Accommodations Review
Cha Creek Lodge: We had a great cottage with two queen beds no AC. We were comfortable and enjoyed the outdoor shower (had an indoor one too). We didn't spend much time in the unit during the day and with fans we didn't need AC at night (we were there in June/July). No problem with buds. Very clean, daily housekeeping. Our unit adjoined another unit and as the jungle wakes up many very early (5-6am), be prepared in your screened in unit to be awoken by your neighbors. It was fine to hear the jungle early, but not kids playing like they should at 5am...
Belize Sailing Vacation: We stayed on the 47' Tranquilo. There's one smaller queen cabin which our 17 year old girls used was fine for them. We had a bigger cabin with tons of storage and a nice bathroom. Our friends had a similar cabin to us and their boys used the bunk bed cabin. The cabins worked for all of us just fine as we used the cabins for sleep/storage only as we hung out in the galley or top deck. AC is provided via generator while sleeping when not on shore power and was comfortable. So, it can get hot with no wind while not sailing but the ocean was right there to jump in. Each day the beds were made and the bathroom tidied up. Our boat allowed us to take very short showers for about half our trip until we could fill the water tanks so be prepared for a quick get wet, turn off, lather/shampoo and quick rinse. On the boat we had good snorkel gear, 2 kayaks, 4 paddleboards (only needed 2), Manny's fishing/spear gear, motor dingy.
Meals Review
Cha Creek Lodge: We ate all meals at the Lodge. The menus were simple with popular and local choices. ALL were great. Dinner portions on the smaller side if you had a long day out on tours, but if you order a soup/salad you are fine. The bar had fresh fruit drinks and always had ice/water to fill your water bottle. The to go lunches with tours were always fresh and lots of choice, even local bean/rice/chicken and cold drinks (you will see other tour groups and their lunches did not look as good and was missing table cloths).
Belize Sailing Vacations: AMAZING food cooked by Cainee. Each meal different from the day before. You got a breakfast, simple snack, lunch, snack/app and dinner/dessert. Each based on the day of activities and when start breakfast and done sailing. Breakfast ranged from egg/meat to yogurts/continental. Always had coffee going before anyone was up. Fruit galore. Simple snack was usually after our first dive and was chips/dips/fruit. Lunch was always enough and again had a variety of meals. Dinner was always great and if you catch enough fish/lobster you'll have a great dinner. You'll also have chicken and or brought/bought fish along the way. Again food was amazing. The beverages were also good as we were provided enough non alcoholic drinks (coke, sprite, ginger ale, grapefruit and juices) and alcoholic (beer and 3 rums). Lots of options to make any tropical drink. We brought some vodka and tequila from the duty free store and this was nice to have to mix it up, but would have been fine without. Drinking water came from a large container and was good quality.
Crew & Guides Review
Chaa Creek Lodge: The local guides (bird hike, butterfly, night hike, horseback, Caracol, ATM) were very knowledgeable in local wildlife, plants, culture, history. Each were enthusiastic in telling their personal local story, historical facts and knowledge of the area. They were definitely not just along for the ride and wanted you to experience/learn while you were with them. I believe Cha Creek Lodge mostly uses their own staff as guides and not outside companies, I think this helped in them connecting better with our group. Unfortunately I do not remember names.
Belize Sailing Vacations: Manny and Cainee where great hosts on the boat. You felt safe in Manny's hands as he always was the foremost captain waking before you rose, sailing the boat all day, with you on all excursions/snorkels, spear fishing fresh fish or setting the trolling gear, getting whatever you needed and going to bed after you. Also he was very knowledgeable of the wildlife, sea, islands, people and Belize; on top of being friendly and funny. Cainee was a hard worker also rising before you and going to bed after you. While helping Manny with some boating like anchoring, she never stopped cooking, cleaning and making sure you were having a good time.
Itinerary Review
On Land: Cha Creek Lodge was very nice. The accommodations, food and staff were great but even better were the activities at the Lodge (Reserve) and their own guides taking us off site. At the Reserve we horseback rode, tubed, rafted the Mecal River, bird watched, live butterfly exhibit, Belize/Mayan history and to top it off howler monkeys and other wildlife all around you. The guided tours though were special, including Caracol and Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave. Caracol was bit of a drive but worth it with few tourists (I'd guess less than 50). The ruins are amazing with our guide providing great history. I won't go into depth as you can read other docs on what is here. After Caracol, along the way back ended with the cool water swim at Big Rock Falls (kids loved the rock jumping), this was a great way to break up the drive.
ATM was even better with seeing real Mayan sacrifice urns and skeletal remains. It starts by navigating the wet cave with some harder maneuvering/climbs but nothing too hard with your guide's help and didn't feel claustrophobic. At a point you leave the cave river and head up into the cave. The various chambers were amazing as you made your way to the end with an entire skeleton on display. There were some gigantic chambers which were some of the biggest I've seen. At Cha Creek Lodge we had 3 full days but 4 would have been better so we could have spent more time in San Ignacio or local towns (1st day - arrive late/pool, 2nd day - rest/butterfly/Horse/bird watch/pool, 3rd day - ATM/raft, 4th day - Coracal/Big Rock, 5th day - leave late morning). All guides from Horseback to ATM were well versed in the local/mayan history/wildlife.
On Sea: Upon arrival to our Belize Sailing Vacation Catamaran (Tranquilo) for 8 nights, we were greeted by Captain/Master fisherman/diver Manny and 1st Mate/Cook Extraordinaire Cainee. Really nice boat. We were very fortunate our first day on the boat was opening lobster season. We speared fish with the great help of Manny and had enough lobster for days. We added other fish caught off the boat over the trip as we trolled from snorkel/night spots. The snorkeling/scuba (dive) were great with each spot offering a bit different dive whether different coral or fish or beach. Most days were slower with breakfast around 7-8, move on to next island/reef, dive, lunch, move to next island/reef, dive, dinner. Our group was pretty active enjoying at least 2 dives a day, enjoying books/games/swimming/sun/learning from Manny/Cainee. We visited some islands and hung out in the sun. Had a couple off days with only one dive or none. We enjoyed Placencia and other small island hikes/bars. We stayed on mainland only one night. We always had enough great food, drink and ice.
Transportation Review
Airlines and ground transportation were great. Luckily the airlines were on time and our ground transportation was always there meeting us.
AdventureSmith Explorations Review
Our trip was well planned. From airlines, airport transfers, lodging/boat reservations and tours, all clicked perfectly and we moved through the trip without incident.
