Nature Resort

This is the most convenient lodge in the jungle to BZE. Roy, the owner, is just wonderful and you can tell he cares a lot about the clients who stay there. The cabin was comfy and clean. The hiking/walking was relaxing and there was lots of wildlife, birds, and flowers/plants to explore. I can't wait to go back. I did the morning canoe down the Belize River and the Howler Monkey Sanctuary (which I included photos of in this review)

This is a review of the river tour. We did not stay at or eat at the Nature Resort. We had a spur of the moment river tour with these guys. Its the end of the rainy season - tourism season not really kicking up yet. We were able to call in the morning and get a canoe trip that afternoon. Dr Young and Kevin took us several miles upstream and then we had a float back down the Belize River for about 6 miles. The river was higher and faster and 'muddier' than I think it would be at the height of the tourist season. It was a very nice tour. Kevin was good at spotting several different groups of howler monkeys in the trees and many kinds of birds. We saw 4 types of heron, some ibis, kingfishers, and the ubiquitous cattle egrets as well as many small colorful songbirds. There were also a few basilisk lizards and about 200 iguanas of different sizes and colors. Kevin did a great job with the boat, navigating us close to one bank or the other to get sight of something, and he was knowledgeable about the things we saw. Both men shared some history of the area as well. The mud on the banks was significant. We managed to get into the boat without getting too muddy but got very muddy when getting back out at the end. Wish we had just taken our shoes off because we sunk up to our ankles in the mud. I doubt this is an issue at other parts of the year. And the guys were very helpful with us washing our shoes after, providing a hose and bucket and brush. We did not notice bugs on the river. I'm one of those people who gets bit easily and I didn't notice anything on the river itself. On shore it was a little buggy - again probably due to the time of year? We took one good camera with us on the trip and had no issues keeping it dry. We were moving right along this time of year, so you gotta be prepared to take photos while on the move. Kevin mentioned that they usually run this tour in the morning and you see more wildlife then. We engaged these guys because a local on our flight into the country told us about them. He recommended the night tour but we were more interested in a daytime float. The tour was $40 US per person. The only reasons I'm not giving this an 'excellent' rating: -I think it could have been possible to have more to step on for an easier step into and out of the boat -because there was this one really emaciated dog wandering around the area that no one seemed to be taking care of. I saw it several times. It was not their dog. But it disturbed me very much - to the point where this marred the experience for me.

For a full jungle and nature experience. Stay at the nature resort. Roy and his family will take care of everything. No matter what excursions you choose he will set you up with the best guides for the best experience. Take the kids or just relax as couples. It’s the perfect way to experience the jungle in belize! Did I say the food was amazing? It was! Homemade and authentic!