Highlights of Belize vacation, tailor made

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.

San Ignacio: Here you will stay in a wonderful eco-lodge that focuses on making sure they and their local community live and grow in balance with the local environment. The gardens and grounds are of great importance to the lodge. Over 70% of the property is preserved rain forest habitat with walking trails. Within the gardens of the other 30% there is zero use of synthetic pesticides herbicides or fertilizers. This is all in-line with their organic farm that produces fruit and vegetables for the lodge, it’s guests and for the local communities.

All employees and tour guides of the lodge are trained in ecological and sustainability principles and the lodge runs a program that brings local school children to teach them about he importance of their organic farming principles, learning about growing local instead of importing food as well as passing on their ancient knowledge of the different medicinal uses found within the forest.

In Tikal and Yaxha: Our local guides in the main Mayan citadels of Tikal and Yaxha make sure you see the various temples and ruins in different and varying routes to other travelers. This is not just to give you a better viewing experience but it is also a way to minimize the damage caused to the local environment by crowds traveling along the same routes.

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.

In San Ignacio the lodge we work with makes sure to demonstrate and promote the cultural diversity of Belize. They will hire in members of the coastal Garifuna Communities to teach guests all about their unique culture. They will introduce guests to 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. You will also meet local Mayan families to learn the local Mayan traditions that also revolve around music and eating. There is a lot of eating in Belize!

Hanna Stables is a 2nd generation family owned business that combines different experiences provided buy the local communities and families into their larger horse-riding and site seeing tours, making sure the money they make is spread out as widely as possible.

We support a local women’s chocolate co-operative close to San Ignacio which we take clients to in the evenings. This is a wonderful project that provides clients with an interactive insight into the local chocolate industry as well as providing the local women’s co-operative with a sustainable income.

The Mayan population in Guatemala and Belize has been persecuted throughout the modern era of the countries. Although they make up the majority of the countries ancestry in Guatemala they have always been treated like second class citizens. Due to this we ensure that we support the markets and destinations, such as Tikal, Yahxa, San Ignacio, where the modern Mayan population are selling their goods and creating livelihoods. We also only employ guides who have an in depth knowledge of the Mayan Culture. This way they can ensure our clients get to know all bout the culture and history allowing it to thrive though tourism.

We make sure that all the tours that we run receive the exact and required amount that the community providing 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.