WEEK 3 Meeting of the Mayans
San Ignacio Belize and Tikal Guatemala
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8 - FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2025
Getting there…
You'll need to book your round trip flight from the US to/from Belize City International (BZE) and we'll take care of the rest! *If you are continuing beyond week 3, you'll book a one way into Belize City and exit the expedition later in the trip. All major US carriers fly here and most flights arrive within a couple hours of each other around noon. BZE is a very small airport and easy to navigate.
We will have private shuttles waiting on your arrival at BZE to transfer you the 2 hour drive to the resort in San Ignacio where we will be waiting to get you settled in. This is included in your package price. We will be using the shuttles all week to make our way to the various activities and they will return us to Belize City on Thursday and subsequent return to BZE if you are flying home or continuing onward.
STOWAWAYS CONTINUING FROM SAN PEDRO (from week 2)
If you are already with us from the second week in San Pedro and continuing for week three, we will fly from San Pedro to Belize City municipal airport Saturday morning (included) and board our shuttle vans for the 2 hour drive to San Ignacio where you’ll have the afternoon to settle in as we wait to greet the new arrivals flying into BZE and taking a separate shuttle to the hotel.
WEEK 3 RESORT #1- SAN IGNACIO BELIZE
Welcome to the jungle baby! Week three is a perfect combination of beautiful scenery, blissful views from the host hotel, historic encounters with ancient civilizations, and exotic escape into the jungles and mountains. always a few degrees cooler and surprisingly, not many mosquitoes! Our accommodation for the week- Cahal Petch Resort- is locally owned and an absolute gem set atop a mountain with views for miles and miles! You’ll have your own private room nestled among the trees and vegetation with howler monkeys in the distance and even the occasional visit from a toucan. Each room is cozily furnished with a mini fridge, coffee maker, cold AC and ceiling fan and with a variety of beds and all packages include breakfast every morning at the hotel, and lunch is included on all of the excursions. Cahal Petch Resort even has “rustic” cabana’s you can choose from if you want to truly make your week a unique one (they are actually very nice)! The resort is a short 1/2 mile cab ride to the town’s shopping, restaurants and bars and features an on site bar and very large pool and sunbathing area. In addition, the Cahal Petch Mayan site is literally steps from your room. It’s the perfect place for a week of adult summer camp with the best views in town!
WEEK 3 MOTM ITINERARY
Saturday February 8- Arrival Day
After arriving at the resort, you will have a few hours to relax and get into vacation mode. Saturday night we waste no time getting you into the jungle as we shuttle the group 15 minutes to one of the coolest places you'll ever see- The Bluff -for Mike's Saturday night welcome party show. Words truly can't describe this place or the amazing locals that hang out here...you really just have to see it with your own eyes! Here you'll have dinner (not included) and Mike's show before returning to the resort that night.
Sunday February 9- Open Morning and Mayan Ruin Tours
Sunday morning is yours! Relax with your million dollar view while you enjoy your included breakfast. Hit the pool, or take a stroll through town. You might decide to grab a cheap taxi just down the street to visit the San Ignacio Iguana Sanctuary and spend the morning learning more about these incredible animals. We have a professionally guided trip for the afternoon to visit Xunantunich Mayan site with breathtaking views of the valley (lunch included) followed by a walking tour of Cahal Petch Mayan Site that is literally steps from our hotel.
Sunday night we will a have group dinner together close to the hotel (not included) to start getting to know our new friends and finish off with an easy night of drinks at the hotel.
Monday February 10- River Pontoon Party
Monday morning after your included breakfast, we will load the shuttles for a drive out deep in the bush for a day excursion of a lifetime on a giant pontoon on the Mayan River. We're not gonna lie, the "roads" getting there are pretty rough, and on the final stretch, we have to switch to 4x4's to get down to the water; but the reward waiting at the end lies on a huge pontoon boat exploring jingle waterfalls on an exotic river that’ll make you feel like you’re in an Indiana Jones movie! It is truly an awesome day and likely will be one of your best memories ever! We'll have a delicious Belizean lunch (included) of fresh grilled meats right on the boat with delicious sides and snacks and spend the day swimming and exploring the backwoods and river. It's been a favorite day among our previous year's guests and it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that’s hard to find anywhere else.
