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My first trip to Belize is coming up next mth. I'm splitting my stay bet. Cayo District (3 nights) and Ambergris Cayes (4 nights). We'll arrive in Belize city around 11'ish and plan to go straight to San Ignacio. I'm debating among Crystal Paradise, DuPlooy's and Clarissa Falls since they're in our budget & seem to give the jungle/cabana feel. I'd appreciate it if you can give me pros/cons about these places. Our plans are to just relax on our first day, then go to Tikal the next day and ATM the following day. How can we arrange the ATM tour? I know that there're only 2 tour operators who are allowed to go in. Which one should we use? It seems both charge the same price ($80?), does it include pick up/drop off at the hotel? Should I also use either one of them for Tikal or it can be arranged thru the hotel?

What's the most economical way to arrange transportation from Belize City Airport to San Ignacio? I know that Aguada Hotel offers shuttle, but where do they drop you off? Any suggestion is greatly appreciated.

duPlooy's - you'll love it.

Ditto on duPlooy's and your hotel will take care of your transfer from the city.

have never done it, dammit, but patrick Warror gets RAVE reviews. Barb will weigh in here, I bet, and confirm that!

We just got back from both Cayo and AC. we stayed the first 3 nights at Crystal Paradise, and we enjoyed it very much. The meals are served family style in a nice large dining area, there is a beautiful deck and area to relax after dinner, we found the atmosphere very homey, and the dinners were a great time to talk to others about their tours,etc. The host family, the Tuts, were great, we feel like we got great value. We did a canoe ride down the Macal river and stopped in at DuPlooys and Chaa Creek. They were definately more upscale.

I'm looking for a nice, CLEAN room. I'm going in May, does it get hot at night in Cayo. I dont think there's an A/C in the room. Should I look for a diff. hotel that has A/C (like Cahal Pech Village)?

I've heard about Patrick Warrior from this forum as well. Is he w/ either Mayawalk or Pacz?

Well I am also spending 4 days in Belize and then traveling over to AC for 6 days. We chose the Cahal Pech Village cabana which sits on the hill overlooking the town of San Ignacio. I am conversing with a couple that just came back from there for a 4 night stay and they really felt at home. It is 5 minutes from Cahal Pech Ruins, so a late afternoon walk there after dinner sounds great! ATM??? I am guessing that is the cave tour of the Seplecutre?? not sure on the spelling...but body in the caves and ritual maya grounds etc...

Patrick sub contracts with both Mayawalk & Pacz. You have to specifically request him and he is not always available.

It can be very hot in May so if you are not used to humidity and heat, you may need A/C. Cahal Pech, The Aguada, SI Hotel all have A/C rooms and are near town but none of the cabanas have A/C - only the standard hotel rooms. All very clean & nice.

My husband and I stayed at Aguada. The rooms were clean and spacious and the room was air conditioned. It was very reasonably priced, $42.50 a night and worth it. It allowed us to be able to spend our dollars elsewhere. Plus they had a good restaurant, they were close to everything and arranged tours for us to ATM and Tikal. We went to the ATM cave and one word of caution, it is physical! There is a 45 minute hike through the jungle, crossing a river three times, and then you swim to enter the cave and hike in the water again, most of the time for another 45 minutes and do some steep climbing, all inside a dark cave with only a head lamp! The pay off was awsome and both Joe and I agree it was the high point of our trip which included Tikal, AC and snorkling the reef. We actually went to Xunantunich, tubed the river from there to Clarissa Falls and still had time to visit Cahal Pech, all in one day! So much to do, so little time!