St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park — Attraction in Cayo District

To cap off our Belize adventures, I took my son and his friends cave tubing at St. Herman's Cave. The cave tubing ticket also covered the Blue Hole nearby, so off we went for a quick road trip—just a few miles down the road. A bonus adventure? Yes, please!

Heads up: this park isn’t free, so do yourself a favor and call ahead for pricing. No surprises for your wallet that way. Parking? Tons of it. Parallel parking-phobes rejoice! We made the rookie mistake of going during a holiday weekend, and let’s just say it felt like half the country showed up for the party. If you’re looking for some tranquility, maybe skip the busiest times—it’s got the potential to be a slice of paradise when the crowds aren’t packing it like a concert mosh pit.

My son and his friends dove right into the Blue Hole for some epic swimming fun, while I stayed firmly on dry land. After lugging tubes and conquering caves, I was ready for some quality bench time. Speaking of benches—they do exist for your lounging convenience, but don’t expect any high-tech lockers for your belongings. Your stuff is on its own, folks.

On a scorching hot weekend, though, the Blue Hole might just be your new best friend. Cool water, great vibes, and the perfect way to beat the heat. Just watch out for holiday crowds if your goal is to relax instead of...

Nice little area, but I'm kind of surprised that it's $8 Blz ($4 US) per person to go in. There were just two guys sitting at a picnic table to collect the fees, if we weren't there with our shuttle driver I would have assumed they were just trying to rip us off. Also we didn't have change and neither did they. Luckily our Shuttle bus driver ended up being able to break our $50 because they weren't going to let us in without getting paid and I wasn't going to give them an extra $34 . The area was a little run down but still beautiful. Lots of mosquitos so unless you are jumping straight into the water I would recommend some long sleeves and pants with plenty of bug spray.

4/5 for the business side of the park, but definitely...

Did the crystal cave (mountain cow cave) and it was quite spectacular once getting to the wonderland region of the cave. Don't make my mistake of using up all the batteries on your action camera before getting there! It is about a 1 hour hike up the mountain, then you go into the crystal cave which is slippery with mud and you have to carefully watch your step as you navigate the cave. Not for the faint of heart, you will have to squeeze through some tight areas and a fall could easily cause severe injury. Also make sure you apply bug spray before hiking the mountain and after returning to the mouth of the cave. The mosquitos are insane here, I got more than 60 bites, which is the only reason why I am not giving this...