With finally having so much time on my hands, I’m able to finish my 30th birthday trip in Belize! I didn’t get to post as much because I was too busy living in the moment and I had a blast! Belize was amazing! From the food, the amazing hospitality, and rich culture, I can’t wait to go back to explore more of this beautiful country.
I originally had plans to go to Aruba for my 30th, but I wanted to go somewhere affordable for everyone attending. But, Belize was well worth it! We booked our flights via Expedia for only $380. We stayed at Hopkins Bay Resort, in Hopkins, Belize. Our trip was for only four days, three nights, so we knew we had to make the best of the time we had and we did just that!
Day One in Belize.
Belize only has one major airport, which is in Belize City. Our resort is 3 hours from the airport so we had an option to either take a 3-hour shuttle that takes us to Hopkins, Belize, or a 15-minute commuter flight that takes us to Dangriga Belize and a 30-minute shuttle to Hopkins. We all were in agreeance to take the commuter flight to Dangriga because it was quicker and less expensive, plus we knew we would be able to check out some more of the scenery on the commuter flight. Once arriving in Belize City, we waited in customs for at least two hours. My recommendation to anyone planning on taking a commuter flight or shuttle, schedule those 2 hours after your arrival. Their customs lines were ridiculously long and they had no sense of urgency. This was our only issue during our entire trip. We missed our original commuter flight but luckily they were able to place us on the next flight leaving to Dangriga. After arriving in Dangriga, we caught a 30-minute shuttle to Hopkins, Belize which is where our resort, Hopkins Bay Resort was located. We stayed at Hopkins Bay Resort, in Hopkins, Belize. We opted in for a spacious two-bedrooms, two bathrooms, villa. With a full kitchen, living room, pool, and beach view.
We were greeted with complimentary “Hopkins Temptation,” which was like rum punch. We had dinner on the beach while drinking two for one priced margaritas and listening & dancing to Garifuna drumming. Day one consisted of us getting unpacked and checking out what the resort had to offer, which was a lot. The resort was beautiful, I just wish it was not so far from everything.
Day Two in Belize.
We knew we wanted to do excursions this day and after narrowing it down we went with Mayan Sky Belize Tours, in Stann Creek, Belize, which was not too far from our resort. It was about 30 minutes or so. We went zip lining and riding ATV’s in the rainforest and over mountains and waterfalls. We were supposed to also do cave tubing, but the rain stopped this from happening. It actually rained the entire weekend, but we were able to make the best of it all. The ziplining was so fun and liberating. It was over waterfalls and mountains and had about 7 ropes we were able to zipline through. Next, we rode ATV’S, and this lasted about 45 minutes, our tour guide took us to the top of the mountains, rain and all. It was beautiful and well worth it.
After our excursions we ate at a local Belizean restaurant with huge portions, delicious and cheap. I can say is the food is delicious, cheap, and comes in HUGE PORTIONS. After that, we to a local beach bar. We partied and played dominoes with the local Belizeans The party was actually behind a local store, that was a club, lol. It was right next door to the beach bar we were at. We also went to a yummy and super cheap ice cream place called “Nice Ice Cream,” which was homemade. We became addicted to this place and went again the following night, lol. Again, the food and drinks were so delicious and so cheap.
Day Three in Belize.
We used this day to relax, since the next day (Monday), we would be leaving. The resort we stayed at had different food and drink specials every day so we took advantage of it all. We sat out by the pool/beach while eating Belizean barbecue and nicely crafted drinks. Later that evening, we went back to the beach bar we visited the night before.
Watch the video below to catch a glimpse of our trip. Pictures and videos do it no justice. I absolutely can not wait to go back to Belize. Next time I go I plan to visit San Pedro and surrounding areas. With that being said I give Hopkins Belize a 9/10, only because of how far it was from everything else. Other than that I truly enjoyed myself and every part of this trip. I am also glad I was able to celebrate my 30th birthday with my sisters.
