After a morning session of birdwatching then a hearty breakfast, I hiked through jungle foliage to a waterfall. The next day we rappelled down the face of it from the summit, then went ziplining from a tower in the afternoon. Day Three onward was completely different though: we were kayaking through the warm waters of an atoll, spending our nights on a tropical island where the coral reefs were teeming with fish. This is something you can easily do yourself, picking from the many Belize jungle and beach packages available.
One thing that makes Belize such an attractive vacation destination is that it has so much to offer in a relatively small, but uncrowded space. You can be exploring the jungle one morning and then be sipping cocktails on a beach that afternoon. A real surf and turf holiday trip.
Distances between the Caribbean Sea, the jungle, and the mountains are measured in hours and traffic jams aren’t an issue here. Belize even has a short-hop flight system with two airlines operating prop plane trips between the various destinations.
Setting something like this up is far less daunting in Belize than you’d probably expect. We’ve got a few feature stories in our Belize luxury travel section where writers have done just that, including that jungle + islands adventure that I mentioned at the beginning. One article is about a family vacation that went from the high pine forest to the beach, then to a lush river and rainforest near Punta Gorda. Another started with a jungle adventure at Chaa Creek and ended up at a beach resort on Ambergris Caye.
In some countries it would be easiest to set this up with a tour company, which you can do here as well, but in Belize it’s often simpler to just tap into a package that is offered by a luxury hotel or resort.
Let Your Resorts Take Care of the Belize Package Planning
If you’re interested in combining a beach break with some adventure travel, jungle exploration, or visits to Mayan ruins, almost any of the lodges or resorts you connect with can set up the alternate part of the vacation with a partner. So you can book a Belize jungle and beach package with either partner and they’ll coordinate the other half so you can book it all in one place. They take care of the back end logistics and hand you off with connecting transportation.
The best beach area of mainland Belize is in Placencia. Chabil Mar Villas there offers a great Swimsuits and Hiking Boots package where they do the “surf” and The Lodge at Chaa Creek does the turf. You can see our review of Chaa Creek here, so go check that out to get a taste. That resort has 365 acres to explore and experienced guides to explain the flora and fauna you will be seeing.
After sweating through the jungle and maybe seeing some Mayan ruins, you make your way to Placencia and relax poolside, on the beach, or on the dock, cocktail in hand as the sun goes down. In both places there are activities and most meals are included, so once you’ve paid for the package you’ll have most of your vacation taken care of after airfare.
With a package like this, you get two vacations in one and this can be a great way to please a family or group that has different ideas of what the “ideal vacation” is like. Those who want to sit on the beach and do very little get their time in the sun, while those who get restless if they’re not exploring and sweating will have their perfect days as well. In both the jungle lodge and at the beach resort, you can chill out and take in the views or you can go get a workout. Either way you’ll eat well when it’s time to meet for dinner.
If you want a more romantic twist on this option, check out the Rainforest and Sea Belize Romance Package instead, with goodies included like spa treatments, dining under the stars, a sunset canoe trip with wine, and stays in a luxury villa in both lodges.
Other Belize Vacation Packages
If you’d rather explore Mayan history than head into the rainforest, Belize offers plenty of opportunities for that too. You can head out to various pyramid complexes on excursions, or you can split your nights up to be closer to one or two of them away from the coast.
Or how about mixing mainland beach time with some private island time? You could split your time between Placencia, with its laid-back village to explore on foot or bike, and a small island 17 miles offshore where you can walk off the beach and go snorkeling, then rest up in a hammock. There’s a long-standing partnership between Chabil Mar and Ray Caye Resort, so you can book in one place and get a double dose of sand and sea, including by the world’s second-longest coral reef. Check out the details here.
The options we’re highlighting here are just examples, of course, and if you have your heart set on visiting Ambergris Caye for some reason, you can set up similar packages with the top luxury resorts there as well. The beaches there aren’t as nice as the ones in Placencia, but it is easier to set up scuba diving excursions from there if that’s your main priority since the reef is so close. Either way though, you’ll have to get from the international airport to your destination, so factor that into your plans.
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