Belize Babymoon: Guide to a Relaxing & Adventurous Getaway
Well, we’ve officially embarked on the greatest journey we’ll ever take together…the adventure of parenthood. We can’t wait to welcome a baby girl to our family this June!
So what does this mean for our travels? We hope to foster a sense of adventure and curiosity in our kids, and hopefully we get the opportunity to travel just as much as we do now and experience as much as we always have in each destination. Just expect a few more tips on traveling with lil babes in tow!
That said, it would be unlike us not to take the opportunity for a babymoon before lil girl makes her debut. We never had the chance to take a real honeymoon after our Covid-year wedding, so a getaway with just the two of us felt so needed.
We like to pack as many cultural experiences as we can into our travels, but at the same time, being six months pregnant, we wanted this trip to feel relaxing and a bit luxurious. After tons of research, we found Belize to be the perfect fit. It’s a direct flight from Denver that provides plenty of opportunity to lounge by the beach or pool, and at the same time sailing, snorkeling, hiking, swimming and cultural adventures.
Planning a babymoon? Congratulations! Here’s our guide to the perfect Belize babymoon including both adventure and relaxation in the lap of luxury. This itinerary and tips are applicable to any Belize trip, babymoon or not! For a soundtrack to accompany your adventures, check out our favorite Caribbean beach playlist.
Use the table of contents below to jump around and dive into our one-week Belize itinerary!
BEST TIME TO GO TO BELIZE
The best time to visit Belize is during dry season from January to May. We went for a week in early March. It happened to be pretty windy while we were there, but we got beautiful sunny days in the mid 80s Fahrenheit the entire time. We felt it was perfect timing since it was hot but not too hot yet, and we avoided the rain.
GETTING TO AND AROUND BELIZE
Flying to Belize City
We’re based in Denver, and Southwest offers direct flights from here to Belize City, about a four-hour trip. Super easy and convenient for a six month preggers mama!
Getting from Belize City to Ambergris Caye
We split our trip into two halves: four nights on Ambergris Caye and three nights on the western side of the country in San Ignacio, Cayo District.
From Belize City, you have two options to get to San Pedro, the main town on Ambergris Caye.
Fly: There are over 20 flights per day from Belize City to San Pedro on airlines like Tropic Air and Maya Island Air. The flight is only 15 minutes long, but it’s a beauty! It’s a Belize travel experience in and of itself to see an aerial view of the cayes (check out our Instagram story highlights for footage!). Our flights were $145 round trip which we found pricey for 30 total minutes in flight, but it was totally worth it to transfer directly from our international flight to the puddle jumper.
Since each flight only holds about 10 people, it’s recommended to book in advance, but with so many flights per day, it’s relatively easy to change your booking if something were to happen with your international flight and you arrived late. During booking, they’ll try to upsell you on seats that are next to one another, which we booked for $5 each, only to find out that that really doesn’t make sense on a 10-person plane!
Ferry: The ferry runs from Belize City to San Pedro roughly five times a day. It’s about a 25 minute drive from the airport to the ferry port, and from there the ferry ride is 90 minutes long. Current rates are around $50 USD round trip.
Views from the quick and beautiful flight from Belize City to Ambergris Caye.
Driving from Belize City to San Ignacio
After our time in Ambergris Caye, we took the same puddle jumper flight back to Belize City, where we hopped in a rental car to head over to San Ignacio.
Several of the standard rental car companies are available at Belize City’s Philip Goldson International Airport, including Budget, Hertz, and Alamo. After our research, we ended up choosing a local company, Crystal Auto Rental, which has great reviews. We got a Nissan Rogue with all-wheel drive which served us well the entire trip. One thing to note is that Crystal requires a large deposit upfront that they then refund after the car is examined when you return it. They say the refund should happen within five business days, which is already longer than most rental companies that do the end of trip examination on the spot, but we had to call in to find out why our refund was taking longer. It all turned out well but something to note!
