Belize 14 day vacation

Planet

Belize is a magical country that is home to a very sensitive environment that covers pristine jungle and the worlds second largest barrier reef. Whilst protecting the environment is always a priority for us, a country like Belize really drives you to do better. As with all of the countries we work in, we only choose promote hotels that have active sustainability policies. By traveling with us you will be staying in lodges that not only help you have an amazing vacation but that also have specific measures in place to protect the environment yo are staying in.

Mountain Pine Ridge: The lodge here is first and foremost carbon neutral. 70% coming from hydro power and 30% coming from solar. Knowing that they are able to receive the purest form of spring-fed water and the privilege that come with that hat they have installed low-flow shower and toilet flush system that reduces the water consumption with additional water preservation measures taking place in the laundry and kitchen.

The lodge runs their own organic farm that produces the vegetables, meat and dairy products used by the lodge, massively reducing the reliance on import food to this remote location. Compost is used by the lodge as a way of reducing the waste and returning the organic matter to the ground to help with the next set of crops.

Big Falls. Situated in a stunning private reserve the lodge here plays a huge role in the protection of the local dry forests. The area around the lodge has become incredibly popular for farming over the last 2 decades, meaning the land and forest of the area have come under increasing pressure. The reserve at this lodge plays a vital rolls for local wildlife and bird habitats as well as providing a trees required to limit erosion into the Rio Grande that runs through the property.

Ixcacao Choclate Farm: This fascinating day trip offers a real insight into the way local communities look to create an industry whilst protecting the land that they call home. A part of this chocolate experience is learning about cacaos importance to conservation as it is one of the only crops that actually requires the cover that the forest provides, meaning there is no requirement of the slash and burn method to grow the crops.

Lamanai: The lodge we work with is situated in the north west of the country in an area with a mix of sensitive forests and wetlands. Whilst they use environmentally friendly practices in the lodge itself it is their housing of the Lamanai Field Research Center (LFRC), a non-profit Belizean organization that promoting research, education, and environmental awareness in the area and country as a whole, that makes their conservation efforts so important to the area. Tourists play a major role in LFRC projects by assisting in areas such as the collection of behavioral data on the black howler monkey, assessing crocodile nest sites, or assisting with the archaeological project. This interactive approach provides the visitors with the opportunity to experience field research, explore tropical ecology, and contribute to the conservation of the natural resources.

The Barrier reef in Belize is probably the countries greatest natural resource and they know it. Belize stringently protects the barrier reef as it wants to avoid the degradation it sees happening on areas such as the great barrier reef. For that reason they are very strict with permits and allowances for guides and activity providers, even though it is very easy to use uncertified operators for day trips. We work hard with our local partners to make sure all day trips and activities onto the reef are only done with certified guides and operators that follow all the rules required by the government.

People

In all of our trips in Belize we work with locally owned and run hotels and lodges and utilize local guides in the different areas of this trip. This means that you are supporting a number of guides and locally owned service providers throughout Belize. All of the accommodation we use on this itinerary actively employs form the local communities for both staff and guide providing education and training for further job progressions.

Specific to the different Areas:
In Hopkings you will experience a day with the local Garifuna Community. They will guide you tough all aspects of their culture from cooking to clothing and drumming. Whilst this makes for an amazing experience it also provides the chance for the community to promote their culture and the financial benefit the tour creates to the community.

At Big Falls you will have two further community experiences. One is to promote local Mayan traditions with a local family. They will take you though the traditions and culture of the Mayans again giving them the chance to preserve their culture whilst providing and income. The second is to the Ixcacao Chocolate farm that whilst having a huge contribution to local conservation efforts also provides a lasting financial benefit for the family and staff from the local Mayan community.

In the Mountain Pine Ridge area the lodge we work with encourages interaction with the local community, especially as they are in a fairly remote area. They actively seek out employees from the local communities as well as running summer camps for local kids to make sure they feel the lodge is a part of their community. On top of this they lodges works with 4 community development charities as well as promoting ‘Pack for a Purpose’ to all of their guests.

We make sure that all the tours that we run receive the exact and required amount that the community proving the experience has asked for. We feel Belize is unique with the quantity of cultures and communities within its borders making the preservation, promotion and financial gain created by including these tours in our trips of utmost importance. For this reason we have included all of them in the itinerary instead off keeping them as a suggestion for what you could do on a free day.