Central America is awash with nature opportunities ranging from rainforests filled with monkeys and exotic birds to crystal clear seas teeming with brightly colored fish and sea rays. It also has a wealth of sites that document the ancient cultures that once ruled these lands. Natural Habitat Adventures has a new land and sea tour — Belize to Tikal: Reefs, Rivers & Maya Ruins — that explores both aspects. The nine-day/eight-night trip begins aboard the new National Geographic Quest, a 100-passenger expedition vessel built to get into out-of-the-way spots without sacrificing luxury. While exploring highlights such as the Belize barrier reef, there’s the opportunity to snorkel, kayak or try stand-up paddleboarding. There’s a visit to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the world’s first jaguar reserve, and Lighthouse Reef Atoll, 55 miles offshore from the reef, whose Half Moon Caye is a nesting area for roughly 4,000 red-footed boobies. The land portion of the trip involves a flight to Guatemala to visit the ruins of Tikal amid the rainforest. The sprawling Mayan city contains stone temples, palaces and other structures that were once home to perhaps as many as 90,000 people. There’s also a visit to Yaxha, near Tikal, which gets few tourists despite being the third largest Mayan ruin. Pricing for the trip in 2019 is from $5,760 per person, double occupancy. Internal flights are extra. Bookings made by Oct. 31 get free round-trip economy airfare from Miami to Guatemala City or a $350 air credit. Info: 800-543-8917, http://tinyurl.com/y95xb2h7
Airline loyalties
Fliers for the most part really like Southwest Airlines, according to the annual survey of 1,500 travelers by Airfarewatchdog.com. Among domestic airlines, Southwest was picked as best airline overall, as well as tops in most rewarding frequent-flier program and most economical airline. Delta Airlines was picked as the safest airline, and also topped the list of most comfortable airline. See the full results at http://tinyurl.com/yck67q75.
Pays to plan ahead
If you don’t mind planning your vacations far in advance, you often can score some pretty good deals. The Online Vacation Center has one on a June 24, 2019, sailing from Amsterdam on Royal Caribbean International. The 12-night itinerary has ocean-view cabins from just $1,449 per person, double occupancy, and balcony cabins are from $1,999. RCI’s Brilliance will make port in Skagen, Denmark; Tallinn, Estonia; two days in St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen, Denmark, before returning to Amsterdam. Other dates are available at varying prices, and there are packages that add international air and hotel nights in Amsterdam. 800-780-9002, http://tinyurl.com/y8f7pk9v
Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
