Weather and Bugs in Belize?

[EaglesFan13]

I will be on the Navigator of the Seas with my fiance the week of Feb 11. We are really excited to be stopping in Belize; however, I get reactions to bug bites more so than normal people --and depending on the bite, sometimes an allergic reaction.

 

All the tours I want to do are in the jungles and I was wondering if anyone could please give me some feedback on what the bug situation is like in Belize and in the jungles? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Jay Bee]

I will be on the Navigator of the Seas with my fiance the week of Feb 11. We are really excited to be stopping in Belize; however, I get reactions to bug bites more so than normal people --and depending on the bite, sometimes an allergic reaction.

 

All the tours I want to do are in the jungles and I was wondering if anyone could please give me some feedback on what the bug situation is like in Belize and in the jungles? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

We were there a few weeks ago. No bugs at all, and we were out in nature hiking through jungle floating down a river. The guide said that the birds eat all the bugs.

[Toyz711]

in belize we did lamanai and the river safari...just 3 weeks ago. i had bug spray in my bag. i get huge welts and they last for weeks. on the ship had my benedryl (sp?), solarcaine and calamine.

in guatemala, going to quirigua ruins, the area is more open, grassy..less jungle. the bug bites were awful, we were passing the bug spray around. i didn't spray until i got off the bus..got about 20 bites. several around one ankle, my foot and ankle were doubled in size by the next day. if i had sprayed before i got off the bus, no problems. others were worse...until i offered my "Off".

for belize city, doing the boat ride..the boat goes so fast there are no bugs. the ruins of lamanai are under a canopy of trees, with howler monkeys in the trees...really a cool place. i was ready, but no bugs. it has less grass, with the tree cover...don't know if that made a difference or not. it was a great day!!!

even if you go to the beaches, make sure you take some bug spray...depending on weather and conditions, you can get what they call "sand fleas", nothing major if you now they can happen. more like "no-see-ems".

[pjpurple6]

I was just there this month, and did horseback riding through the jungle, it had rained all week I packed mosquito spray with deet and didn't see any bugs while we were in the jungle.

[EaglesFan13]

We just booked our excursions today. We decided to the Lost World Canopy and Rappelling tour in Belize. We are excited. I guess I have to pack the bug spray to be safe!

[toothy26]

or where were you?

[DonMar]

We were in Belize last Feb and went to Lamanai. No bugs at the port or on the boat ride. At the site (under the canopy of the jungle) there were a lot of mosquitoes. But, we had bug repellent (I bring DEET based bug repellent in wipe form - much easier to deal with and more controlled application) and not one bite!

 

Enjoy Belize - it was our favorite port.

[EaglesFan13]

Did you do the rappeling tour under the canopy ? Did you wear shorts or pants?

[DonMar]

Did you do the rappelling tour under the canopy ? Did you wear shorts or pants?

 

We went to Lamanai - Mayan Community (ruins) in the middle of a "jungle". We did climb the largest ruin, the closest we got to repelling.

 

I wore long cargo style pants made of Tencel. They are lightweight and very comfortable. (I wore them on all excursions - Panama, Costa Rica and Belize) They were great. I have attached a photo.

 

DP wore cargo shorts.

 

(Hope you were asking these questions to me :o - if not there is some additional info on the board:) )

[EaglesFan13]

DonMar,

 

Was it hot when you were there? They predict somewhere in the high 80's for Feb. Were you hot in your pants? I am thinking of wearing some lightweight capris or something. Not sure.

[DonMar]

DonMar,

 

Was it hot when you were there? They predict somewhere in the high 80's for Feb. Were you hot in your pants? I am thinking of wearing some lightweight capris or something. Not sure.

 

 

It was warm and humid, but I was fine. (I do not mind the heat or humidity.) I was very hot after we climbed a very large temple that took a lot of effort. I was glad to have pants on when climbing down the temple - did not scrape up my legs. The pants I had on are very lightweight. I also had hiking boots on - which I would not have gone without.

 

My only recommendation is to wear something you will be comfortable in.

[OttoCal]

Bugs (mosquitoes) can be terrible depending on where you are. We visited in January and it was probably low-mid 80's. Great for swimming.

 

Jungle/River tour- got eaten alive, especially anyone who was not covered head to toe in lightweight pants, longsleeve shirts.

 

Xunantunich- relatively bug free, because it is a very open site.

 

Caye Caulker- also pretty bug free

 

Horseback riding in Cayo, Belize River- medium buggy zone, but we were wearing pants for riding.

 

Belize City- also pretty bugfree compared to the rest of the country

 

Beaches- can be concerns about beachy bugs. We just were constantly covered in spray so we were OK there.

 

River Tubing (farther south than the cruise ship visits go)- BUG O RAMA. No amount of bug spray could keep us safe in the jungle when we were walking to the river in our swimsuits.

 

I have bad reactions to mosquitoes too- so plan accordingly. The locals & guides in the jungle say the bugs don't really bother them, or they are used to them. Those skeeters can smell fresh meat!

 

If you have bug concerns and are going to a jungle area, lightweight pants are a safe bet. They make these pants that convert to shorts that are pretty good for guys, and they do make a women's variety also, check LLBean/Land's End, also have found them at Old Navy. Hats are good if you are going to be anywhere near monkeys- if you are right under them then you are a target...

I would suggest a tank top with a very light long sleeve button down shirt over it. If there are no bugs, take it off and tie around your waist. If it is buggy, put it on. Easy.

[EaglesFan13]

Thanks Otto for the advice. We planned the Lost Canopy Tour in the Jungle (no where near water) where you zipline and rapell. I will make sure to where light weight pants and bring bug spray. We'll be in Belize mid Feb.

[smgardner]

We are going cave tubing next week. How do we take long pants and long sleeves to do that one? man, if bug spary is not of aany use, I am thinking of not going...I do not do well getting bit up...

[OttoCal]

I don't know how they do it with the cave tubing, we went on a river not in a cave, but where we were, the changing/tube pick up area where we changed into our swimsuits on was a good mile walk through the jungle on a kind of muddy path (it was the rain forest, it rained for an hour while we had lunch) and that is where we got eaten up. You leave your clothes there and get dressed again when you get out of the river. But that is the way we did it, it might be totally different in the cave tubing areas. Some in our groups just went in the water wearing a long sleeved button down shirt and a hat. I know I had a hat (and it got soaked).

 

And good shoes than can get wet, dirty, and walk a good ways are very important. I have the Land's End Water Shoes, and Teva's were also very popular. Or maybe cheap keds type sneakers that are on their last legs.

[okie kim]

We returned from Belize on 2/13/08. Flew into Belize City and drove to Hopkins Bay Resort. We were there for a week. This resort is located right on the beach.

We also took a boat ride up the river, toured the Mayan ruins, went to the zoo and layed on the beach for half an hour. Also set on porch of villa.

I returned home with hundreds (literally) of bug bites. Mosquitoes, sand flies, black flies, all were horrible. I sprayed myself with bug spray at least three times per day, which didn't deter those little suckers a bit. Was also bit in our villa...had to keep my body under sheets at night or else they would bite. I even wore jeans and a jacket to avoid more bites and they bit through my clothes!

At least half the bites formed a blister. The itching was intense! I am still itching but less of the bites are still "active". I found that benedryl was the only thing that lessened the itching!

There were six of us on this trip and the only one not to be bitten was my husband, but since he is on chemo...they didn't like him!

Good luck!