Plan a trip

River to Reef

A river lodge in Cayo, down the Hummingbird Highway to Garifuna Hopkins, then out to South Water Caye or Glover's Reef.

A still, green river between banks of dense forest, seen past the railings of a bridge.
A tall, narrow waterfall dropping down a dark rock face into a deep green pool, framed by forest.
Looking up into a sunlit forest canopy of tall trunks and bright green leaves, with a small toucan on a high branch.
Looking along a narrow road onto an orange-painted suspension bridge, with turquoise walls on either side.

Overview

This is the route we suggest most often for a first trip, because it puts the three Belizes in a sensible order: forest and river first, while you're fresh; the coast in the middle, for food and music; and a small caye at the end, for doing very little.

Transfers are short, and only one of them is long enough to need lunch on the way.

The route, stop by stop

01 · Cayo · 4 nights

A lodge on the Macal or Mopan. Canoe, birds, the ATM cave if it suits, and the pine ridge waterfalls.
Road from BZE, about 2 hoursCheck before you travel

02 · Hopkins & Dangriga · 3 nights

Down the Hummingbird Highway to the Garifuna coast. Drumming, hudut, and a day in Cockscomb.
Road via the Hummingbird Highway, about 2.5 to 3 hoursCheck before you travel

03 · Glover's & South Water · 3 to 4 nights

A small caye on the reef, with snorkelling from the beach and nothing to do after dark.
Boat from Dangriga or Sittee River, 35 minutes to 2 hoursCheck before you travel

How the nights split

  • Reef: 3 nights
  • River: 4 nights
  • Coast: 3 nights
  • Best months: January, February, March, April, May, November, DecemberCheck before you travel

Good for

  • First trips
  • Couples
  • Families with children old enough for a boat crossing

Worth knowing

Fly home from Dangriga or return by boat and road to BZE.

In November, time the coast for Settlement Day on the 19th.

Other routes

Each one is a starting point, not a package.

All routes
8 to 9 nights

Three Atolls

Ambergris, then Turneffe, then Lighthouse Reef by private boat or atoll lodges, and a short flight back.

  • Ambergris Caye → Turneffe Atoll → Lighthouse Reef
  • Best: Mar, Apr, May, JunCheck before you travel
  • Best for adults and older teens
An aerial view of white surf breaking in lines over a reef, with green-blue water behind it.
12 nights

The Southern Coast, Slowly

Hopkins, then Placencia (Gladden Spit in season), Cockscomb, Toledo and Punta Gorda, and the Sapodilla Cayes.

  • Hopkins & Dangriga → Cockscomb Basin → Placencia → Toledo & Punta Gorda
  • Best: Feb, Mar, Apr, MayCheck before you travel
  • Works with children
An open-sided beach bar with a white roof among coconut palms, tables and stools on the sand, and a lounger in the foreground.