ULTIMATE BELIZE All the best of Belize 15 Days

Locally Hosted Independent Tour Suggested Departure Date: Saturday

ITINERARY (Subject to change without notice):

Saturday – USA – Belize City - Ambergris: Depart the USA on to Belize City where you will be met and assisted with connection to domestic flight to San Pedro, Ambergris. In Ambergris, your hosts from the hotel will meet you and transfer you to the Victoria House.

Sunday – Ambergris: day at leisure to bask in the tropic sun. (B)

Monday -  Ambergris:   another day to relax, unwind or take an optional off-shore excursion.  (B)

Tuesday – Ambergris – Belize City - New River Area: Return flight to Belize City.  Upon arrival, you will be met and will proceed directly to the northern area of the country. First you will drive to the New Toll Bridge and then take a motorboat up the New River, just before you reach your lodge, you will debark and visit the only Mayan enclave built near a river bank, Lamanai,  “Submerged Crocodile.”  Probably inhabited as far back as 3,500 years ago, the first buildings date from around 700 B.C.. The tallest with a height of 112 feet might well have been the tallest Maya structure of its day. There are over 700 mapped structures, the most notable are the Temple of the Mask, Jaguar Temple and the Lord Smoking Shell stelae. After the tour, on to the Lamanai Outpost Lodge. (B)

Wednesday - New River Area:  Today enjoy a leisurely “dawn” canoe trip for an opportunity to view the various bird species  of the area along with other flora and fauna of the rain forest. In the afternoon there will be a guided walking tour to discover some of the tropical forest’s  most fascinating secrets, herbs, plants used by the ancients for medicinal purposes. Late afternoon board the lodge's Florida Everglades-style air boats for  an exhilarating ride along the New River savannahs and floodplains for nature watching & discovery as the sunset sets over the rainforest and river. (about 2-hours, with private guide) (B)

Thursday - New River Area: Early this morning your guide will take you for a trek to view how the Howler monkey forages in the forest canopy. Learn about the species life-style, dynamics and inter-action (about 2-hours). Balance of the day will be at leisure. (B)

Friday - New River Area - Gallon Jug Area: Your local host will drive you west, some 1.5 hours to the area known as “Gallon Jug” (so named in 1943 by the foreman of the Belize Estates Company when he found 3-gallon jugs near his home), surrounded by 250,000 acres of steaming jungle,  you come to the   ‘manicured” site known as Chan Chich (Kaxil Uinich, “Little Bird.”) This Maya site has two levels of plazas, each with its own temples and unexcavated mounds. After years of remoteness, known only to the   logger, pot farmer and grave robber, it was rediscovered in 1986.  The property’s current owner built 12-thatched roofed cabanas on one of the plazas. Cleared trails now run through the forest with daily sightings of ocellated  turkeys, deer, peccary, spider monkeys, and with luck, puma, tapir and even jaguar.  On the way to Chan Chich a stop will be made at the Gallon Jug Coffee plantation where you will learn about the planting, harvesting and processing of the “java” brew. (B)

Saturday - Gallon Jug Area: In the morning  visit a rather large Maya known as “Punta Cacao” (so named after the logger’s road), best reached by horseback, but one can come within a 30-minutes hike off the main road. Afternoon, at leisure. (B)

Sunday - Gallon Jug Area - Cayo District/Mountain Pine Ridge Area:  From the property’s private airstrip, fly by small charter aircraft south to Central Farms (near Georgeville on the Western Highway), where you will be met and driven to the Guatemala border area for a visit to the Maya sites Cahel Pech, El Pilar and Xunantunich. A short distance from the town of San Ignacio lies the medium sized, but impressive site of Cahel Pech (“Place of Ticks”), first discovered in the 1950’s, it has 34 structures within its 3 acres. Also visit El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna, a 94 acre site on the border with Guatemala, has been left largely untouched; there are 3 archaeological trails and 2 nature trails. El Pilar contains a dozen pyramids and 25-known plazas. To reach Xunantunich (“Maiden of the Rock”),off of the Western Highway, just before Benque Viejo, take the hand-cranked ferry across the river and hike about 1-mile to the country’s first site. Said to date from the Classic Period, there are 3 plazas, many temples, a ball court and until recently, the tallest known Maya structure, El Castillo at some 130+ feet, with exquisite friezes and from the summit have a spectacular view into Guatemala and the surrounding Peten jungle. Continue west towards the Maya Mountains, San Ignacio and your hotel, Ka'ana Boutique Resort & Spa. Lunch en route. (B/L)

Monday - Cayo District/Mountain Pine Ridge Area: Morning at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities. Afternoon glide through the remote underground cave of Barton Creek believed by some to have been site of Maya ritual ceremonies or a burial site. As you canoe, view colorful and large formations of stalactites, stalagmites, and cultural artifacts left behind centuries ago. (B)

Tuesday - Cayo District/Mountain Pine Ridge Area: Deep in the Chiquibul Forest you will visit a Maya site what many believe will one day rival  Guatemala’s Tikal, Caracol “The Snail.”  Discovered by area loggers in 1938, the present site covers some 30 square miles, the site dates back to the Classic Maya period. Today one can see the work being carried out by archaeologists of Tulane University and University of Central Florida on three plaza groups, central acropolis, two ball courts as well as a number of smaller structures. A picnic box lunch will be provided on this excursion. (C/L)

Wednesday - Cayo/Mountain Pine Ridge Area - Placencia: Today your host will drive to the Caribbean coast along the Hummingbird Highway, cutting off to the Southern Highway with stop at the world’s only jaguar preserve, Cockscomb Basin. This subtropical rainforest sanctuary covers some 100,000  acres surrounded by the Maya Mountains, with well maintained trails that reflect the region's bio-diversity and are of various length and difficulty. While you most likely will not spot the nocturnal jaguar, the forest is lush and abounds with   countless plant species, jungle flora, fauna over 300 species of birds (such as scarlet macaw, keel billed toucan, king vulture), reptiles such as the red-eyed tree frog and 55 mammals (including coatis, tapirs, deer, otter). Lunch will be included before continuing to the Placencia peninsula and the Turtle Inn. (C/L)

Thursday and Friday - Placencia: These two days are set aside for relaxing in the tropical sun or taking optional excursions to nearby Maya sites or quaint Garifuna villages, snorkel or fish.  (C)

Saturday - Placencia-Belize City International Airport - USA: A member of the hotel staff will take you to the nearby airstrip for the short flight (small aircraft, luggage allowance may be restricted) to the international airport in Belize City and your connection with the return flight home. (C)

RATES and DETAILS: