Published February 10, 2010 | I am looking into taking a vacation to Belize in November and interested in diving, seeing some ruins, and whatever else the area has to offer. If you have any advice on where to stay (area/village), where to go and what to avoid I would really appreciate it, thanks!
I went to Belize a few years ago with my best friend. It was awesome! We did what you want to do, split our time between the islands & inland. We spent a few days on Caye Caulker, and a few days in San Ignacio.
Caye Caulker is an amazing little laid back island, many of the buildings have sand floors and you can eat all meals in your swimsuit if you want 
There are guided snorkle and dive trips that leave from the Caye. You can even do a "swim with the sharks" thing… they are just little nurse sharks and they like to swim up and roll over so you can rub their tummies. It was so cool. We stayed at the Rainbow Hotel, which was pretty basic, cheap and clean.
Some people choose Ambergis Caye for the island portion of their vacation, but it is a little more "commercialized" than Caye Caulker. I personally feel you get a better island experience at Caye Caulker.
San Ignacio however, was my favorite few days of the trip. There are amazing Mayan ruins nearby to see. We stayed at the Maya Mountain Lodge. They were able to arrange day trips for us from canoing down the Mopan River, to go swim at the Blue Hole National Park (different than the blue hole dive area off the coast). They arranged transportation from the airport for us, so we didn’t even need to rent a car.
We did one overnight trip into Guatemala to the Tikal National Park. (A bus takes you there, and it was very easy.) It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. We climbed to the top of one of the temples before sunrise, and watched the sun come up through the mists over the tree canopy. We could see the tops of the other temples rising above the mist and hear the howler monkeys in the trees around us.
Also, the food was AWESOME everywhere we went, and we didn’t have to be too careful about what we ate (like you might have to in Mexico), just watched the water we drank in public places (bought bottled).
Have fun!!!!!!
Published February 10, 2010 | I am interested in taking my 18 year old daughter to Rome for her graduation. We are looking for a tour that will take us to the important historical sites in Rome and provide quality accomocations and some meals. She is hoping to have some down time to rest and see the beach/pool.
If you are just going to stay in Rome you don’t need a tour company. Get a good guidebook book and do it on your own. Most sites are within walking distance of each other. Or you could use a company like this:
http://www.odyssey-tours.com/moretours.asp