Ambergris Caye is one of over 450 offshore Cayes (islands) off the eastern coast of Belize, sitting right in the Caribbean Sea. It is the largest island in Belize, and is where many of
the tourists that DO go to Belize end up at some point. The island has a very low-key vibe and offers just enough to do to not get bored, but not too much to the point where it’s crowded and super touristy. We spent 2 of our 3 nights here at the PUR Boutique Cabanas and were blown away! Not even joking, we left with my husband getting all kinds of ideas of replicating our cabana as a guest home someday – for a house we have yet to find or own 🙂 We actually arrived for their opening weekend and were one of the first (if not the actual first) to stay in our cabana, the Eagle Ray king suite.
Side note: even if you don’t end up staying here, at least check out their page on recommended activities if you’re headed to Ambergris Caye! That page is helpful no matter where you’re staying.
To get to the island, you have to either take a small little island-hopper plane, or a water taxi (ferry). We chose to do the water taxi since it was cheaper. We took a cab from the airport in Belize City to the water taxi terminal ($25), which was about a 20 minute ride. Once at the water taxi terminal, we bought tickets for a one-way ticket to Ambergris Caye ($28/person). There are scheduled departure times, so plan accordingly if you can – the schedule is usually posted online here. Our 100-person taxi boat left at 1:30, stopped at
Caye Caulker to drop off passengers and pick up new ones, and arrived to Ambergris around 3:15. Nelson, from PUR, met us at the water taxi dock with cold washcloths and water and took us to the hotel (only a 10 minute ride). Fun fact about Ambergris – they basically all get around in golf carts! There a few random cars on the island, but everyone just either walks, or rents/owns a golf cart to get around, which makes it a really fun and unique way to see the island! Upon arriving at the hotel, we sat down with the owner, Dave, who gave us a super helpful rundown of the facilities and amenities, made even better with the complimentary rum punch 🙂 The owners actually own a hotel down in the mainland beach town of Placencia as well, which won the 2017 Belize Tourism Award for Best Small Hotel of the Year, which explains how they know what they’re doing so well! They bring that same level of excellence to this brand new second location, and I fully expect to see this second location awarded as such within the coming years.
There are only 6 cabanas on site, so it is a small and private adults-only location that we absolutely loved! Many times we had the pool and the swim-up bar all to 
ourselves! There is a full bar on site that also serves food, complete with a taco bar that you just won’t be able to get enough of. We loved topping off our night with a huge ($7) plate of nachos, and starting the morning with their enormous footlong breakfast burritos ($6). They even have a reserve osmosis water system that filters and cleans the water so that you can drink it….it was the only place on the whole island where we actually drank non-bottled water.
The private cabana that we stayed in was absolutely incredible…it had a king bed, full kitchenette (stove, dishes, sink, mini fridge, toaster, etc.), TV, porch hammock, and a completely private side porch with an outdoor shower and hot tub. Each cabana varies a bit, so you’ll have to do some research, but I think the Eagle Ray suite is the only one with the hot tub/plunge pool. The prices are very reasonable right now with the establishment being so new, so the Eagle Ray suit is definitely worth the splurge (prices seem range from $125-$199 depending on the season). TOTALLY worth it – even for budget travelers!
Location-wise PUR is right in the Tres Cocos area, which is a great, quiet little trendy area that is close to the main town of San Pedro, but far enough away not to be crowded. It is considered “North” of the bridge, and San Pedro is “South” of the bridge. The bridge does cost about $2 to cross by golf cart each way, so be sure to bring cash with you if you plan to cross it via cart. While the Tres Cocos area is nice and quiet, there are still areas
nearby to get drinks and food if you like, so you have plenty of options. PUR is about a 30 minute golf cart ride to Secret Beach, which is the best beach on the island, and you can rent golf carts from PUR that are already on the premises for $50/day, which is pretty standard for rentals on the island. The cabanas are also only a short walk to the beach, and while the cabanas aren’t beachfront, the beach is super close. All in all, the location was absolutely perfect for us and was exactly what we were looking for! PUR Boutique Cabanas will definitely fall within our top 5 favorite accommodations, and we would HIGHLY recommend this gorgeous boutique hotel….we are looking forward to returning ourselves!
To learn more about what we did in Belize read that post here, check out where to eat here, or to see where we stayed on the mainland (hint: jungle resort) check that out here! Happy Planning 🙂
*This post was a collaboration with PUR Boutique Cabanas, but all opinions and photos are my own.
planning. The was one of our “wing it” trips where none of our hotels were planned until the night or two before, and we bounced around the island in two different rental cars and stayed in 3 different towns over the course of 5 days (read more about our itinerary 
has it’s own restaurant, bar, shop (selling beach accessories, jewelry, a few clothing items, hats, blankets, etc.), library, sauna, and 2 pools, TWO! They also offer spa services, massages, and yoga and pilates classes if you’re wanting to purchase any of those services…they pretty much have anything you could want! We really wanted to get dinner at the hotel’s restaurant since it looked so amazing, but unfortunately we ran out of time and didn’t get a chance to. However, the hotel 
breakfast is AMAZING! Quite possibly the best hotel breakfast that we’ve had – and free too! They had an amazing do-it-yourself yogurt bar, with all types of fresh fruits, nuts, granola, jams, and honey. They had an assortment of freshly baked bread and all kinds of cheeses and meats that were absolutely fabulous. Not to mention all of the juice options, coffee, pastries, and hot breakfast items that you could order too! Absolutely fabulous breakfast, in all honesty, it was the meal we looked forward to the most during our entire stay in Soller.
decorated, and had a mini fridge, radio, flatscreen TV, safe, hairdryer, and nespresso maker in it. The tub was AMAZING
and made me seriously reconsider my stance on baths (I’m not normally a fan) 😉 However, the best part of the room was again, hands down, the balcony. The balcony was a great size and boasted lots of room, along with a set of balcony chairs and ottomans to relax on. The hotel is situated smack dab in the middle of the port, so your view is a straight shot of the harbor clear through to the ocean, and is absolutely INCREDIBLE. I honestly don’t think any other hotel in town could beat this view, which is probably a big factor in the hotel being one of the top ranked Soller hotels on TripAdvisor (see it 
and absolutely BREATHTAKING! This 1,405 square-mile island is situated in the western Mediterranean Sea and is a popular tourist destination for Europeans, especially Germans in particular. We visited in September 2017 and the good news for us is that since tourism is the island’s greatest source of revenue, almost everyone on the island speaks multiple languages, with a universal language being English! While not many Americans visit Mallorca, many Europeans speak English as a second language, so it is a pretty universal language with which to communicate with….lucky us! Mallorca is a beautiful island that can provide just about any type of 
terrain that can thrive in a Mediterranean climate that you can think of…it has gorgeous sand beaches, pebble beaches, coves, caves, limestone cliffs, and rugged mountains. The island is a well-known travel destination for rock climbers due to its mountain peaks, limestone cliffs, and coves. Many famous climbers venture to Mallorca for its deep-water soloing locations, and the famous Es Pontas. Mallorca offers lots to do for adventurers and relaxers alike, and is one of the most beautiful islands we’ve ever visited! Keep reading to find out more about this amazing island, our favorite spots, and our best advice!
we were able to see so many different parts of this amazing island, and all on our own time and schedule! Pro Tip: if you’re planning on renting a car, DON’T rent from Gold Car. They are the cheapest option online, but have a bunch of hidden fees that you don’t know about until after it’s too late. The $15 insurance is not optional, and even if you purchased it online like we did they still make you purchase it in person from them. They also require a surprise $100 gas deposit, that, even if you return the car with a full tank of gas you only get $75 of that deposit back. Everyone in front of us in line was having the same issue with these surprise fees, which made the process long and tedious…it took forever to get our car, and they did not negotiate or compromise with us or anyone else in line at all. In the end, we ended up only renting this car for 2 days, and then we returned it and rented a car from Avis for the rest of our trip. We paid about $140 for 2 days at Gold Car, and $160 for 3 days with Avis and a lot less fuss. HIGHLY recommend getting a rental car for the freedom it offers, but don’t bother wasting your time with Gold Car 🙂
days. While they were traditionally appetizers or snacks, every restaurant does them differently, so it is a little tricky to figure out. Sometimes they really are appetizers and snacks, other times they are sides that are ordered alongside an entree, and other times you order several tapas to share and create a customized 
full meal on your own. The only thing that really seems consistent from restaurant to restaurant is the fact that they are small(ish), shareable portions. Our favorite tapas came from the restaurants that did them as mini entrees, so we created a full meal by ordering 5-6 tapas plates and sharing them all. This way allowed us to really try a lot of different Spanish specialties at one sitting without a.) getting too full, and b.) spending a ton of money! We didn’t have to make decisions about what to try or not try, we could try it all!
to try it! Its half espresso and half condensed milk that you mix together and drink, but I’ve only ever seen it on the menu in Cala d’Or, so definitely give it a try if you can find it! I know it sounds gross, but don’t knock it ‘till you try it 🙂 We also did dinner in that main hub every night too, it’s a super fun little area where you just walk around and read menus that are displayed until you see something you like, or hop around and get drinks and tapas. Definitely don’t forget to stop for gelato….that became a nightly tradition for us 🙂 (Pro Tip: tipping isn’t a thing in Mallorca, in fact, when you pay by credit card there isn’t even a tipping option available, however, it does mean that concierge services like bellhops and valets aren’t a thing either).
majority of the coastline is made up of limestone cliffs, so sand beaches are a hot commodity and fill up pretty quickly. The good news is that if you aren’t a fan of crowded beaches, you can almost always adventure along the limestone rock coves until you find a more secluded 
area. A lot of the coves have ladders that go right into the water so you don’t even have to jump if you don’t want to! Just make sure you have shoes with you, as the limestone can be pretty sharp. I was mostly fine in flip flops, it just requires some concentration. We checked out the coves at Cala d’Or Beach, and Cala Gran and were not disappointed! Absolutely STUNNING!
other beaches and coves that we had visited where the beach is small and crowded, but if you do a little hiking you can find your own spot free of other beachgoers! This one in particular had a super small parking area, so most people (including us) parked on the road and walked the 1 mile down the gravel road until we got to a large chained gate at the end of the road with an opening just big enough to squeeze through. From there you have to walk another 1/3 of a mile down a rock path through the woods to get to the beach. Once there, we did an additional ¼ mile walk around the beach up to the rocks that led to a secret cove on the other side of the beach that was basically empty. 
