Seaside Cabanas Hotel is perched on the beach on the beautiful Island of Caye Caulker, just 22 miles from Belize city. The hotel architecture blends Belizean and Mexican styles with the use of thatch, local woods and bright colours. The interiors are cool and modern with artwork from Belize and other parts of the Caribbean. Overall the atmosphere is fun, tropical and uniquely Caye Caulker. The hotel is proud to offer one of the few freshwater swimming pools on the island, as well as 16 air-conditioned rooms, a two-story bar with beautiful thatched palapa roof, a tour and travel service and a gift shop.  All of this is just a shells throw away from the world’s second largest barrier reef.

Caye Caulker has a very quaint old-style Caribbean feel to it. Wooden piers run all along its beaches and many buildings are still constructed from brightly painted clapboard. The Caye was originally covered in coconut plantations and Lobster fishing is one of the main sources of income. Today, fishermen can still be seen bringing in their catch of the day. Deliciously prepared lobster is served in many of the island’s restaurants at a very reasonable price – don’t miss it. There are numerous ways to spend your lazy days on Caye Caulker. A popular hang-out is the ‘Split’ – a natural break in the island caused by wave action and enlarged by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. The swimming and sunbathing is great there and is a lively beach bar should you need some refreshment.

The beautiful barrier reef is only a 5 minute boat ride away from shore and there are numerous ways to enjoy the amazing underwater scenery. You can take a snorkel trip with a licensed tour guide who will point out all the amazing wildlife, including friendly stingrays and nurse sharks and many species of corals and tropical fish. If you are very lucky you may even spot a turtle or dolphin. Another popular trip takes you to watch rare and protected manatees in their natural habitat. Water sports are also popular there and you can have a go at sea kayaking, sailing and windsurfing. There are also excellent fishing locations around the Caye. Half or full day trips can be arranged where you could expect to land snapper, kingfish, barracuda and tarpon.

Paradise Bird-Bali
Scientific name: Paradisaea apoda. There are many types of birds of paradise and they are all remarkable. The Greater Bird of paradise is distributed to lowland and hill forests of southwest New Guinea and Aru Islands, Indonesia. There are 40 known species, which are known for its unique plumage in males. The biggest problem for birds is that many companies cut down rainforests and destroy their natural environment that has led to species extinction. 

Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus. It is a small multicolored, brightly colored parrot with bright red beak and colorful plumage. It inhabits rainforest, open forests and clearings, plains, mangrove forests, parks and orchards in Australia. It is very streaky and its coloration can recognize almost all colors of the rainbow. Lives to 20 years, both sexes look alike, with a blue head and belly, green wings, tail and back, and an orange/yellow breast. It reached 35 cm length and weigh up to 133 grams.

Golden Pheasant
Scientific name: Chrysolophus pictus. Golden Pheasant is another bird that attracts the eye with its exceptional colours. Confined to areas on introduction in England, Scotland and Wales, the Golden Pheasant is one of the most popular of all pheasant species kept in captivity. The male is very brightly coloured with a yellow crown and lower back, dark wings and upper neck, red underparts and long finely barred tail. When trying to impress the female, male pheasant orange spreads his cape and then the only you see are his eyes.
 

Kingfisher
Scientific name: Alcedo Atthis. About 35 cm long, a remarkable Kingfisher is another colorful example of the wonders of nature. The male kingfisher is colored in green, blue, gray, beige and bright red. These birds live in woodlands near lakes, rivers and coastlines and consume a wide range of prey as well as fish, usually caught by using their long beaks. There are roughly 90 species.

Toucan
The largest bill on a bird. This is the national bird of Belize. Reach 55 cm length, beak them one third of it. A toucan’s tongue is narrow and singularly frayed on each side, adding to its sensitivity as an organ of taste. It is usually brightly colored and useful for eating fruit, which is the toucan’s main diet. Although it looks big and heavy, in fact it is composed of hollow bone covered with. It nests in hollow trees, which often coexist in several birds.

Turtle Inn Resort is owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola and this is the one of his trio of Central American resorts. Other two are Blancaneaux Lodge in Belize and La Lancha in Guatemala and we already are talked about them. Turtle Inn hosts thatched-roofed cottages sit directly on the beach.

Palm trees, romatic beach huts, and crystal waters of the Ocean – it is an ideal destination for your relaxing vacation. All cabanas are individually designed with Mayan and Balinese influences and have artisan-crafted furnishings, a luxury private bath and a broad screened deck offers an amazing view over the sun-sparkled waters of the Caribbean.

Resort amenities include a gift store, a secluded spa center with relaxing treatments like Thai massage, and a Dive Shop offers on the lagoon a full range of tours and trips. Scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking and a wide range of PADI certification courses are also available.