We were impressed by how easy the 2-hour drive was from Belize City to San Ignacio. It’s a well-paved 2-lane highway the entire way, but keep in mind that even though it’s a highway, it passes right through tons of small towns with speed bumps so you can’t exactly drive fast, which might be trickier to see if you were driving at night.
Some other considerations when renting a car in Belize:
Rental insurance: Before purchasing insurance through the rental company, check your credit card to see what kind of coverage you have. We have the Chase Sapphire Reserve which offers a lot of travel benefits including auto rental coverage, so we didn’t elect any additional insurance through Crystal.
All-wheel / 4-wheel drive: Some of the popular cultural sites in Belize’s Cayo District, like Caracol Mayan ruins, are better served by a 4WD vehicle, although we think all-wheel would be fine too.
Guatemala border crossing: Crystal Auto rental is one of the only rental companies that allows you to cross the border into Guatemala if you want to visit Tikal Mayan archaeological site on your own (rather than with a tour group). Check out the “Drive to Tikal” section of their site for instructions. We visited Tikal with a tour group (see the “What to Do in Belize” section for more!) and think it would have been totally doable on our own, but the biggest thing to note is that the car rental company insurance won’t cover you outside of Belize — you’d have to check if you’re covered via your credit card travel benefits should you cross into another country.
BELIZE BUDGET BREAKDOWN
At the time of this post, 1 USD = 2.04 Belize dollars, which makes conversion really easy.
That said, we were surprised to find that accommodations, food, and drinks in Belize were pretty similar to US prices, even at the more local spots, making Belize one of the most expensive countries to visit in Central America.
This babymoon was a splurge for us so we weren’t necessarily holding back on the budget. Here’s how our costs broke down for an 8-day Belize trip with two people.
Transportation to and from Denver airport: $77
Round trip flights from Denver to Belize: $535
Round trip flights from Belize City to San Pedro: $290
4 nights at Victoria House San Pedro: $1690
Food and activities at Victoria House (including golf cart rental and day of sailing / snorkeling): $500
3 nights at Chaa Creek San Ignacio: $1262
Food and activities at Chaa Creek (including Tikal visit and required Covid tests): $1135
Other miscellaneous food and drink: $200
8-day total: $5,689
WHERE TO STAY IN BELIZE
Wanting a special babymoon, we compared almost every accommodation option in Ambergris Caye and San Ignacio before we booked. We chose some more luxurious options than we normally do on our travels, but Belize offers accommodations to fit every budget. Here’s what we chose for our relaxing babymoon.
Victoria House Resort and Spa
Ambergris Caye, 22 Coconut Dr, San Pedro, Belize | Website
Victoria House is about a ten minute drive down the coast from San Pedro, the main town on Ambergris Caye. After careful comparison, we determined it was the nicest place to stay on the island — and after our stay we feel confirmed!
The grounds are beautiful — with a pristine, white sandy beach (manmade, more on that later), towering palms, beachside pools and dining, nice rooms, a dock where you can embark on various ocean adventures, and some of the best service we’ve experienced.
We stayed in a Palmetto room for about $420 / night, which as mentioned is more than we’re used to spending in the past, but we felt so happy to have chosen Victoria House for this special stay. It even felt nice to be located outside of the main downtown area, which was just a short golf cart ride away. We enjoyed daily breakfast by the pool, games like ladder ball and cornhole on the beach in the evenings while watching the sunset, and dinner at the onsite restaurant on one of the nights.
Living that babymoon life. View from our balcony at Victoria House.
The Lodge at Chaa Creek
San Ignacio, Chaa Creek Road, Belize | Website
For the second part of our trip on the western side of Belize, we again painstakingly compared almost every lodging option in the area before we decided on Chaa Creek, and again we were so happy with our decision.
The Lodge at Chaa Creek is located about a 20 minute drive outside of the town of San Ignacio. You’ll exit the highway and head up a bumpy dirt road for the final stretch, making you feel like you’re really escaping toward a more rugged experience.
The Lodge at Chaa Creek is made up of a variety of villas and suites on lush, grassy, palm-studded grounds complete with toucans and howler monkeys. Upon arrival, the reception desk warned us about hearing “roaring” from the monkeys at night. Luckily we didn’t hear them while trying to sleep, but we did get to hear them during the day and they truly sound like velociraptors!
