Month: September 2024

Belize is a Central American country with English as its official language. This combination of factors is one of the leading reasons why North Americans and even Europeans have been visiting, and even retiring to, Belize. When you want to duck out of the freezing cold of the Great White North’s winters without needing to know a language other than English or French, Belize is the perfect option for your vacationing.

Belize Has Much to Offer

The Placencia Peninsula in Southern Belize offers just about anything a potential visitor to the central Americas could want:

1. Beaches to comb and lounge about.
2. Cockscomb Basin has a 400 square kilometer wildlife sanctuary, making it ideal for nature lovers.
3. Monkey River spans 16 kilometers and allows intrepid tourists a chance to see ocelots, jaguars, beautiful waterfowl and yes, even monkeys like the black howler.
4. The world famous ATM Cave gives a chance to spelunk about while also riding an inner tube along subterranean waterways. Rather than be a place concerned with banking, the “ATM” is an abbreviation for a phrase that translates as “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher;” it contains one of the oldest surviving sites of sacrificial rituals performed by the ancient Maya in Belize.
5. Fans of history and anthropology can visit one of the handful of ancient Maya cities like Xunantunich, Nim Li Punit and Uxbenka.

Getting Here

While the previous list only offers a small sampling of the activities available to visiting Canucks, there is more good news for Canadians looking to fly this far south. Air Canada will be adding additional flights to Belize every other weekday from mid-December until April. Furthermore, WestJet can be used to travel from Calgary or Toronto and many of the major US outfits like American Airlines, Delta, United and Southwest make it relatively easy to fly into Belize.

If you are sold on Belize as a winter getaway spot, Chabil Mar is one of the best resorts you can choose.

Located right along the beach coastline of Belize, you only need a single layer of clothing, if even that, to enjoy your winter. Sure, the closest thing you will get to a white Christmas is building a fort out of white sands while dining in the outdoors, but the warm temperatures and variety of activities have been the siren song for many to vacation or even permanently stay within the nation of Belize.

Visit our website chabilmarvillas.com for more information on Belize, and don’t hesitate to send us an email, or call US/CAN Toll Free: 1-866-417-2377, Local: (011-501) 523-3606, if you have questions or need help in planning a Belize vacation.

Nearly four centuries ago, the British Empire began the practice of taking slaves from Africa and putting them to work at plantation laborers in the Caribbean. As time went on, these people began to intermarry with the local Arawak and Carib peoples, blending cultural and linguistic traditions to create the Garifuna people. After standing up to Britain, the Garifuna were chased throughout the Caribbean, ultimately finding a safe haven on the shores of Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The Garifuna discovery of Belize happened on November 19, 1802 and is regarded as a national holiday, Garifuna Settlement Day.

Why Garifuna Settlement Day is So Special

Anyone who happens to be in Hopkins, Seine Bight, Placencia or Dangriga knows just how uniquely the Garifuna have contributed to, and improved, Belizean society. Garifuna culture is about storytelling, drums, dances and the preservation of trades pursuits like farming and fishing.

November 19 is when the whole country show up to commend these people for making it to Belize over two centuries ago. It is on this day that many exhibitions of Garifuna music and dance styles are held, street dances are a common occurrence when people are not enjoying plates of cassava bread and hudut (fish that has been cooked in coconut) or listening to village elders’ tales of the Garifuna culture.

Where Is The Best Place to Enjoy Garifuna Settlement Day?

While it is a national holiday, the best places to experience it would be places rich with Garifuna people, like the four settlements mentioned earlier and also Punta Gorda Town in Toledo.

That being said, Dangriga has a special, historical tradition to witness on this day. At the crack of dawn, traditional dugout canoes, packed with locals dressed in traditional Garifuna attire, re-enact the Garifuna people’s arrival on the Belizean shores. After all the re-enactors ground their canoes, the celebration continues with drums, dances, music and lots and lots of food. Dangriga is also a great spot to witness “Jankunu” dancers, clad in elaborate masks and clacking bands of sea shells, listening to the sounds of drums and following through with leaps and terpsichorean motions.

If this at all sounds like a wonderful thing that you would like to experience and you plan on visiting Belize in November to witness it, consider staying at Chabil Mar. Chabil Mar is a resort that has regularly won awards each year for its amenities and hospitality.

For more information about traveling to Belize, feel free to chat with our Concierge at: concierge@chabilmarvillas.com or contact our Reservations Manager at: reservations@chabilmarvillas.com. Or perhaps you would like to call toll free from the US or Canada: 1-866-417-2377.

If your idea of adventure can’t be found on land, you owe it to yourself to discover it below the surface of the ocean. Which ocean, you ask? The favorite of folks eager to escape to paradise: The Caribbean Sea. After all, who wants to waste time sitting on an airplane when undersea escapades are just a few hours away in Belize?

If you’ve already experienced the joy, excitement and delight found only while pursuing aquatic sports, you know that every moment underwater is awe-inspiring thanks to the colors, sights and delights no Disney movie can replicate. Expect to experience these surprises and more just under the sea surface:

-An underwater Garden of Eden teeming with life
-A sense of peace that is truly profound
-The feeling of freedom that comes from being weightless
-A sense of mystery and awe
-And no two aquatic adventures are ever the same!

Where to get your fill of these experiences?

Chabil Mar Resort, located on the Placencia peninsula, gives guests access to both the Caribbean Sea and lagoon sides of the “island you can walk to” and your sojourn at the resort includes tours that fulfill every desire to explore this magical world beneath the ocean.

One stay at the resort offers guests these 10 perks and more:
1. Visit the planet’s second largest barrier reef, just off the Placencia shore.
2. World-class, deep-sea fishing trips with guides who know what’s biting and where.
3. Dive with gentle whale sharks following full moons in March, April and May.
4. Sail onboard a luxury yacht. Take a moonlight cruise if you’re a romantic.
5. Seek out endangered manatee residing within the calm Placencia lagoon.
6. Explore offshore islands like Laughing Bird Caye where snorkeling is sensational.
7. Learn about mysteries beneath the surface; seafaring tales about pirate ships and ancient lore.
8. Relax in either of the resort’s infinity pools tucked into lush tropical gardens.
9. Enjoy solitude in the sun along the resort’s 400-foot-long private beach.
10. Borrow resort kayaks and paddle boards if you simply can’t get enough ocean time!

Too many things from which to choose?

You’re not alone – which is why there’s such a diverse variety of packages, each described in detail and on the same resort website page that also explains specials that will entice you to start shopping for sun blocker and a new swimsuit. If you can’t find Belize vacation packages and deals that fulfill your wishes, they may not exist – but paradise does exist.

Chabil Mar staff is delighted to take tour requests from guests. Ask about customizing your undersea adventures when you book your stay. Some guests want to spend every moment fishing. Others can’t get enough scuba diving. You may just want to chill out and watch the Caribbean Sea waves roll in. What’s your pleasure? Name it and Chabil Mar will pull out all stops to make your stay even more than you expected!