave system. Intricate crystalline formations line the caves and stalagmites and stalactites add to the serene opulence. After lunch continue to Belize City. Upon arrival in Belize City you will take a short commuter flight to the quaint seaside village of Ambergris Caye.
Accommodation: The Villas at Banyan Bay or Victoria House - 2 nights
Day 7 - Hol Chan Marine Reserve & Shark Ray Alley
The morning is at leisure. This afternoon, enjoy a snorkel tour to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. You will snorkel in incredibly clear waters and have a personal encounter with nurse sharks and graceful stingrays.
Day 8 - Depart Ambergris Caye
Morning is at leisure. Transfer to the airport and connect with a commuter flight to the Belize International Airport.
