There’s something innately magical about traveling with the one you love. Sharing new experiences, tasting exotic cuisines, and witnessing breathtaking views together not only deepen bonds but also create memories that last a lifetime. And when it comes to destinations designed for couples, Belize truly stands out. A haven where pristine Caribbean shores meet lush tropical jungles, Belize promises a blend of adventure and romance, perfect for couples looking to spice up their journey.
With its rich array of historical sites, mesmerizing marine ecosystems, and distinctive cultural experiences, let’s embark on the top 10 tours that every couple should indulge in while in Belize.
Visit the Maya Temples in Belize
The rich history of Belize is intricately woven into the remains of the majestic Maya temples that dot the landscape. Three of the top sites that every couple should visit are:
Nim Li Punit: Known as the ‘Big Hat’, this temple, located in southern Belize, is adorned with several stelae telling the ancient tales of the Mayas.
Xunantunich: Meaning ‘Stone Woman’, it stands proud near the Guatemala border. Ascend its highest temple, ‘El Castillo’, and let the panoramic views take your breath away.
Lubaantun: Often referred to as the ‘Place of Fallen Stones’, this site is famous for its unique construction techniques.
Snorkel the Belize Barrier Reef
Snorkeling amidst the vibrant marine life of the Belize Barrier Reef is like entering a different world. The Silk Cayes and Laughing Bird Caye off the Placencia coast are particularly enchanting spots, with crystalline waters showcasing a dazzling array of corals and sea creatures.
Scuba Dive the Belize Barrier Reef
For those who wish to delve deeper into the underwater wonders, scuba diving beckons. Some of the top spots include:
Gladden Spit: A site known for its whale shark encounters.
The Silk Cayes: Dive with turtles and nurse sharks in this magical spot.
Glovers Reef: A UNESCO World Heritage site teeming with biodiversity.
Laughing Bird Caye: A paradise with unique coral formations and abundant marine life.
Visit the Belize Zoo
A sanctuary for native species, the Belize Zoo offers an intimate look at the wildlife of the region. From the enigmatic jaguars to the playful tapirs, it’s an educational and delightful experience.
Go on a Monkey River Tour
Journey down the Monkey River and spot howler monkeys, crocodiles, and a plethora of bird species. The lush mangroves and serene ambiance make it a romantic escape.
Tour Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
As the world’s first jaguar preserve, Cockscomb Basin offers scenic trails, waterfalls, and the unique chance to spot this elusive cat in its natural habitat.
Visit St. Herman’s Inland Blue Hole
An azure cenote surrounded by lush forest, the Inland Blue Hole is a refreshing spot to swim and relax.
Explore the Depths of the ATM Cave
For the adventure-loving couple, the ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) Cave is a journey into Belize’s Maya underworld. With pottery, skeletal remains, and unique formations, it’s a mysterious and intriguing excursion.
Learn About the Garifuna Culture
Engage with the vibrant Garifuna community, dance to the rhythms of their drumbeats, and savor traditional dishes. It’s a cultural immersion like no other.
Go on a Sunset Cruise
End your day by setting sail on the Caribbean waters. With the hues of the sunset reflecting on the calm waters, it’s a picturesque and intimate experience.
After your adventures, where better to relax than Chabil Mar? Located in Placencia, it’s the quintessential resort for couples. With its luxurious villas, pristine beaches, and impeccable service, it encapsulates the romantic essence of Belize. Every moment in Belize is a testament to the beauty of nature, history, and love. So, pack your bags and let Belize be the backdrop for your next romantic chapter.
Easily recognizable from space, the Belize Blue Hole, sometimes known as the Great Blue Hole, is one of the most iconic dive spots in Belize.
Here are 10 fascinating facts about the Belize Blue Hole:
1 – Size and Dimensions
The Belize Blue Hole is almost perfectly circular in shape, measuring 300 meters (984 feet) across and 108 meters (354 feet) deep.
