Ambergris Caye, Belize With Kids

The Belize island part of our trip started with a water taxi that felt like a theme park ride: bumpy, crowded, and somehow still fun. From the moment we arrived on Ambergris Caye (San Pedro), we realized the real challenge wasn’t finding beauty, it was managing family travel logistics with kids, luggage, heat, and schedules that change on the fly. We share what we learned about ferry boarding, resort pickups, grocery timing, and the simple systems that kept our group sane.

Then we get into the moments that made the trip feel unreal: Secret Beach with crystal-clear water, snorkeling right off the sand, and beach bars that made it easy to trade off kid duty. We talk rolling blackouts in Belize and how a power outage turned into a candlelit dinner and a full-on dance party, plus why staying somewhere with a kitchen is a lifesaver when everyone needs a break from restaurants. You’ll also hear our favorite “don’t lose your memories” tip: a shared group photo album that protects your travel photos even if a phone goes for an unexpected swim.

For the big-ticket adventures, we break down scuba diving in Belize (including the Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye Wall, and the Aquarium), what barotrauma is, and why you should never fly too soon after diving. We also share why we booked a private catamaran charter with kids, how it compared in price to public tours, and what it’s like to snorkel Hol Chan Marine Reserve and swim with sharks at Shark Ray Alley. We finish with Caye Caulker, tarpon feeding, a sunset sail, and the small tricks that helped us move a pack of kids from place to place.

If you’re planning Belize with kids or just want a smarter Ambergris Caye itinerary, hit subscribe, share this with a travel buddy, and leave us a review with your best family travel tip. What part of Belize would you do first?

Resort: Xanadu Island Resort

Restaurants: The Beach Bar, Caroline's Cookin', Ramon's Village Resort, Blue Water Grill, Estel's Dine by the Sea, Paradice Cream, Coffee De Los Mayas, French Croissant Belize

Activities: Secret Beach, Beach Cities Scuba (US Lessons), Belize Pro Dive Center (Belize diving), Catamaran Belize, Relief Band

Transcript

Dive Compliments And Island Plan

Kathleen 0:00

To her credit, it was very deep. It goes down to 120 feet, and you have to make the descent within five minutes, I believe. Otherwise, they abort the dive. So for a beginner diver, she did really well. So good job, Melissa.

Melissa 0:13

Aw, thank you. There is my diving compliment I've been fishing for since that dive day. Welcome back to Organize Chaos. I'm Melissa.

Kathleen 0:31

And I'm Kathleen. Today we're continuing our Belize adventure, this time heading to the islands.

Melissa 0:38

This episode's all about ferries, golf carts, snorkeling, scuba diving, island chaos, and that magical feeling when you realize that everyone in Belize knows everyone.

Kathleen 0:50

If you're thinking about Ambergris Caye with kids, this one's for you.

Kids 0:54

Welcome to Organized Chaos.

Surviving The Bumpy Water Taxi

Kathleen 1:08

All right, let's start with the ferry because it deserves its own segment of this podcast.

Melissa 1:14

The ferry is bumpy, crowded, wet, and somehow still super fun.

Kathleen 1:21

Yeah, just think of it as a a water ride. And I didn't really understand why people were queuing up so early. There was a very long line to get on the boat, but it's because there's no assigned seating. So we got crammed on the sidewall right next to an open window and got drenched the whole time. However, the little ones napped, which felt like a miracle.

Melissa 1:46

There are a few ferry companies: San Pedro Belize Express and Ocean Ferry. Those are the two big ones. You can buy the tickets online, but the seats aren't reserved, like Kath said. Boarding is first comes, first served.

Kathleen 1:59

Then there is Nautilus Water Taxi, which lets you reserve seats. It's a little more expensive, but I would say regardless, get to the ferry early so you can queue.

Melissa 2:08

So we bought our tickets online for San Pedro Belize Express. We actually got there really early and they let us switch to the earlier ferry. So they were pretty flexible. I'm not sure if that was an accommodation. We just got lucky or what. That was just our experience that it was easy to switch. But either way, shout out to San Pedro Belize Express for making our day in that moment go a lot smoother. And we got to get to the islands even earlier.

