For such a small country, Belize really packs a punch for visitors. It has natural beauty, amazing wildlife, adventures galore and several really great hotels. To make it even easier for Americans, the native language is English and the Belize dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar at 2:1. There are direct flights to Belize City from NY, Miami, Chicago, LA, among other U.S. cities.

Belize’s attractions are either inland or coastal. On our recent trip, my twins and I started inland at Chan Cheech Lodge. Chan Cheech is in the jungle and is known as the best place in Belize to spot a jaguar. It is built on a 1,500 year old Mayan village. We didn’t see a jaguar, but we had great sightings of ocelot, peccaries, spider monkeys, macaws and parrots and we enjoyed exploring the Mayan ruins.

Our next stop was Blancaneaux Lodge in the Cayo District of Belize. This was a highlight. Frances Ford Coppola owns several properties in Belize, among them Blancaneaux and our next stop Turtle Inn. Blancaneaux is both chic and rustic at the same time; there is no AC, but we didn’t miss it. Blancaneaux has delicious food (3 restaurants), Coppola wines in abundance, 2 pools, a spa specializing in Thai massage and stables for horseback riding. Blancaneaux is also well located for off-property adventures. Our favorites were cave spelunking and tubing as well as swimming under waterfalls. There are several stunning Mayan sites nearby and a highlight was Actun Tunichil Muchnal Cave (ATM); a cave containing Mayan skeletons and artifacts that requires hiking, crossing 3 rivers and then spelunking through the cave for 1/2 mile to get to the main chamber. We felt like Indiana Jones!

We took a helicopter to the beach to get a great view of the Great Blue Hole, Belize’s top sight, a giant marine sinkhole which is 43 miles offshore. Belize has the second longest barrier reef in the world and seeing both the reef and the Great Blue Hole from above was gorgeous.

Coppola’s Turtle Inn was our next stop. This property has a great vibe like Blancaneaux, just in a beach setting. It has terrific snorkeling, scuba diving, boating, reef and deep sea fishing. We enjoyed the fishing, pools and beach as well as the delicious food. I did a wine tasting of the Coppola wines while my boys did a Fanta tasting (9 flavors of Fanta). We were all happy!