Belize City

Belize’s liveliest time of the year comes in September, when the entire country celebrates independence for three entire weeks leading up to Sept. 21. The major towns and cities host various events, and a countrywide calendar is published on Sept. 1, allowing you to follow along with the fun wherever you might find yourself in Belize. The most popular events are a steel pan concert called Pan Yaad, held in Belize City, and two full-blown carnival parades. Belize City Carnival, with soca and Caribbean music blaring, is held in mid-September, while Orange Walk Carnival takes place on Independence Day and celebrates Mestizo heritage. Take advantage of low-season fares to get a unique culture-filled experience in Belize in September.

At a baboon sanctuary in Bermudan Landing, Belize, you can take a hike to learn about the local plants, and hopefully you’ll meet a howler monkey or two.

No visit to Belize would be complete without sampling the national beer, Belikin. Even non-beer drinkers have found Belikin’s light and smooth taste enjoyable, especially on a hot day by the beach. Brewed by the Belize Brewing Company, the family of beers includes Lighthouse Lager, Belikin, Belikin Premium, and Belikin Stout. Belize Brewing Company has expanded to include a lineup of seasonal beers, which have also become quite popular. The most common brew is the flagship Belikin. If you walk into any bar and say, “A beer, please,” you are asking for a regular Belikin. It’s a European-style lager that utilizes Canadian pilsner malt with German hops. It’s full-bodied with a light finish, and, with 4.8% alcohol content, it’s easy drinking. Curious about the Maya temple depicted on the bottle? The iconic image is Altun Ha, one of the most important Maya sites in Belize.

Belize is a beautiful mix of garifuna, Mexican, Mayan and other cultures. just outside of San Ignacio are amazing maya ruins, rainforest, jaguar sanctuaries... Mountain Pine Ridge is a beautiful mountain area near San Ignacio where you go up a dirt road with a rental car or there are many outfitters in San Ignacio who will drive you up on a day trip. see amazing waterfalls, go on hikes and check out rio frio cave which has a 65 ft entrance and goes back like a tunnel with cool pools inside. it seems like another world looking out into rainforest. San Ignacio is only a couple hours from Belize city. you can bus from Belize airport easy! I took this shot of an NGO group I was shooting last year.