Kathleen 2:35

Since we got on the earlier ferry, we ended up calling Xanadu to let them know we were going to be arriving earlier. And that was really nice because they were able to arrange for our taxis to meet us an hour and a half before we were supposed to arrive. So everybody was really flexible and accommodating, even though our schedule changed a little bit.

Melissa 2:53

Right. So

Resort Logistics Groceries And Phone Fail

Melissa 2:54

Xanadu do picked us up in taxi minivans and brought us to the resort since we all had a lot of luggage.

Kathleen 3:00

So once we got checked in, I immediately took a golf cart and went to the grocery store to get us provisions for all of our families.

Melissa 3:08

And quick grocery tip: figure out what day the fresh groceries arrived from the mainland.

Kathleen 3:14

Yeah, I was very confused. I totally went on the wrong day. Everything was picked over. There was no fresh produce. Most of the staples were gone. And I was very confused as to where all the groceries were. Come to find out that it was Sunday, and Monday is when the ship with the fresh supplies comes in.

Melissa 3:32

So while Kathleen was grocery shopping, the rest of us walked along the beach to find lunch. We eventually landed at Beach Bar at Caribbean Villas Hotel. But on the way, one of the husbands, he was out on the dock with the kids looking at the water and he fell in, like fully clothes on, wallet, phone, everything. So we tried to put the phone in a bowl of rice. I'm never really sure if you're supposed to do that or not supposed to do that. But needless to say, it didn't work. And his phone was done for the rest of the trip.

Kathleen 4:03

I guess it's an island lesson. Uh waterproof phone cases matter, unless you want to avoid all the work calls for the rest of the week, perhaps.

Melissa 4:11

This incident actually reminds me of a travel tip that we've adopted, or maybe it's one that I've just forced onto every single person who has to travel with me. So I love nothing more than travel photos. I think everyone loves travel photos, so I'm not special in that. But I also love nothing more than the peace of mind to know that we have secured those travel photos. So at the beginning of every trip, we start a group shared photo album. And every night we all upload our photos to that shared album. That way, if someone does lose their phone mid-trip, we don't lose a whole person's phone's worth of memories. We know that they're preserved at least every 24 hours from each of us. So it does kind of help to offset that little nervous feeling that we're gonna lose all of our travel photos.

Kathleen 4:57

Yes, Melissa is definitely our trip historian. So I love that she instituted this because then I get to go through my phone at night and see all inevitably all the photos she took of my family, and she gets to see all the photos that I took of her family because, you know, that's what happens when you're on a trip with another group.

Melissa 5:15

I think it's also good because there are so many photo opportunities. And when you know that you're just all gonna share the photos anyway, you just know Kathleen can snap the picture. I don't have to be digging in my purse to get out a phone or anything like that. We just know that it's kind of everyone's phone is capturing memories the whole trip. It's a nice way to do things. So set up a shared album.

Kathleen 5:34

Yeah, Melissa will remind you to take photos. Don't worry.

Melissa 5:36

I'll also remind you to upload the photos.

Secret Beach Tips For Families

Kathleen 5:39

Okay, up next, I think everybody's favorite day of the trip, Secret Beach.

Melissa 5:44

We took golf carts to Secret Beach. It's about 45 minutes to an hour drive on a golf cart, but oh my goodness, just pulling up. Secret Beach is awesome.

Kathleen 5:56

And it's not a secret, by the way. So don't think that we're giving you some secret travel tip that nobody knows about. Everybody knows about Secret Beach. The place is awesome. There's a bunch of different beach bars with restaurants. The grown-ups switched off being on kid duty. Some got massages, foot massages, back massages, and the kids all probably had way too many virgin daiquiris.

Melissa 6:22

They also have these super cool picnic benches in the water, and you can eat and be among the fish. It was really memorable. They also had these big inflatables in the water, sort of like an obstacle course that the kids all with life vests on got out on and got to play. It was really fun.

Kathleen 6:38

A tip and a watch out for Secret Beach. One, make sure you bring goggles or a snorkel mask because the water is so clear that you can look down and see fish immediately, and the water is warm like a bathtub. So the kids had a really good time snorkeling.

Melissa 6:54

So we had a great day at Secret Beach. It was honestly everything that you can imagine for a beach club in Belize. It really checked off what I was picturing for our vacation. And we even thought about going back another day.

