Do you love aqua water? Great food? Travel to this country costs less than you think.

Our church goes on mission every spring break.  I usually don't participate, due to a chronic illness.  A couple of weeks ago, my husband insisted that I could join them for the last weekend, the "fun" part of the trip.

"How expensive is it?  Do we really want to pay for me to fly down just for the weekend?"

We found that I could get a round-trip ticket from Houston to Belize for under $400.  I joined Sam and our two grown up children there for a weekend of exploring and dining. We traveled by boat to the island of Ambergris Caye. There, most people rent a golf cart (instead of car or cab) and tour the whole island.  We shared an economic hotel room for $70 a night at the Coral Beach Hotel. 

http://www.coralbeachhotel.com/

(I will insert all hotel and restaurant names later today.)

For less than the cost of Sea World here in the U.S, we hired a guide to take 6 of us to an area on a coral reef where we could touch sharks and sting rays.  This is the famous Shark Ray Alley know to divers and snorkelers all over the world.  Our guide, Manuel, agreed to take us for just $35 each.  It was the most fabulous wildlife encounter of my life!

Since we hope to hop all the islands possible in our lifetimes, Sam and I do vacations economically.  We found that on San Pedro, you can go to small grocery stores and pick up breakfast items and water much cheaper than at the tourist stands. 

A globe-trotting missionary friend, Craig Miller of Global Impact, recommended the key lime pie at Celi's restaurant.  We tried it.  The pie arrived with mile-high meringue and a flaky crust, with mouth-watering, tangy filling.  It was worth the entire trip!

http://www.sanpedroholiday.com/celis.html

Belizeans speak English, so don't worry about getting a Spanish-English dictionary.  All in all, we spent about $200 each for the weekend, include meals.  (That doesn't count airfare.)  It's easy to drop that much cash in a weekend here in the states, say, if you go to San Antonio.  I highly recommend including Belize on your vacation itinerary, even if you travel with a budget.  The sights, sounds, and flavors are truly unforgettable.


See more photos:

http://community.webshots.com/user/samiam8605