AT#862 - Travel to Belize and Guatemala

https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-belize-and-guatemala/

Hear about travel to Belize and Guatemala on the G Adventures "Classic Belize and Tikal" week-long small group tour: Mayan pyramids, cave tubing, and snorkeling on the Barrier Reef.

An adventurous trip to Belize and Guatemala. The tour started in Belize City, traveled to Flores in Guatemala, and then returned to San Ignacio Belize and the Island of Caye Caulker. 

One of the highlights was visiting Mayan ruins, including Yaxha and Tikal in Guatemala and Caracol in Belize. I climbed to the top of 4 pyramids in 3 sites while learning about the Mayan Classical age from 200 to 900 AD. We saw Mayan ballcourts, temples, and noble houses. These sites are all in the jungle with the sounds of howler monkeys in the background and spider monkeys and kudamundi wandering the grounds. We saw tucans, turkeys, and other birds. 

We stayed in the colorful island town of Flores Guatemala which is a center for tourism for Tikal.

We did cave tubing in Belize "near" San Ignacio, Belize. We floated through caves on inner tubes. We could get out of the tubes in the cave and see artifacts left by the Mayans of the Classical Period. Some of the group went to the well-known ATM cave where there are still the remains of some who were sacrificed to the gods at the end of the Classical Period. Others visited the Raptor Center where they got to interact with birds of prey.

The trip concluded on Caye Caulker, an island in the Caribbean Sea, where our group went snorkeling on the Belize Barrier Reef, encountering diverse marine life including dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, rays, and sharks. We toured the island with local high school students as part of Bikes with Purpose. We concluded our trip with a lazy sunset cruise. 

This was an adventurous tour. It is meant for people who are open to taking a crowded local bus, jumping into the water in a dark cave, and following a guide through the jungle canopy at a Mayan site. If you are such a person, the G Adventures "Classic Belize and Tikal" might be a great use of a week's vacation.