Kathleen 7:06

Honestly, if it wasn't a 45-minute drive, I think we would have gone every single day.

Melissa 7:10

So dinner

Blackouts Dinner Wins And Bakery Runs

Melissa 7:11

that night was Caroline's Cooking. It was a small restaurant with all outside dining. But right when we ordered our food, all the power went out.

Kathleen 7:19

Belize gets much of their power from Mexico. So when demand spikes in Mexico, Belize ends up getting rolling blackouts.

Melissa 7:26

So when the power went out, the restaurant staff was so amazing. They hopped right into action. They pulled out candles. We turned on the flashlights on our phones, and we all just made the best of it.

Kathleen 7:36

Except for that one phone that was still sitting in the rice back at the Xana du.

Melissa 7:41

Yeah, except for that one. R.I.P. to that phone.

Kathleen 7:44

I honestly think dining by candlelight just added so much more fun for the kids. Towards the end of the meal, the power finally came back on, and the restaurant turned on some fun music, and we all got up and had a dance party.

Melissa 7:56

My kids still talk about how much fun it was to eat at a restaurant in the dark in Belize and then have a dance party afterwards.

Kathleen 8:03

And there were little kitty cats roaming around too. So the kids were really entertained by that. They were going to all the kitty cats and petting them and much to my husband's chagrin because he is allergic. But it was just a really fun, magical night for our second night on the island. One of the reasons we chose Xanadu was because it had kitchens in all the units. We anticipated that by this point of the trip, we all might be tired of eating out for every single meal. So most mornings we made breakfasts such as pancakes, eggs, and coffee at someone else's unit.

Melissa 8:40

One day our family got up super early, so we needed to get the wiggles out before our meeting time for breakfast. So we went out on a little adventure in the morning, and we did find a super cute golf cart-friendly drive-thru coffee shop called Cafe de los Mayas and a bakery called Frenchy's with the most amazing croissants. And we surprised the crew and brought that all back for breakfast one day. But most of the days were pancakes in someone's unit.

Kathleen 9:10

These croissants were so peak. I feel like just as good as you would eat in France.

Melissa 9:18

Oh, absolutely.

Kathleen 9:19

Like the best croissants. I think we had them every single day after that one morning.

Melissa 9:23

Yeah, maybe that adventure cost us. I'm kidding. It was actually not that expensive to get the croissants. And well worth it. I'd pay anything.

Kathleen 9:32

I would I like I said, I would I wish that store, I wish Frenchy's was here where we live.

Mom Day And Ice Cream

Kathleen 9:37

Okay, so as we mentioned before, when planning our trips, we tried to give each parent a downtime day. So on mom's day with the kiddos, we went to a hotel called Ramon's on the Beach.

Melissa 9:50

Meanwhile, the men were supposed to go bar hopping or to a driving range, which I think they did, but honestly, I think they ultimately missed us so much that they couldn't stay away.

Kathleen 10:02

They literally kayaked all the way to Ramon's where we were on the beach with the little kids.

Melissa 10:08

They just missed us too much.

Kathleen 10:09

I feel like they did. They can't plan their own thing. They're our passenger princesses. They needed to know what we were doing.

Melissa 10:15

Right, totally. So for our mom's day, we packed sandwiches and we just parked our golf carts near Ramon's and spent the day swimming off the dock. It had crystal clear water, sharks, stingrays, tons of fish.

Kathleen 10:27

In order to incentivize good behavior, we promised ice cream after the beach and we went on a short walk across from Ramon's to Paradice. Punny. Para DICE, but it's spelled i-c-e like icecream.

Melissa 10:42

Oh, I didn't even get that.

Kathleen 10:46

But I would say it's mandatory. They have all different kinds of flavors. I got a little something. I know you did too, Melissa.

Melissa 10:53

Yeah, I think I got a bubblegum ice cream. It was really good.

