"Belize is wild and rugged, a wedge of subtropical Eden with the Caribbean Sea spread before it and some 200 tiny islands just offshore," reports Outside magazine. Marvel at exotic birds that color the sky, and tropical fish that inhabit the reefs and delve deep into the dark caves that dot the country. Accompanied by our friendly Belizean guide, bike on quiet dirt roads, walk on jungle footpaths, canoe in a mountain cavern and snorkel in the ever-clear waters of the Caribbean. Belize has all the active ingredients for the perfect getaway - Backroads combines them for the trip of a lifetime.

BELIZEAN BLISS: Premiere Inns

Ka'ana Boutique Resort and Spa (3 nights): A luxurious and tranquil hideaway nestled in the Maya Mountains amid lush tropical gardens and featuring a swimming pool and rejuvenating spa treatments.

Machaca Hill Lodge (2 nights): Swing in the hammock on your patio and enjoy the peace and quiet at this rustic lodge nestled in the middle of a private nature reserve. The verdant tropical environment is perfect for bird watching!

Daily Mileage Options & Cumulative Elevation Gain

Day 1

• Canoeing 1.5 hours

Day 2

• Level 1 2 Route Options Available
• Hiking 1 mile
• Biking 8 miles

Day 3

• Level 1 1 Route Option Available
• Walking 3 miles
• Guided Walking Tour of Tikal 4 hours

Day 4

• Optional Activities

Day 5

• Snorkeling All day

Day 6

• Conclusion of Trip

On this Family Trip, our routes follow gentle terrain with no significant gain or loss in elevation. Liberal van shuttling is incorporated into the itinerary to facilitate our activities and mileage is kept moderate to enable you to spend more time exploring on your own.

Trips For All Abilities

Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next-and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.

Activity Level	Average Time	Average Distance
		Biking	Walking & Hiking
Level 1	2-3 hours	10-20 mile	2-5 miles
Level 2	2-4 hours	21-30 miles	5-7 miles
Level 3	3-5 hours	31-40 miles	7-9 miles
Level 4	4-6 hours	41-55 miles	9-11 miles
Level 5	5-7+ hours	56-75+ miles	11-13+ miles

2009 DATES

FAMILY TRIPS

• 2/15-20Price: $3898 pp dbl. occ., (+ $680 for sgl. occ.), Internal Air: $430
• 3/22-27Price: $3898 pp dbl. occ., (+ $680 for sgl. occ.), Internal Air: $430
• 4/5-10Price: $3898 pp dbl. occ., (+ $680 for sgl. occ.), Internal Air: $430
• 12/19-24Price: $4298 pp dbl. occ., (+ $680 for sgl. occ.), Internal Air: $430
• 12/22-27Price: $4298 pp dbl. occ., (+ $680 for sgl. occ.), Internal Air: $430
• 12/25-30Price: $4298 pp dbl. occ., (+ $680 for sgl. occ.), Internal Air: $430

Reserve early for the best available price. Prices may change during the course of the year--if they do change, the best prices are available earlier. Once you book your trip, your price is guaranteed.

Recommended Kids Ages

Minimum Ages:

Recommended minimum age for the trip: 9 years

Minimum age restriction to ride own bike: 9 years

Minimum age restriction to snorkel: 8 years

No burleys or piccolos available on this trip.

General Info on Minimum Ages:

We strongly encourage families to join our Family Trips, designed with kid- and adult-friendly features. Please note that we have a minimum age requirement of 1 year for all Inn trips and 2 years for all Camping trips. Other than that, we do not restrict trips to a minimum age except in the rare case of a hotel age restriction. We do, however, recommend minimum ages based on the following criteria:

• 12+ cultural appreciation, difficulty of activities and route
• 9+ difficulty of activities and route
• 6+ several long adult dinners; parent may not be able to pull a Burley and/or there may be multiple activity restrictions
• 3+ riding is on bike paths, making it great for young kids; Burley and Piccolos are available; there are few or no activity restrictions; and no long dinners (or we offer alternatives)

Please note that a trip may feature an activity with an older age requirement than the minimum age recommendation for the trip. Younger kids are still welcome on the trip and while they will not be able to participate in the activity, the leaders will suggest an alternate activity. For safety reasons, children under 7 may not ride their own bikes and are required to ride on a Piccolo or in a Burley. For certain destinations, children must be 9 or older to ride their own bikes.

Guest Trip Reviews

Our trip to Belize was fabulous - well beyond our expectations, which were already high because of our prior Backroads experience. The country is amazing, and this trip showed us all of its attributes. The accommodations were lovely. The van support was essential for our children, and the leaders were very attentive to the children's needs in terms of support and food selections. We haven't stopped telling people about it. If you notice many hits on the Web site from Long Island, there's a good explanation for it!

Cindy Matte - Syosset, NY

We had a great trip and loved the mix of activities in Belize. We particularly liked biking through different villages. Our children were able to meet our local guide's family, and we visited the school and library in his village. That's the kind of thing that is much harder to do when you're traveling on your own and that, to me, is one of the best things about Backroads.

Kathleen Hughes - Rolling Hills, CA

Overall, the trip was wonderful. Belize is an amazing place and I felt that we saw the very best it has to offer. The Inns were wonderful and the Backroads leaders were exceptional.

Karen Donnelly - Maineville, OH

We have only been back one day and already I have been studying the Backroads catalogue for our next trip. We had a wonderful time. Israel was absolutely fantastic. I cannot imagine a more interesting or engaging local guide. His knowledge of his country really added to our enjoyment of the trip.

Elizabeth Koester - Toronto, ON