Hankinco Adventures Belize: Excursions (Land, Sea, and Culture)
As part of our commitment to honoring your individual travel styles and ideal adventures, you’ll have the opportunity to select two days of excursions as part of your experience. The Hankinco team is currently curating three sets of full-day excursions for you to choose from: land, sea, and culture. We’ll be reaching out to each of you once your deposits are submitted to select your two excursions. This way you get to enjoy the activities that you’re most interested in and join those who are just as excited.
Both excursions, off-site lunches, transport, and tips are included as part of your fees. The Hankinco team has tested each excursion and partners only with Belizean-run tour companies with Gold Standard guides. In short, these 6 tours, guides, and all the details of the excursion experience have been vetted to ensure that you’ll have an extraordinary time. If you have questions about any of the excursion options please reach out to Steph directly (hankincoadventures@gmail.com). She has curated and tested all the tours in 2022.
Below are two sample Belize excursion options: Snorkeling/Diving at Silk Caye (sea category) and Chocolate, Ruins, and Spices (culture category).
Snorkeling/Diving at Silk Caye
These three tiny cayes sitting just inside the barrier reef offer stunning snorkeling within the boundaries of one of the country’s most celebrated marine parks (Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve on Belize’s Barrier Reef). The snorkel tour is a guided tour where you’ll learn all about the coral, fish, and marine life of Silk Caye and conservation efforts in the area.
Nearby is a location called “shark, ray and turtle alley”, where you can snorkel up close with nurse sharks, large loggerhead turtles, eagle rays and southern sting rays.
Guests will select between snorkeling or diving (if they have valid dive certification) or simply travel to Silk Caye to enjoy the boat ride, swimming, and beach BBQ with rum punch for lunch. This is a great activity for all (including families with kids).
Chocolate, Ruins, and Spices
You’ll spend a morning at the Ixcacao Maya Chocolatier, see cacao growing on trees, and learn about its cultivation. Then enjoy traditional hot chocolate and other delicious chocolate samples while participating in the process of making chocolate from bean to bar using heirloom stone tools passed down from generations of Maya women.
Then you’ll travel to the archeological site of Nimli Punit. In the Kekchi Maya dialect, Nimli Punit translates to “big hat”. This particular site is well known for its large stelae whose glyphs depict major events in ancient Mayan history.
Finally you’ll tour the Belize Spice Farm and Botanical Garden (owned by Tom and Tessy Matthew, originally from Kerala, India). Here you will get your hands on cardamom, vanilla, allspice, nutmeg, and black pepper plants. Touch and taste these spices and learn about their origins, uses, cultivation, and processing and the global spice trade’s influence on the food cultures of Belize.