Kathleen 10:56

That night, well, I guess I want to first say thank you to Xanadu because before we got to the hotel, we didn't have dinner plans. And I went and talked to the front desk, and they were really awesome in getting us reservations each night. We were a large party with small kids, and so we didn't really know what would be a good idea to do for dinner each night. And we gave them a parameter saying that, hey, we want to go to all different kinds of restaurants. And so they set us up with Caroline's Cooking. And then night two, we went to a place called Blue Water Grill. It was great for the whole family. And just to provide a data point here, the meal was probably around $200 per family, including adult beverages and meals for all the kids and adults. The restaurant was on the uh nicer side, but for the cost, it was definitely well worth it. It was more of a sushi restaurant, so it was fresh fish, and I would say I would go back there again in a heartbeat.

Melissa 11:53

Yeah, Blue Water Grill was fantastic. Post-dinner, not so much. Somewhere between parking the golf cart, enjoying the sunset, eating our food, my family lost the keys to our golf cart. We spent what seemed like forever looking for the key, and we just honestly couldn't find it anywhere. I still wonder where it is.

Kathleen 12:12

Yeah, I could say that was pure organized chaos.

Melissa 12:15

So eventually, after combing the beach for this golf cart key, we decided it was a problem for the next day. So we headed back to Xanadu, where they were super helpful in contacting the company and getting us a new golf cart key. They actually seem used to it and they only charged us five bucks for the spare. So maybe we're not the only ones who have lost a key along the way.

Kathleen 12:38

I think we're all really nervous because if you ever rent a car, they charge you like $300 if you lose it. So when the golf cart key went missing, we're like, oh man, this is really gonna break the bank, and it was not that expensive. So if you lose your golf cart key, it's not the end of the world.

Golf Cart Life And Lost Keys

Melissa 12:57

Yeah, don't stress. On a positive note, the golf carts. They were awesome. It was definitely the best way to get around the island. We paid about 50 bucks a day for a golf cart, and it was well worth the price for us.

Kathleen 13:11

Yeah, so heads up, Ambergris Caye does not have a lot of cars. The only cars that are really on the island are for taxis, and everybody else will drive a golf cart. We were on the fence when we were booking this on whether or not it was going to be worth it to us to rent the golf carts. If you guys are thinking about it at all, rent the golf cart. It made the trip on the island honestly so fun. The kids loved driving them around on our laps safely, of course. It felt like Mario Kart. There's even this turn that you could go around in town right next to the airport where the planes were landing and taking off, right over your head and watch the planes.

Melissa 13:50

It reminded me of that scene in Wayne's World where Wayne and Garth are laying on the hood of their car and the plane zooms over them. My kids made us drive that turn so many times they couldn't get enough of it. So let's

Scuba Prep Blue Hole And Sea Sickness

Melissa 14:03

talk scuba.

Kathleen 14:04

Shout out to Melissa for getting scuba certified pre-trip. Way to go, girlfriend.

Melissa 14:09

When we were researching Belize, one of the recurring recommendations is to go diving. So I brought it up as an option during our planning phase, but then I laughed it off and said, haha, but we all have to get certified. And then it turned out that everyone in the group already was. And I have actually talked to a lot of people since then. And it seems like tons of people I know are actually scuba certified. So I guess I just missed that part of my teenage years. So anyway, when I brought it up, I thought this was gonna be a huge group hurdle, but it turned out to be a solo mission for me. I signed up for classes months in advance of the trip and I got certified. I highly recommend Beach Cities Scuba to anyone in Orange County. They were awesome. So I am clearly a newbie, but Kathleen is our resident scuba expert.

Kathleen 14:57

I am actually rescue diver certified, and my undergrad was in marine biology.

Melissa 15:02

See, I didn't know this, and we've been friends for over a decade.

Kathleen 15:06

In addition to that, I spent my time in college working at the Long Beach Aquarium doing the dive demonstrations in the tank, feeding the stingrays and the sharks. And I spent a whole summer in Monterey Bay doing a subtitle ecology class through Stanford's Hopkin Marine Station. So, needless to say, when Melissa offered that we should go diving in Belize, I was like, "Yeah, duh."

Melissa 15:32

Yeah, so Kathleen's definitely a dive pro. After our first dive together, I commented to her, "Wow, you look really cool when you dive." And she did not return the compliment to me. So...

Kathleen 15:43

Sorry, Melissa.

Melissa 15:44

I guess I look like a total newbie in the water, but I don't care. I still got to do it. It was fun.

Kathleen 15:50

Listen, by the end, you were doing great. But the that first one we had to pull you down a little bit.

