The Proposition: You’ll require a jetliner, a prop plane, a van, and a water taxi to get to Las Terrazas’ 37 spacious, high-ceilinged townhouses (starting at $299/night)—meaning you’re worlds away from everyday stresses. Luxury and pampering service abound throughout the property. Highlights include a 70-foot, cabana-lined pool and the resort’s private, white-sand beach.
The hull of our boat shatters the glass-like water as we make our way from Las Terrazas’ White Sands Dive Shop out to Shark Ray Alley, a popular snorkeling site. (The excursion costs just $10 per person; the shop also runs trips to the world-famous Blue Hole for $40 per person.) A slight breeze does its best to break through the pressing Belizean humidity. Aside from the boat’s wake, the water is freakishly still, with the tide breaking miles out from the 25-mile-long, mile-wide island of Ambergris Caye. The calmness of the water has me feeling serene, even though I’m about to dive into waters swarming with nurse sharks and stingrays.
As the boat stops, I throw on my snorkel gear, throw caution into that dying breeze and jump into the sea. Within seconds, I’m staring 12-foot sharks in the eye. My guide takes hold of a rather large one, waving to me to come pet it, and I cautiously oblige. (You know you’re in paradise when even the sharks are this chill.)
The calming nature of this trip didn’t stop with the sharks. Serenity was the theme of my stay at Las Terrazas, as I enjoyed more than a few rum-infused frozen drinks while lounging in and around the resort’s palm-lined pool. Ditto for the lounge-chair-dotted beach just steps from my townhouse.
Suffice it to say, I shed a few tears as I watched the island disappear from view through my tiny prop-plane window en route to the airport to head home. (www.lasterrazasresort.com)
Do: Mainland Excursions
The resort’s guest services staff (located at the open-air front desk) can arrange various mainland outings, from a tour of the Lamanai Maya Ruins to adventurous jungle zip-lining and cave-tubing tours. (www.cavesbranch.com/belize-cave-tubing-and-zipline)
Dine: O Restaurant
Located on the property, O Restaurant features a rotating menu, serving up lunches and dinners that infuse fresh foods with local flavor. And whether you’re enjoying a burger poolside for lunch or indulging in seafood risotto for dinner on the rooftop, you’ll find few disappointments.
