| We recommend Diversified Travel Management of Cape Coral, Florida.
Call 1-800-458-8281 or check out their web site here.
We have worked closely with them for many years and they know what our
clients need. They will do everything in their power to provide the best
air prices and service. Be sure to tell them you are with Slickrock, as
they are familiar with our itineraries and will give you a special rate.
Although it is not required, we strongly recommend you fly in a day
early if you have the time. By building an extra day into your itinerary,
almost any snafu can be overcome and you will still arrive on time for
your trip. Please request our sheets: Belize Overland Extension Trips,
Macal River Gorge/Caves Branch River, or Honduras Supplemental Information
Sheet for ideas of things to do in Belize and Honduras before or after
your trip.
It is a good policy to reconfirm your flights two weeks prior to
departure, and TACA requires that you do so. No matter how you purchase
your ticket, be sure to scrutinize the dates and arrival times as soon
as your ticket arrives. Occasionally mistakes are made due to miscommunication.
If the ticket is not correct, you need to discover the mistake immediately
rather than in line at the airport on the day of your departure!
Passports are required for travel to Belize and Honduras. We recommend
you do not check your baggage through to Belize or Honduras, but recheck
in the last U.S. city. Delayed luggage is impossible to retrieve before
your group begins the tour, but by knowing where it was last seen helps
to track it. Occasionally, airlines will mark one of your bags "priority,"
so that if necessary, they will bump only one of a guests' bags. When packing,
keep this in mind and put all of your must-have items in the same bag.
One final recommendation for those with long layovers in Houston:
visit the De Menil Art Museum, this is a phenomenal collection. They are
open Wednesday - Sunday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. It takes about 45 minutes to
get there by cab and a one-way cab fare is about $35.
Flying To Belize
You'll fly to Belize on one of three carriers: Continental or American
(U.S.), or Taca (El Salvador). There is enough variety between the three
to warrant comparison shopping. First consider the times of flights: Taca
has the best schedule, arriving the latest in the day (3:35 p.m.) to give
you the most time to get to your gateway city and departing the earliest
in the morning, leaving Belize City at 9:55 a.m. to get you back into the
U.S. with plenty of time to get home the same day. Continental arrives
in Belize City at 2:30 p.m. and departs at 3:15 p.m. American arrives in
Belize City at 11:40 a.m. and departs at 1:10 p.m. Taca flies out of Miami,
Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (West coast itineraries
differ from schedules listed above. If flying from the West Coast you can
take the Taca overnight flight, leaving L.A. or San Francisco at about
11:00 p.m., stopping in San Salvador and arriving in Belize City at 9:35
a.m.). Continental flies only out of Houston, and American only out of
Miami. One final consideration: Taca is the airline with the worst reliability
record of the three, although recent positive changes in their protocol
have us hoping that they have improved. (Last season, about 10% of our
guests had problems en route, and all of them were with Taca). However,
it is hard to avoid flying Taca since their prices are usually so much
better and they have more flights to Belize. Our agent, Ted, has bulk contracts
with Taca and has reserved spaces for our guests. What do we recommend?
Fly into Belize on Taca a day early if space is available at the reduced
rates. Then you get the best price, the best schedule getting back, and
you won't miss your rendezvous!
At the Belize International Airport you'll pass through customs and
procure a visa; non-U.S. or Canadian citizens should check with their consulate
about acquiring visas. After customs you will take a cab to the Chateau
Caribbean, our meeting place. Cab drivers at Belize International are notorious
for overcharging, even though prices are set by the government ($15 U.S.
per cab). One scam is to tell you it is illegal to share a cab with another
party (not true!). To avoid this get together with other Slickrock guests
before leaving customs. Decide who will pay for the cab, etc., in order
to give the impression that you are all traveling together. By wearing
your Slickrock T-shirt to the airport, it is easy to identify other guests.
But don't worry, some of the Belize City cab drivers are extremely friendly
and helpful; we just want you to be prepared if you get a "bad apple."
Remember, we are meeting in the lobby/bar of the Chateau Caribbean at 5:00
p.m. on Day 1 of our itinerary. After having dinner, we will be driving
on to our hotel in another location in Belize. If there is any reason you
cannot make that meeting, it is imperative that you let us know by calling
the Utah office (someone always works in the office on days guests are
traveling south to assist if any problems arise); or call your guide at
the Chateau Caribbean (Chateau: #02-30800; guide apartment in Belize City:
#02-34129). If you are only an hour or two late and your guide knows this
in advance, he/she will wait for you as long as possible.
Flying To Honduras
Flights to the Bay Islands are more complicated than to Belize. We
offer this information to help you, but we recommend you have an agent
get your flights because the options are so numerous. You will probably
fly Taca Air, as it has the most flights, and is the only airline that
flies directly to Roatan (others fly only to San Pedro Sula, Honduras which
is on the mainland). Taca flies from Houston, Miami and New Orleans, direct,
or with a stop in San Pedro Sula. Direct flights are only available on
certain weekdays from each U.S. gateway: if direct flights are full, you
can fly from Miami to Roatan any weekday, arriving at 5:45 p.m. after a
quick stop in San Pedro Sula. Non-direct flights: If you have to fly via
San Pedro Sula from Houston you will have to fly in at least a day early
and overnight in San Pedro Sula. Diversified Travel can arrange your overnight
hotel. Please see the table of Taca's schedule below. You can fly same-day
on Continental to San Pedro Sula, changing to Taca for the final leg to
Roatan, but Continental will cost more. On the return, if you are not on
a direct flight, you will have to overnight in Belize City. Diversified
Travel can help there too. There are also overnight flights to Roatan from
Los Angeles or San Francisco via El Salvador. They leave at 11 p.m., stopping
in Guatemala City and San Salvador, and traveling all night to arrive in
Roatan at 10 a.m. the next day.
Be sure to wear your Slickrock T-shirt to identify our other guests.
Your first impression at the Roatan International Airport will be of total
chaos. All of the large resorts send representatives to escort their guests
through customs. For about the first 10 minutes, until their guests are
collected, the scene is a zoo. Simply wait patiently, and after they are
whisked off, only 10 or so people remain to pass through customs. If other
Slickrock guests are on the same flight, assign one person to go procure
a cab. Cabs to West End from the airport will cost $10-15. If there is
any reason you cannot make your 6 p.m. meeting on Day 1, it is imperative
that you let us know by calling the Utah office (someone always works in
the office on days guests are traveling south to assist if any problems
arise); or call your guide at the Sea Grape Hotel (#011-504-45-1428) at
6.p.m. |