The online travel magazine Travel Noire has named Belize one of the top destinations to escape to during the winter. That’s no surprise to us. There are many good reasons to visit Belize during the winter months. Here are just a few.

Belize Has Something for Everyone

Belize is the perfect destination for every traveler. If you enjoy outdoor adventures, you’re covered with incredible hiking, fishing, cave exploring, and wilderness treks. Do you enjoy immersing yourself in history and culture? Dive into Belize’s rich mix of cultures and its historical importance as a primary site of the Maya civilization. If you prefer taking it easy on the beach, welcome to some of the most stunning, white-sand beaches and easygoing beach towns in the world.

The Weather Is at Its Best

Belize is warm and sunny most of the year, but the weather is most pleasant from December through March. It’s not unbearably hot, and you can enjoy most outdoor activities. Average daytime temperatures are in the mid-to-high-70s. Ocean breezes make it enjoyable to walk around, hike, sail, go to the beach, or tour Belize’s many attractions. 

It’s the High Season in Belize

Winter is the main tourist season in Belize, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be surrounded by crowds. It never gets overly busy in this sparsely populated country where much of the natural land is wild and untouched. That just means everything is open, and you can do everything on your Belize bucket list.

Festival Fever Is Raging

Belize is known for its many colorful festivals, and the winter months are a wonderful way to experience Belizean cuisine, music, crafts, and history. It’s the only country with two major carnivals, the San Pedro Carnival and Fiesta de Carnaval, which are both in February. December brings the Maya Solstice Festival, a holiday boat parade, Christmas celebrations, and a Boxing Day festival. 

Make Your Stay Special at Chabil Mar 

To get the most out of your Belize vacation, stay at Chabil Mar. This luxurious, full-service resort is just steps from the gorgeous beaches of Placencia. Stay in a private villa with a private pier, award-winning restaurants, and guest-exclusive amenities. Check out our Belize vacation packages for a stay that’s truly special.  

The 17th annual Battle of the Drums Competition and Show is returning for the first time in two years since the pandemic hit and with only a few more days to spare, the tempo among competitors and spectators is growing by the minute as they await the return of one of the biggest cultural events in the country.

The Competition

The Battle of the Drums as it is known locally is scheduled to take place this weekend on November 12th at the Punta Gorda Sporting Complex. It is held annually the weekend prior to Garifuna Settlement Day celebration and is used as a means to pay tribute to the Garifuna people, and their culture through traditional music. With the event being put on pause for two years due to the pandemic and having to revert to online, this year’s celebration is promising to be the biggest yet, with not only local competitors but drummers from Honduras and Guatemala, for a face-to-face duel. The competition will include Garifuna musical genres in gunjei, hungu hungu, parranda, punta and punta rock subgenres.

History of the Battle of the Drums

First introduced on November 17th, 2006, the first competition was held in Punta Gorda Town, and having been well received among competitors, locals, and visitors the event was dubbed a major success. Within the following two years, word of the competition had not only spread across the country but in the neighboring Garifuna communities across the border in Guatemala and Honduras, sparking interest among drummers, and drawing a much larger audience. While the festivities serve as a venue to display the Garifuna culture and music, proceeds from the sale of tickets are used to fund Garifuna cultural projects within Punta Gorda Town and other communities.

History of the Garifuna People

The Garifuna people in Belize are descendants of a shipwreck slave ship who intermarried with the Arawak Indians of the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. To escape further persecution, they fled to Central America, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Over the years they have settled along the coast of Belize in areas such as Dangriga which is considered the cultural capital as well as Punta Gorda, Hopkins, Seine Bight, and other smaller communities in the south. Garinagu are a proud set of people who have managed to preserve their unique culture through songs, dance, food, and language. They mostly express themselves through their dance and music, which have specific functions and are embedded with their values, morals, history, and identity.

Where to Stay When in The South

Whether or not you can keep up with the fast-paced dancing and drumming, we can guarantee that by the end of the day you will be beaten by exhaustion and looking for that perfect escape. We suggest that you take advantage of our impeccable service at Chabil Mar. We pride ourselves in being a top-tier resort located in Placencia Village and within close proximity to Punta Gorda Town where the event is scheduled to take place.

