Not every family complained about spending too much time with loved ones during 2020. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Covid cemented relationships, improved and strengthened bonds. That’s why planning a family holiday to Belize devoted to unabashed fun should be on your family calendar — in ink — for 2022. 

What’s the first thing to do to make this trip happen? Finding an ideal “home base.” No property outshines Chabil Mar Resort on the Placencia peninsula when it comes to accommodation options, onsite activities, gourmet dining and a wealth of tour options members of your family will love.

Need ideas? These recommendations from frequent Chabil Mar guests offer a taste of Belize’s diversity, but if your clan has the energy and stamina to keep going, the resort staff will be delighted to suggest and book more!

1. Take the Monkey River Tour. This gentle boat ride is designed for family members of all ages. Sail into the jungle. Look for iguana, turtles, and other marine animals and take the nature tour where spotting Howler Monkeys you have heard throughout your journey will delight kids and adults alike.

2. Hike the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. If you like your wildlife really wild, this is your destination. Search for the jaguar, jaguarundi, margay, ocelot, and puma that prowl the 128,000-acre preserve. There’s a small admission fee but this super-sized experience is worth every penny.

3. Make friends with whale sharks. Between April and July, whale sharks show up at the Gladden Spit in a ritual that is as old as Earth’s creation. Ask your Chabil Mar host for details on the excursion that lets you swim with these gentle creatures as part of a dive package or on a solo excursion.

4. Immerse yourselves in Placencia’s rich culture by strolling Placencia Village. Shop Placencia for souvenirs. If you’re in the country in February, attend the Placencia Peninsula Arts Festival and expect to be dazzled by paintings, sculptures, glass, furniture, embroidery plus the spirited music and dancing that is unique to Belize.

5. Get wet and stay wet. Placencia is a finger of land that offers water sports enthusiasts both an ocean and a lagoon side and both are heavens if family members can’t get enough activity. Sail into the ocean and fish for Snapper, Kingfish and Wahoo, borrow a Chabil Mar kayak or catamaran to explore the shoreline or do both!

6. Snorkel and dive at Laughing Bird Caye National Park. This World Heritage site is home to a huge variety of colorful, exotic marine life, and since it is located in close proximity to Placencia Village and Chabil Mar, family members won’t waste a minute of precious time to undertake this excursion.

7. Experience the Belize Barrier Reef. It’s the one place every visitor must-see because it’s the second-longest on Earth and the expanse is filled with eye candy. Rugged coral reefs are picturesque and the marine life living on and around the reef are remarkable exhibits of nature’s diversity.

How ambitious are your family members? We ask because there’s much more to see and do at Chabil Mar. For folks who want an effortless family holiday, the resort’s Belize family package is the smart way to go. Share package details with your family and keep a camera handy for their reactions!

For more information about 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 or WhatsApp us at +501-633-757.  

Belize is no stranger to bold ecological preservation plans. The government’s holistic approach to nature management extends from the jungles and mountains of the Cayo District all the way to the unique beauty of the Belize Barrier Reef — but what’s happening at the Maya Forest Corridor should be enough to excite even the most knowledgeable of preservationists. And if the model works, it could potentially set a blueprint for other conservation projects both in Belize and elsewhere.

The Maya Forest Corridor

While it can be easy to see different ecosystems as bubbles with their own comfortably self-contained relationship of flora and fauna, that’s rarely actually the case. Like many Central American nations, Belize is home to a wide variety of different ecosystems, and each is home to its own selection of wildlife.

But the simple fact is that animals don’t understand the territorial lines that we set as humans — and many animals prescribe to territories that have them spanning multiple habitats. The stretch of interior known as the Maya Forest Corridor is essentially the equivalent of an interstate highway for much of Belize’s wildlife. The Corridor connects together two of the most important habitats within the country — the Belize Maya Forest located in the northwestern Cayo District and the Maya Mountains Massif network to the south.

This stretch of land is traversed by fierce jaguars and other wild cats in addition to less frightening creatures like opossums and tapirs. Jaguars, in particular, rely on this corridor — as these solitary and endangered predators rely on large stretches of territory. And while Cockscomb Basin offers the world’s first jaguar preserve, it won’t be enough to reintegrate them into their environment on its own.

What’s Being Done to Protect It

Fortunately, conservationists throughout Belize realize how critical this corridor is to the ecosystem, and the Belize government has begun buying up land along the Coastal Road as a way to bolster the corridor and create a network of preserves that can maintain its existence.

That’s not to say that the future of the Maya Forest Corridor is certain. While the Belizean government is well known for its commitment to ecological preservation issues, there are plenty of industries and interests that could make use of the land within the corridor. If you want to see this stretch of beauty for yourself and see why the Maya Forest Corridor is such a big deal, be sure to stay at Chabil Mar – the ideal gateway for your journeys into the country’s rugged interior.

Who deserves a summer vacation more than you do? Your kids! They’ve had to deal with a frightening year that turned their lives upside down. At-home schooling. Fewer recreational activities. And what kid doesn’t want to hang out with friends instead of quarantining at a distance? For these reasons and more, your family needs a vacation.

You agree but wonder where to go for a proper vacation. Find Belize on the map, explain to the kids that it only takes a few hours to reach this English-speaking nation and then describe mysterious caves, jungles filled with animals they thought only lived in zoos – and while you’re at it, inform everyone that someone else will take care of chores like cleaning cooking meals and tidying up. You’ll get buy-in from everyone!

Fun, affordable and luxurious

If you think that those three words can’t be used in the same sentence when describing a vacation venue, you’ve never heard of Chabil Mar, a tropical paradise where every moment is memory-making. Chabil Mar is a full-service boutique property on the Placencia peninsula, Belize’s trendiest destination. Onsite amenities include everything you seek in a full-service resort: roomy, beautifully appointed lodgings, two infinity pools, and 400 feet of private beach.

Kids who have proven themselves to be picky eaters will join the proverbial Clean Plate Club after busy days of activity and adventure and the best way to enjoy a complete experience without needing a spreadsheet to figure out how to customize your stay is to opt for the Chabil Mar Belize Family Vacation Package.

Spend a week together in paradise

The family vacation package never disappoints. It includes in-country transportation, accommodations, gourmet dining, taxes, service charges, tours and adventures. These are no ordinary outings! Specialty tours from which family members can choose include trips to ancient Maya ruins, a Monkey River Howler Monkey Tour, or a visit to the Cockscomb Jaguar Nature Preserve. Shopping is just minutes away in the charming Village of Placencia where cultural delights are found everywhere you look, from crafts and food to entertainments.

Select attractions family members want included in this package and add opportunities to visit other Maya ruins and caves, take jungle treks, dive, snorkel, fish, sail around the Belize Barrier Reef or just chill out onsite. Borrow the resort’s golf carts, kayaks, and bikes to explore this 16-mile-long finger of land. And keep this important point in mind: Chabil Mar’s Covid protocols remain in place to make certain everyone in your family stays safe and healthy.

If you can think of a single reason to say no to what is likely to be the vacation of a lifetime, watch this video footage: