1 week in Belize could mean sitting oceanside sipping cocktails, or it could mean diving into shark infested waters and climbing through an ancient mayan cave.

It could mean sunbathing on an inner tube, or it could mean riding a golf cart down a bumpy dirt road in search of adventure. If you’re looking for an itinerary for 1 week in Belize that includes all of the above, you’ve come to the right place.

This 1 week in Belize Itinerary includes: San Pedro, Caye Caulker, the Great Blue Hole and the ATM Cave.

DAY 1: Head to SAN PEDRO

You’ll most likely start your 1 week in Belize off by landing at the BZE airport. From here, take a ferry straight to San Pedro (Ambergris Caye). It’s not necessary to book a ferry ahead of time. The entire process is pretty easy since they are used to tourists taking this route. From the airport, you will see a line for the shuttle to the islands. Take this shuttle and they will set you up with a ferry as well. If you are too early, there are tons of restaurants/bars in the area to chill at.

Once we arrived in San Pedro, we checked into our hotel (Ocean Tide Beach Resort) and got settled. San Pedro is known as a party island, but I visited in the off season so it was a little more relaxed. I asked the locals if there was anything going on that night and  they told us that it was the big night for “crab racing”, lucky us! So, we headed to Crazy Canucks Beach Bar to bet on some hermit crabs. Would you believe that we won? It was my birthday after all 🙂

Day 2: Hol Chan Marine Reserve & Shark Ray Alley

On day 2, have lunch at Elvis Kitchen and hire a boat for the day.  Our first stop was Hol Chan Marine Reserve, a snorkeler’s paradise with 3 miles of coral reefs and tropical fish. Note, you can also dive in this area, but it is shallow enough to snorkel. If you get lucky, you can also see rays and barracudas hanging out here.

After swimming around, we hopped back in the boat for a few beverages. Our guides went spear fishing off the side of the boat (not in the marine reserve) in order to make ceviche for us. A light meal and a few cocktails were needed to calm our nerves before jumping in shark ray alley.

Even though the sharks here are harmless nurse sharks, it is a little scary jumping in with them right off the boat. They are still fairly large creatures and look like the kind of sharks that do bite. Side note: this was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Not as cool as swimming with whale sharks, but still up there in my list of coolest experiences.

Photo taken with Go Pro 5

Photo taken with Go Pro 5

Photo taken with Go Pro 5

Day 3: Secret Beach

Rent a golf cart for the day and head to “Secret Beach”.  It’s about an hour away from town due to the terrible bumpy dirt road you have to take there (but I’m always up for an adventure ;)). Even though it’s not the best kept secret anymore, it’s still a great time. There are a few tropical beach bars and inner tubes lining the water, and this beach is definitely nicer than the ones that you will find closer to the town of San Pedro.

At night we splurged for a nice dinner at Blue Water Grill. I really liked this place. It was right on the water, the food was good, and they have this cute sign!

Day 4: Great Blue Hole and Caye Caulker

I knew going to Belize that I had to see the Blue Hole.  That’s what Belize is known for after all. I really really wanted to dive it, but unfortunately I hurt my ankle the week before in Big Pine and didn’t think they would be strong enough to do a deep water dive with current. So, we did the next best thing and rented a plane to fly over it instead :).

I know seeing it in pictures is kind of like “yeah we get it, it’s a big hole”, but honestly it’s pretty amazing to see in person. It’s a strange thing to see how massive this sink hole really is. It’s also kind of scary.

When you get back, take a ferry to Caye Caulker. We stayed in a colorful beach side hut at Mara’s Place.

Day 5: Caye Caulker

I liked Caye Caulker more than San Pedro. It was the chill island vibe I was looking for, where you walk on the sand wherever you need to go and no one ever knows the time. We spent the day at the Lazy Lizard beach bar…. drinking lazy lizards. Caye Caulker is more budget friendly and backpacker centered than San Pedro.

Day 6: Get to San Ignacio

San Ignacio is the town that’s closest to the ATM Cave. I heard great things about the ATM cave from multiple people so I knew I had to fit it into our itinerary.

We decided to fly to the mainland of Belize and then to hire a cab to San Ignacio to save time. You can also take a ferry and then a bus to save money if that’s your priority. The town of San Ignacio isn’t worth seeing, but the ATM cave tour takes up an entire day.

Day 7: ATM Cave

The ATM cave (short for Actun Tunichil Muknal cave) is an Mayan archaeological site filled with skeletons and ancient ceramics. If that’s not cool enough, you have to swim and climb over rocks and through narrow cave passages to see it.

Unfortunatly, there are no cameras allowed, and it’s impractical to bring a phone since you’re in the water the entire time. So, these are stock photos:

This was one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had. It was adventure and history packed into one. Plus, you find out some pretty crazy stuff about the Mayans 😉  You should definitely make time to see the ATM cave during your week in Belize.

Day 8: Fly home.

In the morning, take a cab to the Belize City Airport and say goodbye 🙁

All pictures taken with Sony a6000, GoPro5 and Iphone.

Have any questions about my itinerary for 1 week in Belize? Feel free to comment below!