Melissa 15:55

She held my hand. It was great.

Kathleen 15:57

Speaking of which, the dads wanted to go scuba too.

Melissa 16:01

Yeah, the men were supposed to go diving on their dad day off, but barotrauma from pre-vacation refresher dives caused them to abort their dive day. So I guess we can't give them too much slack that they didn't have a planned out day because they did kind of have to disrupt their plans. They were supposed to go diving and then they couldn't.

Kathleen 16:20

So for those of you that don't know, baro trauma is when you descend too quickly and you get a squeeze on your inner ear and it basically affects your hearing. It feels like you're a little underwater when you come up. And the recommendation from medical professionals is not to dive for an extended period of time so your ears can heal themselves. So sorry guys. Next time, maybe.

Melissa 16:44

Next time.

Kathleen 16:45

So since I'm the resident dive expert, I started researching different dive companies in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. We ended up going with Belize Pro Dive Center. And the reason I chose them is because they were a short walk from Xanadu, and everyone there that is one of the lead divers are master diver certified. Not only are they experienced and they have the certifications, they have hundreds of dives under their belt. So I felt really secure with the dive operation.

Melissa 17:16

So our mom day off diving excursion consisted of three different dives with Belize Pro Dive Center. It cost us around 300 US dollars for that day. We did the Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye wall, and the Aquarium. The Blue Hole was more of a cool geological dive. You go super deep. That was the one where Kathleen held my hand. I was a little bit nervous going that deep, but it was fine.

Kathleen 17:43

To her credit, it was very deep. It goes down to 120 feet, and you have to make the descent within five minutes, I believe. Otherwise, they abort the dive. So for a beginner diver, she did really well. So good job, Melissa.

Melissa 17:56

Aw, thank you. There is my diving compliment I've been fishing for since that dive day. Half Moon Caye Wall was a super incredible dive as well. And then the Aquarium, it lived up to its name. There were fish, sharks, other sea life. It was just a really cool experience. Wonderful dive day.

Kathleen 18:14

We also had lunch on Half Moon Caye Island where the crew made us fresh chicken and rice and veggies, and we got to explore the marine reserve. We saw red-footed boobies. That's a bird, by the way. And hermit crabs. The hermit crabs were the size of my fist. They were huge. I think we were on a walk down a trail and it I screamed because it surprised me.

Melissa 18:37

They were so big.

Kathleen 18:39

On the way there and on the way back on the boat, the seas were very rough. We got to Ambergris Caye at the tail end of a storm system. And so, I mean, I was very, very nauseous on the way there, less so on the way back, but I don't think Melissa felt the same way.

Melissa 18:57

No, I was fine on the way out in the morning, but on the way back, I was so queasy.

Kathleen 19:04

So luckily, there was a lady on the boat who didn't seem to be affected by the rocking, and she had something called a relief band, which is a watch that you put on your inner wrist, and it I feel like it just electrocutes you. It basically just shocks you into thinking you're not seasick, is I guess the best way to explain it.

Melissa 19:25

It helped. Whatever it did, it helped. Words cannot express how grateful I am to that diver who loaned that to me. So thank you, kind stranger woman.

Kathleen 19:34

Meanwhile, I was just drinking the rum that Melissa was forgoing because she was feeling so seasick. So we had a bit of a different experience on the way home on the boat.

Melissa 19:44

Going back to our planning and how knowledgeable Kathleen is about diving and what a newbie I am. When we were planning out our itinerary in our days, I put our dive day as our last day on the trip. And so she, thank goodness, looked at the planning document and realized, oh no, you can't fly within 24 hours of diving or some sort of amount of time within diving. So thank you, Kathleen, for saving our ears.

Kathleen 20:09

Yeah. So it's actually not your ears. Uh, you can get uh the bends. Oh, yeah, it's worse. So for anybody who's a newer diver who's considering diving, always make sure that you allow, I would say, 48 hours before you're gonna fly and dive because you can have issues with oxygen or nitrogen bubble retention in your joints, and it can be really damaging to your joint tissues.

Melissa 20:34

On the topic of health tips, we also have a tip about the water in Belize.

