By Elizabeth Barnard
If you like to get outdoors and explore, Belize has some fantastic opportunities. Thirst Missions teams typically enjoy a trip to the Mayan ruins in the middle of their trip and snorkeling during their last 24 hours in the country, but there’s nothing “typical” about recreation in Belize.
Mayan Ruins 
Each Mayan ruin offers a unique experience. The ruins at Altun Ha are very open, while Lamanai lays in the deep jungle, and a visit to Xunantunich takes you across a hand-cranked “moving bridge” that’s really a ferry that runs along a rope across the river—high adventure.
Most of our teams go to Lamanai. The traditional way to get there is by bus on Indiana Jones-style roads through the jungle. Another great way to get there is aboard a small riverboat from Orange Walk—this not only allows you to ride along one of the great rivers of Belize but see life from a different angle and enjoy the wildlife that lives in the waters and on the shoreline. Taking time to stop and feed the monkeys, see the bats, or watch a croc swim are some of the favorite pastimes before pulling up to Lamanai and going back in time.
Cave Tubing and Zip Lining
While the Mayan ruins are amazing, we wanted our teams to have more recreation options in Belize, so we added cave tubing, zip lining, the Blue Hole National Park and St. Herman’s Cave tour, and the Bacab Eco Park. Each of these shows a different side of the beauty of Belize. Cave tubing starts with a jungle trek, fording a couple of shallow rivers, and then commences in earnest with a plunge into the river.
Tubes are tied into groups of eight and each group has its own guide. Tubers wear hard hats equipped with spotlights so they can see in the caves. The water is cool and refreshing and the cave formations created by water rushing through the caves in flood season are really fun to see. The caves of Belize are unique in the world, and a must-see.
If you want to experience the jungle foliage from a different angle, zip lining allows you to soar through the treetops and over the winding rivers. This course provides many different platforms for you to view the nature from above.
The Belize Zoo brings you up close and personal with animals that you only hear about or see on television. Bacab Eco Park is a lush jungle playground with over 200 species of tropical plants, towering hardwoods and palms, a substantial wildlife population, a great thatched roof open air restaurant, and the largest swimming pool in Belize.
Caye Caulker
The trip out to Caye Caulker starts with the water taxi, which makes for a fun boat ride, great conversations, and interesting people watching, to say the least. We’ve ridden the boat alongside everyone from ex-Israeli special forces members to World Bank employees on vacation to bronzed Jimmy Buffet island types.
Out on the caye you can enjoy a relaxing sunset cruise or reef fishing, but our most popular option is snorkeling along the barrier reef that lies just off the shore of Caye Caulker. There you’ll see all manner of tropical fish, and the dizzying beauty of the reef, and even swim with nurse sharks and rays if you want. We’ve also added options for longer tours and even night snorkeling, which brings out an entire different aquatic population. Swimming in the well known “split” at the northern end of the island is a hit for the locals and tourist alike.
No matter which one you try, each recreation option is magical, opening up your eyes to the beauty of Belize. Let your consultant help guide you through this process of choosing, and know that each time you come you can try something different and experience everything Belize has to offer.
Elizabeth Barnard is a missions consultant and trip leader with Thirst Missions. Her happy place is in the Belizean jungle and waters.
