Skip Tulum This Winter and Travel to Belize Instead

Zip through broadleaf canopies, swim with sharks, and avoid the crowds.
exterior of a beautiful pool and beach at a resort
Courtesy of Turtle Inn Resort

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

If you’re experiencing Cancún and Tulum fatigue just about now, take a southbound turn down the Yucatán coast to Belize. Mexico’s sparsely-populated, majority English-speaking southern neighbor has been a low key tourists’ gem for some time—filmmaker Sofia Coppola, who owns a holiday home there, is one well-known fan—offering a colorful hybrid of Latin and Caribbean cultures set against a backdrop of deep blue water and wild tropical foliage.

Despite a lack of large hotel chains and sprawling resorts, Belize is one of the easiest countries to travel through. That’s in part thanks to the famously hospitable Belizean people, but also the close proximity of its cities—connected through a network of small planes operated by just two local airlines, Maya Island Air and Tropic Air.

For less than a hundred bucks, you could hop from the rural, canopied southern district of Toledo to the expat-beloved peninsula of Placencia; or from the cave-tubing hotspots in Cayo District to the resort town of San Pedro. Here, we break down the perfect week-long itinerary in Belize, starting with adventures in the southern rainforest and ending with your toes in the sand on the country’s biggest island.

Copal Tree Lodge

Courtesy of Copal Tree Lodge

Day 1-2: Punta Gorda

Kick off your Belizean escape at the southern tip of the country, a melting pot of cultures that include Mayan, Garifuna, Creole, East Indian and Mennonite. (You’ll need to fly into Belize City’s international airport first, before grabbing a Maya Air or Tropic Air flight to Punta Gorda). A few miles inland where the rainforest meets the coast lies the Copal Tree Lodge, a luxury eco-lodge with 16 private suites, two outdoor pools, and 3,000 acres of sustainable farm yielding 70 percent of the fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, and even livestock used in its kitchen. The chef’s specials change frequently, but cross your fingers for lamb tacos.

The brainchild of marine conservationist Todd Robinson and sustainable farming pioneer Anya Fernald, the expansive property offers hiking, biking, river kayaking (keep an eye out for jaguars), along with more extensive excursions like fly-fishing and snorkeling with the chef. It’s also the largest non-government employer in southern Belize, producing chocolate bars and organic three-ingredient rum on site—take a cacao cupping class or arrange a distillery tour to see how Copalli Rum is made. In the evening, soak up the sunset from the hotel bar, or more privately in your balcony bathtub.

Turtle Inn Resort

Courtesy of Turtle Inn Resort

Day 3-4: Placencia

Just a fifteen minute flight from Punta Gorda, Placencia has become another top destination for tourists in part due to its association with the Coppola clan—Francis Ford purchased and renovated the Turtle Inn Resort back in 1999. If you can swing it with a large group, book a stay at Sofia’s Beach House (yes, that Sofia), a beautiful, Laurent Deroo-designed property with a main house and two guest houses, its own golf cart, and even an on-site butler. For nature sightseeing, head to the nearby Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the world’s first jaguar preserve and home to nearly 300 species of bird. Otherwise, kick back at the private pool, pour yourself some Coppola wine, and watch the sunset over the waves. (If you’re thinking of extending your trip, you can also upgrade to Coral Caye, a private, two-acre island accessed via a 25-minute boat ride from Turtle Inn).

Xunantunich

Suzi Pratt/Getty Images

Day 5: Cayo District

On your way to Ambergris Caye, pass through the western Cayo District for a day of on-your-feet activities. Decide if you’re a zip-liner or a cave tuber (or both), and then book your adventure through the Caves Branch Adventure Company. Thought to be entrances to the underworld, or Xibalba, by Belize’s early Mayan residents, caves like the seven-mile river system at Caves Branch grant access to underground galleries of glistening stalactites and stalagmites.

For more Mayan history, add a stop to the temple ruins at Xunantunich, roughly one-and-a-half hours away. Climb up to the summit of the largest temple and you’ll be able to see past the border into Guatemala. Or, head to the Belize Zoo, which started in the 80s as a sanctuary for injured and abandoned animals and has since become notable for featuring Belizean wildlife in much of its own natural habitat with just a few gravel roads.

The Great Blue Hole

Matteo Colombo/Getty Images

Day 6-7: Ambergris Caye

There’s something for serious divers and serious partiers alike on Ambergris Caye, Belize’s largest island and a longtime haven for expats. Dubbed La Isla Bonita after the 1987 Madonna song about the island, Ambergris Caye is renowned for its water sports, snorkeling, and scuba diving—which includes a day trip to the famous Great Blue Hole, a giant marine sinkhole where you can swim alongside dozens of species of sharks and fish.

In the island’s town of San Pedro, both visitors and locals use golf carts to get around the narrow, cobblestoned streets. Several large hotel chains are now setting their sights on the town, but for easy access to dives, stay in the heart of downtown at Ramon’s Village Resort—a charming locally-operated hotel with thatched-roof accommodations, tropical flowers, retro furnishings, and the oldest on-site dive shop in the entire country. For non-divers, snorkeling tours at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley will still provide ample opportunity to swim alongside (totally harmless) sharks, stingrays, and sea turtles.

On your last day, fill up the tank on your golf cart and drive up to the secluded Secret Beach on the northern end of the island, making a stop at the Austin, Texas-inspired Truck Stop beer garden, housed in repurposed shipping containers. By night, explore surrounding restaurants and bars: stop at the Elvi’s Kitchen for a traditional Belizean dinner of Caribbean chicken and coconut curry, the over-the-water pub Wayo’s for a pint of the local Belikin beer, and later in the night, Fido’s for a live-music party with locals under a seaside palapa.

Be warned: they party pretty late in San Pedro, and you don’t want to miss your flight the next morning—or maybe you do.