We stayed in one of the “cottage collection” rooms which are on the less-luxurious end compared to the other villas, keeping in mind that the whole place is a luxury resort. Our room was part of a series of thatch-roofed cottages with private front porches and both indoor and outdoor huge stone showers so you can take your pick! It did not have air conditioning (only huge ceiling fans), which was okay for March but would definitely get uncomfortable later in the year.
Chaa Creek has delicious food and drinks onsite at their jungly, open-air restaurant and bar, tons of activity packages that pick up and drop off directly from the resort, and the best part…that infinity pool!
Infinity pool and mocktail life at The Lodge at Chaa Creek.
WHERE TO EAT & DRINK IN BELIZE
Belizean food reflects all of Belize’s cultural influences, from Mayan and Mestizo specialties like fresh corn tortillas, tamales, and conchita pibil (slow-roasted pork) to Kriol cuisine like fry jacks and johnny cakes, curries, and the ever-popular rice and beans.
You’ll also find plenty of fresh seafood, including ceviche, conch, shrimp, lobster when it’s in season (June - February), and all sorts of fresh-caught fish.
Here’s where we enjoyed eating, and where we would have gone if we had more time.
Ambergris Caye
Caramba Restaurant & Bar
W2CQ+993, San Pedro, Belize | Website
This place was so bomb! We were a little skeptical when we found it packed with tourists with a line out the door for dinner, but the food was the best we had in Belize. At Caramba, you select your meal from a buffet of fresh, raw seafood on ice outside the restaurant and bring your plate of seafood back to your table. Then, you select your cooking style for each item — we recommend going with whatever the server recommends because that’s what we did and it was amazing. We got fried hogfish, grilled octopus in garlic sauce, Cajun grilled shrimp, crab claws, and sides. Everything was delicious!
The seafood spread at Caramba
Palapa & Beachside Bars
Over-water, in-water, and beachside bars are the place to be on Ambergris Caye. There are no shortage of these, from palapa (open-air, thatched-roof) mainstays in the main part of town, to the bars on Secret Beach, and everything along the road in between. In town, one of our favorite bars was Wayos. We went during the day so it was super quiet, but the bartender, Tua, was so friendly and kept dropping gems of wisdom that we loved. We also went to Sandy Toes in the main part of town in the later evening hours and loved it! They had a live reggae band that was actually super good, and we enjoyed the mix of locals and tourists of all types. In general, we found that in Belize local and tourist hangouts aren’t as separate as they are in many tourist destinations around the world which was a refreshing difference.
At Secret Beach, we went to Happy Island Beach Bar & Grill, where we lounged under the shade of some palms and enjoyed delicious cocktails (mocktail for me), ceviche, and fish tacos.
And on the route from Secret Beach back to town, we couldn’t help but stop at 303 Belize when we saw the familiar Colorado area code on the map. As its name indicates, it’s a Colorado-themed palapa bar where we grabbed drinks, and it looked like it had a pretty good food menu too.
303 Belize palapa bar.
Palmilla Restaurant at Victoria House
Ambergris Caye, 22 Coconut Dr, San Pedro, Belize | Website
We had to try dinner at our own hotel, and we weren’t disappointed! Similar to some of the other restaurants we encountered on Ambergris Caye, Palmilla goes for a white tablecloth vibe which tends to be a turn-off for us because we’re always looking for more local, unpretentious options. However, we enjoyed dining outside by the pool, and the food was delicious. I was feeling pasta and got the pappardelle carbonara, and Ray got the stone crab. But the best part was the dessert. It was getting windy out so we ordered dessert back to our room, and enjoyed after-dinner tea and molten chocolate cake with caramelized bananas. Divine!