2 – The Largest Sea Hole in the World
The Belize Blue Hole is the largest sea hole in the world. Sea holes refer to caves that were submerged when rising waters covered them. Most sea holes, just like the Belize Blue Hole, were submerged at the end of the last great Ice Age some 10,000 years ago.
3 – Location
The Belize Blue Hole is located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) offshore of Belize City. The perimeter of the Blue Hole is Lighthouse Reef, a natural coral atoll.
4 – Stalactites and Stalagmites
Divers can explore thousands of stalactites and stalagmites that were formed when the Blue Hole was an aboveground series of caverns.
5 – Jacques Cousteau
Legendary French documentarian and marine biologist Jacques Cousteau visited the Blue Hole in 1971. He later described the Blue Hole as one of his top favorite 10 dive sites in the world.
6 – The Name
The name “Great Blue Hole” comes from British diver Ned Middleton who wrote a book about his career as a diver in 1988 named “Ten Years Underwater”. Although the Blue Hole was charted by the Spanish, no one is sure what name they gave for the region.
7 – Discovery Channel
In 2012, the Discovery Channel ranked the Belize Blue Hole as the #1 most amazing place on Earth.
8 – UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Belize Blue Hole is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of a vast barrier reef that is the second-largest barrier reef in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
9 – Charles Darwin
In 1836, on his around the world voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin visited the Belize Barrier Reef and declared it the “most remarkable coral reefs” in the entire Caribbean.
10 – Experienced Divers Only
Due to the challenges of diving the Belize Blue Hole, only divers who have completed at least 24 divers are allowed to explore the Belize Blue Hole.
About The Belize Blue Hole
Long a secret known only to Belizean fisherman, the Belize Blue Hole became famous in 1971 when legendary marine biologist and undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau visited the site.
Cousteau and his crew aboard the Calypso explored the depths of the Blue Hole, confirming that it had been created thousands of years ago when rising tides flooded a network of caves. Declared by Cousteau as one of the top 10 best diving spots on the planet, the Belize Blue Hole is located approximately 60 miles (100 km) from the coast of Belize.
A nearly perfectly circular body of water, the Belize Blue Hole is surrounded by the Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Divers can use the shallow waters of the atoll’s lagoon to begin their descent to the now-flooded cave that contains stalactites and stalagmites up to 40 feet (12 meters) in length.The coral atoll surrounding the Belize Blue Hole has an inner ring of shallow, lighter colored water that forms a natural ring around the deeper sapphire waters of the flooded cave.
Thousands of years ago when the cave flooded, the Belize Blue Hole was formed, a vertical entrance over 980 feet (300 meters) across with a bottom more than 400 feet (125 meters) below the sea’s surface today.As divers descend into the Great Blue Hole, the dark waters start to become more clear, allowing for an impressive view of the flooded cave network that is home to a variety of marine life, including a few elusive hammerhead sharks.
Due to the complexity and depth of the dive, only experienced divers are permitted to explore the majestic underwater formations that make the Belize Blue Hole such a unique dive site.
The Blue Hole is located along the Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site part of the second-largest barrier reef system in the world.
An almost perfectly circular area of dark topaz water encircled by the Lighthouse Atoll on the Belize Barrier reef, the Great Blue Hole is one of the most intriguing and popular places to dive anywhere on Planet Earth.
Facts About The Belize Blue Hole
1.) The Blue Hole measures about 1,000 feet in circumference and is more than 400 feet deep. It is the largest natural formation of this type found anywhere in the world.
2.) The Blue Hole was formed at the end of the last Ice Age when rising seawaters flooded a series of enormous caverns. Geologists have determined that the caves first formed about 153,000 years ago and were completely submerged approximately 15,000 years ago.
3.) The Blue Hole is approximately 60 miles offshore from Belize City and is part of the Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
4.) In 1971, famed French marine biologist Jacques Cousteau visited the Blue Hole with his boat Calypso, declaring it one of the top 10 diving spots on the planet.
