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Belize Solo Trip – Amazing Locals
- By Michael Lakus
- Read Time: 8min
Belize to Be
In the middle of a job switch and house hunting, I figured going to Belize for 5 days would be a great idea to escape some reality and responsibility. Only time will tell if it was a good decision, but so far I enjoyed it thoroughly!
My Belize trip ended up being very different from what I had intended or expected. However, I would not have had it any other way. During the few days I was there, the Airbnb host and her relatives treated me as family and I spent most of my time touring around Belize with them. The experience made the trip feel personally curated and gave me a chance to deep dive into many daily aspects of Belize and Belizean life.
Logisticals
Being a very last minute trip, I booked only the bare essentials: a RT flight and accommodations. Keep in mind, flights are somewhat limited for certain timeframes. The itinerary for the time in Belize was populated live-time with much help from the host and her family. The big ticket items were booking a solo flight over the Great Blue Hole, and a tour / transportation of Lamanai Mayan ruins which cost a premium due to severely inflated gas prices.
Things to be aware of – at the time of travelling, Belize did not have rideshare services, so unless you are renting a car, the other options are a taxi (green license plates) or public transport (takes a while). In my case, I was lucky enough to have the Airbnb host and her brother able to drive most places.
Travel Logistics
United flight out was covered by the one of many Covid airline credits. Frontier on the return was $122. Airbnb totals were $300. Tours amounted to about $350. With a few additional transport fees, core total was right around $800.
Have cash on hand!
US dollars work fine, but just have cash. ATMs have some steep fees and unless you're going to only touristy spots, many places do not take card.
Settling In and Meeting the Airbnb Family
Upon arrival, I took a taxi into Belize City, walked around a bit and got some Chinese food (the Chinese run a monopoly here!). Belize City was very much a shanty town. I’d expect most travelers to use it as a passthrough on their way to the islands or San Ignacio further inland. But not me, because I booked things last minute and didn’t know what to expect!
Nevertheless, Belize City it was, and I’m glad I did stay there. I’ve already mentioned the Airbnb host and her family, but I can’t stress how much of a difference they made. Once at their place, I met a lot of their family and we drove through the city a little to get a lay of the land. The first full day was essentially spent hanging out with them, drinking the local rum, shooting airsoft guns, playing basketball… and just talking and getting to know them more.
It was through this that allowed me to plan out my vacation and get the host’s brother and friend (dubbed the Belizean boys) involved as part of it. I don’t always get to interact with the Airbnb hosts, but I was all about it this time!
The Great Blue Hole
From time to time, I’d see pictures of the Great Blue Hole atoll in Belize. It was always something that fascinated me and became somewhat of a bucket list item. So today was the day to check that off in grandiose fashion.
For this flight, I was the only passenger, so of course I asked to sit copilot in the Cessna. That day was a bit windy and overcast, and I was worried about the cloud coverage out over the water. Nevertheless, we took off from the municipal airport on the 1 hour flight. The flight out took us over a few locations, including the Drowned Cays, Turneffe Atoll and Lighthouse Reef before reaching the final destination. Once there, the pilot performed several turns around the Great Blue Hole, and a low altitude fly-over. The water, reefs and atolls were amazing! Seeing it from the air is a completely different experience. I can only imagine how different it must be diving the Great Blue Hole as well.
Following the flight, the weather was improving, so I met up with the Belizean boys to head out to the island, Caye Caulker, for drinks, relaxation and casual gainers.
Caye Caulker
Getting to Caye Caulker was easy enough. The water taxi was walking distance from the Airbnb. According to the Belizean boys, the island is considered the less-visited and less-touristy than somewhere like San Pedro. The nice part about Caye Caulker is it is completely walkable, unlike some other islands where a golf cart is a must. The main attraction here was the Lazy Lizard, found at the “split” of the island.
The Lazy Lizard was no doubt the place to be. We had plenty fun drinking the Lizard Juice, people watching and rippin on some locals with banter. The Belizean boys pointed out one guy, who apparently, was on an American reality TV show ’90 Day Fiancé’ but screwed it up and his cousin stepped in haha. Ridiculous, but you can’t help but laugh.
Bring sunscreen!
I was hard-pressed to find any at the stores in Belize City, but Caye Caulker may of had some at 3x the price.
After a Lizard Juice and Panty Ripper put to sleep, I had myself sufficient liquid courage to throw some wicked flips off the platform. It felt awesome finally doing flips again. Watch the YouTube video – gainer inbound!
Lamanai - Mayan Ruins
Before Belize, I had been to Mexico and had a chance to walk the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza. My one reservation was not being able to walk up the actual steps of any temple. Well, that all changed when I went to Lamanai in Belize. The only problem was actually booking a tour! Three bookings were cancelled due to minimum requirements not being met, so I had to call in the support.
I’m not sure what they did, but the Belizean boys helped me get a tour at the local rate, and we all took a boat ride down the river to the Lamanai Reserve. Though not as large or excavated as Chichen Itza, who cares! I got to walk up those damn steps on all the temples and perch up top like a Mayan ruler.
Belize Goodbyes
On the final day, the Airbnb family invited me into the main house for breakfast while we chatted over how my trip was and thanking them for truly going above and beyond. I then met up with the host and the Belizean boys at their other house near the airport for one final panty ripper and farewells.
I know these posts don’t get too far into the details on things, but there were so many conversations about life in Belize and what aspirations the host and her family had. We talked at length about the government, education, corruption, hospitals and so much more. For example, they explained their view why some Belizean families are very big and are stuck in a cycle of poverty. Or how suing is not really an option, but rather the incident was probably your fault. Belizeans grow up tough – there is no entitlement.
Although some parts of this post may seem rough, I enjoyed my time in Belize very much. Being able to see the Great Blue Hole from the air and the Mayan ruins up close and personal were fantastic. Moreover, being able to share the time with the host and her family was more than I could ask for.
-ML
Recap of Places
Check out the MAP for links!
- Great Blue Hole – famous atoll in Lighthouse reef
- Caye Caulker – more relaxed and smaller party island
- Lamanai – Mayan temples
- Chon Saan Palace – where Belizeans get Chinese food
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Michael Lakus
IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.
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