Adventure Island Itinerary – Full Week

Adventure Island at Glover’s Reef

One Week Belize Itinerary

Belize kayak tours on a private island

This one-week all-inclusive package to our island at Glover’s Reef is not just a Belize kayak tour. Here you can experience 10 sports, regardless of your past experience. We will teach you all of them.

Our Adventure Island at Glover’s Reef Full Week package begins on Friday. You will stay the first and last night in Belize City, with 7 nights on the island. We meet late in the day on Day 1, most of our guests are able to get down to Belize in one day. We do recommend you fly in a day early (so as to ensure you don’t miss the boat early the next morning.) For more explanation on this option see Our Hints for a Better Vacation.

This itinerary is flexible and completely dependent on the weather. The exact day-by-day activity schedule varies from week to week. From kayaking in Belize to snorkeling several of the over 900 nearby coral reefs, this is an accurate description of how a typical trip will unfold.

Day One

Friday

ARRIVE BELIZE – INITIAL TRIP MEETING – OVERNIGHT BELIZE CITY

Fly into BZE. Shuttle van to Black Orchid Resort for 6 p.m. orientation, dinner, and lodging. Our guide will wait for everyone before starting the orientation, and attendance this evening is required.

Day Two

Saturday

BOAT RIDE TO ISLAND – MOVE INTO CABANAS – SNORKEL ORIENTATION

After breakfast at the hotel we walk two blocks to our dock (luggage is driven). The boat leaves around 8 or 9 a.m., arriving at the island just before lunch. It takes 3 – 3.5 hours to get to Long Caye (65 miles), crossing the Belize Barrier Reef just south of Tobacco Caye. For more about our private boat charter, visit this page.

Once on the island we begin with a complete tour of our facility. Lunch is waiting for us, and afterwards you settle into your beach cabana. By 1:30 or 2:00 we are meeting for our first sport orientation: snorkeling. Everyone participates in this session, as well as the sea kayak orientation the next morning. We only offer these sessions once.

We start the snorkeling orientation with a review of gear and snorkel safety specific to our area. We then break into smaller groups, each with their own guide, and swim to our closest snorkel spot for your first snorkel at Glover’s Reef.

From now on everyone can snorkel as much as they like, as long as you run your snorkel plan by us and have a buddy to join you. Group snorkel excursions are scheduled throughout the week, usually daily. Visit our snorkel Belize page for more underwater images and a list of creatures we often see. Or view our Belize snorkel map.

Day Three

Sunday

SEA KAYAK ORIENTATION – FIRST KAYAK/SNORKEL EXPEDITION – WINDSURF ORIENTATION  – KAYAK FISHING

This morning we conduct the sea kayak orientation, which starts off on the beach, followed by a practice session in the water. We cover paddle strokes, entering and exiting the kayak (so you can snorkel out of the kayaks), and rescue techniques. Guides demonstrate the T-rescue, which everyone practices in the water right after this beach session.

The sea kayak orientation session is the last mandatory activity. From now on you can pick and choose, and if you don’t want to do a sport, you simply choose something else when that orientation session is offered.

After lunch, one guide takes a group paddling to a nearby patch reef to snorkel from the kayaks, while another guide offers windsurfing instruction.

Certified divers may also begin diving this afternoon, and fishermen can fish anytime. In fact, we pay for your fishing license so you can begin fishing right away. We also have fishing kayaks for fishing inside the atoll.

Related Blog Post: Learn to Sea Kayak with Slickrock Adventures

Day Four

Monday

DISCOVER SCUBA CLASSES – PADDLE AROUND THE ISLAND – KAYAK SNORKELING – SURF KAYAK ORIENTATION

Scuba diving lessons For an additional cost, a Discover Scuba/Resort course is offered this morning for beginning divers. This course allows non-divers to learn to scuba dive and continue to dive for the remainder of the week. Others enjoy a morning paddle around the island, which means you are paddling outside the atoll.

Others may snorkel offshore with their buddy, or a guide will take another group kayak snorkeling if there is interest.

In the afternoon the windsurfing orientation can be offered again for those who missed it the day before, and if the surf is up the kayak surfing orientation will also be offered. Once you complete each orientation you may continue to practice these sports with or without a guide for the rest of the week. We have a near-constant breeze and a perfect set of waves breaking just off our shore.

Day Five

Tuesday

PADDLE TO THE NEXT ISLAND FOR SNORKELING OR FISHING 

Paddle five miles round-trip to Middle Caye to tour the Marine Research Center, a home base for visiting marine biologists. Once there our guides take the group snorkeling at a great patch reef right by this island, and fishermen will want to bring their gear for there are large bonefish flats here.

If you don’t want to join this longer paddle, you may choose to stay on the island. With a buddy you can practice any of the sports you already have learned, or just take a day off in your hammock.

Day Six

Wednesday

KAYAK ROLLING LESSONS – SNORKEL AROUND THE ISLAND – PADDLEBOARD ORIENTATION – KAYAK SNORKELING – SURFING

Begin with a kayak rolling lesson followed by a long snorkel around the island, spending a lot of time at Long Caye Wall, a world famous dive site. During this hour-and-a-half snorkel, you pass through several different underwater eco-systems.

In the afternoon practice your windsurfing or kayak surfing, or learn a new sport: paddleboarding. We have three different styles of paddleboards: beginner, for surfing, and for long distances.

Another guide leads a paddleboard and kayak excusion to “The Channel”, a beautiful, deep snorkel spot between our island and the next island over.

Day Seven

Thursday

SURFING – KAYAK SURFING – LOW TIDE WALK

We paddle a half-mile to snorkel at “The Aquarium”, one of our favorite snorkel sites. Windsurfing, paddleboarding, rolling, and kayak surfing orientations are given for any guests who want them.

The kayak surfers keep us entertained, as we spend hours watching them from the surf dock.

Experienced board surfers will not be disappointed as our surf boards provide great action. All surfers start with kayaks, then move up through paddleboard surfing and finally board surfing. Because our wave breaks on coral rubble (rather than soft sand) it is not a beginner surf wave. Kayak surfers have no problems whatsoever, and even never-ever surfers are catching waves within the hour.

Late afternoon finds us along our shore exploring the low tide pools to find a myriad of starfish, sea urchins, and octopus.

Related Blog Post: Island low tide walk

Day Eight

Friday

FINAL DAY ON ISLAND – DO EVERYTHING OR NOTHING AT ALL

Our final full day is always the best. Get in more Glover’s Reef diving, snorkeling, paddling, or surfing. Our Belizean cooks prepare fantastic feasts for us, which we enjoy in between this wide array of activities. Please visit our Glover’s Reef menu page.

Other options not yet mentioned include a downwind paddleboard trip to Southwest Caye 6 miles away, night snorkeling, and full-moon paddling.

Related Blog Post: Island moonlight

Day Nine

Saturday

SWIM TO SNORKEL – BOAT RIDE TO BELIZE CITY – CHECK INTO BELIZE CITY HOTEL

Snorkel to “Lobster Rocks”, a nearby, shallow patch reef. After lunch we return to Belize City.

Our arrival time cannot be predicted since it depends on factors we cannot control. Therefore, guests should not make other plans for Saturday night, and our last night’s lodging is included in the trip price. You will not get back in time to catch an international flight. After checking into Black Orchid Resort, dinner and breakfast is included.