While children are precious, they grow up sooner than you can anticipate. If you are looking to visit Belize and want to preserve some great family memories before your kids become teenagers or young adults, consider ticking off a few of the activities on this list.
Kids play in the sand at Caribeville. Image courtesy Grand Caribe
Photo by Leonardo Melendez Photography
Photo by the Family Coppola Hideaways
A one-of-a-kind jaguar experience at The Belize Zoo with rehabilitated wildcats. Image by Duarte Dellarole
ATM Cave - Cave of the Stone Sepulcher
Photo by Esoteric Vision
- Visit a Maya Ruin. Belize is saturated with many Maya ruins, offering direct exposure to cultures your children may never have known of.
- Hike the Rainforest. This not only yields exercise but is a great way to see different jungle animals.
- Cave Tubing Expeditions. There are a handful of these experiences where you ride an inner tube through subterranean waters.
- Go Snorkeling. Belize’s crystal clear waters allow you to watch your kids and observe many varieties of sea life.
- Go Sailing. Belize is a veritable cruising paradise that you and your kids will certainly enjoy.
- Take a Fishing Trip. You can easily charter a fishing trip to catch whatever you fancy.
- Bird Watching. Belize has more than 500 varieties of avian species.
- Horseback Riding. Get a greater appreciation of the land by taking an equestrian tour of Belize.
- Mountain Biking. There are several trails perfect for this activity that travel along ruins and riverbeds.
- Canoeing. Check out the gorgeous Macal River and spot lots of vibrantly-colored plants and animals along the way.
- Barton Creek Cave. Take a canoe and observe some of the oldest traces of the Maya.
- Mountain Pine Ridge Rainforest Reserve. This venue’s combination of pine trees and waterfalls makes it a breathtaking spot for photos.
- Chill on the Beach. Belize’s many beaches are there for when you want to just relax. You can spend the day floating in the sea in tubes at Palapa Bar on Ambergris Caye
- Zip Lining. Travel across large expanses of the rainforest while getting a great view and rush of adrenaline.
- The Great Blue Hole. This is a fascinating underwater sinkhole that offers scuba and snorkeling opportunities.
- Ambergris Caye. This is the biggest island of Belize and is rich in activities. Get here by ferry with San Pedro Belize Express
- Caye Caulker. This small island has dozens of little venues to check out above and below water.
- Placencia. This chill fishing village is a great base camp between excursions.
- San Ignacio. This is a great place to get your shopping and eat.
- Scuba Diving. Scuba is the best way to see some underwater locales.
- The Belize Zoo. This place features big cats, monkeys, and tapirs, to name just a few of its highlight animals.
- Iguana Conservation Project. This San Ignacio venue has over 80 iguanas.
- Kayaking. There are hundreds of offshore cayes you can kayak to with the family.
- Green Hills Butterfly Farm. Belize’s largest butterfly farm features over 30 native species.
- Hopkins Village. Introduce your kids to the Garifuna, including their music, dance, and food.
- Hol Chan Marine Reserve. This area of 4,000 acres is rich with corals and friendly sea creatures.
- Eladio’s EcoFarm. This chocolate farm offers tours and discusses the Maya approach to preparing and enjoying chocolate.
- Half Moon Caye. Belize’s first nature reserve is close to the Great Blue Hole and offers a chance to enjoy the numerous examples of wildlife it contains.
- Take an ATV Jungle Tour. Some jungle tours offer a more exhilarating way of seeing the area by allowing guests to ride around in all-terrain vehicles. It is certainly a way to spare your shoes and your feet.
- Gladden Spit. This underwater experience entails swimming with friendly whale sharks.
- Rent a Private Island. If you want your kids to feel like little princes and princesses or they are fond of the “Swiss Family Robinson,” it is not that expensive to rent a private island for a day or night.
- Check out the ATM Cave. Rather than being some sort of underground venue for depositing or withdrawing money, the “ATM” of this site’s name is short for Actun Tunichil Muknal a phrase that translates to something like “Cave of the Crystal Sepulcher” in Maya. This caving experience is notable for housing the crystallized remains of one Maya boy, presumably a sacrificial victim, known as the “Crystal Maiden.” The site is also notable for housing a “Monkey Pot,” an artifact that is exceedingly rare as there are only three other examples in the entire country.
- Investigate the Museum of Belize. While this site began as a prison during British rule, it now serves as a lens to view over 3 millennia of time within the country of Belize, recounting its time as a Maya center of power, a British colony, and an independent nation.
So there you have it. More than enough ideas for some fond family moments before the kids outgrow “kid’s stuff.”
Header image via Belize Tourism Board
