'The magical experience that justifies having Belize on any bucket list'

This was my first time to Belize – I’d visited neighbouring Guatemala before but Belize had been on my radar for a while. I’ve not booked any holidays to Belize previously.

We first stayed in the Cayo District of Belize before moving to the coast. The Cayo area has lush scenery and an abundance of things to do – from hiking, horse riding and water-based activities to visiting historic Maya temples. There’s really something for everyone here. And getting around was quite easy with a good road network – so you don’t spend all your time travelling from place to place.

We did a range of excursions during the trip. I enjoyed our visit to the San Antonio Women’s Co-operative where they keep ancient Maya traditions alive, creating pottery and preparing food in the traditional way. We had a delicious meal prepared by the ladies there and even got to make and cook our own tortillas. The visit to the Maya site of Xunantunich was also really enjoyable and very atmospheric. And although there were other visitors, it was far from crowded.

But for me, the absolute highlight of the trip was flying over Belize’s famous Great Blue Hole, which was utterly magical and has to rank as one of my best-ever travel experiences. Not just seeing this amazing natural phenomenon, but the surrounding seascape was absolutely gorgeous. All of us felt privileged to have been able to do this. In my view, this experience alone is enough to justify putting Belize on any bucket-list!