Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

Seamlessly organized 19 of our employees and a perfect boat and beach day for all
Kayla Wagner | August 7, 2023

We used Patricia and her team to plan our company retreat in July 2023. They seamlessly organized 19 of our employees and a perfect boat and beach day for all. Patricia’s office (we especially worked with Julianie) is amazing. I would not hesitate to recommend them to you if headed to Belize. In the lead-up to this trip I had several chats with Patricia about personal travel as well, and she always had the best ideas and knew the ins and outs of each hotel and tour. They know all of the spots and if you need support on your trip they’ll be there for you!

Located right on the beach, and the pool and backyard felt secluded
Brett Myers | June 13, 2023

The house we stayed at was wonderful. It was located right on the beach, and the pool and backyard felt secluded. I would stay here again for sure. I would do less excursions next time, as the rainforest tour and the national park tour, as well as the canal mangrove tour, were all pretty similiar.

All along the way, people (working the desk at hotels, guides) were watching out for us and making sure we got to the next place on time
Mark Drozdowski | May 21, 2023

It was an 8-day trip to Belize and Guatemala, primarily to see the Mayan sites at Lamanai, Tikal, and Caracol. We also spent two nights at Ambergris Caye to see the Caribbean and snorkel. My wife and I have rarely turned a whole trip over to a travel agent, and when we have, the execution has not been as flawless as it was here. Patricia Johnson and her colleagues did a first-class job in turning our travel goals into reality and positive, lifelong memories. I cannot recommend this agency enough. As I’ll explain more below, Patricia’s choices in hotels and guides were excellent. One thing that struck me throughout the trip, was that wherever we were, all along the way, people (working the desk at hotels, guides) were watching out for us and making sure we got to the next place on time.

—Hotels

We loved each hotel (well, not Tikal Jungle Lodge, but it seemed like the best option and was plenty good enough).

The approach to Lamanai Outpost Lodge, speeding along the river for an hour as the sun sets, arriving in darkness to the lights of the lodge, is a memory of a lifetime. It’s incredible to wake up early in the morning in Los Angeles and by sunset be in a remote setting on a river near ancient Mayan ruins. At the lodge, the food was very good, the service excellent, and the room very nice. We enjoyed looking at the river from our deck. We enjoyed the daily activities — two tours of the nearby park (one of the Mayan ruins, the other of the European ruins, for lack of a better term), and a morning kayak trip up the channel dug by the Mayans to look for birds and other animals. The hotel guides were informative, helpful and kind. Can’t recommend this hotel enough.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek was also outstanding. Our treehouse room was spacious, with a great view of the creek below. We used the private pool — how decadent. I went on a canoe trip in the river the morning we were there — all alone on the river; loved it. Highly recommend this hotel.

It’s ridiculous for me to complain about running into rich Americans on vacation, but they were there in abundance at Chaa Creek and a bit of a downer. I wish our rich tourists were quieter and better behaved. Bunch of uncontrolled, obnoxious children at the restaurant for dinner and parents that seemed right out of The White Lotus or Succession. Didn’t ruin the place but noticeable. Sorry for Belize — we Americans can do better.

Tikal Jungle Lodge is obviously a different class of hotel than Chaa Creek, but it was very nice for a national park hotel and we enjoyed our time there. The restaurant was pretty good. It was great to stay in the park and be able to quickly get to the sights and hear howler monkeys (as we did at Lamanai and Chaa Creek).

In any reasonable world, the Lodge at Chaa Creek would be the hotel highlight of a trip, but Gaia Riverlodge was even nicer. We couldn’t believe how nice the creekside villa was, and still don’t. To live for two days in such luxury by cascading water like that. Unreal. The restaurant was very good to boot. Enjoyed breakfasts and dinners there. Service was excellent. The hotel and our room were beautifully decorated. Highly recommend this hotel.

Same goes for Matachica. Our beachfront room was beautifully decorated; loved the bright colors. We enjoyed looking out at the water. We took their kayaks, bikes, and golf carts for a spin — all fun. Restaurant was very good, as was the service. Another great choice; highly recommend.

—Guides

Wilbert was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and went the extra mile — adding a night tour of Tikal, showing us markets in the town on the Guatemala side of the border. I felt he tried to show us how life really is for the people living in Belize and Guatemala, which is important and interesting.

All the drivers were good; one apparently noted we needed more time to get to the airport for our flight to San Pedro — very diligent and thoughtful.

The snorkeling guide continued the theme of going the extra mile — about 15 times he dove to near the sea floor to point out fish, then come up for air and tell me what they were. Remarkable.

—Activities

As already mentioned, the activities offered at the hotels were great — a good selection to choose from, seemingly something for everybody. We took advantage of the options.

—Miscellaneous

I appreciate that Patricia was available by WhatsApp during the trip.

Patricia and Wendy: Thank you very much for a great trip. Can’t think of anything that could be improved or anything we did that other travelers would want to avoid. Patricia definitely added value to our trip and it was money well spent.

We learned so much from local Mayan people about their culture, farming, cooking, artistic, and chocolate-making traditions
Peg Billetter | April 25, 2023

We travelled to Belize from March 28th to April 4th. A short time but filled with memorable people and experiences. Patricia was our customized trip organizer and Dave was our personal, well-educated, and super-friendly guide. Providentially, Dave is a birder and so are we! He was also our travel photo/video journalist. What a gem we found in Dave as he showed us around the Cayo district of Belize. My husband and 2 of our grown children accompanied me on this amazing journey. We stayed at Gaia River Lodge, where the staff were authentically friendly and engaging. Starting with a day of Mayan cultural immersion, we learned so much from local Mayan people about their culture, farming, cooking, artistic, and chocolate-making traditions and were honored to actually use their tools and techniques to try our own hand. The exploration of ancient Mayan ruins was amazing in itself, but added to the sights and climbing was Dave’s knowledge of the ruins, local flora and fauna, and the birds! We spotted toucan and Dave took pictures of Montezuma oropendola with his telephoto lens and shared them with us. We went cave tubing and zip lining and swam in the pools made by the falls. And this wasn’t all! We then travelled to Ambergris Caye. So sad to say goodbye to Dave. We snorkeled in the beautiful turquoise waters, up close and personal with sea turtles, rays and sharks. We spent a fantastic day fishing and the crew made delicious ceviche and fed us the fish we caught, bbq’ed on a secluded beach. Carlos, Sayid, Soup, and everyone at Amigos del Mar were wonderful. So sad to have to leave.

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