About Belize Vacations

About Belize

Formerly known as British Honduras, is a small nation on the eastern coast of Central America on the Caribbean Sea just south of Mexico.  The north of Belize consists mostly of swampy coastal plains, which are heavily forested in places. The south contains Maya Mountains, a low range with its highest peak being 3675 feet tall. The Caribbean coast is lined with a coral reef and some 450 islands known locally as cayes (pronounced "keys"), forming the approximately 200 mile long Belize Barrier Reef, the longest in the western hemisphere. Three of the four coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere are also located off the coast of Belize. Belize is also the only Central American country without a coast on the Pacific Ocean.

 

Accommodations in Belize

The city of San Pedro on the Ambergris Caye has the largest selection of resorts an hotels in the country of Belize, there is a wide variety of places to stay throughout the rest of the varied landsape of the country. For the tourist that want to experience and stay inland close to the Belize Rain Forest and Maya Mountains can find some inns and guest houses at affordable rental rates.

 

Belize History

The Maya are the most established ethnic group, having been in Belize since the 500's AD. However, much of Belize's original Maya population was wiped out due to disease and conflicts with other natives and Europeans. White English and Scottish settlers entered the area in the 1630s to cut logwood for export, and Mestizo settlers from Mexico and Guatemala began to arrive after 1800. The country was a British colony until 1973, when the colony's name was changed from British Honduras to Belize and on September 21, 1981, Belize's Independence was declared.

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "History of Belize ".

 

Passport Requirement

Please be advised that the Passport requirements for U.S. Citizens to re-enter the country from Belize and Central America is changing. Effective December 31, 2006 all U.S citizens traveling into the United States from Belize and Central America must have a valid U.S. passport. U.S. Birth certificates will no longer be acceptable as a travel document. On December 31, 2007, a passport or other accepted documentation is required for all air, sea, and land border crossings. Passport Information