Belize with Kids – Top Ten Family Activities

Older kids can do their PADI scuba diving course on the world’s second largest barrier reef – after all, manta rays are natural teachers. Adventurous families can tackle some truly unique adrenalin-filled cave tours including underground waterfall rappelling and subterranean ceremonial burial sites.

With glorious white sand beaches and world-class snorkelling, you can mix adventure with some chillaxing over a Belikin beer on a Belize family holiday. This is the Caribbean with a difference – you better Belize it!

Our top 10 activities to do in Belize with kids 

1. Go snorkelling in Ambergris Caye and Shark Alley

Snorkelling in the Caribbean has to be the No. 1 fun activity to enjoy in Belize with kids. From San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, the reef is merely 5mins away. Jump into the balmy Caribbean seas and you are immediately surrounded by turtles, eels, rays, barracuda and colourful shoals of fish amidst the coral. At Shark Ray Alley you can enjoy an (ethical) dip with tens of nursery sharks. Take a look at our Belize family holidays section for more ideas about what to do in Belize.

2. Come face-to-face with wildlife in the jungle

Apart from marine life, the rainforests of Belize are packed full with exotic creatures. From crocodiles and manatees to tapirs and jaguars. Toucans and parrots flit overhead, monkeys clamber around your lodge and there is a vast array of suitable impressive/scary insects and reptiles to keep kids entranced. For guaranteed sightings, why not break some journeys up with visits to the Green Iguana Sanctuary at San Ignacio, the Belize Zoo (a zoo with a difference) and the Community Baboon Sanctuary near the airport? We’ve some lovely client photos in our Belize & Mexico photo blog.

3. Learn to dive on Belize’s Great Barrier Reef

Taking your PADI dive course on a Belize holiday with kids is a big tick on the family wish list. Open up a whole new world to family fun (10yrs+). Get the online learning done before you leave home and complete the course in the balmy turquoise Caribbean seas (as opposed to a chilly indoor pool). Leave wetsuits behind and learn to dive on the world’s second largest barrier reef. For other ideas of Belize adventures, take a look at our sample itinerary, Belize Adventure Highlights.

4. Explore caves and see skeletons underground

The best way to enjoy Belize with kids is to embrace all the fantastically exciting cave adventures on offer. No Belize family adventure holiday is complete without donning a lifejacket, helmet and head torch, and ‘going underground’. An enchanting subterranean world comes to life with glittering stalactites, crystal-covered stalagmites (go on kids, which is which?), and magical caverns. At Caves Branch, you can challenge yourself by leaping a 10ft underground waterfall. At Barton Creek, you can canoe for miles through a lengthy cave system. And the famous ATM cave (Actun Tunichil Muknal) contains the skeletal remains of the Crystal Ice Maiden sacrificed in Mayan times.

5. Discover Mayan ruins in Lamanai & Xunantunich

Unlike more famous sites in Latin America, in Belize, you are never far from ancient ruins where your children can roam freely – usually accompanied by howlers or spider monkeys. Lamanai Lodge is located next to the impressive Lamanai site meaning you have the temples to yourself ahead of any groups. The temples of Xunantunich lie close to many San Ignacio lodges and involve a fun hand-pulled ferry ride. And a trip to the famed Tikal ruins just across the border in Guatemala is easily manageable as a day trip. You can find out more about Lamanai by visiting the official Travel Belize website. If you’d like to visit Tikal in neighbouring Guatemala, take a look at our Belize & Guatemala Highlights sample itinerary.

6. Chill out in laid-back Placencia

The Point is the laid-back beach location in the (very) laid-back village of Placencia. Paddle a kayak or SUP and join the locals playing beach volleyball and barefoot football in the sand. Jump off the jetty and enjoy a swim in the protected waters around the split. Grab a Belikin beer and watch the sunset to the sounds of reggae coming from one of the fish restaurants. See places to visit in Belize for other ideas of where to go!

7. Go ziplining or jump off waterfalls in Bocawina Mayflower Park

If the caving adventures aren’t enough, you can add to the adrenalin fun. At Bocawina Mayflower Park you can hike to Antelope Falls and rappel 250ft down the waterfall. Followed by a 9-stage zip wire session, including a ½ mile flight, the longest zip wire in Belize. Belize has adrenaline-fuelled adventure by the bucketful!

8. Have fun kayaking on the Macal River

Going kayaking from Black Rock Lodge along the Macal River is about as much fun as you can have as a family when visiting Belize with kids, which is why we’ve included it in our Belize Adventure Highlights sample itinerary. Safe for children aged 8 and above and, as with all other water-based adventures, supervised by trained guides, you’ll pootle down small rapids and smooth water, whilst being surrounded by dense forest and the sound of howler monkeys in the canopy. (Howler monkey calls were used as velociraptor calls in Jurassic Park!). Don’t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of a kingfisher. Be even less surprised when siblings, parents, or all try to capsize one other! For other accommodation suggestions take a look at Where to Stay in Belize.

9. Make your own chocolate with the locals

Time to get your hands sticky – whether this is making corn tortillas or grinding cacao beans. On a family holiday to Belize, you can visit the women’s cooperative at San Ignacio and learn how to wrap your tamales in banana leaves. At the Che’Il centre near Placencia, kids can learn about cacao from bean to chocolate. Surely the best homemade souvenir ever – although guaranteed not to make it back home as it is so delicious! See what other activities our customers have loved in our Belize Customer Reviews.

10. Enjoy R & R in Caye Caulker

Time to slow the pace of life down. When holidaying in Belize with kids you can really enjoy precious family time – transfers are short and beaches are long. After all those adrenaline activities, why not reconnect as a family – emotionally not electronically? Pick a beachfront restaurant and enjoy watching even fussy eaters sample fish tacos and conch fritters followed by coconut ice cream of course. On the traffic-free island of Caye Caulker, bare feet are essential and the local law is ‘Go Slow’. It is also illegal not to smile and greet everyone. Belize is the friendliest country in the world so go for yourself, after all, seeing is ‘Belize-ing’!

More about holidaying in Belize with kids

Belize is the perfect destination for all the UK school holidays – Easter, Summer, Christmas, (‘Belize Navidad’!). For the best family travel advice on travelling to Belize with kids, ring us at 01728 752751 or send a message via our contact page.