If you’re part of the growing community of people who want to help reduce their environmental profile by avoiding using single-use plastics, then Belize should definitely be on your list of places to visit.
Located in Central America just south of Mexico, Belize is a developing country with a very low population density. Most of the country is covered by dense rainforest and jungle, and there are more than 400 offshore islands strung like jewels along the length of the largest coral reef system in the Northern Hemisphere, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Recently, a travel producer named Marie McGrory working for National Geographic visited Belize to see if it was possible to spend an entire week in the country without using any single-use plastics. Thanks to an initiative by the Belizean government to ban completely these items, she was able to easily enjoy a plastic-free vacation. Many restaurants and bars in Belize rely on reusable glass bottles. And biodegradable non-plastic items like food containers and utensils are already on sale in bigger towns and cities.
After carefully journaling her visit to Belize, McGrory calculated that she was successfully able to forego 79 pieces of single-use plastic. Her biggest challenge was actually on the airplane ride over as the snacks and beverages served onboard were often in the form of single-use plastic.
If you’re looking for a great eco-friendly place to stay in Belize, choose Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. Founded more than 20 years ago by the intrepid adventurer Ian Anderson, Caves Branch is located in the heart of the pristine Belizean jungle.
Caves Branch has long supported sustainable ecotourism projects such as Pack for a Purpose, a non-profit American NGO that encourages international visitors to use spare room in their luggage to bring in much-needed school supplies. Caves Branch Jungle Lodge is also home to the country’s largest botanical gardens which are used by conservation scientists to help protect and preserve the wild beauty of Belize.
And when you stay at Caves Branch Jungle Lodge, you can sleep in a luxury tree house. Every stick of lumber and piece of furniture was brought in by hand in order to protect the integrity of the jungle. And Caves Branch Jungle Lodge organizes eco-adventure tours in the region, including bird watching, hiking, and cave tubing (using an inner tube to explore subterranean rivers).
If you want to enjoy an amazing eco vacation in Belize, choose Caves Branch Jungle Lodge!