Just off the balmy tropical coast of Belize lies one of the world’s greatest natural wonders – a 290 -km -long coral reef second only in extent to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Although it may be smaller, Belize boasts one significant advantage over its antipodean rival: ease of access. Photo by: perato

In places, the reef sits less than 300 m from the shore in calm, shallow, almost crystal-clear waters that make snorkeling the reef about as easy and laid-back an experience as you could wish for. The reef is biologically intense environment providing  homes to a vast assortment of creatures – from brightly coloured, almost fluorescent fish to giant mantra rays and marine turtles – who weave in and out of the strange, undulating coral structure. Photo by: seattle.transplant

Renting a kayak and snorkeling gear to undertake your own coral exploration will set you back just a few Belizean dollars. For other rewarding wildlife-watching opportunities, take an organize tour, which will take you to some of the reef’s more hard-to-reach spots. Photo by: funtoteach

The most renowned is probably the Hol Chan Reserve, named after a narrow gap in the reef cut hundreds of years ago by local Maya tribes as an access passage for their boats. Today it acts as a bottleneck for marine animals traveling between the waters inside the reef and an open seas beyond. It is particularly good place for spotting large fish, such as sharks, groupers and barracuda. Photo by: steveike

Photo by: steveike

Inspired by the beauty to this amazing country Francis Ford Coppola decided to share his love with anyone who wishes to visit the paradise of this little country. He has introduced two splendid resorts, designed to appeal to tourists who wish to experience the rainforests and discover a paradise where waterfalls spill into turquoise pools. Nestled in a region of pristine forests, Blancaneaux Lodge offers modern comforts in an entirely self-sustained jungle sanctuary.

Francis Ford Coppola had purchased an abandoned property in the remote highlands of western Cayo district, Belize. He opened Blancaneaux Lodge in 1993, without destroying the natural beauty in the process. The lodge cottages are private, with huge decks and mesh windows letting the night air circulate. There are Italian and Guatemalan restaurants on site that serve veggies from the lodge’s organic garden and offer a diverse wine list. This lodge is one of the most unique magical in Belize.

Blancaneaux Lodge is surrounded by many caves, trails, rivers, Mayan ruins, waterfalls. With experienced guides you can walk in the steps of the ancient Mayans ruins, explore pristine rivers in a canoe, explore the rainforest on horseback or mountain bike.

The property is a two and a half hours drive from Belize International Airport or a 35 minute charter flight. Price rates start at $400 per night for two adults and two kids.

In Mayan times, Ambergis Caye was a trading post supporting 10,000 people. At 40 km long and up to 1,5 km wide, it’s the largest of 200 cayes studding the coastline of Belize and lies off the southernmost tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. In fact the Mayans created the island by digging a channel to provide a trade route and border between Belize and Mexico. Then and now there’s only one major settlement San Pedro, built over Mayan ruins and home to the most of the population. Photo by: CastAShadow

Visitors flock to Ambergris Caye because the 310 km Belize Barrier Reef, second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, runs parallel to the island only 370 m from the beach. It’s one of the world’s greatest dive sites with every feature of caves, walls, columns, cathedrals and bridges that fantasy can dream up. Photo by: mathomas81

The island itself is a wildlife bonanza of white, red and black mangroves and buttonwood trees; littoral forest plant like gumbo, limbo, sapodilla, fig, coco plum and palmeto; egrets, orioles, kiskadees, cinnamon hummingbirds, blue herons and rose-throated becards among some 300 species; and forests full of deer, peccaries, raccoons and occasional jaguar. And the night life in San Pedro is excellent. Photo by: CastAShadow

When to go: November to June. Population: 8,000. How to get there: By air via Belize City to San Pedro, by boat (fast ferry) from Belize City to San Pedro. Photo by: Cosmojojo

The Great Blue Hole is geographical phenomenon situated 60 miles off the mainland of Belize. There are numerous blue holes around the world but none as stunning as this one. The whole is part of the Lighthouse Reef System and lies approximately 60 miles off the mainland out of Belize City. The centre of the hole is very large, almost perfect circular hole, approximately one quarter of mile (4km across). Inside the hole the water is 480 feet (145 m) deep.

The Blue Hole is a perfectly singular limestone sinkhole. The limestone formations which mould its walls become more intense the deeper one dives. Near the Blue Hole is one of the Belize’s largest protected areas Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, encompasses 10’000 acres of the atoll and 15 square miles of surrounding waters. The diameter of the circular reef area stretches for about 1’000 feet and ensure an ideal habitat for corals to attach and flourish.

Dive boats leave very early in the morning – most guides bring sweet buns for those who can’t find any place to eat in the early morning hours. Bring your own coffee, however.