• Population: 287,730
• Capital City: Belmopan (pop. 8,000) [Belize City pop. 53,000]
• Time difference: -6 hours GMT
• Language: English

English-speaking Belize has all the charm and feel of a Caribbean island, from the swaying palm trees, clear blue seas, pulsating reggae rhythms and of course, rum punch. 

What Belize has that many Caribbean Islands don't, is the added bonus of the inland jungles, bird and animal life, and remnants of ancient culture to discover.

Belize is unique - a cocktail of Caribbean, British colonial, ancient Mayan and Spanish cultures. It is a tiny country, only a little larger than Wales and has a population of a quarter of a million.

The pirates who plundered the region in the 17th century finally turned inland to become loggers in the mahogany forests. The network of 'log trails' that they left has formed the basis for the development of 'green tourism' today. 

These trails give access not only to tropical forest wilderness but also to the limestone cities of the Mayas, engulfed in undergrowth centuries ago.

Belize is home to the world's only Jaguar reserve as well as boasting the world's longest unbroken barrier reef, forming an underwater paradise for divers and snorkellers alike.