If you have, do you have any tips or recommendations for going there? im a euro lad just gonna chill on the beach, take my PADI diving certificat and snorkle as much as possible in March
Anyone been to Belize?
If you have, do you have any tips or recommendations for going there? im a euro lad just gonna chill on the beach, take my PADI diving certificat and snorkle as much as possible in March
Yeah it's a bit of a weird place, you have to fly into Belize city which is a total dump with nothing going for it and take a slow boat / flight out to the cays which are epic. It sounds like you've already booked so I don't wanna be a doomer but of all the central American countries its by far the most expensive for everything - possibly bar Costa Rica. Still if you're going you'll have fun, the hotel we stayed at had a reef about 1/2 a km out and they had kayaks you could use so we'd just kayak out every day and attach it to the buoy and snorkel for hours.
There's an amazing diversity of sea life there and there's always the blue hole which if you're new I wouldn't suggest - perhaps by the time you've passed but it's other worldly. Enjoy yourself
thats the thing, i havent booked yet so im still open for suggestions. I was recommend it but its very hard to decide. I dont speak spanish so it seemed ideal but im unsure about the hotels, so many to choose. Ive got 10 thousand us dollars in savings but i dont want to spend it all, id rather live in cheap hostels or something since i wanna spend most of my time in the water and just need a place to sleep
Which hotel did you stay at? Ive been recommended to go to Caye Caulker first so the plan was to go there for two weeks and then then go to some more isolated atoll like the Tobacco Caye or similar for about one and a half weeks until i have to fly home
Appreciate any advice
So I've travelled most of south and Central America but for what you say you're after I would strongly recommend going to the Caribbean coast of Colombia. You say you have dollars so I'm assuming you're a burger, you can get relatively cheap flights to Bogota then bus up to Cartagena, when I was there (admittedly it was years ago) it was the cheapest place pretty much in the world to do your Padi. $200 for the whole course, dives, lunches and you got to meet cool people, there's also a bunch of good hostels and overall it's a great vibe, once you're done you can also head to the national park and live cheap Robinson Crusoe style, it's very kino, pretty sure it was called tyrona and it was up the coast from Cartagena.
Belize in comparison is expensive, don't get me wrong the diving is great but you have to fly or boat out the cays and then it's mostly expensive hotels, I did cat caulker and then a few other places, can't remember the name, it was nice but not sure it's for the bang for you buck that Colombia has.
Also the blue hole if I'm remembering correctly is about 40 metres deep, when you take your first Padi which in guessing is still called the open water it only allows you on dives down to 30 metres. To get down further your need your advanced. Don't get me wrong there will be dodgy people who will take you without it but not really worth the risk imo, sure you could snorkel the surface but kinda boring.
I've not been to Bonaire but I did Honduras, pretty cool and they have awesome whale sharks but it's a bit trickier to get there and all in all unless you're just in the area it's a faff. I'd defo say do Colombia, it's awesome
Currently writing from a restaurant in palomino, colombia. I was in taganga a couple days ago, a nice small beach town. A lot of dive shops there for padi. I dont remember the prices but colombia is awesome
Im scandinavian euro, isnt colombia really dangerous with armed militants and skyhigh crime rates? also i dont know spanish. One of my coworkers here who is from mexico joked that i would stand out as a tall blondie-boy and get kidnapped if i go to south america haha
It sounds nice though, ill definitely take a look.Im leaving on the first day of march and will be away for one full month wherever i go.
When i just quickly read about Cartagena it says its very safe, so i guess i will be fine as long as i dont get robbed before i get there haha? Is there some specific vacation hostel/resort you would recommend for a 26 year old who just wanna swim and chill for a month?
When i read about Colombia it seems The Rosario Islands would be better if i just want a fishing/swimming/chilling vacation? Not really interested in city life
I'm a bong and it was fine, I think you're over thinking it, research is all well and good but you need to just head out there and see what you want to do, jump on Hostelworld and just book a highly rated hostel in Cartagena for a week and see how you feel once you get there.
In terms of crime, sure it's Colombia theres crimes and drugs but that's usually locals doing that with eachother, just like most places they don't mess with tourists as it's bad for business. I never felt unsafe there, just use the same commonsense you'd apply anywhere else and you'll be fine. Most major tourist spots most people speak English, I didn't speak any Spanish before I went and got by fine.
If you just wanna hang out by the beach head up to Cartagena and start from there, there were some amazing islands we went to that I forget the name, you can also do a boat trip to Panama to the San blas islands which are stunning - basically the rebel FARC control the land border to Panama so you can't cross you have to fly or boat but because of that they've got some amazing trips, that land but is the only dangerous part of the country and you'd never go there so super safe
i dunno man, i think ill trust my gutfeeling and stay away for now and got to belize, im quite the newbie traveler
Also what do you mean by perhaps by the time youve passed?
I read that you can take your diver cert almost anywhere in the area and then go on a excursion to the blue hole?
Other than Belize ive also looked at Honduras and Bonaire which also seem amazing. And maybe easier since its just one location
Which hotel did you stay at?
looking for suggestions, still havent booked the two weeks in the middle of the trip inbetween the first and last, preferably something affordable near the reefs
I am from eastern europe and every single criminal from my country runs there because belize won't deport them kek
Alright, ive booked a weeklong stay at Tobacco Caye now at the end of the month long trip in March, they just sent me an email and told me i need to verify the payment with some app called Stripe, but it shouldnt be a problem.
Now i just need to book the flights and the hostels that i will be in before i go to the Tobacco Caye, Planning on staying in Caye Caulker for a week or two when i get to Belize and do excursions from there and just chill,
then i want to go to some resort near Glovers Reef, but i havent found one that is affordable yet. Maybe i can just wait with the booking until i actually get to the country and then decide? Or will i risk getting stranded with no hotel if i do that?
Then i will head to Tobacco and just relax for a week and then head home again
Hopefully things work out, my passport expires past its 5 year date later this year but i think im good as long as its valid the time i am in the country.
Never been to the Caribbean before, but im sure i will turn into a bronze statue after a month, right now i feel like a vampire up here at the polar circle
wish me luck lads, its gonna be my first real long solo-trip
Have fun mane i hope you see some good turtles
thanks anon hopefully ill get my groove back after a month in paradise, it sucks living in this frozen shithole
tropical paradise
tell me more anon, im flying down on the 1st of march and will be there until the 30th