UnCruise Adventures’ New Cruises to Belize and Guatemala
Yours truly with the research team during our visit to a Maya ruins site in Belize.
UnCruise Adventures is returning to Belize. The leader in small-ship expedition cruising had sailed in the stunningly gorgeous Central American nation many years ago, but it's returning to the region with a finely tuned and dedicated itinerary that includes exploration of its neighbor Guatemala, too.
It's always been a no-brainer that UnCruise should sail in places like these underrated destinations. Belize is a nation of fewer than 400,000 that offers a stunning mix of culture and natural beauty. The warm and inviting people possess a rich multiracial ancestry, with Mestizo, Creole, Maya and Garifuna as the most prevalent.
Belize is located on the Eastern Coast of Central America hugging the Caribbean Sea, with amazing access to waterways that reach the Mesoamerican Reef (Belize Barrier Reef) and are speckled with tiny low-lying islands called cays. Inland, there are lagoons, jungles and rivers.
UnCruise worked hard to design a trip that gives its guests access to an immersive range of all of these features of both Belize and Guatemala.
UnCruise Adventures owner and CEO Dan Blanchard skippered our catamaran trip through Belize and Guatemala as the company put some of the finishing touches on designing a new expedition in these Central American countries.
One of the many tiny islands that UnCruise will visit for quiet beach days and uncrowded snorkeling opportunities along the Belize Barrier Reef.
I was fortunate enough to tag along on a late-stage research and development trip to get a good idea of how special the experience will be. The trip brought us to stunning ancient Maya ruins sites, got me in the water for snorkeling among vibrant reef systems, had us hiking into the jungle and along savanna to spot birds or swim under rushing waterfalls. Best of all was chatting with the ambitious villagers who have started their own small businesses or clinics to improve their lives and that of their communities.
There also is plenty of amazing food to enjoy, of course.
Check out the full UnCruise Belize cruise itinerary, which is a seven-day roundtrip voyage from Belize City.
This national park features opportunities to spot parrots, foxes and other creatures like manatees that live in the nearby lagoon.
I was among a group of seven as we sailed on a double-hulled catamaran testing out the route and looking for the places that few other travelers will get to experience. I joined UnCruise Adventures expedition guides, as well as founder and owner Dan Blanchard and Capt. Andrea Kosto, who was the driving force behind creating this new itinerary. She is also at the helm of Safari Voyager, the 70-passenger ship that will be the home for UnCruise passengers on these voyages. It also is used for the line's Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia expeditions.
During my 10 days getting a first look at the trip, we visited serene conservation areas, taking hikes in the rainforest at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and on savanna land at Payne's Creek in Belize. Lush mangrove areas are vital parts of the ecosystems in both Guatemala and Belize, and visitors can spot manatees, gray foxes and yellow-headed parrots (and dozens of other birds).
Blanchard thinks a favorite day for guests will be the visit to Cockscomb Basin, which offers a broad range of hikes, river tubing and chances to swim beneath waterfalls. The itinerary includes time in towns, too, with opportunities to shop at a produce market in Punta Gorda, Belize, and hang out at the bustling seaside town of Livingston, Guatemala.
A family preserves its Maya traditions and shares this way of life with visitors to their home in Belize.
A small, women-owned baking business in a village in Guatemala.
The Maya and Garifuna represent the indigenous residents of the region, and UnCruise offers interactions and experiences with them to show their daily life. Of course, you'll get to challenge yourself with trying to craft tortillas from scratch using traditional tools and your bare hands.
Blanchard spent quite a bit of time in Belize when he was younger and has always been impressed by the friendliness and inviting nature of this young nation, which achieved independence in 1981.
“Belize is a very open-for-business country,” he says. “Getting things going here is relatively easy. Our first thing we do is just get out and experience the destination (to create a new itinerary).
“Beyond that, it comes down to contacting all the conservation organizations. Because they're the ones that really know what’s going on, the special places that fit our clients best.
“So, there's that early stage of the process, and now we're down to refining the daily activities.”
We took a panga boat to explore Guatemala, along the coast and into rivers and lush mangrove areas.
And I was able to experience some of these special spots and unique discoveries as the research team focused on how the days would play out during these trips. It was fascinating to watch them plot the route, ensuring safe navigation through shallow waters, as well as find the best places to stock up on fresh foods and other supplies.
The rustic coastal areas of Guatemala.
A swimming area at a national park in Guatemala.
