At 185 miles long, the Belize Barrier Reef is second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  It includes 7 marine reserves, over 400 islands, and three atolls.  Roughly 70 species of coral and 450 species of fish inhabit the reef.  Just a half mile off the coast of Ambergris Caye, snorkeling is an easy half day trip from the island. Two years ago, the boys had attempted snorkeling at the Stingray Adventure on Castaway Caye during our Disney cruise.  It didn’t go especially well, but the water was shallow enough that they could just swim or even walk …

We had three nights and two full days on Ambergris Caye.  We had one snorkeling trip planned but otherwise were just looking forward to some good, old-fashioned R&R. We arrived around 6pm after a super long day of travel.  The kids wanted to swim and the parents wanted to eat (and possibly drink).  We checked into our room and the kids changed into their bathing suits.  We grabbed a table in the pool bar, where the kids could conveniently swim in the adjacent pool or even float by in the lazy river that wrapped around the bar.  They swam until …

The Journey to Ambergris Caye As long, tiring, and eventful as our trip from Tikal to Belize City had been (read about it here), our travel was still not over yet.  Our final destination was Ambergris Caye, an island that could be reached from Belize City by water taxi or airplane.  We had opted for a plane to save time. Whether or not we ultimately saved time is questionable.  After our van broke down between San Ignacio and Belize City, we weren’t sure we had the time and definitely didn’t have the patience to stop for lunch.  As a result, …

Most people who stay overnight in Tikal do so in order to go on the sunrise tour.  I am certain that watching the sun come up over the jungle treetops while listening to the birds and animals wake up around you would be an absolutely amazing experience.  I am also certain that it involves getting up at a ridiculous hour.  I know my children’s limits.  A 4am departure time for a tour is not within their limits. But we still wanted to experience the jungle early in the morning when the animals are most active and the park is least …

After a somewhat stressful drive from the Belize border, we made it to the Jungle Lodge in Tikal.  The boys had held up well on the trip but were definitely starting to get hungry.  A little too early to check in, we had them hold our bags while we went to get a bite to eat.  Things started to fall apart when we realized we were a little short on Guatemalan cash to eat at the comedors and had to head back to the hotel restaurant where we could use our credit card.  When the waitress and the menu were …