Best Belize Blog

BELIZE CITY — Belize’s founding father and first prime minister, George Price, died early Monday, just short of three decades since he led the small Central American nation to independence. He was 92.

Price died at the Belize Healthcare Partners Hospital in Belize City, said a grand nephew, Henry Charles Usher. He was hospitalized Wednesday after a fall at his Belize City home and put in a medically induced coma following surgery to remove a blood clot.

Belize just celebrated it’s 30th anniversary of Independence on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, the death of the Right Honorable George Cadle Price, 92, two days after this milestone achievement – Belize’s Independence. -

Price was Belize’s first leader when it became independent from Britain on Sept. 21, 1981. As head of the centrist People’s United Party, he served two terms as prime minister, in 1981-84 and 1989-1993, and is considered the father of the Caribbean country of about 300,000 people that borders Mexico and Guatemala.

Belize is on the Central American mainland but maintains closer cultural ties with other English-speaking former British colonies in the Caribbean than with its Spanish-speaking neighbors.

In a message broadcast to the nation, the current prime minister called Price “a giant of a man, the greatest architect of Belizean nationalism and Belizean sovereignty.”

PUP Leader Johnny Briceño told the media, during a press briefing held at the PUP headquarters on Queen Street, that he would surely miss the man he said was his mentor.

“We are very grateful for what Mr. Price has done for us as a nation, for all the Belizean people, the fight from the colonial masters to self-government to Independence, where he forged a new country in the Caribbean and Central America, a country that is known as Belize, and where we Belizeans have an identity as Belizeans.

BELIZE CITY, Belize — The Philip Goldson International Airport (PGIA), Belize’s primary port of entry, will now be dishing out regular doses of unique musical renditions to vacationers, as sister agencies within Belize’s Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture — the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) and the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH), on July 20, 2011, launched the long-awaited Belizean Beats program.

Being a country that proudly boasts over ten diverse ethnic groups, the Belizean Beats program is specifically designed to introduce travelers to Belizean culture from the very onset of their time in the country. It promises to set the tempo for their entire trip as they are immediately and melodiously baptized into the very essence of the Belizean experience.

“As soon as the tourist arrives in Belize we give them a sense of what we have to offer as a vibrant tourism destination filled with culture and history.” said Seleni Matus, BTB’s director of tourism.

“Today we cut the proverbial ribbon on an exciting new initiative that does so much more than just entertain; it serves as an immediate gateway to the heart of Belizean culture.” Dalhouse explained.

Defining music as the universal language, the BTB says it’s confident that this program will transliterate the nation’s heartfelt welcome into an idiom that everyone could comprehend and appreciate despite the linguistic barriers.

Performing at the PGIA on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the first group to be featured in the Belizean Beats program is the up-and-coming local band affectionately known as the Laru Beya Boys. Chosen after grueling auditions against dozens of other top musical groups, this first group has clearly earned the trendsetter position for one of the most dynamic airport programs to have ever come into existence in Belize.

So the next time you take a trip to Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret and passing through the international airport, don’t worry about your feet tapping — it’s just part of the Belizean experience.

It’s a fact—Belize does not have a bunch of big-name hotel or resort flags flying around, yet. As a matter of fact it has none…the Radisson in Belize City doesn’t count.  But there are some very cool places to stay in Belize as long as you don’t mind not being in a 300-room Marriott! There is a great mix of nice lower-budget places to stay, but the properties below represent the best Belize has to offer. The funny thing is that as I put this list together with the help of my friends—and to make sure we got what we considered the best in Belize—you realized there is such variety here, even in a relatively short list. All of these represent some prime real estate many with great spas and food. Without further ado (and in no particular order), here are the finest resorts and hotels offered in this Caribbean jewel known as Belize: continue reading…

I was hot, and impatient, and growing more so by the minute. It was June 2005 and my first time in Belize, and I was waiting at the airport for a friend who was in Belize to fly fish and look at real estate.

I’m not the most patient fellow and neither is my friend, less so if anything. A tall, hard-charging sophisticated big city guy, he’s a born salesman who loves life in the fast lane. In the four years I’d known him at that time I don’t think I’d ever seen him without silk slacks and high-dollar dress shoes.

We’d crossed signals and were late to reconnoiter, and I could imagine what kind of mood he was in; the two of us would be a real pair until we could get somewhere out of the heat and relax.

So imagine my shock when a rental car pulls up in front of me, and out steps a guy who is a dead ringer for my tall friend, except it can’t be him. The guy is wearing sunglasses, a mostly unbuttoned Tommy Bahama shirt, board shorts and flip flops. continue reading…

Belize is not yet famous for its world-class spas but I predict in the coming years more and more visitors will take advantage of the growing spa presence here:  As the boys go out to sea to bang the flats for permit and bonefish, the girls will be getting pampered at the spa. Then again, winding down in the spa after a day of chasing bonefish doesn’t sound bad either. Here are a few spa retreats my friends and I have really have enjoyed when needing a deep tissue massage or a mud bath. There are a few select masseuses who will come to your resort room for a balcony massage too…but that’s another entry all together. continue reading…

Lonely Planet keeps churning out great guide books and Belize (Country Guide) is no exception. The book covers the country in rich detail and delivers the information in the straightforward, organized way that we’ve come to expect from Lonely Planet.

But don’t look past Moon Belize (Moon Handbooks) written by former Belize resident Joshua Berman. He’s delivers a guide to some of the best experiences in Belize, from hiking waterfall, jungle horse-rides and diving the reefs. The guide covers the ground well and will give you all the tools and insight you need to experience the best of Belize.

The Rough Guide to Belize 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) is a comprehensive guide to the country and covers all the top attractions. The book also takes a detailed look at the region’s history, cuisine, environment and diverse culture and comes complete with maps and plans for the entire country.

Interested in diving while in Belize? Lonely Planet’s Diving & Snorkeling Belize explores 82 of the best dive sites off Belize, with full-color photos and easy-to-read maps throughout. Belize is home to the world’s second-largest barrier reef and three of the Western Hemisphere’s four coral atolls. Shallow reefs ring the more than 450 cayes and islets, while towering walls plunge into the sea. More than 400 fish species and a host of corals and invertebrates shelter in the warm Caribbean waters.

For more info or questions please email us at blog@threepalmsbelize.com