I think this ended up being our favorite cove that we visited due to it’s exclusivity and it’s cliff jumping! Andrew used to be a rock climber, so he loved trying the climbing spots and jumping off the cliffs. There were a few other climbers there who were deep water soloing around the caves and such. Word of caution though, there are jellyfish in the water that we were unaware of until it was too late…we realized they were there the hard way when I got surprised by one that left a 3-inch long rash for several weeks. As long as you’re looking for them though you should be fine! Other than the jellyfish, this was probably our favorite cove that we visited on this trip, so we highly recommend it!
happens to be the hardest deep water solo climb in the world, first ascended by Chris Sharma. The structure is absolutely breathtaking and pictures really don’t do it justice. It is pretty difficult to find if you don’t do your research ahead of time. We didn’t, and used a combination of road signs, a sometimes-working GPS, prayer, and lucky guesses until we miraculously found it. It 
probably isn’t that difficult to find if you know ahead of time to research it, and should only take about 30 minutes driving from Cala d’Or if you don’t get lost. Even getting lost thought it was still worth the trip; we stopped at a few other coves to explore along the way… sometimes getting lost isn’t a bad thing 🙂 (For those wondering, Es Pontas is located between Cala Santanyi and Cala Llombards. You’ll park outside what looks like a national park with a dirt path that you will walk along until you see the arch. You should see a sign or two along the way – it’s only a few minutes’ walk, not a hike). We ended up climbing straight down the cliff so that we could get in the water and swim to the arch, which was UNREAL! We didn’t fare too well on the climb, but there is a pretty sweet rope swing tied to the arch that is available to anyone who can get out there!
the hard way, is a military base that is blocked off and closed to visitors (we didn’t find that out until we had walked over there to get in). The other one has a paved road that you can drive up or walk up to get to the top. The lighthouse itself is not accessible to the public, but there is a great view from the top and a restaurant up there if you’re interested. On the way down, I’d recommend stopping at the little café at the bottom of the path…the owner always has a great stash of Spanish wine 🙂 Soller’s main pedestrian road is car-free and runs right along the harbor with houses, shops, and restaurants, and is a great place to stroll and get drinks, tapas, and gelato. There is also a small rocky beach for the beach bums as well, although, to be honest, it was our least favorite beach and we didn’t spend any time on it. We DID spend a lot of time on our hotel balcony which had an absolutely MAGNIFICENT view…I mean, can you GET much better?! To see where we stayed in Soller with this view stay tuned for a post coming soon!
mountains. You can take a tunnel that goes through the mountains, but obviously, you miss out on the best part – the view! Winding through the mountain is absolutely incredible, and allows you to get the full Mallorcan experience…beach, coves, and cliffs!
runs through the incredible little Spanish town of Deia. The town looks like a picture from a magazine of a traditional Spanish town with its stone walls, shingled roofs, overflowing flowers, and Spanish homes. 
Even better is the cove with its small pebble beach and rock cliffs. I would suggest going early as the parking lot supposedly fills up and it gets trickier to drive down there once it gets crowded. The road down to the cove is a long narrow road with lots of switchbacks and tight turns that make it a little difficult if there’s a car coming the other way. Parking is only 2 euros for the day, which isn’t bad at all! We chose to forgo the small pebble beach and opted to follow a path through the woods that led to a rock cliff that we were able to climb all over and explore. It was only a 5 minute hike through the cliffs and woods to get to our secluded spot on the rocks…totally worth it!
airport. The city is thriving with culture and life and you definitely need to check it out! We aren’t big on cities, but this was a fun one….especially since there happens to be gelato on every street corner 😉 There are tons of shops and restaurants and cafes all over the main plaza, where you can find anything you want, it’s kind of like a mini NYC, but older and prettier. Plus, there are tons of little bonus alleys that you can explore and adventure all through the city, and really cool doors around every corner!
It was only a 15-20 minute walk from our hostel (again, post on where we stayed coming soon
) and is totally worth it for the view of this magnificent building. You can tour the inside of the cathedral for about 7 euros per person, but we didn’t end up opting into the tour based on our limited amount of time. If you have time to I’d recommend trying it, but even without the inside tour the outside view is outstanding and definitely worth a trip!
we had on our trip. Paella is a traditional dish made up of rice, spices, veggies, and meat. Most restaurants will have several different versions to choose from, usually they offer a traditional paella with chicken or beef, seafood, or a vegetarian option. Even if you try nothing else authentic, DEFINITELY try this one!
originated from Italy I can’t classify it as an authentic Spanish specialty, but I definitely think it should be on your list to try! What’s not to love?!
Pilot Life for Me 