Back

Spot the elusive manatee

col01-wildlifecolombiaamazon-free-proexport

Spot the shy and endangered ‘sea cow’.

There are several places off the coast of Belize where you may have the good fortune of spotting the shy and elusive West Indian manatee.

In Placencia lagoon you can cruise slowly by motor boat looking for neat trails of sea grass, the tell-tale signs that manatees have been munching their way along the bottom of the lagoon. The boat heads stealthily to where the manatees congregate at the mouth of a freshwater creek. If you're lucky you'll also spot Morelet's crocodiles or the bottle-nosed and Atlantic-spotted dolphins which frequent the lagoon. 

These comical creatures may even be spied off the coast at Hopkins village, where the winding Sitee river reaches the sea, 

Belize
Caribbean cayes and coast

Holidays Spot the elusive manatee

From expertly designed Private Journeys to trail-blazing Group Tours, browse our range of carefully crafted holidays.

Kayaking through Glovers Reef

Private Journeys

Belize

Active Belize: Jungle and reef adventure

11 days from £3,580pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

BEL_Caribbean_Beaches_Shutterstock_123061234

Private Journeys

Belize

Signature Belize: Rainforest, reef and ruins

12 days from £3,550pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Blue waters in a marine reserve

Private Journeys

Guatemala / Belize

Luxury Guatemala and Belize: Tikal and the Caribbean

11 days from £3,950pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Papagaio

Your edit for Latin American inspiration

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

View Extraordinary Inspiration
VEN_LosRoquesCrop_shutterstock195597800_freewithcredit

Destination Guides

Beside the Seaside
Learn more
COL_AjiacoColombiano_MyColombianRecipes_freewithcredit

Food and Drink

Ajiaco Colombiano – Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup
Learn more
Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

Get in touch Meet our experts
  • Heloise
    Heloise Buxton - Travel Expert

    Heloise started her Latin American journey as an exchange student in Santiago, Chile. With extended summer holidays this was the perfect opportunity to backpack through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Kathryn
    Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert

    Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.

  • Sophie
    Sophie Barber - Travel Expert

    Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Lina
    Lina Fuller - Travel Expert

    Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

0 1 2 3 4 5