What’s a family vacation adventure? It’s an opportunity to see, hear, taste, experience and become transfixed by a wild, wild world that few children see outside picture books and movies. Parents find in Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch Jungle Lodge the ideal environment for weaning kids from electronics and there is no downside to planning a vacation there for these excellent reasons:
-Summer airfares are affordable and flights to Belize take just a few hours
-Summer rates at Cave’s Branch are affordable and the atmosphere is enchanting
-Families can stay in luxury treehouses guaranteed to capture kid’s imaginations
-Adventure tours are so imaginative and exciting, no electronic device can compare.
Which Belize adventure package can separate your youngster from her device? All of this lodge’s signature tours are amazing, but you will have to make a choice when you book your stay:
The River Cave Expedition sends family members off on oversized inner tubes that get everyone inside an underground cave system after floating down the river. This secret Maya ceremonial center was once home to warriors using chambers to conduct human sacrifices. Altars, blood-letting blades and pottery remain behind!
The Black Hole Drop is not for the faint of heart! Family members are lowered into Actun Loch Tunich (called “the mother of all caves”) following a Maya Mountains hike to the cave’s mouth. Trained guides rig rappelling ropes and lower you 300+ feet into a sink hole where a picnic lunch awaits. Climb out and you’re ready for a dip in the Lodge swimming pool.
The Waterfall Cave Expedition gives fit family members opportunities to “brave six different waterfalls in a single day.” Skilled guides help everyone get into gear for this one-of-a-kind climbing adventure that includes jumping into waterfall pools if you’re up for more excitement. Cell phones? What cell phones?
The Lost World Ceremonial Cave Tour is so fascinating, you’ll give your kids lots to write about when they return to school. After a jungle hike, this deep dive into Maya history is breathtaking. Tell youngsters they are entering a crystal-chambered underworld filled with skeletal remains and relics where the god Xibalba abides and you’ll hook them.
Two Jungle Expeditionsare guaranteed to show kids how it feels to survive in the jungle! There’s a 2-day overnight immersion and a 4-day/3-night jungle boot camp that has literally changed the way timid kids feel about themselves when they emerge. This survival experience includes searching for food and making shelters.
The Jungle Safari After Dark tour, led by local bushman, brings kids into contact with myriad nocturnal animals that are indigenous to Belize. Families start their trek in early evening and as the light disappears, spotting animals great and small turns into an adventure that’s heart-pounding and educational.
It’s important to note that cave tubing was first popularized by Ian Anderson, the owner of this innovative jungle lodge. Thanks to his comprehensive menu of creative adventures, Cave’s Branch has literally become the adventure capital of Belize.
Treehouses. Adventures. Delicious organic food. Experienced guides. Your kids will fall fast asleep every night during your stay because they’ll be exhausted. You will be weary too, but not so weary that you don’t commit to memory the faces of family members as each one explores the depths of their curiosity and pushes boundaries they may once have thought were impossible.
Once you get home, you can set up your own device boundaries after proving to your children that there’s an amazing world that extends well beyond their electronics screens, and you’ve got the pictures to prove it!
