Belize

Sarah Gayle
May 16, 2016
4 min read

Hi everyone! A while ago I talked about a few things I was waiting for, and how hard it is for me to wait when there is nothing more you can do to prepare...well all those things are finally happening and happening at the same time!

We have been busy to say the least and this train has a few more stops along the way before it gets to stop. Now, before I jump back to it, I am finally finding a moment to look back on the best part of the last few weeks, Belize!

This year tax day looked a little different in Houston, if you weren’t following our weather, we've had historical rains that caused major flooding for a lot of neighborhoods and caused schools to be closed for 2 days and for some the whole week back in April. Thankfully our home was not affected. Daniel's office and the school where I work were both closed because of the flooding, so we began our end of tax season celebrations a little early (netflix and cereal)! It also gave me more time to pack for our celebratory trip to Belize. We were a little anxious about our travel plans that week because of the weather but we were able to leave as planned once Wednesday came along.

Ya’ll, Belize is amazing. I don’t even know where to begin….but I will. I’ll share about our trip and then you’ll find more detailed info and recommendations below!

For anyone thinking about an exotic beach location I highly recommend a trip to this beautiful country and it’s islands. We flew direct from Houston Hobby airport to Belize city in 2 hours and then took a “puddle jumper” over to the island of San Pedro where we were staying. The travel experience was seamless. I often don’t count travel days as a part of vacation time as we are usually arriving late or too tired to enjoy our destination. This was not the case on this trip, we were able to enjoy the late afternoon on the beach, a rum punch at sunset, and cruise the island on our golf cart checking out all the local beach bars.

We stayed at the Grand Caribe in northern San Pedro. It was a great spot and I recommend staying there, especially if you are traveling with other couples. We stayed in a 2br condo I found on VRBO and it met all of our expectations and more. This is a resort with privately owned condos. The water and sand were beautiful and we even enjoyed snorkeling right under the dock. On our first day we saw a few sting rays, a manta ray, a poisonous lionfish and a few other “fancy aquarium” fish! The resort also happened to be the home of one of the best, more formal dining, restaurants, Rain. We never stayed for dinner, but did enjoy breakfast by the pool, a few cocktails, and appetizers -- all were very good.

After a mini bar hop through town and fun dinner at the local Truck Stop, a popular food truck hang out on our first night, we were ready to do what we came to do, absolutely nothing. There are quite a few activities available in Belize and we did go on a trip, but we really spent most of our vacation beach hopping and sunbathing. Our beach at the Grand Caribe was very quiet and private but did not have much natural shade. We enjoyed the ability to snorkel right off the dock and they also had paddleboards and kayaks for rent.

Our favorite beach was at the Victoria House. Daniel’s parents love to stay here when they come to San Pedro. There was no availability when we were booking, but I would also recommend this resort to anyone who is considering traveling to Belize. The beach was lined with palm trees and beach chairs. The beach and restaurant service are available to all visitors but the pool is reserved for guests. We spent a few hours here enjoying the beach and some lunch.

As I mentioned earlier, we were active and went on a one-day snorkeling trip that took us to the Hol-Chan reserve reef and Shark Ray Alley before stopping at Caye Caulker for a little sightseeing. One thing you must do, if anything, is go snorkeling in Belize, it was beautiful. We went with YOLO and it was a blast. We were on a brand new boat with a few other groups, about 20 of us in all. They provided a snack and lunch with an open bar the entire time on the boat. The Captain and the guides were great and very entertaining. We booked our trip through Kevin who met us at the doc before and after the trip and was very helpful throughout the whole process. It is hard to describe the experience of exploring the coral reef or watching the nurse sharks and rays that swarmed our boat but it is a must see!

San Pedro, Belize is definitely one of my new favorite places. Besides the beautiful location the locals are welcoming and friendly, just don’t leave anything in your golf cart and always remember your sunscreen!! ;)