The Belize Backpacker’s Bucket List
Big adventures, wild places, peaceful days and everything in between.
How Many Can You Tick Off?
Belize may be a small country, but it is packed with an incredible amount of experiences.
You can dive into the Caribbean in the morning, walk through ancient Maya ruins in the afternoon, and be sitting beside a jungle river before sunset.
You can search for jaguars in the rainforest, zipline through the canopy, raft through caves, swim with sharks and rays, or simply spend an entire day in a hammock listening to the jungle.
This is not a list of things you have to rush through. The best Belize trip might involve ticking off twenty adventures. Or it might involve doing absolutely nothing for three days in a beautiful place.
🌊 The Caribbean & The Reef
Belize is home to one of the world’s great marine environments. You do not have to be an expert diver to experience it.
Snorkel The Belize Barrier Reef
Swim through clear Caribbean water surrounded by coral, colourful fish and an underwater world that makes Belize one of the world’s great reef destinations.
Swim With Nurse Sharks & Rays
Get into the water with gentle nurse sharks and southern stingrays and experience one of Belize’s most unforgettable marine encounters.
Visit Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Explore one of Belize’s most famous marine areas and see why snorkellers and divers travel from around the world to get into these waters.
See The Great Blue Hole
See one of Belize’s most famous natural landmarks from above or experience it below the surface on a serious diving adventure.
Go Scuba Diving
Explore walls, coral formations, marine life and some of the most famous dive sites in the Caribbean.
Spot Sea Turtles
Keep your eyes open while snorkelling or diving. Belize’s waters are home to several species of marine turtle.
Look For Larger Marine Life
Depending on the season and location, the waters around Belize can bring encounters with larger marine animals and unforgettable wildlife sightings.
Spend A Day On The Caribbean
Get away from the shore, feel the wind, swim in open water and spend a day remembering that you are on a Caribbean adventure.
Sleep On A Tiny Island
Spend the night somewhere where the sea is all around you and life slows down to little more than swimming, eating, relaxing and watching the sky.
🌿 The Jungle & Wildlife
Belize’s rainforest is not just something you look at from a road. Get into it and you quickly discover how much life is hiding inside.
Search For A Jaguar
Spend time in one of Belize’s protected jungle areas and keep your eyes open for one of Central America’s most legendary predators.
Take A Night Jungle Tour
The jungle completely changes after dark. Search for nocturnal wildlife, listen to the forest come alive and experience Belize after sunset.
Go Wildlife Spotting
Look for toucans, parrots, monkeys, reptiles, colourful birds and the countless smaller creatures that make the rainforest their home.
Hear Howler Monkeys
You may hear them long before you see them. Their calls echo through the forest and are one of the unmistakable sounds of Belize’s wild interior.
Sleep In The Jungle
Wake up surrounded by trees, birds and the sounds of the rainforest instead of traffic, alarms and city noise.
Visit A Butterfly Garden
Slow down and see the smaller side of Belize’s wildlife, with colourful butterflies moving through tropical gardens.
Walk Through Ancient Forest
Take a proper jungle hike and experience the heat, humidity, sounds and smells of the rainforest up close.
Watch The Jungle Wake Up
Get up early, find somewhere quiet and listen as the forest slowly comes alive around you.
🔥 The Big Adventures
If you came to Belize looking for adrenaline, there is plenty waiting for you.
Go Cave Tubing
Float into the darkness through Belize’s cave systems and combine a relaxing river journey with one of the country’s most unique adventures.
Explore A Maya Cave
Go deeper into Belize’s underground world and discover caves that were once important sacred places to the ancient Maya.
Explore Actun Tunichil Muknal
Enter one of Belize’s most extraordinary archaeological and cave experiences, where history, mythology and adventure come together underground.
Go Ziplining
Fly above the jungle canopy and see the rainforest from a completely different perspective.
Go River Rafting
Get out on the river, navigate moving water and experience a side of Belize that many visitors never see.
Hike To A Waterfall
Walk through the forest, work up a sweat and finish somewhere where you can cool off in beautiful natural surroundings.
Climb A Maya Temple
Stand above the jungle at an ancient Maya site and take in the view that stretches across the landscape below.