Monday night we'll return to the hotel in time for dinner (not included) and a much needed sleep night!
Tuesday February 11- Free Day (optional excursions)
Tuesday is yours (and so is the included breakfast!) The area of Cayo that we are staying in has an abundance of exciting day excursions to offer: including zip lines, cave hiking, tubing, hikes to Mountain Pine Ridge Forest and Big Rock Falls (a 1000ft waterfall), a hike through an ancient Mayan cave (the ATM caves) with actual human remains from Mayan sacrifices, as well as other sites in the area and even horseback riding tours. We will connect you at a later date to our friend Raffa who books all of these tours and can set up pretty much any kind of day trip your heart desires (these excursions are not included, but we do get a discount). You might also choose to lounge around on a slow stroll into town and spend the day shopping and exploring- or simply lay by the pool sipping umbrella drinks all day and enjoy the warm weather. It's your vacation, you get to decide!
Tuesday night we will likely organize a group dinner and possible impromptu Mike Nash performance.
Wednesday February 12- Tikal Guatemala Group Field Trip
Wednesday we load the passenger vans after an early morning breakfast (included) for an amazing day long trip to visit the ancient Mayan city of Tikal and our second passport stamp of the trip in Guatemala (included). We will cross the border and enjoy the 2 hour drive in a comfortable bus through the Guatemalan countryside directly to the visitors center. On this professionally guided tour, we will visit the main sights of the Tikal Mayan complex which is estimated to have over 3,000 structures dating back to 406 AD; including palaces, temples, ceremonial platforms, ball courts, terraces, plazas, causeways, and reservoirs. See several of the main temples including the tallest structure which measures 212 feet. This trip includes a delicious Guatemalan “tipico” lunch at a local mom n pop restaurant and we will return to the resort around 6pm.
Wednesday evening will be an open dinner night to explore some of the delicious options in town.
Thursday February 13- Cave Tubing and move to Belize City
Thursday morning (after the included breakfast) we'll pack out of San Ignacio and head out for an afternoon of cave tubing and adventure on our way back to Belize City! This is a very relaxing and easy float for all ages with only minimal hiking on flat ground, we recommend water shoes as opposed to flip flops for this activity. When we are done (changing rooms on site) we will enjoy lunch at the local restaurant (included) and continue on to Belize City for the night to make Thursday's departure much easier. We’ll stay at the Ramada Princess Casino Hotel which close to the airport and perfect for a one night “crash pad”- clean, comfy and convenient. We assign the different bed types based on need and number of guests in each room. These rooms are included in your package and consist mostly of queens or two doubles. We assign these as necessary and there’s no need to concern with upgrades as it’s only for a night. Thursday night, there are dinner options on site as well as in the area and if you’re not quite finished spending money on vacation, they do have a nice casino on site as well!
Friday February 14- Moving Day: Belize to week 4 (or flying home to US)
Friday you’ll have all morning to relax, enjoy the included breakfast, and get ready for your departure flights from Belize City (BZE). Most flights don’t leave until 1pm or later and you will schedule your transport time at check in (included). If you are continuing on with us to week 4 in Roatan, we’ll have most of the day to take our time as the private hop flight doesn’t leave BZE until 4pm. Week 4 guests will go along with us in the transport and on the same small hop flight to Roatan (1hr flight).
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ALL IN ONE PRICING: WEEK 3
As with all of our trips, we like to package everything together to make your vacation planning a lot easier. This out the door price includes all of your ground transport for the week, your room in San Ignacio from Saturday through Thursday and room for Thursday night in Belize City, with included daily breakfast as well as lunch on all of the excursion days. It also includes Mike Nash’s show at The Bluff, Sunday’s Mayan Site Tour, Monday’s Mayan River Float, Wednesday’s Guatemala trip and Thursday’s Cave Tubing for two people. Your expenses beyond this will be your US flights, all non-included meals, tips, drinks, shopping and any optional excursions you might do on your own.