Estel’s Dine By The Sea
W29Q+H64, Beachfront, Buccaneer St, San Pedro, Belize | Website
We stopped at beachside breakfast mainstay Estel’s right before our flight back over to Belize City, which was super convenient because it’s only about a 5 minute walk from the airport, where you can practically walk up and right on to your plane. We had breakfast burritos and finally tried fry jacks, both with the ever-present Marie Sharp’s habanero sauce (which we immediately ordered in large bottle sizes when we got home)! Seriously, if you haven’t tried Marie’s yet, get you some of this hot sauce! It’s on every table in Belize, packs quite the kick, but makes every bite more delicious when used in small doses.
If we had more time…
Elvi’s Kitchen
W29Q+W2P, Pescador Dr, San Pedro, Belize | Website
Elvi’s is definitely one of the top-rated spots in San Pedro and the menu and atmosphere look great (we rode our golf cart by it several times). If we went back, this one would be on our list!
Not recommended…
The Hidden Treasure Restaurant & Lounge
2715 flamboyant St San Pedro Ambergris Caye, Belize
We actually can’t recommend this one. It’s a nice restaurant about a 10-minute walk from Victoria House that was recommended across tons of different sources. Since we arrived at our hotel after sunset on our first night in San Pedro, we decided to stay close by and made the quick walk over. We were a little surprised by the white tablecloth vibes, and felt like they were going for a more Americanized dining experience catering to older tourists, or just tourists in general. We got some seafood dishes that were decent, but we weren’t super impressed for the upscale US prices.
El Fogon
#2 trigger fish street, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize
On our third night in Ambergris Caye, we had a choice between two of the most popular restaurants in town, Elvi’s Kitchen and El Fogon. Elvi’s menu seemed more similar to the seafood entrees we’d been enjoying for every meal and it also felt more touristy, while El Fogon is known for “old Belizean firewood-style cooking” which sounded more unique and local so we went with that. We ended up getting the creole-style meals and curries there, which were just okay. The ambiance was also a little strange as we sat in an outdoor area with tarp-style walls right next to the main street. Ray actually ended up having food poisoning the following day, and we can’t figure out if it was from his food or drinks at El Fogon or not, but for several reasons, El Fogon wasn’t our fave. We would definitely try it again and maybe get the grilled entrees or “citric specials” on their menu so we could really try the firewood-style cooking.
San Ignacio
Since we stayed at a beautiful resort 20 minutes outside of San Ignacio and up a bumpy dirt road, it was more convenient to eat most of our meals there at the onsite restaurant. Breakfast was included in our booking, and we enjoyed coffee, fresh fruit and some especially delicious Mayan-style scrambled eggs and banana pancakes on the daily. For dinner, the restaurant offered three-course meals which we always ordered and regretted it because we got too full by the time the main course came…but that never seemed to stop us from enjoying the dessert.
If we had more time…
We only ate in the actual town of San Ignacio once, which was lunch at Ko-Ox Han Nah. If we had more time, we would have tried other local spots like Cenaida’s and Pop’s.
WHAT TO DO IN BELIZE
Before heading to Belize, we pictured it as a beach lounging and scuba destination, both of which aren’t really our thing. But upon further research, we found out Belize offers so much more in terms of diverse adventure and cultural experiences, making it perfect for our babymoon. Here’s everything we got up to!
Ambergris Caye
The first half of our trip was spent in Belize’s most popular tourist destination, Ambergris Caye, where we got to soak up all the sun and surf vibes.
Beach and Pool Lounging
I know I said this isn’t our favorite activity so I’ll cover it first. Belize’s northern cayes actually aren’t known for pristine, sandy beaches because much of the shoreline is lined with mangrove forest, an important part of Belize’s ecosystem. The beaches on the west side of Ambergris Caye where San Pedro is aren’t good for swimming, but Secret Beach is (see below!) That said, Victoria House has a beautiful, pristine, man-made beach with white sand and palm trees that’s hand raked multiple times a day to preserve its perfection. On the one day where Ray had food poisoning, I was forced to relax on the beach and read all day, which partly drove me crazy to sit still for that long instead of exploring, but was probably a much-needed excuse for a little r&r in a truly gorgeous spot.
If beaching is your motivation, Placencia further south is known for its beautiful beaches!
