Solo-ish Belize

Welcome to Belize! Catch your included arrival transfer to the start hotel in San Ignacio and take some time to freshen up and get settled. After a welcome briefing with your CEO, you and your new Solo-ish mates will attend a hands-on, cooking experience featuring Belizean cuisine staples, and learn from a skilled local chef at his intimate kitchen. Then, sit down to enjoy your three-course meal. As you share stories around the table with your host, you’ll witness how food has the power to bring strangers together.

Included Experiences

• Arrival Transfer: You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel in San Ignacio to start your adventure. *Please note there will be two transfer shuttle times offered on Day 1. For the later transfer, flights should arrive by 14:00.
• Meet Your CEO and Group: Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.
• Authentic Flavours of Belize: Food is a universal language, and there's no better way to get to know a new friend, or a new community, than by breaking bread together and digging in to a delicious meal. Gather round together with a local chef at a small kitchen in San Ignacio and work with seasonal ingredients to prepare a three-course Belizean feast. Along the way you will learn more about the fundamentals of traditional Belizean cooking techniques. Step-by-step, you will learn together before sitting down around the table in your host’s home to enjoy the fruits of your labour as you laugh and share stories about one another. You’ll be surprised by how early on the connection can feel effortless.

Start the adventure this morning with a visit to the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich, which were built over 1,000 years ago on a hilltop above the Mopan River, Cayo District, and the neighboring Guatemalan countryside. Along with a local guide, you’ll climb the steps of El Castillo and marvel at the panoramic views of the jungle from the site’s tallest structure. In the afternoon, travel to the village of San Antonio to visit the San Antonio Women’s Cooperative, which was founded as a way for underprivileged women to earn income, learn new skills, and share centuries-old Maya techniques and knowledge. Spend time in the pottery workshop and gain some insight into the tradition of throwing pots. Afterwards, learn how to make tortillas which are a true staple of the country’s cuisine and see for yourself how hard it can be to make them perfectly round. Later, attend a chocolate tasting experience and learn more about the cultural history of this tasty sweet.

Included Experiences

• The Wonders of Inland Belize: With your incredible CEO at the helm, get to know the local community and your Solo-ish travel mates on a day packed full of interesting and engaging adventures. Begin with a hike to the top of this impressive 9th-century Maya centre, set high on a natural limestone ridge, and admire the view of the Mopan River, Cayo District, and neighbouring Guatemalan countryside. The tallest temple, El Castillo, is partially excavated and explored. Discover why Xunantunich is Belize’s most visited site with intricately carved stellae, 25 temples, and well-preserved palaces. Then head onwards to the San Antonio Women’s Cooperative for a pottery-making demonstration and a tortilla-making lesson before sitting down to have lunch together with a cup of atole, a local corn drink. Finally cap off this epic day with a chocolate tasting experience and try Ajaw Chocolate drinks flavoured with locally prepared spices and learn more about how the Ancient Maya related to this tasty sweet treat.
• San Antonio Women's Pottery Cooperative and Local Lunch: Like in many places around the world, education for women in the village of San Antonio isn’t prioritized. Girls don’t typically attend school beyond primary levels. So a women’s cooperative was founded here, as a way for underprivileged women to earn income, learn new skills, and share centuries-old Mayan techniques and knowledge. Visit the pottery workshop, which is newly expanded with an investment from G Adventures. Meet some of the women who’ve found community within its walls and gain insight into the tradition of throwing pots. Afterward, enjoy lunch together with these inspiring and unforgettable women, sampling traditional foods of the Cayo region.

Get ready for what G does best and enjoy a day of must-see sites and adventurous activities in Belize with a surprise G twist occurring somewhere along the way. Transfer from the hotel in San Ignacio to the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave and take advantage of this opportunity to see up to 1400 artifacts, including pottery, tools and vessels used by the Maya for a thousand years. Hike to the cave entrance and wade/swim through the deep pools and explore this underground world. The experience includes lunch and loads of interesting information about the Maya’s relation to this cave. Stay alert and on the lookout, because who knows where you just might end up to cap off G Day.

