Recommend January 2012 - (Page 72)

VENEZUELA BELIZE Belize City Belize City is the country’s commercial and cultural center, a lively town distinguished by ﬁne examples of Victorian houses with gingerbread trim. One ﬁne example is The Great House, a lovely colonial-style boutique hotel, a neighbor of the Radisson Fort George Hotel & Marina, the best luxury hotel choice. And close to both is Harbour View, perhaps the most creative and most expensive restaurant in town. The city shows off its heritage in the House of Culture, with displays of period decorative arts; St. John’s Cathedral, the oldest Anglican church in Central America; Government House; and the Supreme Court building. But what pulls travelers to Belize every year lies beyond the capital is a magical trio of attractions—reefs drawing avid scuba fans, ruins appealing to the culture set, and rainforests calling all nature lovers and adventurers to sanctuaries of exotic ﬂora and fauna. Popular day trips from the capital include the fabulous Belize Zoo, the Baboon Sanctuary at Bermudian Landing, and a boat trip through the marshes of Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the jabiru stork, the hemisphere’s largest ﬂying bird. The road to ruins leads to Belize’s grand inventory of Mayan sites. Altun Ha, with its dozens of temples, is the most accessible and can be combined with a slow boat ride up the New River to jungle-bound ruins of Lamanai. Belize’s Western Highway leads to the highlands and to San Ignacio, a good center from which to discover—on foot, horseback, mountain bike, canoe or kayak—the plunging waterfalls and spectacular caves of 300-sq.-mile Mountain Pine Ridge reserve, as well as the Maya site of Xunantunich. The island resorts of Ambergris Caye, a 15-minute ﬂight away from Belize City, is the country’s leading scuba diving (and snorkeling) destination, understandable, of course, because the Barrier Reef—second largest in the world—lies just a half-mile offshore here. FACTS • BEST TIME TO GO: The dry (and high) season, late-November through April • FUN FACT: Belize speaks English, thanks to many years as a British Crown Colony • GETTING THERE: Delta ﬂies from Atlanta to Belize City • ENTRY DOCUMENTS: Valid passport • CURRENCY: Belizean dollar • MUST-TRY LOCAL FOOD: Hudut, whole ﬁsh or ﬁsh stew, served in coconut milk broth, specialty of Garifuna people • BEST BUYS: Paintings by local artists, jade jewelry, Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce • INFORMATION PLEASE: Belize Tourist Board— travelbelize.org/belizenet.com GUYANA “If you like privacy, comfort, good food, nature and natural beauty I would highly recommend Hidden Valley Inn.” “Guest Review” Your Threshold to Adventure, comfort and Discovery Toll Free 1-866-443-3364 (Phone 011-501-822-3320) Fax (011-501-822-3334) Email:reservations@hiddenvalleyinn.com D52 january 2012 recommend.com http://belizenet.com http://www.travelbelize.org http://Email:reservations@hiddenvalleyinn.com http://www.hatchetcaye.com http://Email:reservations@hiddenvalleyinn.com http://www.hatchetcaye.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend January 2012

Editor's Note
Hotel Desk: Hard Rock Hotels and Resorts
Tour Talk: Lindblad Expeditions
Holland America's Veendam
Delta Air Lines' 2012 Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America Travel Guide
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Las Vegas' 2012 Offerings
Hot European Tours for 2012
Hokkaido, Japan
Egypt's Antiquity Attractions are Eternal

Recommend January 2012