Kayak A River Or Lagoon
Paddle quietly through mangroves, rivers and coastal waters while keeping an eye out for wildlife.
Try Rappelling
Descend into the jungle or cave environment and discover another way to experience Belize’s dramatic landscapes.
🏛️ History, Culture & People
Belize is not only about beaches and jungle. Its history stretches back thousands of years and its culture is one of the country’s greatest experiences.
Visit An Ancient Maya City
Walk through the remains of a civilisation that shaped the history of this entire region.
See Xunantunich
Climb above the surrounding landscape and explore one of Belize’s most impressive ancient Maya sites.
Explore Caracol
Travel deep into the Maya Mountains and discover one of the great archaeological sites of the ancient Maya world.
Visit A Maya Site By Boat
Make the journey part of the adventure and reach an archaeological site through Belize’s rivers and waterways.
Experience Garifuna Culture
Discover the music, food, history and traditions of one of Belize’s most important cultural communities.
Learn A Traditional Dance
Listen to the drums, join in and experience Belizean culture instead of simply watching it from the outside.
🍛 Eat Your Way Through Belize
Some of the best memories you take home will not be photographs. They will be the food you still think about months later.
Eat Rice & Beans With Stew Chicken
Try one of Belize’s classic meals and discover why simple food can be some of the most satisfying.
Eat Fresh Seafood
Enjoy the day’s catch, from fresh fish to seafood dishes served along the coast and on the islands.
Try Local Hot Sauce
Belizean hot sauce is not something to ignore. Try it carefully and work your way up.
Drink From A Fresh Coconut
There are few things more appropriate in the Caribbean than drinking something cold and fresh beneath the tropical sun.
Try A Local Beer
Find somewhere relaxed, order a cold local beer and enjoy the simple pleasure of having nowhere else you need to be.
Have A Drink At Sunset
Find a beach, a dock, a rooftop or a quiet bar and watch the day disappear over the Caribbean.
🏝️ Island Life
Sometimes the whole point of travelling to Belize is to slow down.
Explore An Island By Bicycle
Leave the car behind, take it slowly and explore the island at your own pace.
Walk Without A Plan
Sometimes the best way to discover a place is simply to start walking and see what you find.
Watch The Sunrise
Get up early at least once and watch the Caribbean begin another day.
Watch The Sunset
Stop moving for a while. Find a good view and let the day end properly.
Go Fishing
Get out on the water and experience an important part of life in coastal Belize.
Take A Water Taxi
Travel between the mainland and the islands by boat and enjoy the journey across the Caribbean.
🌿 The Things You Do When You Stop Rushing
Not every experience needs an entrance ticket, a guide, an itinerary or an adrenaline rush.
Some of the best Belize memories might come from the days you never planned properly.
- 🌱 Stay on an eco-farm and learn how people live closer to the land.
- 🛖 Spend a few days in a jungle lodge surrounded by nothing but trees and wildlife.
- 📖 Find a hammock and read an entire book.
- ☕ Have a slow breakfast and let the morning disappear.
- 🌧️ Listen to tropical rain falling on a roof.
- 🌿 Spend an entire day doing absolutely nothing.
- 🌌 Sit outside at night and look up at the stars.
- 🎶 Listen to the sounds of the jungle after dark.
- 🏝️ Stay somewhere beautiful and refuse to check the time.
- 🌅 Watch the sunset without taking a photograph.
You do not have to fill every day of your Belize trip. Sometimes the experience you remember most is the day you cancelled your plans, found somewhere peaceful and simply stayed there.
🇧🇿 You Do Not Need To Do Everything
That is the best thing about Belize.
One person might come for the diving. Another might come to search for jaguars in the jungle. Someone else might spend their entire trip chasing Maya ruins, caves and waterfalls.
And somebody else might find an eco-farm, lie in a hammock and decide that the perfect Belize adventure is doing absolutely nothing for a week.
There is no correct way to experience Belize.
Pick the adventures that sound like you.
“Collect moments,
not things.”
Because the places you see, the people you meet, and the stories you bring home will always be worth more than anything you could have packed in your bag.