Since we wrote the first edition of our Belize Retirement Guide in 1990, we’ve gotten cards, letters, telephone calls, emails and faxes from hundreds if not thousands of you asking us to personally show you around Belize.

“Let's get all these people together and take them on a tour of Belize... show them all of our favorite places... introduce them to our expat friends and tell them all the things we wish we’d known before we moved here.” How much trouble could that be?... we naively thought.
 

So in 1994 we conducted our first Belize Retirement Tour. We spent months planning, preparing, scouting out hotels, restaurants, checking on transportation, making reservations, breaking reservations. We did everything from checking hotel bathrooms for mildew to driving the tour bus. The tour for us was an exhilarating but exhausting experience. We vowed we’d never do another one! We’ve done a few more tours over the years, each time swearing it's our last. We've even had 2 different professional tour companies do the tour for us, but it was never up to our standards. During the past 3 years since our last tour, we've continued to receive a steady stream of requests for our tour. So we’re happy to announce that we have scheduled an original Bill and Claire Belize Retirement Tour for January 27-February 2, 2002. This isn't standard tourist fare. We'll show you Belize from “the ground up.” You'll see what it’s really like to live in Belize. We'll take you grocery shopping, to the doctor and you'll even meet our dentist! Don't laugh, some of our past tour participants after seeing the spotlessly clean, ultra modern dental clinic, stayed on and had extensive dental work done at a fraction of what it would have cost them at home!

You'll meet expats who've come to Belize to retire, others who are entrepreneurs and have launched second careers in Belize. You'll have the chance to visit with them in their homes and places of business. You'll also meet with attorneys, tax experts and real estate professionals who can fill you in on the potential for investment in Belize and all of the offshore services offered here. You can even start an offshore corporation while you're here if you'd like!

Please remember this is not a “fun in the sun” vacation. If that's what you're looking for please don't sign up for our tour. View our tour as an intensive week long seminar on how to live, retire, work, start a business, buy property, build a house or invest in Belize. Every day will be packed with information and opportunities for you to network. Because we live here in Belize we have a totally different perspective than a tour guide who flies in for a few days to “get to know” the country. 

We have designed the tour to be flexible. After the first week when the guided portion of the tour concludes, should you decide you want to spend more time in Belize , for an additional $100 you may stay up to 3 more weeks. This will give you time to explore ares of interest on your own without having to make an additional trip. You can also take advantage of low cost airfare from Belize to see other countries in the region like Costa Rica and Honduras. 
 

Our Itinerary: Day 1 - Belize City / Ambergris Caye After arriving at the Phillip Goldson International Airport, you'll take a short flight over sparkling turquoise Caribbean waters to the island of Ambergris Caye where most of the expats in Belize live. The unique town of San Pedro has only sand streets and most residents walk them barefoot or drive around in golf carts. We'll have our welcome dinner together here. Day 2 - Ambergris Caye / Caye Caulker This morning we'll attend a seminar with expert speakers, subjects include: Offshore services offered in Belize, real estate laws and regulations, immigration and residency, health care, investment opportunities and whatever else you're interested in, and would like to ask our experts about. In the afternoon we'll board a boat and head for Caye Caulker, a smaller, less developed island a few miles away. The boat ride will be picturesque. We'll have lunch overlooking the ocean then take a walking tour of the island. We'll head back to San Pedro with a chance to snorkel and swim on the way, seeing first hand that gorgeous coral reef Belize is famous for!

Day 3 - Corozal
After breakfast we'll take a 20 minute flight to Corozal. This seaside town is very popular with expats. It's close proximity to Chetumal. Mexico makes it the lowest cost place to live in Belize. We'll tour Corozal, walk through the open air market, then head out to Consejo Shores--a retirement development. We'll visit the home of a Canadian expat and then follow a jungle lined path up to Smuggler's Den, a beautiful tiered palapa restaurant owned by another Canadian, where we'll have lunch.

Day 4 - Chetumal, Mexico
We'll take you over the border today to tour Chetumal the capital of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The strength of the US dollar against the peso makes almost everything here a bargain. You'll tour shopping centers, pharmacies, as well as medical and dental facilities. From a filling to a face lift, it's all available here. After a traditional Mexican lunch we'll head back to Corozal. Tonight back at the hotel we'll have a panel of expats to answer your questions.

Day 5 - Corozal to Cayo
You'll get to see a lot of country today as we travel by road from Corozal to San Ignacio. We'll pass through Orange Walk, Burell Boom and Belmopan the capital of Belize where we'll point out important government offices. We'll stop for lunch on the way to San Ignacio de Cayo. Verdant, rolling hills, Mennonites in their horse drawn buggies and the Hawkesworth suspension bridge makes this town on the banks of the Macal River picturesque. Expats seem to love the atmosphere here in the “Wild West” of Belize. Here we'll stay at the San Ignacio Hotel, beautifully decorated with local tropical hardwoods and surrounded by nature trails.

Day 6 - San Ignacio to Guatemalan border
Today we'll drive along the Macal River (there'll be some great scenes of Mayan women washing clothes on the rocks) though the Spanish speaking town of Benque Viejo del Carmen, as far west as you can go in Belize to the Guatemalan border. Those adventurous souls among us can walk over the border crossing to the Guatemalan town of Melchor de Mencos and shop for hand woven Guatemalan handicrafts. We'll ride a hand cranked ferry over the Macal River to the Mayan ruins of Xuantunich After that we head to Clarissa Falls for lunch; the thatched restaurant is built on top of a Mayan ruin. Then we tour the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout.

Day 7 - Belize Zoo / Airport
Today we head back toward Belize City to the Airport, with a stop at the unique Belize Zoo. Started in 1983 by an American woman, this collection of rare tropical animals is like no other zoo in the world. After lunch we’ll deliver you back to the airport and send you on your way home or you're on your own in Belize

NOTE:
We'll provide you with a roster of all the tour participants well before the tour. In the past some have been in contact before the tour and even made arrangements to travel together. If you're traveling solo we'll room you with another lady or gentleman on the tour, unless you request a private room. The weather should be quite comfortable day and night (about 70⁰- 80⁰).

Please remember that while Belize is a place of great natural beauty it is still very undeveloped as far as tourism is concerned. So while we have done our best to assure you comfort, don't expect luxury. Belize isn't Cancun or Hawaii with posh hotels and restaurants. We've seen to it that your accommodations will be cool, clean and comfortable and your meals tasty and nourishing, but the focus of the tour will be on experiencing Belize, not on creature comforts.
 
 

Round trip airfare from Miami to Belize on American Airlines All ground transportation, Internal flights and boat trips Seminars/Workshops with expert speakers 6 nights hotel accommodations Entrance fees to parks and reserves 7 delicious full course meals Real estate tours-upon request Our undivided attention for 1 week!