Included Experiences

• Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave Day: With your Solo-ish travel mates and CEO, explore some of the world's coolest activities alongside new friends. It's not just an epic day of fun, its chock full of incredible experiences and a surprise G element along the way to take your day to an 11. The Actun Tunichil Muknal cave has only been open to the public since 1998. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to see up to 1400 artifacts, including pottery, tools and vessels used by the Maya for a thousand years. Hike 45 minutes to the cave entrance, wade/swim through deep pools, past calcite formations, to explore this damp, dark place of ritual and sacrifice. With a helmet and headlamp, see the skeleton of the “Crystal Maiden,” a young girl whose bones have calcified over the past 1,100 years, making them appear to sparkle. The Maya first discovered the cave between 300 and 600 AD, and you'll learn how critical this place has was as an ancient spiritual sites for one of the most prominent cultures in Mesoamerican history. Note: This activity involves a 1.5 hr hike, wading/swimming in waist-deep water, climbing over rocks, and moving through tight spaces. A good level of mobility is recommended. If you have health concerns or recent injuries, please inform your CEO in advance.

After three days in the San Ignacio area of Belize, it’s time for the next leg of this Solo-ish adventure. Transfer by private vehicle back to Belize City and board a water taxi to Caye Caulker, where “go slow” is the island’s motto and you’ll have plenty of time to relax in this paradise settings along white-sand beaches and warm coastal waters. Truly the best vibe for someone who might be ready for some alone time in the sun.

Included Experiences

• Taxi: Jump in the back and tell the driver to step on it, just like they do in the movies.
• Free Time: Take advantage of some free time and enjoy the paradise of Caye Caulker. Chill out Belizean style, read a book, swim in the ocean, or walk the beach.

Optional Experiences

• Sunset Sailing Boat Tour: Set sail just before sunset. Relax with reggae music and rum punch, snack on shrimp ceviche and snap a few photos as you sail around the island as the sun sets to the west of Caye Caulker.

Awake on this breezy island paradise and have some breakfast at the hotel before spending time enjoying the hotel amenities and the beach setting on your own or with your fellow travellers. Afterwards, head out to explore this area on a leisurely bike tour with a local guide from the G Adventures-supported Bike with Purpose project. You’ll really get to know the laid-back Caye Caulker village and come to appreciate how small, but diverse this community of local residents and expats is. Caye Caulker is a long thin limestone caye off the coast of Belize. Fewer than 2,000 people live here full-time – an eclectic mix of Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, Creole, and Mennonites, along with a few hippies and retirees. The main street is a sandy pathway and people get around on foot, by bike or golf cart. Apart from eating some sensational seafood (lobster is a local specialty), the main activity is snorkelling and boating along the nearby Belize Barrier Reef.

Included Experiences

• Free Time: Enjoy a morning of relaxation or try optional activities like snorkelling, sea kayaking, or sunset sailing. Your CEO has more ideas if you need them. Just ask!
• Belize Bike with Purpose Tour: Take a leisurely bike tour around Caye Caulker with a guide from the G Adventures for Good supported Bike with Purpose project. See the island through the eyes of a local on this two-hour tour, and live the island's motto of 'Go Slow'. Feel the island breeze in you hair while knowing you're supporting a program that helps youth from Caye Caulker build skills for tourism jobs upon graduation from high school.

Optional Experiences

• Sunset Sailing Boat Tour: Set sail just before sunset. Relax with reggae music and rum punch, snack on shrimp ceviche and snap a few photos as you sail around the island as the sun sets to the west of Caye Caulker.

It’s time for a day that belongs to you! After a few immersive days, on Caye Caulker the area might be feeling familiar and you’re likely ready to take the charge of your own day here. Choose to pre-book the Hol Chan Marine reserve day tour and head out to see some fascinating wildlife or stick with your incredible CEO for a walk and exploration of the split, or perhaps keep relaxing on the white-sand beaches. You can decide to be as alone or social as you choose for the best of both worlds!

Included Experiences

• Caye Caulker Me Day: Traveling solo alongside your new Solo-ish travel mates means there's always something fun to do and new friends to explore with. But the joy of travel can also be about taking time to yourself to recharge, refresh and reflect on the journey. Today, choose to join your CEO for an incredible activity, or take the time to yourself to enjoy your own company in one of the most incredible places on our planet.

Optional Experiences

• Hol Chan Marine Reserve Day Tour: Explore the oldest marine reserve in Belize with a full-day tour filled with snorkelling and sightseeing. The tour includes stops at three popular snorkelling destinations – the Hol Chan Channel, Shark and Ray Alley, and Coral Gardens. Stop at two additional viewing spots to marvel at tarpon and manatees. Expect to see an abundance of angelfish, blue-stripped grunts, schoolmaster snappers, and hundreds of other varieties of species in their natural surroundings. Keep your eyes peeled to see green moray eels poking out from their tiny caves. Tour Includes: snorkeling mask, fins/flippers, lunch, assortment of tropical fruit, water, and other snacks.

Depart at any time.