Surprise! This travel guide focuses on Mainland Belize, and it's the only guide in print that does. Many travelers come to Belize mainly for its islands and atolls, with their great diving, snorkeling, fishing and other marine sports. That's totally understandable. However, many of us also value Belize for what it offers on the Mainland. There is so much to do and see on the Mainland that you can spend weeks or months exploring the 8,867 square miles of rainforest, savannah and coastal areas and still not see it all. This is THE guide for those whose primary interest is Mainland Belize: Its rainforests, wildlife and bird encounters, its caves, rivers and low mountains, its amazing ancient Maya ruins and contemporary Maya villages, its adrenalin-pumping outdoor adventures like jungle trekking, hiking, mountain biking and cave tubing. Of course, you can also enjoy the pleasures of the beaches and the water on the mainland. In Placencia, Hopkins and elsewhere, you're only a few splashes or a short boat ride away from wonderful snorkeling, diving, fishing and other maritime activities. Everywhere in Belize you'll encounter its greatest treasure: the Belizean people. If variety is the spice of life, Belize is red hot, because the people of Belize come in myriad colors, races, backgrounds, religions and cultures: Mestizo, Creole, Maya, Garifuna, East Indian, Chinese, Europeans and others, and often these are mixed together in a creative gumbo of genes, languages and traditions. If they share one common thing it is a welcoming attitude. Sure, there are exceptions, but in general you won't find friendlier folks than in Belize. If you want to visit and enjoy other parts of Belize beyond the Mainland, get one of the other guides to Belize: Lan Sluder's Guide to Belize, Lan Sluder's Guide to the Cayes, Coast and Beaches of Belize and Best Hotels and Restaurants in Belize. Sluder also has authored every edition of Fodor's Belize has written books about retiring and relocating to Belize, such as Easy Belize. Altogether Lan Sluder has done 18 books and ebooks on Belize. If for now your main interest is Mainland Belize, you'll find this guidebook of value. It's based on a quarter century of reporting on Belize. Lan Sluder has traveled to every corner of this beautiful country. He has stayed in more than 250 different hotels, inns, guesthouses, resorts, lodges and hostels, and he has tried nearly every restaurant in the country. So you get first-hand knowledge. The "best of the best" in lodging, dining and attractions are listed in RED and those that are truly special are denoted with from one to five hearts. This makes it even easier for you to use your time wisely and to select the best hotels and restaurants. This book covers every part of the land portion of Belize from Corozal in the north, Punta Gorda in the south, San Ignacio and Cayo District in the west, Belize City and Belmopan in the middle and coastal areas from Sarteneja to Dangriga, Hopkins, Placencia, Monkey River and Punta Negra. A bonus: This guide also has chapters on easy side trips to visit Tikal and Flores in Guatemala and Chetumal in Mexico. Enjoy Belize! Thank you for reading this guide.
About the Author: Lan Sluder has been reporting on and writing about Belize for more than a quarter century. The author of 18 books and ebooks on Belize, Sluder has helped many people plan the adventure of a lifetime in this fascinating little English-speaking country on the Caribbean Coast of Central America. Over the years, Sluder has personally stayed in more than 250 hotels, resorts, inns, guesthouses and lodges in Belize and has visited and toured hundreds more. He has eaten at most of the restaurants in Belize and has visited every corner of the country, most many times. Among Lan Sluder's Belize books, besides this one, are Lan Sluder's Guide to Belize; Easy Belize: How to Live, Retire, Work and Buy Property in Belize, the English Speaking, Frost Free Paradise on the Caribbean Coast; Fodor's Belize; Lan Sluder's Guide to the Cayes and Coast of Belize; Best Hotels and Restaurants in Belize; Living Abroad in Belize; Adapter Kit: Belize; San Pedro Cool; and Belize Book of Lists. Sluder also is founder, editor and publisher of Belize First Magazine - a web edition is at www.belizefirst.com. In addition to his books on Belize, Sluder has authored several books on Asheville and the North Carolina mountains, including Amazing Asheville, Asheville Relocation, Retirement and Visitor Guide and Moving to the Mountains. He wrote Frommer's Best Beach Vacations: Carolinas and Georgia, Fodor's InFocus Great Smoky Mountains National Park and co-authored Fodor's The Carolinas & Georgia. His Asheville website is www.amazingasheville.net. Also, he has written a book on the game of bridge, Play Bridge Today, and a book on vintage Rolls Royce and Bentley motorcars, Buy a Classic Rolls Royce or Bentley. A former business newspaper editor and reporter in New Orleans, Sluder has contributed articles on travel, retirement and business subjects to media around the world, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Where to Retire, Canada's Globe and Mail, Bangkok Post, The Tico Times, Charlotte Observer, TravelChannel.com and Caribbean Travel & Life. Sluder was educated at Duke University and in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. When not in Belize or traveling elsewhere, Sluder lives on a mountain farm near Asheville, N.C., with wife Sheila M. Lambert, an attorney. The opinions in this book are those of Lan Sluder. Questions, complaints and rants can be sent to him at lansluder@gmail.com.