Kathleen 20:39

The tap water in Belize, you cannot drink, but they make it so you don't have a problem. Every room has a water jug in it, and since they are very ecologically aware there, they don't want you using single-use water bottles. They encourage you to bring your own water bottle with you to refill with the jug in your room.

Melissa 21:00

Montezuma's Revenge made an appearance for some people in the group. The effects weren't terrible but it's obviously not fun at all to have tummy troubles regardless of whether you're a kid or a grown up while you are on vacation.

Kathleen 21:15

Yeah, or ever really at all to have the tummy troubles.

Melissa 21:20

You're right, vacation or not.

Kathleen 21:22

So heads up bottled water only.

Private Catamaran and Swimming with Sharks

Melissa 21:26

Our last day in Belize, we got a catamaran. So when we were planning out our itinerary, we knew that after a mom day off and after a dad day off, that we would want to go out with a bang with a full family day of fun. We researched a ton of different snorkeling tours. There were some that were adults only and some that didn't take kids that were under a certain age, which was a problem since my youngest was three. So we eventually decided as a group to just book a private charter for ourselves.

Kathleen 21:55

So this may sound pretty bougie, but when we researched the pros. And the cons of getting a private charter, it really made sense for our families. As we said, the ages of the kids were between three and seven. As you know, when kids have to go to the bathroom, they have to go to the bathroom. So we knew that whatever boat we ended up chartering, we needed some sort of toilet on board. And then also some shade. As we mentioned, it's very hot. And then lastly, if anything did go wrong, we wanted the opportunity to be able to turn around if we needed to. And if we weren't on a private charter, we would be at the mercy of the group.

Melissa 22:33

We don't take our ability to pay for that for granted at all. But when we priced out the public boat versus the private boat, it was actually pretty comparable when you're thinking about buying individual tickets per person versus this private one.

Kathleen 22:48

So I guess that's a tip there. If you are looking to do some sort of snorkel catamaran excursion, do look into private options too, because if you pen pencil it out, it might end up being pretty close. And there is some convenience in having something be private, especially when you're traveling with kids.

Melissa 23:07

So we went with Coral Tours Sailing Catamaran Belize. They were outstanding.

Kathleen 23:14

Yes, would 100% recommend them. We made three stops during the day. We went to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. This is right off the beach of Ambergris Caye. It had wonderful snorkeling. There were turtles and barracuda. The kids were going wild. It was just crystal clear water. I can't speak more highly of this tour. And then after we saw the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, we went to Shark Ray Alley and we got to swim with literal sharks and stingrays. They were right up next to the boat. We have all these super cool photos with them resting on the ground. The kids were in the water. It was just a magical experience.

Melissa 23:59

Before the trip, I had told my kids they were gonna swim with sharks while they were in Belize, and I could tell they were a little bit nervous or and kind of a little bit didn't believe me. So it was hyped up in my family and it lived up to the hype. I was so proud of my kids for getting in the water. That is very scary to get in the water with sharks, whether you're a kid or a grown-up. These sharks were super nice and you know friendly. They were nurse sharks. They weren't gonna bite you, but still a mental thing to get over to get in and swim with sharks. So the kids did awesome.

Kathleen 24:30

Yeah, the best way I can explain a nurse shark is like an overgrown catfish. They're bottom feeders and they don't attack humans. So if you're considering this, if you have a fear of sharks, you can do it. You can conquer your fear.

Melissa 24:44

So Coral Tours Sailing Catamaran Belize was awesome. They had all the snorkel and safety equipment that you could think of for kids like life vests, floaties, fins. They also took photos of us the entire time and then sent them to us at the end of the day. So it's like they knew my photo rule without even me having to tell them. Oh, I love them.

Kathleen 25:05

I think this is one of the things that sold Melissa on it. I don't know if there was fine print somewhere that she read that said full photo album at end of excursion, but they were delivered via Gmail and she like was texting me furiously. Did you see the photos from the catamaran? So I think that's ultimately what sold her on this.

Melissa 25:28

It is, I'll admit it, knowing that we were gonna have these private photographers document our whole day. Oh my goodness, I loved it.