Twenty-five-year-old Ashley Lightburn, a resident of Belize City, is Belize’s latest beauty ambassador as she was able to snatch the Miss Universe Belize Crown, at the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, August 13^th, 2022.

Despite strong competition from five other contestants who all participated in segments of Swimsuit, Evening Gown, and a few rounds of Questions and Answers, Lightburn was able to sway the judge’s decision in her favor.

Lightburn who is a Project Manager Officer at a local bank and adjunct lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Belize will now go on to represent Belize at the Miss Universe Pageant, which will be held in December of this year at an unannounced venue.

Lightburn holds a Bachelor’s in Pure Mathematics and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Business Administration. She says, “This pageant, to me, is not only about displaying external beauty but also about inner beauty. I aim to show young girls that you can have all beauty and brains, and you should use it to inspire others and build your country. “

The first runner-up is Alina Scott, a twenty-seven-year-old Ph.D. Candidate and Littlefield Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, who hails from the Cayo District. She holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in History and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in History, Scott, who was the crowd’s favorite and appeared to have been one of the strongest competitors among the delegates, has represented Belize at several international volleyball competitions.

The second runner-up place went to Samantha Singh, a twenty-seven-year-old writer from Placencia, Stann Creek District. Singh holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Loyola New Orleans and a Culinary Arts Degree from The New School of Cooking.

A total of six contestants from Belize City, Belmopan, Placencia, Orange Walk, San Ignacio, and Spanish Lookout, all walked their hearts out on the stage, but despite being armed with dazzling smiles, gracious poses, and drop-dead gorgeous looks, only one was able to snatch the crown and become the 2022-2023 Miss Universe Belize.

Chabil Mar joins the nation in congratulating Miss Ashley Lightburn on such a huge accomplishment. We are certain that she will represent our jewel to the best of her ability and wish her nothing but success as she embarks on this one-of-a-kind journey.

We also wanted to express our appreciation to all the other candidates who participated in this year’s competition and commend them on their bravery, dedication, and commitment.

Discover Paradise at the 11th Annual End of the World Marathon

2022 is your chance to join the eleventh annual celebration of the End of the World Marathon. While the Maya calendar suggested that the apocalypse might happen on December 21, 2012, runners from around the world continue to participate in a marathon and half marathon through the streets of Placencia. For the people of Belize, it’s another way to celebrate their connection to the Maya Empire and a way to do good in the community.

Running For a Greater Good

There’s some irony in the fact that the End of the World Marathon is actually about building a better world. More specifically, all the proceeds raised at the End of the World marathon go to education in Belize. This is especially crucial because education beyond eighth grade requires tuition, making it prohibitive for many poorer families to get the education they need. Proceeds are specifically donated to dozens of high school, university, and vocational trade school scholarships offered to economically disadvantaged Belizean youth.

A Lot More to Do Than Just Run

If the idea of running a marathon sounds exhausting to you, there’s a whole lot of fun to be had anyway. That’s because the people love a good festival, and the End of the World Marathon is as good an excuse as any. While the runners train hard for the marathon, others work hard putting together costumes, stages, and events to keep things rolling throughout the day. And if you’re looking to slake your thirst, you’ll find plenty of food and drink along the marathon route.

And the Perfect Opportunity to Visit

Ultimately, you shouldn’t need an excuse to visit Placencia — but it would be a shame to come all the way down for a marathon and not see what else there is around the village. The peninsula of Placencia is unique in its own right thanks to the fact that it’s 20 miles long but only a half-mile wide. That means you’ll have plenty of opportunities to kick back on the beach after the run — but Placencia also puts you close to the Belize Barrier Reef, ancient Maya ruins, the Cockscomb Wildlife Jaguar Sanctuary, and the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave.

Find the Right Place to Stay

All of Placencia is gorgeous, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be selective about where you stay. If you’re in town to run in the marathon, cheer on a loved one, or merely spectate, Chabil Mar offers world-class amenities while also being directly along the marathon route.

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.