5-Star Belize Honduras Caribbean Cruise

Mayan myth claims that Cozumel was home to the gods. Truly Cozumel is a place fit for the gods, with its dazzling white-sand beaches, ruined Mayan temples, exotic jungle wildlife, and crystalline waters teeming with tropical fish. Just offshore lay Palancar Reef, considered one of the most spectacular coral formations in all the Caribbean. Of course, the gods weren’t the only individuals attracted to this terrestrial paradise: during its long and colorful history, Cozumel has been home to pirates, buccaneers, and freebooters, including Sir Henry Morgan and Jean Lafitte. Today’s traveler will discover the same ravishing beauty and relaxation that entertained gods and pirates alike.

Belize City is the historical (if no longer the actual) capital of the nation, making it an interesting place to spend a day or two. Its ramshackle streets are alive with colourful characters who represent every facet of Belize’s ethnic make up, especially the Creoles. And while the urban scenery may involve the occasional fetid canal or run-down neighbourhood, it also features handsome colonial houses, seaside parks, bustling shopping areas and sailboats that bob at the mouth of Haulover Creek.
You might find Belize City menacing, but you certainly won’t find it dull. And while it doesn’t top the list of Belize tourist destinations, visitors often admire the city’s raffish charms and cultural vibrancy. Lately, the government has gone to greater lengths to make tourists feel safe, with some success. But the city remains markedly less relaxed than the rest of Belize, and its reputation for poverty and crime persists.

Roatán is the largest and most developed of the Bay Islands. Long and thin (50km long, but only 2km to 4km wide), the island is (like neighbouring Utila) a diving and snorkelling paradise – virtually its entire coastline is fringed by an astonishingly diverse coral reef teeming with tropical fish. On land, exquisite white-sand beaches like West Bay, a mountainous interior of pine-forested hills and the remote wild east of the island (once a pirate hangout) beg to be explored.

The Southern Caribbean Coast, or the Costa Maya as the tourist brochures call it, is the latest region to be hit by the development boom. But if you’re looking for a quiet escape on the Mexican Caribbean, it’s still the best place to be.
With a coast stretching about 100km south of Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve down to the small community of Xcalak, you’ll find many surprises along the way, including the tranquil fishing town of Mahahual, which offers great diving, beach-bumming and bird-watching opportunities – residents there put a premium on sustainable development, and it shows.

In the interior, you’ll be blown away by the mesmerizing Laguna Bacalar, aka the ‘lagoon of seven colours,’ while the seldom-visited ruins of Dzibanché and Kohunlich seem all the more mysterious without the tour vans. For both the ruins and trips down south to Belize, Quintana Roo’s capital Chetumal makes a great jumping-off point.

Following disembarkation, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to Dublin.