| Testimonial
October 4, 08 - "Our vacation to Belize exceeded both words and expectations, by far. While I could probably go on for days, I'll try to cut to the chase.
First of all, I'd never been out of the country, so to be honest, I was a little leery about going to a foreign country with my new wife. Much to my relief, Alex was very patient as he helped plan the entire vacation and just what we wanted. He was exceptionally helpful in that he not only helped plan but also kindly answered every single, silly question I had-- which were numerous. I just checked my email and we exchanged 42 by the time I finally figured out what we going to do on our trip.
And what was also great was that he answered our questions without ever once trying to influence our decision (just to make an extra buck).
The Trip:
The planning was great, but the trip was beyond words. Alex was able to meet us three times on our eight day vacation, and he was able to get us upgrades at two of our resorts and on our car (we went during raining season, which helps).
We went to Five Sisters, which is a wonder dropped into the middle of, literally, the jungle/forest. The resort and waterfalls were beautiful and the people were kind. Even the bugs we saw (which, as expected, were more than a few) were far, far outweighed in our eyes by the incredible experience overall.
Caracol ruins was beautiful; our guide, Sergio, was a lot of fun and very knowledgeable about the country and jungle, not just the ruins.
ATM cave was equally great. I enjoyed climbing around the rocks, we both were amazed by the cave formations, and our guide, JC, was again a bonus.
Our stay at the San Ignacio Hotel was a nice contrast to the jungle (with its AC and Flat Screen TV!!). The people were wonderful, the restaurant is deservedly well known, and the amenities were better than any hotel I've been in here in the states (which is usually 2-3 star).
Alex kindly met us for lunch before our trip down to Placencia and went to the airport with us.
Laru Beya was fantastic. Keeping in mind that we didn't go broke, it was as good as it gets. We never expected the view on the beach; the pool; the comfort, cleanliness, and luxury of the rooms; and the kindness of their staff to be as great as it was. I don't know how it could have been better.
For snorkeling, Silk Caye was lovely, just on the ride out. We lucked out (a lot) and saw manatees. Our guide, Ian, made a great lunch, and the fish, ray, and coral was unforgettable.
We highly recommend The Purple Space Monkey, especially for its food but also for Karaoke.
The town is a pretty nice, low key place, but we really didn't spend a lot of time there because we had such a great place at Laru Beya. We did go to the local Queen of The Bay Beauty Contest, held in a tent in the town park. It was really fun, and we were happy to be part of a local event where we got to experience a true Belize experience. We were also, of course, happy to not feel like/be treated outsiders, either.
Personally, I don't know how a trip could be better than the one we had to Belize. Of course, if you're looking for European History, London or Italy might be your place. But as far as a beautiful, relaxing Caribbean experience goes, Belize is the place. You obviously have to have the right expectation level; not everything is perfect and not everything and everywhere is as nice and pristine as most places in America. But that's part of the reason I thoroughly enjoyed the country.
Some other points: we rented a car for a few days, and I didn't think it was any trouble driving on the Western Highway whatsoever.
The water and food caused absolutely no trouble with us. In fact, we ate better most days there than we do at home. We even went to the grocery store and made our own dinner, salads, and smoothies.
Again, I can't say enough. But, I hope I have-- without going on for days. Woops, I guess I did that, too."
Why did you choose www.DiscoveringBelize.com? "It was your service, after the website caught our eye. I can't thank you enough for your patient and helpful responses to my confused questions. I know there were many!"
Adama & Cara Vincent: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
DiscoveringBelize.com Service: 5++/5 Excellent
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