Belize for Families

Belize is an ideal destination for a family holiday with so many exciting activities for children. Many hotels and lodges offer free accommodation for children under 12 sharing their parent's room. We can recommend a family friendly trip either in the rainforest, on the coast or combining both.

The Belize rainforest offers families the chance to experience the incredible sights and sounds of the jungle firsthand. Children of all ages will enjoy seeing and hearing Howler monkeys, spotting toucans, hummingbirds, crocodiles, iguanas, and other species of wildlife and birds on guided walks or jungle river trips. The jungle is also where children can participate in array of adventure activities including cave tubing, zip lining and horse riding.

Older children will enjoy climbing one of the steep ancient Mayan temples or venturing underground into the caves such as Barton Creek Cave or Actun Tunichil Muknal.

On the coast the coral reefs will fascinate children where they can snorkel to see tropical fish, lobster, rays and even nurse sharks. The waters within the reef are crystal clear and the reef is close to the shore at Ambergris Caye meaning you can do a two stop snorkel in half a day. From Placencia and Hopkins you can visit, tiny palm dotted cayes that allow you to enter the sea from a sandy shore which is ideal for the first time snorkeller, particularly younger children. Guided snorkel trips are limited to 8 people per guide, and the guides can provide buoyancy aids for children that they can wear around their waists, this allows them to concentrate on viewing the fish and coral and just float.

Older children may enjoy sea kayaking and children aged 10 and over can also scuba dive. There are many different PADI courses available from dives shops in Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Hopkins and Placencia including courses where you can learn the theory in your home country and do the open water dives in Belize.

When to Go

Easter Holidays

The Easter holidays are a good time to visit Belize as April is one of the driest months, although can be very hot. Hotels and jungle lodges with pools are most preferable at this time of year if travelling with younger children and drinking plenty of water is essential.

Summer Holidays

Although officially in the hurricane season, the early part of the summer holidays are also an excellent time to visit Belize with your family, historically most hurricanes have tended to occur late August through October. The sea in July and August is warm and the winds tend to drop so this can be an ideal time for diving and snorkelling. Showers and thunderstorms can build up late afternoon and through the night. The temperature can get very hot inland and children of all ages need to drink plenty of water throughout the day. However, inland there are plenty of waterfalls you can visit and activities such as river tubing to cool down.

Christmas Holidays

Family holidays during the Christmas period are very popular with visitors particularly from the US and hotels also charge a premium and often and tend to get booked up very far in advance. If you want to visit Belize in the Christmas holidays it is a good idea to plan very early. It is the shoulder season in December, in most parts of the country, so temperatures tend to be cooler (mid to late 20's) with chance of rain showers.

Half Term Holidays

May and February half terms can be an excellent time to visit Belize combining a few days inland at a rainforest lodge with a few days at the coast, February is the dry season and May is the beginning of the shoulder season, both have months are hot with plenty of sunshine. October half term tends to see the heaviest rains and is at the height of the hurricane season, so is generally best avoided.

We have helped plan many family holidays for children of all ages, including multi-generational family trips. We can recommend the best routes, hotels and activities/excursions for your family based around all of your timings and interests. Do contact us to discuss your family holiday to Belize and we can quote several different itineraries for you. A phone call or video meeting is very helpful to design your bespoke Belize family holiday or please fill in an enquiry form with as much detail as possible including ages of children and preferred sleeping arrangements.