5.) The underwater caves of the Blue Hole are filled with giant stalactites, proof that it once existed above water.
6.) The Blue Hole is home to several species of sharks, including bull sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, and the elusive hammerhead shark.
7.) In 2012, the Discovery Channel ranked the Blue Hole as #1 on its list of 10 Most Amazing Places on Earth.
8.) The Blue Hole is visible from space, easily identifiable by its unique circular formation and location within the midst of the greater Belize Barrier Reef.
9.) The name “Blue Hole” was coined by the British diver Ned Middleton in his book “10 Years Underwater” published in 1988.
10.) Due to the complexity of diving required, the Blue Hole is restricted to experienced divers only with a minimum of 24 completed dives.
What It’s Really Like To Dive The Great Blue Hole
The Mysterious Belize Great Blue Hole is a large underwater hole off the coast of Belize. It lies near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll 100 kilometers (62 mi) from the mainland and Belize City. The hole is perfectly circular in shape, over 300 meters (1000 ft) across, 3140 feet circumference and 125 meters (410 ft) deep.
It was formed as a limestone cave system during the last glacial period when the sea level was 400 to 500 feet below present time and was dry land. Last glacial period began about 120,000 years ago and end about 15,000 years ago. Reaching the maximum extension 26,500 years ago. At the end the ocean began to rise, the caves flooded, and the roof collapsed.
Believed to be the world’s largest feature of its kind, the Great Blue Hole is part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, a World Heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The hole itself is the opening to a system of caves and passageway that penetrate this undersea mountain. In various places, massive limestone stalactites hang down from what was once the ceiling of air-filled caves thousand of years before the end of the last Ice Age 15,000 years ago. When the ice melted the sea level rose, flooding the caves. This process occurred in stages. Evidence for this are the shelves and ledges, carved into the limestone by the sea, which run the complete interior circumference of the Blue Hole at various depths.
The Blue Hole is a “karst- eroded sinkhole.” It was once a cave at the center of an underground tunnel complex whose ceiling collapsed. Some of the tunnels are thought to be linked right through to the mainland, though this has never been conclusively proved. Notable are the large population of sharks such as lemon, black tip, reef, hammerhead, and bull sharks.
Mysterious and legends always have been around the Belize Blue Hole.
This was the entrance to Xibalba?. It’s the kind of underwater geology that inspires speculation about aliens creating geometrically perfect anomalies, mermaids and monsters living in darkness.
I explored the bottom of the Blue Hole perimeter (3,140 feet circumference). To do this I dove down twice, reaching the depth of 375′ feet which took 4 to 5 hours of diving each day.
Video Music:
Start to 2:18 min. “Dawn From Four Sea Interludes” by Benjamin Britten 2:18 to 4:37 min. “300 Violin Orchestra” by Jorge Quintero 4:37 to End “Groove Armada” from Tomb Raider Soundtrack
Video and Blog courtesy of Ramon Llaneza
If you would like to explore the wonders of the Belize Blue Hole, the resort of Chabil Mar has a comprehensive scuba diving vacation package that includes a guided trip to the Blue Hole.
For more information about the Blue Hole or 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.
For more information about the Placencia Lobsterfest, 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.
For some, the act of taking vacation time presents dilemmas because time spent away from responsibilities comes with too many risks. Happily, that doesn’t have to be the case if you take to heart the advice of seasoned travelers whose business demands usually leave little time for R&R. But if you adopt these 4 tips and choose Belize as your destination, you’ll not only have fun but enjoy every minute.
1. Prioritize: You’ve got only so many days at your vacation spot, so make the most of each one.
2. Do your homework. Researching your destination can turn a holiday stay into pure pleasure.
3. Stick close to home. Travel to Belize in couple of hours means you avoid jet lag.
4. Travel during holidays to add one more day to your stay.
With these tips in mind, plan to visit as many of these 10 Belize stops as your time schedule allows in 2025.
