summer trip to Belize--suggestions needed!

We are in the planning stages of a summer trip and are considering Belize. We'll be traveling with our 5 yr old daughter. Any suggestions for where to stay? We'd love some time on the beach and a few excursions.

Thanks for any scoop you can offer. This is uncharted territory for us.

We went to Belize 6 years ago and had a great time staying in Ambergris Caye. No cars, just golf carts and bicycles on dirt roads. With a five-year old, I would stay someplace close to town in San Pedro so it's an easy walk to restaurants which we did not since it was just my wife and I.

There's great diving far offshore at the atolls and more pedestrian stuff a half-mile offshore. The offshore reef means the beaches on Ambergris are not really oceanfront but more lagoon-like with sea grass bottoms and hardly any waves. You can get excursions into the jungle to see howler monkeys and Mayan ruins. We loved it but it may be a bit of a challenge logistically with a five-year old.

you must dive the Blue Hole..its been forever since I've been there...I really want to get back to Belize....i loved it

you must dive the Blue Hole..

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Yep. Probably the best reason for visiting Lighthouse Atoll. Only 8 minutes at depth for air, though, but memorable for swimming through a huge cavern complete with stalactities. Makes you wonder about the geologic history of the place. It's similar to the cenotes on the mainland but filled with salt water and about 60 miles offshore.