Belize Overland & Islandia Tour

Saturday 14th June – Belize City

• Arrive at your convenience into Belize City – the largest city of Belize, which is well connected from the United States
• Transfer to Easy Inn Hotel
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of Easy Inn Hotel at 6:00pm to discuss tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and Pioneer Adventure Travel guide.
• Dinner in town with an optional casino visit
• Overnight in Easy Inn Hotel

Sunday 15th June – Islandia

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel and depart on a short (1.5 km) walk to the dock.
• On the way we will be stopping for supplies for our upcoming 24 hours on Coffee Island, AKA: The Principality of Islandia.
• We meet our boat crew, jump onboard, and take the leisurely 20-minute ride to Coffee Island.
• On arrival, for those who are interested you will receive an Islandian immigration stamp in your passport!
• We’ll unload our items and have a very important celebratory beer as one of the first tourist groups ever to visit Coffee Island.

Afternoon

• Now the fun begins when we set up our tents and get our camp fire ready to go. We will also do our best to plant an Islandia flag on the island and have a ceremonial carving of our names onto a tree. After all we are the first group to stay on the island.
• Light lunch on Coffee Island
• In the afternoon we take advantage of our private beach for drinking, relaxing, and snorkelling. You are on a private island, we are not trying to reinvent the wheel here!
• Night-time campfire, BBQ, drinks and amazing views of the stars.
• Overnight on Coffee Island, Belize.

Monday 16th June – Belize City

Morning

• Wake up at own leisure and have breakfast on the island, with sufficient time for relaxation and some last-minute swimming.
• Clearing of the camp (we are leaving the flag) and transfer by boat back onto the mainland.

Afternoon

• On arrival back onto dry land we have lunch by the sea.
• We take the leisurely drive back into Belize City and check into our hotel.
• Head out early evening for a walking tour of Belize City, including dinner and drinks. We’ll check out the Riverside Tavern which is Belize’s only brewery and head for cocktails on the river front.
• Overnight at Easy Inn Hotel.

Tuesday 17th June – Belmopan

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Group A members: tour concludes – Pioneer Adventure Travel is able to arrange post-tour accommodation, advice for flights, or arrange airport drop-off
• Group B continues:  continues tour as we board our private transport as we take the scenic drive to Belmopan – the subdued capital city of Belize. The capital moved here from Belize City in 1961 after a huge hurricane flattened the latter. Belmopan is in the centre of Belize, away from the coast.

Afternoon

• Check into our hotel and head for a street food lunch – Belize has some great Hispanic influenced street snacks, so we make the most of it by chowing down on some.
• Belmopan might be a subdued city but there are at least few things to see and do here, such as the parliament and if we want to be really cheeky (again) we will be parking in the Prime Minister’s spot!
• Tour of the outskirts of Belmopan, including various Mayan ruins such as Actun Tunichil Muknal, or ATM to the cool kids. ATM was a sacrificial burial site within a cave system, and some of the sacrificial skeletons are still intact.
• We also head to the town of San Ignacio, which is only 40 minutes away to check out Mayan ruins and enjoy the town before heading back to Belmopan.
• Dinner of Chinese-Belizean fusion food and drinks in Belmopan.
• Overnight at Countryside Lodge

Wednesday 18th June – Placencia

Morning

• Breakfast and a morning relax at our resort hotel before continuing on with our journey as we take the leisurely 2-hour drive to Placencia, a long strip of land/beach along the Caribbean coastline
• Trip highlight – On the way there we stop at Belize Prison which was featured in an episode of “the world’s toughest prisons”. You can take pictures here as well as shop in the slightly bizarre gift shop.

Afternoon

• Lunch stop on the way to Placencia.
• Check into hotel and head for the sea as we head out on a private boat for some island hopping, stopping at some deserted islands, but also other ones that even have bars!
• We spend the evening out in Placencia town, a very pleasant place for good food and drinks where you can try a Belikin beer or a shot of bitters – a spiced rum.
• Overnight in Placencia

Thursday 19th June – Punta Gorda

Morning

• Breakfast in Placencia
• We take the short drive to Punta Gorda in Toleda Province (roughly two hours), where you see the “real” Belize, especially on a market day
• Check into our hotel
• We head to the Lubaantun Mayan Ruins to see some of the best preserved and unvisited Mayan ruins in the world. A crystal skull was allegedly found here in the 1920s. Whether this proves Aliens exist, or not we cannot confirm.

Afternoon

• Check out various other Mayan sites
• In the evening we head to the waterfront for dinner and drinks in the city. The seafood in Punta Gorda is some of the best in Belize and even includes vegetarian seafood options.
• Overnight in Punta Gorda

Friday 20th June – Dangriga

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel
• Should it be allowed, we have a special one for country collectors by taking the 10:00am day trip to Livingston in Guatemala, retuning at 3:00pm. Livingston is not accessible by road, only by river or sea.
• There is not a massive amount to do in Livingston itself except walk through the small town imagining what it must be like living in a place so inaccessible from other parts of your own country, but the day trip there by boat is good enough for us and then a few cocos locos (rum and coconut) on the beach before the boat back!

Afternoon

• Should this not be possible we shall simply spend the day on the beach. Optional activities at extra cost include kayaking, snorkelling, diving, a cookery class or a drumming class with the locals in a nearby village
• At 4:00pm we head to Dangriga (2 hours) to break up our journey before heading to Northern Belize.
• Dangriga is a funky seaside town renowned for its laid-back vibe and friendly people.
• After checking into the hotel, we head out to the waterfront for dinner and drinks.
• Overnight in Pal

Saturday 21st June – Caye Caulker

Morning

• Breakfast in hotel before we head out for the next part of the journey, a two-hour drive before we then board a water taxi to the most famous tourist site in Belize – Caye Caulker – with the journey taking about 45 minutes or so.
• Check into our beachside accommodation and grab a fresh lunch before a day and night of beachside activities with lots of optional extras such as snorkelling diving, or jet skis

Afternoon

• A relaxing night of dinner and drinks on a tropical island.
• Overnight on Caye Caulker.

Sunday 22nd June – Belize City

Morning

• We wake up at 5:30am and head to the legendary Blue Hole of Belize for a snorkelling trip – The Blue Hole is a marine sinkhole, over 300 m wide and circular, it is a hugely popular dive site complete with sea life and coral. Think of it as the polar opposite of the Gates of Hell in Turkmenistan!

Afternoon

• A day spent on a boat, with lunch provided and diving available for additional charge.
• 3:00pm return to Caye Caulker
• Late afternoon boat back to Belize City where we check into the rather plush Ramada By Wyndham
• Seeing as it is our last night, we head for some casino action before farewell drinks and dinner in Belize City.
• Overnight at Ramada By Wyndham

Monday 23rd June – End of Tour

• Breakfast in hotel
• Tour concludes – Pioneer Adventure Travel is able to arrange post-tour accommodation, advice for flights, or arrange airport drop-off
• We are currently planning provisional Group C which will take us to Mexico