Month: November 2024

If you identify as a risk-taker, there’s only one place to go in 2025: Belize. The nation’s resources beckon travelers—especially those who can’t get enough adventure.

Did you know that travelers have distinct vacation styles? It’s true, says Max Knoblauch. “More than one in three Americans (37-percent) have had a ‘life eureka’ moment while on vacation,” says Knoblauch who adds that “while 35-percent of Americans prefer to spend their vacations…resting and relaxing poolside—38-percent prefer more active, adventurous trips focused on exploration.”

“Adventurous travelers tend to make stronger lasting memories and report fewer regrets,” he adds. This scientific study was so comprehensive, it even included the fact that people born under the signs of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius can’t get enough adventure when they travel.

Of course, it matters not which sign you were born under if adventure travel raises your heart rate, but you may worry that these trips are expensive. Not so if you choose Belize, where everyone speaks English, the plane ride is a few hours away and award-winning resorts like Placencia’s Chabil Mar  are surprisingly affordable.

Which adventures suit your fancy?

• Explore ancient Maya cities and underground caves filled with artifacts that range from skeletons and cooking pots to ritual items used during secret ceremonies.
• Snorkel and scuba dive with Whale Sharks, gentle giants who don’t mind visits from tourists guided by certified diving professionals. Come in May when Chabil Mar seasonal rates start to dip.
• Birding expeditions are exciting. No matter the season, you’ll spot all types of birds and spectacular colors. The excitement doubles and triples when visitors spot rarely-seen endangered species perched on trees or in the air.
• The presence of nature reserves like Cockscomb Basin and Bocawina give visitors opportunities to spot animals usually only found in zoos.
• If your appetite for adventure resides in all things cultural, come and learn more about the Maya and Garifuna cultures, learn to drum, make chocolate like Mayas did and indulge all of your senses in music, food and fun.

Setting up your 2025 travel schedule?

Plan to stay at Chabil Mar, the luxury, award-winning Placencia, Belize resort where everything is at your fingertips: proximity to adventures, gracious hospitality, sumptuous digs and Café Mar, where al fresco dining under palm trees has been elevated to a culinary art.

The Chabil Mar virtual tour offers you a taste of what awaits in 2025 once you put a Belize vacation on your “must-do” list. Seal the deal by browsing tours offered on the resort’s menu. One warning: You are likely to find so may choices, deciding on just one could be the biggest adventure of all!

Although today Tikal is an isolated site located deep within the jungles of Tikal National Park in Guatemala’s El Peten department, more than 1,400 years ago Tikal was a powerful city-state that dominated the Maya world.

Tikal was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 in recognition of the superb public squares, palaces, and enormous temples that have survived intact for more than a millennia in the jungle. Probably the most famous building in Tikal are the five enormous temples that dominate the landscape. Temple IV (four) is the the largest pyramid ever built by the Maya and measures more than 230 feet (70 meters) tall. The adjacent Temple V (five) is nearly as tall, measuring 187 feet (57 meters) tall. All of the principal pyramids and temples were built to honor special dates in the Maya calendar and were used for special religious ceremonies.

Tikal was first founded in the Preclassic Period (around 800 BC) and grew to be one of the dominant city-states in the Maya Empire before it was abandoned around 900 A.D. The greater Tikal complex is a protected bio-reserve of more than 57,600 hectares (142,000 acres) of wetlands, forests, and jungle that harbor a wide spectrum of plants and animals including 300 species of birds, a half-dozen species of monkeys, and five great cat species, including the Jaguar and Puma.

Beyond the impressive temples and pyramids that have made Tikal such an iconic location, visitors can explore more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of roads, terraces, public squares, ball game courts, and residences, many of which are covered in elaborate stone carvings or painted with Maya hieroglyphics that describe the history of the city. One of the most popular attractions in Tikal is known as the “Lost World” complex (“Mundo Perdido” in Spanish) that sits just southwest of Temples I and II. Many of Tikal’s ruling elite were buried in the cemetery adjacent to the site.

During its long history, Tikal had an active relationship with such important sites as Teotihuacan (later the Aztec capital) and Calakmul in Mexico, Copan in Honduras, and Caracol in Belize. Tikal is widely recognized for its wealth of art, unparalleled architecture, and large-scale engineering that demonstrate the genius of the ancient Maya.

Sanctuary of the Nine Maya Gods

To experience Tikal and a Guatemala/Belize holiday at its finest, Chabil Mar offers a complete vacation package that includes seven nights at luxury resorts, transportation, and a boat trip across the fabulous Mystic Lake Peten Itza to the see Tikal and the surrounding area.

Save