The Maya ruins sites are particularly interesting. Some have been unearthed just decades ago. Plus, the villages along the Rio Dulce River in Guatemala offer a fantastic opportunity to see how Maya women are finding new roles in their society, breaking with antiquated norms to develop their own businesses. We stopped off to patronize small baking businesses and meet with women running important community health clinics.
We had a number of chances to make our own tortillas in both Guatemala and Belize.
Tiny Carrie Bow Cay is home to a Smithsonian research operation.
Expect stunning sunrises and sunsets every day of your voyage.
I have been on several UnCruise sailings now, in Alaska, Costa Rica and Panama, Coastal Washington, Hawaii and the Snake and Columbia Rivers. This has all the makings of being one of the more memorable trips the company offers.
Like I said, it fits with the DNA of the company. Longtime UnCruise Adventures aficionados are craving new expeditions and certainly should be excited to add this experience to their list.
“We have a high number of returning guests, and they want to go to new destinations,” Blanchard says. “Everything is indicating that Belize is kind of that budding flower as far as tourism goes.
“And I think one of the things we’ve found in Guatemala is under-tourism. On both the border rivers and some of the estuaries that are open to the ocean, this is incredibly authentic compared with what is generally available to the traveler today in North and South America. The children still look at you like you're an oddity (when you visit their villages).”
This sanctuary is known for its jaguar conservation efforts.
The secluded swimming hole at the end of one of the fun and challenging hikes at the wildlife preserve.
Safari Voyager Capt. Andréa Kosto and Dan Blanchard cool off in a refreshing spot in the river during a hike in Guatemala.
A Vision for a New Adventure: Q&A with Captain Andréa Kosto
Captain Andréa spent months in Belize and Guatemala, tracking down the best places and activities that will offer the most intimate and immersive experiences and truly represent what UnCruise Adventures is all about — that is, what loyal travelers have come to love about the line.
I asked what she expects for the new adventures and what goes into creating this kind of expedition cruise itinerary.
In The Loop Travel: What are you most excited to show your guests on this new itinerary? What do you want them to get out of it
Captain Andréa Kosto: I am most excited about showcasing the pristine conservation areas that we are accessing. Where the conversation directors inform us that we are the very first small expedition ship and foreign operator to visit. It doesn't get any more UnCruise than that!
“It’s my hope that our guests not only have an amazing and memorable experience, but that they take away a deeper knowledge and respect for the Belizean and Guatemalan people and cultures.”
We have forged relationships with environmental and cultural organizations that have amazing community outreach programs for youth education, wilderness and wildlife preserves and community health. Our partnership will help support those programs and hopefully have a profound positive effect on the indigenous peoples of the area.
It's my hope that our guests not only have an amazing and memorable experience, but that they take away a deeper knowledge and respect for the Belizean and Guatemalan people and cultures. All while understanding that as our guests, they enable us to operate in areas untraveled by others, which allows our presence to positively impact an entire region and its peoples.
ITLT: What challenges do you face when trying to develop a new itinerary from scratch?
Captain Andréa: It is easy to "find" places that everyone already visits; those places are suitable for many people and tour companies, but those type of settings aren't what we're about.
UnCruise proudly touts wilderness, wildlife and cultural experiences that aren't crowded. The Uncrowded places don't advertise, usually because they're a niche location and they want to remain untrammeled by large crowds. Discovering these gems is generally by word of mouth and listening to the people who live where we want to explore. The local people know where those places are and what they have to offer.
You have to be receptive to the ideas and information that they have, because they most often have terrific knowledge of where these undiscovered gems are hidden.
ITLT: Why should travelers take an UnCruise voyage to see Belize and Guatemala vs. any other form of travel?
Captain Andréa: In a nutshell, comfort, access, professionalism and respect for the cultural diversities of the region. We are accessing some spectacular places that other tour operators simply do not visit, or even know of. These locations are far off of the beaten path that everyone else travels. The local conservation organizations we will interact with know that they have something special, and we agree.
The local children are learning about how precious and unique their home is, and we are humbled that their parents and elders are allowing us to take others to see how spectacular these areas and cultures are.
At the same time, we’re honored to not only help promote the conservation of the region, but to educate others as to its importance. By choosing UnCruise, people will be able to travel both comfortably and safely into regions not easily accessed by any other modes of travel.
The first of these “Belize and Guatemala Wonders — Rivers, Reefs and Cultures” voyages embark on Safari Voyager on October 31, 2020, and UnCruise is offering six of these weeklong expeditions during the season.
Thanks for reading,
JR