1. The Belize Barrier Reef. As the second longest on the planet, Belize’s Barrier Reef is ideal for scuba diving, fishing, or kayaking at the reef’s edge to observe the wonderland of marine life just below the surface.
2. The Belize Blue Hole. Jacques Cousteau was captivated by this ancient sink hole. You will be too. If a deep dive is too scary to consider, why not grab a helicopter ride to take in this hole’s magnificence from the air?
3. Visit Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. Belize is home to 900+ Maya sites and each is unique. Focus your limited time on these two for a taste of the past. If you’re fascinated, you can always add more!
4. ATM Cave. This underground adventure tickles the imaginations of visitors as they learn more about ancient rituals conducted by Maya priests thousands of years ago from knowledgeable guides.
5. Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Home to the world’s only protected jaguar sanctuary, consider yourself lucky if you spot one of these sleek cats roaming their 150-square mile home turf at the edge of the Maya Mountain chain.
6. Monkey River. As soon as you approach this body of water, you’ll hear the cries of Howler monkeys emanating from jungle riverbanks. Traverse the entirety of the river and take in Monkey River Town.
7. Silk Cayes. Visitors seeking idyllic snorkeling experiences love this protected marine reserve that’s part of Belize’s Barrier Reef. Located 22 miles off the Placencia peninsula, bring a picnic lunch for an afternoon of bliss.
8. Laughing Bird Caye. The gulls for which this island was named have long since migrated to different parts of Belize leaving this haven for human visitors seeking solitude throughout a gorgeous 1.8-acre park.
9. Placencia. Considered Belize’s trendiest destination, the Placencia peninsula may measure just 19 miles long and half a mile wide, yet it’s packed with things to do, see, taste and experience, from natural attractions to nightlife and shopping. You’ll save lots of time by sojourning on Placencia if you want to do everything on this list.
10. Chabil Mar. Is there one resort on the peninsula that stands head and shoulders above the rest? There is: Chabil Mar Resort, the property that never disappoints. Book your 2025 stay early to take advantage of this property’s long list of perks, not the least of which are the fabulous Belize vacation packages and specials that can make a great stay better.
Choose the package that suits your vacation dates and interests and even if your time in country is finite, you can still take in all the recommendations on our list thanks to Chabil Mar staffers whose mission – to make certain that every guest gets their fill of Belize’s wonders – is accomplished by the friendliest people you’ve ever encountered, no matter where in the world you have traveled!
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.
The Monkey River Tour is classified as one of the top rated tours in Southern Belize
The quiet Village of Monkey River in Southern Belize is habitat to a plethora of flora and fauna and as a result, it has been rated as one of the top tours in Southern Belize. Tropical birds, butterflies, crocodiles, iguanas, and of course howler monkeys are just a few of the wildlife that visitors see on this tour.
In this post, we bring to you 10 interesting things that you might know about Monkey River.
1.) Monkey River Village lies on the coast of Southern Belize in the Toledo District and is home to about 200 people. The Village can be accessed by road or sea from destinations like Placencia and Punta Gorda Town.
2.) Monkey River Village is a perfect location to experience the amazing flora and fauna of southern Belize.
3.) Families of howler monkeys can be seen and heard here, for which the village got its name.
4.) Nature Trails, Manatee watching, and Bird watching are just a few of the tours that are available in Monkey River.
5.) Hiking the surrounding rainforest of Monkey River will likely bring you encounters with tropical birds, gibnuts, deer, ocelots, tapirs, agoutis and possibly jaguars.
6.) Monkey River was born with the banana industry and at that time in the 1800’s, the population was about 2500 people. Today, the village is home to about 200 people.
7.) The river banks in Monkey River are perfect for birding.
8.)The Monkey River tour is a 15 miles boat ride from Placencia.
9.) There are no cars and only 2 streets in Monkey River Village.
10.) In October 2001, a major hurricane devastated Monkey River Village but it has been rebuilt since then.
For more information about Monkey River or 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.
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