- If you hate crowded places, you’re in for a treat. Belize is the least densely populated nation in Central America. For comparison, I live in the Coachella Valley, which has 463,000 residents. The entire country of Belize has roughly 412,000. (To give you an even better idea of what that means, my community has a density of 518 people per square mile. Belize has 45.)
- Do you ever get flustered by currency conversions while traveling? No worries here. The money is a simple conversion of 2 Belize dollars to 1 USD. And most places will accept either.
- English is the official language of Belize. So if navigating other languages intimidates you, you won’t have any problems. (Also many of the people I met were multilingual! I especially loved listening to the creole patois spoken along the Eastern coast.)
- There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of Mayan ruins throughout the country, and new ones are discovered all the time. These sacred sites are magnificent, and I was surprised that I could get up close and personal with them.
- Before this trip, I associated Belize with scuba diving. Since I don’t dive, I worried there wouldn’t be any activities for me. Wow, was I wrong. Belize is an active country full of eco-adventures. My trip included caving, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, cycling, tubing, swimming in waterfalls — plus just relaxing on the beach.
- The wildlife is incredible. The country is home to the world’s second largest coral reef, plus jaguars, monkeys, tapirs, and iguanas. I particularly enjoyed the Belize Zoo, which is actually a sanctuary for native animals; some wounded, some donated, many rescued from the illegal pet trade.
- Belize doesn’t feel overrun by tourists. With about 500,000 arrivals per year, Belize receives a low number of overnight visitors. To compare that with its neighbors, Mexico receives over 97 million tourists per year, while Guatemala gets more than 2.5 million.
- Did I mention the most delicious chocolate you’ll find anywhere?
- Belize is small, and its communities are strong. Early on in my trip, I visited a farm in the southern part of the country. Days later, many miles away on the island of Caye Caulker, I met someone who knew those farmers.
- It won’t be like this forever. I cringed when I saw a huge billboard advertising a new Margaritaville resort on one of the islands. Not to bag on Margaritaville (okay, maybe a little), but I appreciated that Belize was free from most chain businesses and big corporations. The places I patronized were local, owned and operated by people within each village, which made everything feel intimate and special — uniquely Belizean.
No Comments