The extra pristine beach at Victoria House
Golf Cart to Secret Beach
Ambergris Caye is about 25 miles long and only 1 mile wide. The most popular way to get around the island is by golf cart. There are very few cars, and most of them are taxis. You can rent a golf cart for the day from most of the hotels or other rental companies around town and use it to bop around to different bars and parts of the island. One of the most popular drives is from San Pedro town to Secret Beach. It’s about a 45 minute drive on a bumpy dirt road most of the way, which made this preggers lady feel like I immediately had to pee every time we started driving, but it was so much fun!
Then there’s Secret Beach. “Secret” isn’t the most accurate term because it’s a super popular spot lined with beachside bars where tourists and locals alike can spend the day hanging out, but the exciting part is that compared to the man made beaches on the east side of Ambergris, it’s an actual sandy beach where you can wade into the ocean and swim.
Be be rollin’
Scuba Diving
With the second largest barrier reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef, Belize is a world-class scuba diving destination, and Ambergris Caye is a great place to embark to many of the top scuba sites, including The Blue Hole and Hol Chan Marine Reserve. You can dive all year round in Belize but the best time for diving is between April and June. This is also when whale sharks arrive in Placencia in the south! Our hotel, Victoria House, had its own dive shop where you could book and embark on dive adventures, and there are tons of other dive shops to choose from in town.
Snorkeling
We’re not big scuba divers…especially while pregnant…so we stuck to the snorkeling. We booked a sailing and snorkeling excursion from our hotel, and got to snorkel at Hol Chan Marine Reserve and swim with sharks at Shark Alley. It was a very guided snorkeling experience compared to many we’ve done in the past — no freedom to explore around on your own and the guides kind of treat everyone like they’ve never snorkeled before — but that said we were able to see a lot by having a guide with us the whole time, from sea turtles to rays, eels, and sharks.
Sailing and Exploring Other Cayes
On our sailing adventure we got to stop for a couple hours at Caye Caulker, a smaller, more chill island with boho vibes. The must-stop destination at Caye Caulker is The Lazy Lizard, a bar on The Split (the section of the island that was split in half by a hurricane, making a perfect swimming area) with a pool, diving board, and strong rum punches. After watching some of the high dive antics at The Lazy Lizard, we walked around Caye Caulker and grabbed lunch at a beachside restaurant. We definitely recommend spending some time on Caye Caulker if you have the chance!
You can also book a sunset sail for a relaxing and romantic way to get out on the water.
Our sailing and snorkeling adventures on Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker
The Great Blue Hole Helicopter Tours
The best way to see Belize’s Great Blue Hole is from above, so if you’re feeling extra fancy, helicopter tours are available in the area. Unless you’re really wanting that aerial view or planning a special proposal or something, we wouldn’t recommend this because the flight from Belize City to Ambergris Caye is already a beautiful enough view!
San Ignacio
After living the island life for four days, we picked up our rental car and drove over to the Cayo district on the west side of Belize, which has more of a jungle vibe. We definitely enjoyed spending time at our beautiful resort’s infinity pool, but here’s what else the San Ignacio area has to offer.
Tikal Mayan Archaeological Site
Tikal, which is located just over the Guatemala border, was actually my biggest reason behind visiting the western side of Belize, and it almost didn’t happen because the border had been closed due to COVID. We lucked out and it opened up right before our stay!
Tikal was one of the largest urban centers of the ancient Mayan civilization, and reached its peak between 200 to 900 AD.
We booked a day tour through our resort, and also lucked out because only one other couple was on the tour that day, and our tour guides were the sweetest, most fun local Guatemalan couple ever! The tour left the resort around 7am, made the 2-hour drive over to Tikal, and we spent a couple hours touring the site, climbing a couple of the tallest ancient monuments, and enjoying the beautiful views and amazing history before having lunch and driving back. One of the highlights of our trip for sure!
