Garifuna drums, a long peninsula, and the far south

The Hummingbird Highway brings you down to a mainland coast with sand of its own: Hopkins and Dangriga for Garifuna culture, Placencia for the whale-shark spring, and Toledo for cacao and the Sapodilla Cayes.

Coast

Hopkins & Dangriga

Drums in the evening, hudut for supper, and the boat to the outer cayes in the morning.

  • February to MayCheck before you travel
  • 3 to 4 nights
  • Drive from BZE via the Hummingbird Highway (about 2.5 to 3 hours)Check before you travel
A man in a red kayak paddling along a narrow channel through a tunnel of mangrove roots and branches.
Coast

Placencia

A long, thin peninsula with a lagoon on one side, the sea on the other, and whale sharks in spring.

  • March to June for whale sharksCheck before you travel
  • 3 to 5 nights
  • Domestic flight from BZE (about 35 to 45 minutes)Check before you travel
An open-sided beach bar with a white roof among coconut palms, tables and stools on the sand, and a lounger in the foreground.
Coast

Toledo & Punta Gorda

The far south: rivers, cacao farms, villages, and the most remote cayes in Belize.

  • February to MayCheck before you travel
  • 3 to 4 nights
  • Domestic flight from BZE (about 1 hour, with stops)Check before you travel
Illustration: Toledo & Punta Gorda

Routes that pass through

Ready-made shapes for a trip, each one changed to fit you.

All routes
10 to 11 nights

River to Reef

A river lodge in Cayo, down the Hummingbird Highway to Garifuna Hopkins, then out to South Water Caye or Glover's Reef.

  • Cayo → Hopkins & Dangriga → Glover's & South Water
  • Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Nov, DecCheck before you travel
  • Works with children
A still, green river between banks of dense forest, seen past the railings of a bridge.
12 nights

The Southern Coast, Slowly

Hopkins, then Placencia (Gladden Spit in season), Cockscomb, Toledo and Punta Gorda, and the Sapodilla Cayes.

  • Hopkins & Dangriga → Cockscomb Basin → Placencia → Toledo & Punta Gorda
  • Best: Feb, Mar, Apr, MayCheck before you travel
  • Works with children
An open-sided beach bar with a white roof among coconut palms, tables and stools on the sand, and a lounger in the foreground.