Hotel Packages

Belize District

Maruba Resort (tel. 501/225-5555, U.S. tel. 800/627-8227, www.maruba-belize.com [1], US$130–700 per night) has a Maya Afterlife Adventure Tour (US$1,199 per person) with trips to Altun Ha [2], Lamanai [3], Actun Tunichil Muknal [4], and with exclusive access to Mammy Ridge archaeological site, where you can crawl into an unexcavated royal Maya tomb.

Black Orchid Resort (2 Dawson Ln., Burrell Boom Village, tel. 501/225-9158, www.blackorchidresort.com [5], US$975–1,125 per person based on double occupancy) is going with the apocalyptic theme to describe their Belize It 2012 package. (“We can think of nowhere better to end it all than where the elders predicted it thousands of years ago.”) An interesting seven-night package includes five nights in a spacious room at the fully equipped riverside resort, plus two nights in the Toledo District, where you’ll follow a self-directed tour and stay in a Maya village. The week includes one Maya dinner at Black Orchid Restaurant, a trip to Actun Tunichil Muknal [4], and—my favorite—a full-day private tour of Lamanai [3] archaeological zone, one of the most stunning sites in all of the Mundo Maya.

Ambergris Caye

At Portofino Beach Resort (tel. 501/226-5096, www.portofinobelize.com [6], US$250–350), an Ambergris Caye property, their seven-night 2012 Doomsday Package (Dec. 15–22, US$2,305 per person double occupancy) offers “front-row seats” to the end of the world—or the dawn of the new era. The package includes all breakfasts and dinners, including one night of Mayan buffet, a trip to Xunantunich [7], cave tubing, snorkeling, and a trip to Lamanai [3].

Vicinity of San Ignacio

One of the region’s premiere jungle lodges, The Lodge at Chaa Creek (tel. 877/709-8708, www.chaacreek.com [8], US$3,563 per adult) is located in between the country’s two largest and most important archaeological sites: Xunantunich [7] and Caracol [9]. Chaa Creek is offering a Belize Maya Heartland 2012 Adventure Vacation and, for the solstice itself, a seven-night all-inclusive Maya Winter Solstice 2012 (Dec. 15–22). Chaa Creek’s celebrations will focus on “factual information, cultural integrity, and respect for the people of this vibrant civilization.”

They are putting on a festive week that is also educational. Guests will learn about ancient and contemporary Maya culture through daily on-site lectures on Maya cosmology, spiritualism, astrology, astronomy, and a range of other themes. Chaa Creek guests participating in the 2012 winter solstice program will receive loose, white traditional Maya attire, as well as a carved talisman with their birth-date glyph. A huge stela will be erected on December 22 “with the names or glyphs of participating guests inscribed on it.”

The highly rated, horseback-centric jungle lodge Mountain Equestrian Trails (tel. 800/838-3918 or 501/669-1124, metbelize [at] pobox [dot] com, www.metbelize.com [10]) has a 2012 Maya Land Adventure ($1,850 per person, double occupancy). The trip begins with a full-day horseback ride to the Barton Creek Cave [11], a sacred place used by the Maya for agricultural and fertility rites, ritual bloodletting, human sacrifice, and lineage internment. The rest of the week includes immersion in nature, ceramic making, and a trip to Tikal [12] and the nearby butterfly farm. They are also offering a Skeptics Package for December 21, 2012.

Pook’s Hill (tel. 501/820-2017, www.pookshillbelize.com [13], US$198) is a unique, isolated jungle resort built into the hillside amid an actual Maya archaeological site. They have a seven-day Year of the Maya tour package whose themes include herbal medicine from the jungle, Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya cooking, archaeology, discussions about the Maya calendar, storytelling, and copal-burning ceremonies. Guests spend six nights at Pook’s Hill, with tours to Xunantunich [7], Caracol [9], and Cahal Pech [14] archaeological sites, morning forest walks, a trip to nearby Actun Tunichil Muknal cave [4], and a day trip to Tikal [12]. Package prices from January to May and for December are US$3,150 for two people; the rate is reduced to US$2,680 during low season (June–Nov.). There are a number of ways to customize your trip, including an overnight at Tikal.

Ka’ana Boutique Hotel & Spa (tel. 501/824-3350, www.kaanabelize.com [15], US$250–350) is kicking things up a few notches with The Maya: A Journey Through Time, featuring a full-on rock-star tour of the Caracol [9] archaeological site. Get this: Guests fly in to the site by helicopter, skimming over the forests and Mountain Pine Ridge [16], then get a personal tour of the site while your personal chef prepares dinner amid the ruins. A luxury overnight camp is made atop the 140-foot-high Caana temple. After a night under the stars, enjoy breakfast in the ruins before your helicopter flight back to the resort. I guess you only live once. The package (US$22,000 per person) also includes energy work with a Maya shaman and an exclusive cave trip with the director of archaeology.

Placencia

Across the country, Chabil Mar (tel. 866/417-2377, www.chabilmar.com [17]) is a high-end beach resort in Placencia [18] offering a seven-night Maya of Belize Immersion. Their immersion includes an introductory seminar on Maya history and visits to archaeological sites, as well as to two Maya villages “to learn Maya farming techniques, crafts, food, cooking, and medicine.” The licensed tour guide is from the Mopan Maya Village of Red Bank.