Kathleen 25:35

After we had lunch and we sailed on the open ocean from Shark Ray Alley, we went to Caye Caulker, which is this tiny island. So Amber gris Caye is pretty small. This is even smaller. There's not many hotels there. I think most people take day trips. So if you think of Jimmy Buffett, this is the island that I feel like he wrote all his songs about. We saw a video before we left about feeding the tarpon on Caye Caulker. And if anybody doesn't know what a tarpon is, marine biologists back again to tell you all the facts. A tarpon is a three to foot long, big, big marine fish. And there's this dock on the island that you can walk to and you pay like $2, and they give you a tray of little bait fish, and you can hold them out over the water, and these big old fish will jump, like launch four feet out of the water and grab the fish out of your hand. To their credit, they warned us. They said, the tarpon sometimes mistake little hands as fish. And poor, poor Cecile got her hand bit. The ladies there at the stand were super nice. They had neosporin, they cleaned it off. But just be forewarned, we had a great time. I'm really happy we did it, but be careful of small hands. Just make sure the kids know that it you're not gonna lose a finger, but you're definitely gonna draw some blood. Oh, and it's cash only, so just FYI. Bring your bring your dollars.

Melissa 27:03

The catamaran day was awesome. We'll remember that day forever.

Kathleen 27:06

Yeah. We got back on after Caye Caulker and they sailed us home with the sunset. It was just magical. I'm really happy we did it.

Melissa 27:14

Yeah, my kids and I, we all kind of snuggled up and took a little nap and then woke up to the sunset. It was beautiful.

Kathleen 27:21

I forgot that. Everybody napped on the way home. It was a big day, so we all got rocked to sleep on the catamaran as we went home. Once we arrived back at Ambergris Caye, we got off the boat and we took our golf carts back to Xanadu for one last pool session and a pizza night for the kids.

Melissa 27:39

When I've told other people that we travel with this many kids, one of the things that they've asked me is, "How are you getting from place to place logistically?" I'll give you the tip now. Sometimes it's bribes with ice cream. Other times what we do is we start seeing the ants go marching one by one, hurrah, and all the kids kind of get in a line together. And one of the grown-ups, usually Kathleen, will be at the head of the line, and all the kids literally just like march in line. So I have this like funny memory of that last night of Kathleen marching from the golf cart parking place at Xanadu to the pool, saying, "Okay, one last pool session kids," and marching them along, and they're all just marching like little ants singing the song. "The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah."

Kathleen 28:25

It I think it's like mind tricks. If you can gamify something, they love it. And I think it's a trick we use for most things when we're on vacation together. So the line leader trick, I think is something we started in Belize, honestly.

Melissa 28:41

It helped us to kind of move things along and stay on schedule.

Tiny Planes Trip and Wrap Up

Melissa 28:44

So then came our travel day to go back to the United States. We flew Tropic Air from the islands back to the mainland in the morning. This was a tiny plane. It fit about 12 passengers.

Kathleen 28:57

Yeah, I looked at Melissa and I could see her blood pressure rising as we were boarding the plane.

Melissa 29:03

It was scary, guys.

Kathleen 29:04

But it was a quick flight. It was only 30 minutes, and the views were absolutely spectacular.

Melissa 29:11

I did enjoy seeing the videos and the pictures of the views that you took while we were flying. Once we were back safely on land.

Kathleen 29:18

Did you have your eyes closed the whole time?

Melissa 29:20

My eyes were closed the whole time, and I was just clutching my daughter.

Kathleen 29:24

Once we were back on the mainland, though, we boarded a bigger plane. Were your eyes closed again?

Melissa 29:29

I close my eyes during takeoff and landing every plane flight.

Kathleen 29:33

Okay. All right, good to know.

Melissa 29:35

But I'm super brave and I open them during the plane flight on a big flight.

Kathleen 29:40

I'm so proud of you.

Melissa 29:41

Go me.

Kathleen 29:42

So proud of you. Yep, we got on a big plane. We flew from Belize City back to LAX, and that wraps up our Belize Island adventure. Thanks for listening to Organized Chaos. We'll see you next time.

Kids 29:59

Thanks for listening. See you on our next adventure.

Kathleen 30:12

One more note if you want to reach out to us online, you can visit our website at our organized chaos.com.

Melissa 30:20

And then on socials, we're on Instagram at our.organized.chaos And then on TikTok with the same handle, our.organized.chaos So follow along.