Some true Indiana Jones shit in Tikal
Other Mayan Historic Sites — Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech and More
Belize’s Cayo District boasts many other stunning Mayan archaeological sites that don’t require crossing over into Guatemala. We got our fill with Tikal, but if you’re near San Ignacio, you should definitely consider visiting some of the others like Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, and more. You can book tours through your resort, but if you have a rental car we think these would be great to visit on your own without the high tour prices.
Big Rock Falls and Rio On Pools
Next up are a couple popular waterfalls with swimming holes in the area. We went to Big Rock Falls which was about an hour drive from the resort, only because it involved a lot of dirt road driving. From the parking lot, you walk a short hiking path and descend several flights of steep steps down to the falls. We were blown away! We were almost the only ones there at midday, the waterfalls are actually pretty big and beautiful, and at their base are a series of swimming pools with water that’s the perfect temperature for an afternoon dip. We enjoyed our time at the falls way more than we even expected!
The Rio On Pools look like a similar vibe, and are another 25 minutes into the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. We didn’t go because we felt we’d gotten the most out of Big Rock, but either one looks like it would make for a wonderful time of swimming and lounging. We only wished we’d brought a picnic!
Big Rock Falls
Hiking, Kayaking, Horseback Riding
Since The Lodge at Chaa Creek is on a creek (duh) and has its own horse stables, there were tons of other activities available onsite, including kayaking down the creek all the way to San Ignacio, and booking horseback riding adventures.
The area was also surrounded by hiking trails. Some of the most popular hiking areas in the Cayo District include Guanacaste National Park, — which boasts more gentle trails and easy accessibility — Blue Hole National Park where you can hike to and swim in a cenote, and Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve where we went to Big Rock Falls, but 1000 Foot Falls is another popular hike there.
IS ZIKA VIRUS STILL A THREAT IN BELIZE?
Immediately after booking our flights to Belize, I remembered that Zika virus was once a thing and had a momentary freakout, going down a rabbit hole of research to figure out if it was safe for me to go. I’m obviously not a medical professional so I won’t give any advice on whether you should go or not, but these are the facts I learned that made me totally okay with the trip:
While Zika was present in Belize at one point, the virus peaked in 2016, and after that the case rates dropped drastically with the latest data showing very low numbers.
The resorts in Belize did extensive measures to mitigate the types of mosquitoes that cause Zika virus, which greatly contributed to the drop off in cases.
Our doctor confirmed this data. The OB practice she’s part of has not seen a single Zika case come through their doors.
We went to Belize in March during dry season, when mosquitoes are much less prevalent. I got two mosquito bites the entire time we were there which I consider outstanding for a week-long trip to a tropical location.
If you’re pregnant or you plan to become pregnant in the next few years, please do your own research on Zika before travel, but ultimately this research and speaking with our doctor made us feel more than comfortable traveling to Belize for our babymoon!
WHAT TO PACK FOR YOUR BELIZE BABYMOON
First things first, I had to figure out my maternity swimsuit vibe. I ended up getting two: a one-piece black halter with a low back that felt sleek and sexy with the bump, and a high-waisted two-piece with a ruffled top (similar here).
Next-up, we stocked up on travel-size reef friendly sunscreen and bug spray, even though like I mentioned above we barely saw any mosquitoes during dry season.
Other beach staples: I’ve been loving these retro sunnies, and the biggest thing I wish I brought but didn’t was a cute beach hat for all of our breakfasts by the pool. I’m loving this style!
Well, that’s a wrap on our beautiful Belize babymoon! It took me so long to write this that at the time of this post, I’ve now progressed from 24 weeks pregnant when we took our babymoon to 34 weeks pregnant, with baby girl on her way in just over a month if all goes according to plan. We keep bringing up how fun Belize was, how much it surprised us in terms of diverse experiences it offers, and how lucky we feel that we got to have that adventure with baby girl in tow in the belly. She’s already swam with sharks, stepped foot in three countries, and climbed ancient Mayan monuments and she’s not even born yet. We can’t wait for all the adventures we’ll introduce her to when she’s here with us!
Belize questions? Babymoon questions? Belize tips of your own? Comment here or on our latest IG post.
Happy travels!
