Archive for April, 2008
Random Belize Photo of the Moment - Red river in Ambergris
Here’s a photo we took in 2007, which is in our Ambergris Caye photos section of our Belize pictures area. No need to adjust your monitor, that is a red river and we aren’t sure why. If this was in Belize City with its astonishingly high murder rate you might wonder if this is a river of blood, but on peaceful Ambergris Caye that doesn’t seem likely. This is about a mile north of the Split on the island, and if you know why this is red, please leave a comment because we’d like to know. …
Date: April 30th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment - Rendezvous Caye
Here’s a photo from our Belize pictures collection and specifically from the recent photos area because it doesn’t fit into one of the main categories. This is Rendezvous Caye, which is one of the stops on the Ragamuffin Tours cruises from Caye Caulker to Placencia.
Date: April 23rd, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment - Off Caye Caulker
Here’s a random photo from our Caye Caulker pictures collection in our main Belize photos area. This shot was actually taken with an underwater disposable camera so it’s not the highest quality, but you get the idea. Snorkeling in Caye Caulker is a major activity and is highly recommended.
Date: April 16th, 2008 |
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Finding cheap hotels in Belize just got easier
Exciting news if you are looking for a hotel in Belize – we just changed over to a new and modern system that should make things much easier for everyone. As you may know, many hotels in Belize aren’t listed on any travel site, but the ones that are can be listed on one site and not on another, and sometimes even for different prices.
Now you can go to this one page and choose the city or area you are curious about, and then with one click you’ll see a list of …
Date: April 11th, 2008 |
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July in Belize
July is part of the slow tourism season in Belize, partly due to this being one of the wettest months of the long rainy season. But fear not, as the rain tends to come late at night and the cool Caribbean breezes help keep the beach and island resorts tolerable even on the worst days. There aren’t many proper events during July, but there will always be no shortage of things to do since the water sports, jungle tours, and Maya ruins are all available 12 months a year.
July events in Belize
Benque Viejo Fiesta – mid-July – The small town of Benque Viejo is just 2 miles from the Guatemala border near San Ignacio and it doesn’t have much to offer for tourists, but this 9-day religious festival held each July sounds interesting if you are in the area. They celebrate the patron saint of the village with a fair, marimba bands, games, and prayer.
Caye Caulker Lobster Festival – sometimes in early July – The resort island of Caye Caulker celebrates the June 15 reopening of lobster season with a festival in either late June or early July. As with most things in Belize, tracking down exact dates for each year is difficult, but the festival actually appears to be in late June in 2008.
Date: April 7th, 2008 |
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August in Belize
August is one of the least popular months to visit Belize, so those who dare are rewarded with cheap hotel prices, limited crowds, and wonderful solitude (for the most part). This is the first month on the calendar that visitors have to keep an eye on storm systems in the Caribbean before they arrive. More of this is covered in the summer in Belize section, but put simply, instead of having a zero percent chance of being in the path of a slow moving hurricane, visitors to Belize in August and September have a very tiny chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
August events in Belize
San Pedro’s International Costa Maya Festival – early August in Ambergris Caye – This used to be called the Sea & Air Festival for some reason, but now the Costa Maya Festival is the absolute highlight of the San Pedro entertainment calendar. There are parades, dancing, bands, contests, and international food, which are all featured at this 4-day blowout. Since this is the off-season for tourists you can expect a mostly local crowd, which should add to its authenticity. The 2008 dates are August 7 – 10. More information is available on the official Costa Maya Festival site.
Deer Dance Festival – late August in San Antonio – This festival runs for 9 days starting in late August in the southern Belize city of San Antonio, which is just a bit inland from Punta Gorda. It’s a Maya religious celebration where the highlight is a simulated deer hunt featuring costumed characters that reenact the hunted while the hunters symbolically pursue. The 2008 dates are hard to confirm at this point, but it’s always late in the month and sometimes stretches into September.
Date: April 28th, 2008 |
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Summer in Belize
Just like virtually the entire Central American and Caribbean regions, summer is actually the off-season in Belize. Since the weather ranges from warm to even warmer all year, most people think of this country as a place to go to get out of the cold rather than a year-round resort area. It’s true that the weather tends to be more pleasant from November through March than it does the rest of the year, but not by much.
The great news is that hotels are at their cheapest during summer, and crowds in general will be small nearly everywhere you go, so if sun and solitude are your thing it can be a nice combination.
Summer events in Belize
There really aren’t too many major events during summer here, but there are quite a few smaller festivals you might consider taking in if you happen to be in the area at the time. The lobster season begins again on June 15, and Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, and Placencia each have a lobster festival around that date to celebrate. Aside from those it’s mostly modest happenings that probably aren’t worth seeking out unless you have some other connection with the thing.
Date: April 21st, 2008 |
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Birdwatching on Ambergris Caye - The People Perch at the Caribbean Villas
Birdwatching, and the more intense version that is often called “birding”, are very popular throughout Belize. The jungle areas of the interior have far more to offer most people who are serious about birding, but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience some of this nature-loving activity on Ambergris Caye.
About three-quarters of a mile south of the center of San Pedro village on the island you’ll find the Caribbean Villas resort right on the beach. This 12-room complex is surprisingly affordable for the area, and it has several features that make it truly unique. The most unusual thing and probably the greatest hook for the Caribbean Villas is that it’s set up partially as a bird sanctuary and they have their own 3-story “People Perch” built specifically for birders.
Date: April 14th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment - Above Belize City
Here’s kind of an unusual photo from the recent photos section on our Belize pictures page. This was taken from a Tropic Air flight from Placencia to Belize City. Those houses in the distance are the southern part of Belize City itself. The main part of the town where the Marine Terminal and Swing Bridge are located are just beyond and to the left. You don’t really realize when you are in the heart of Belize City that it’s a nub sticking out into the Caribbean, but when you look at satellite images you clearly …
Date: April 9th, 2008 |
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Random Belize Photo of the Moment
This photo of Caye Caulker is not from our main Belize photos section because it was taken by the writer of our Caribbeanlogue and Businesstravellogue.
The interesting thing about this photo is that it’s actually of what is basically the center of the village on Caye Caulker. On Front Street there are more businesses for tourists, but this is really the Caye Caulker equivalent of Times Square.
Before I came to Caye Caulker for the first time I looked at maps and formed a mental picture of what it would look like and I was totally wrong. …
Date: April 2nd, 2008 |
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