$2200 for two (7 days)
THINGS TO BRING
PACK LIGHT: It's 85 degrees and sunny just about every day of the year in these destinations! You don't need to bring nearly as much as you think. We recommend packing as light as possible (a smaller suitcase is even better) not only for ease of carrying your luggage around (especially for the WEEK 3 folks as we are moving around quite a bit) but it will also leave room to take home souvenirs. There are cheap laundry services at every location as well if you have the need.
SNACKS: If you're like me and love your American snacks, I recommend packing them in your suitcase or carry on (yes you can bring food on to a plane, just not liquids). They have grocery stores in these countries(not exactly like a Wal Mart mind you) but most American things are tourist priced accordingly as the locals don't eat what we eat. Also I like to bring my own coffee just cause I'm a coffee snob like that....feel free to bring anything you think you can't live without for a week. There are plenty of food trucks, restaurants and grocery stores around with pretty much the same selection you'll find back home.
BUG SPRAY: It's expensive here for a reason. Bring it...you'll thank me on a breezeless day!
(by the way, it's better if it has deet in it)
SUNSCREEN: (see bug spray above..bring it!)
SLEEP: Eye blinders can be a big plus when traveling to these destinations. The sun goes down at 6pm and comes up at 6am every day of the year and some of the rooms don't have much in the way of black out drapes. You'll thank me!
LIQUOR: Duty Free on your way is is the cheapest place you'll find top shelf brands. We personally drink the local rum and vodka as well as beers and rum, and they are cheap. If you drink anything else you'll want to hit duty free on the way in and bring it as it can be pricey in town at these places.
BACKPACK COOLER OR SMALL COLLAPSIBLE COOLER YOU CAN FIT IN YOUR SUITCASE: This one pretty much explains itself!
MONEY: The exchange rate is pinned at 2 Belizean dollars for 1 US for cash and Costa Rica is around 550:1 (don't get too excited though, they price things accordingly). There isn't much need to exchange your US dollars as they are accepted right along side of the local currency everywhere we will go. They might give you change in the local currency, and of course they won't always be able to break a hundred, so I'd recommend bringing smaller bills if you're going the cash route. $20's and below are fine. US credit cards are accepted nearly everywhere (with the exception of street vendors and some souvenir shops) but keep in mind you'll want to bring cash for tips and things you cannot buy with credit card. You can usually add a tip to the credit card bill as well but it's always good to have a little cash on hand. Do check your bill before tipping though as many bars and restaurants will add a 10% gratuity automatically which is a fair amount for this trip. Don't forget to make sure you have "no foreign transaction fees" on the card you'll be using and call to let your cc company know you'll be traveling abroad. Credit cards in Belize actually run a bit less than 2:1 but it's not a big issue unless you're making a large purchase. Roatan and the other countries run concurrently with the daily exchange rate at the bank.
SNORKEL GEAR: If you've got room, feel free to bring it. You can of course rent it at the places we go, but if you have your own you can just jump in the water and swim out a bit to the reef...it's not that far from shore.
WATER SHOES/HIKING GEAR: You will want to bring comfortable walking shoes for our group excursions and Maya ruins exploring. Bring water shoes if you plan to zip-line and river raft. For the Costa Rica week, these are a must.
STAYING CONNECTED: The arrival airports do have free wi-fi (though it can be spotty) so you shouldn't need to turn your phone off of airplane mode the entire trip unless you just want to. Most US carriers will work in all of the countries we will visit (Verizon for $10, AT&T and T-mobile are free) but we've found we rarely need the actual phone and there's free high speed wi-fi everywhere so (as much as it sucks not to take off that electronic leash) you won't have to worry about being un-connected very often.
please note that there will be no cancellations allowed after September 1st.
If you anticipate any issues, we recommend purchasing travel insurance from an innden