In case you missed it! Fares can be found as low as $149.00!
“Ethical Traveler’s new report, “The World’s Best Ethical Destinations,” identifies the 10 countries in the developing world that are best protecting their natural environments, promoting responsible travel, and building a tourism industry which provides real benefits to local communities. “There’s no doubt that worldwide interest in mindful, responsible travel is growing – not only among travelers, but within the countries that host us,” says Jeff Greenwald, executive director of Ethical Traveler and co-author of the report. “Now is the perfect time for savvy travelers and well-intentioned governments to evolve together, each encouraging the other. This is especially true in the developing world, where travel and tourism can be developed as lucrative, low-impact alternatives to forestry, mining, and the destruction of ocean habitats.” In alphabetical order, the best ethical travel destinations for 2010 are:
“In drafting our report, we use scores of information sources — including publicly available data — to rate each country’s genuine commitment to environmental protection, social welfare and human rights,” says Christy Hoover, co-author of the report. “Data sources include the United Nations Development Program, Human Rights Watch, Columbia University, Reporters Without Borders, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and many others. Private interviews with NGO leaders are part of the process, as well.” The full report can be viewed at http://www.ethicaltraveler.org/destinations Ethical Traveler is an international alliance of travelers who believe that travel is a powerful tool for international goodwill and cultural understanding. The group seeks to harness the political and economic clout of tourism to support human rights and the environment. Ethical Traveler is a project of the Earth Island Institute. For more information, please visit http://www.ethicaltraveler.org . Note to Editors: Stunning high-resolution photos and follow-up interviews available upon request. Media Hotline: Michael McColl +1 510 451 0267 This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com. SOURCE Ethical Traveler © 2009 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved”
Anerican Airlines is holding a flight sale to Belize. Pick up flights from major hubs like Miami and New York from just $149USD.
http://www.aa.com/netsaaver/viewNetSAAverSpecialsDetails.do?fN=LatinSale.xml&locale=en_US
What a perfect time to come to Caye Caulker!
After a break during the slow season, Red Mangrove will reopen with all our popular tours on offer. We are a small family run company and sometimes run with a skeleton staff, so if you find the office closed after this date, please just check back with us later in the day. We may be on a tour! You are also welcome to email us in advance, but please be aware that it may take us 48 hours to get back to you. Thanks for your custom!
From next month (July 2009) you can fly to Belize City directly from our three neighbouring countries! There will be two daily flights to/from Cancun, and one each to/from Guatemala City and San Pedro Sula. This is such welcome news as it makes Belize so much more accessible. It also promises cheaper flights to get here, and hopefully makes it easier for Europeans and other non-Americans, who will no longer need to travel through the USA. There are so many cheap flights available to Cancun from Europe. Now you can take advantage of them and instead come to beautiful Belize! Let’s just hope the airline can weather the current economy, and make this the success it deserves to be!
Here’s the schedule:
Cancun (Mexico) to Belize City (45 Mins) US$199 -Remember Mexico is an hour ahead of Belize
9am – 8.45am
5.50pm – 5.35pm
Belize City to Cancun (Mexico) (45 Mins) $US199 -Remember Mexico is an hour ahead of Belize
9.30am – 11.15am
6.50pm – 8.35pm
Hugely unfortunate that European travellers still can’t reach the islands in one day, you’ll have to stay in Cancun / Playa del Carmen, or Belize City, but you can fly straight through on the way home, and you no longer have to go through US Immigration to reach us by air!
Guatemala City to Belize City (50 Mins) $US199
5.15pm – 6.05pm
Belize City to Guatemala City (50 Mins) $US199
9.30am – 10.20am
San Pedro Sula (Honduras) to Belize City (40 mins) US$199
8.05am – 8.45am
Belize City to San Pedro Sula (Honduras) (40 mins) US$199
6.20pm – 7pm
To say thank you to anyone that signs up a fan on our Facebook page, we’ll give you a discount on your snorkel tour. The amount of the discount depends on the tour. Pass on the news to your friends. And yes we’ll be checking for genuine fans!
Red Mangrove Eco Adventures, Caye Caulker, Belize’s Facebook Page
Now we’ve got the hang of this blogging thing, we’re twittering away, or is it tweeting away? Won’t you please join us?
From Whale petition website
(Nadine Pedoe)
A planned marine park in Singapore in considering putting the majestic whale sharks on display. Not from huge video screens as you would expect, but they are going to build a tank and put captured whale sharks in it. They will die!
Whale sharks are the largest and gentlest fish in the sea. They got their name as they are technically sharks but live off plankton as do most whales. They are very majestic and live in the deep. They cover thousands of kilometers, and are already an endangered species. Whale sharks visit Belize as part of their annual migrations around the world.
We’ve had the very lucky privilege to see them in the wild, one of the most exciting experiences of our lives. The sea was so deep there that all you could see was blue, it can actually cause vertigo to some people. There is no way that those conditions could be replicated.
The fact is if you put these wonderful creatures into a tank, they will die. It will also further reduce the numbers of them as they will not breed. It is not humanly possible to build a tank large enough to accommodate their needs. We certainly will never visit Singapore if this project goes ahead, and know many other travellers who will refuse too. And yet the project claims to be conservation minded!
Please visit the following website and add your name to the protest to stop this inhumane idea.
http://www.whalesharkpetition.com/Default.aspx
(Nadine Pedoe)
Here’s all you need to know to reach Caye Caulker from your country.
Firstly you need to get to the country of Belize:
From the USA, you have a choice of airlines, flying from their respective hubs to Belize City (BZE), and connections to your home city.
Continental fly to Belize from Houston (IAH) two or three times a day. They also have some flights from Newark (EWR)
American Airlines fly from Dallas (DFW) and Miami (MIA)
Delta fly from their hub in Atlanta (ATL)
US Airways fly from their hub in Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT)
You can also bus or drive down from the USA through Mexico. It’ll take you about three days. Bus services in Mexico are (more…)
Not one single case. Over 40 people were tested, and they all came back negative. Most people are now aware that the western media caused a pandemic of fear, but now reports are coming out of Mexico that even the cases there were extremely exaggerated. It’s well known that their economy is suffering from the lack of tourists. Same thing in Belize and we never had a single case. Whether it was false information spread by panic merchants in the first place or the swift reaction of the Belize emergency team, who immediately educated the public on how to avoid infection, closed down some public meetings, and monitored the border with Mexico and the flights from the US, the fact is there have been no cases.
Because of the panic, there has been a drastic drop in tourist numbers, which is obviously affecting people’s livelihoods. Most people’s income comes from tourism.
But this is good news for individual tourists. There has probably never been a better time to come to Belize. The flight fares are very low – we’ve found $298 plus taxes, there may even be better. The hotels have slashed their prices too. The weather is hot and sunny as it usually is at this time of year. While you won’t quite have the place to yourself, you certainly will find it quieter than usual.
Tourists are starting to come back so these low prices may not last for long!
