An all-inclusive Belize adventure vacation on a private island

One of the most popular things to do when visiting Belize is head straight out to one of the famous offshore islands to spend a week diving, snorkeling, sea-kayaking, and fishing. It’s pretty easy to just show up and find outfitters on Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker who will sell you individual activities, but for people interested in taking this sort of water-centric Belize vacation to the next level, Slickrock Adventures offers some all-inclusive packages that combine all of these things and many more, each endlessly at your disposal on their own private island.

These trips are definitely not for everyone, but their 4, 5, and 9-night packages are in a class of their own for people looking to combine unlimited water sports with an unforgettable stay on a small remote island that is never inhabited by more than 40 people at a time.

Slickrock owns Long Caye, which is about 70 miles out from Belize City and only accessible by one of the company’s twice-weekly boat trips that bring new visitors and supplies out to replace the adventurers whose stay has just ended. Week-long vacations begin with a Friday night stay at the Biltmore Hotel near Belize City, followed by the two-hour Saturday morning boat ride out to Long Caye.

You’ll never be bored

Shortly after arrival, guests are treated to a compulsory snorkeling safety orientation, after which the participants are free to snorkel in the shallow waters off the island as much or as little as they’d like. The following day the sea-kayaking safety orientation takes place, which opens that increasingly popular Belize activity up to all the guests to do at their leisure for the remainder of the week. All equipment is provided by Slickrock, as is continued instruction or assistance from the small crew of adventure guides that will eat, sleep, and mingle alongside the guests for the entire stay.

If snorkeling and sea-kayaking in the crystal clear waters around Long Caye aren’t enough for you, worry not. You can also choose from scuba diving, windsurfing, free diving, surf-kayaking, kayak kite sailing, surfing, kiteboarding, and kayak fishing, all with expert instruction and equipment included. The only thing standing between a guest and one of these activities is a mandatory safety instruction course for each adventure of interest. After that, guests are free to create their own itinerary incorporating as much or as little of each thing as they’d like.

Totally eco-friendly

Eco-tourism fans will be happy to know that their stay on the small private island will be one of the greenest experiences of their lives. All the electricity on the remote caye is supplied by its own solar and wind units, and the only energy needed beyond that is the butane tanks used to keep the complimentary food, beer, and soft drinks cold.

Guests sleep in the no-frills double or twin cabanas that are perched on stilts along actual sandy beaches, which are unlike the slippery mangrove forest beaches that nearly encircle both Ambergris and Caye Caulker. In the evenings the dining hall is the center of activity for as long as the visitors want to socialize after the evening meal, but the anticipation of the following morning’s adventures usually keeps the island on an early schedule.

The bottom line

You couldn’t really call these adventure trips cheap (prices for a partial week on the island start at US$1,050), but the experience is totally unique and virtually everything beyond your flight into the country is included. And unlike most adventure sports companies in Belize, Slickrock has an excellent website that could inspire even a homebody sloth to consider one of their packages.