Lagoons full of birds, the New River to Lamanai, and the dory-builders of Sarteneja.
Northern Belize is flat, wet and full of water: lagoons, slow rivers and the shallow bays along the Mexican border. Crooked Tree is a village on a lagoon that fills with wading birds in the dry season. From Orange Walk, a boat runs up the New River past crocodiles and herons to the ruins of Lamanai.
Further east, Sarteneja is a fishing village where a few boatbuilders still make the wooden sailing dories the north is known for. This is the Belize most visitors fly over, and it's where the North by Water route spends its first nights.
Crooked Tree lagoon
A wildlife sanctuary for wading birds, best in the dry season.Check before you travel
Lamanai by river
The New River boat past crocodiles and birds, then the temples in the forest.Check before you travel
Sarteneja's dories
A visit to the boatbuilders who still make wooden sailing dories, if they're working.
Corozal Bay
Manatees in the shallow bay, with a guide who knows where they feed.Check before you travel
Shipstern
The nature reserve near Sarteneja, for forest, lagoon and birds.
On to the cayes
A boat from the north to Caye Caulker or San Pedro ends the route on the reef.
Boat and flight times are ranges and depend on the weather and the operator. How we get around
We choose places to stay for the setting, the people running them, and how they fit your plans.
The north is lowland and humid, with mosquitoes after rain. It's beautiful in a quiet way, without big views or white beaches.
Lodges are few and modest. We choose them for the setting and the guides, not the thread count.
River lodges on the Macal and Mopan, the ATM cave, pine ridge waterfalls and Caracol.
A jaguar reserve with forest trails and a waterfall, half an hour from the sea.