Take a Gap Year Belize With A Broader View

Are you ready to help people in need, immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and culture of a new country and have the experience of a lifetime? With poverty, disease and a lack of skilled providers putting a strain on important services such as health and childcare in developing countries across the globe, there are many corners of the world which rely on the help of volunteer travelers like yourself.

Volunteer in Belize with A Broader View Volunteers a top-rated non-profit charity organization, which works tirelessly to support our wonderful volunteers and serve the local communities where our volunteer programs are located. Placements in Belize are based in the city near Belize City.  Program placements are tailored to the volunteer's different interests and skillsets, but still, allow volunteers time to explore the Central America local culture and activities during their free time.

The type of programs in Belize varies widely, offering everything from education to health care. Volunteers can choose between 2 program opportunities in the orphanage. International volunteer help is not only appreciated by the local community, but it is also severely needed by the millions of Belizeans living below the poverty line.  With thousands of children living and working on the streets, as is so often the case in developing countries like Belize, our volunteer programs are designed to support the needs of local teens and children in desperate need of assistance.

Many of our volunteers abroad programs cater to underprivileged women and children’s care, education, and health requirements. Our extensive range of social programs near Belize City, Belize programs includes: orphanage Care, teaching, greenhouse/animal care. To help you settle into your placement.

Volunteering in Belize is an incredibly rewarding experience.  We welcome volunteers of all ages and from all backgrounds to join us. Whether you’re seeking volunteer abroad programs for college students or voluntary work for over 60s, as a trusted non-profit organization which prioritizes the safety of our volunteers, we are the go-to for volunteers across the globe. We also offer customized programs with flexible arrival dates to best suit the needs of the remarkable volunteers we depend on to help us make the world a better place.

If you’d like to volunteer, Belize is just one of the countries we’ve taken under our wing, supplying a steady flow of volunteers and providing year-round financial support to local projects in near Belize City. Wherever you decide to volunteer, A Broader View gives you the opportunity to participate in meaningful community service work, learn a foreign language, make lifelong friends and discover that one person really can make a difference. Your search for the best volunteer abroad programs ends here – volunteer in Belize with us and gain A Broader View of the world.

Since A Broader View Volunteers is a 501c(3) charitable organization, You can fundraise (optional) for the expenses of the trip after you get confirmed in our programs. Prices are per person and in US dollars (US$).

Tamales

The tamales in Belize probably do not taste as you've eaten elsewhere. There are no corn husks wrapped in salty ingredients. Instead, banana leaves are used. You may already know that Belize's tamales recipes often satisfy regional tastes, so menus can refer to these varieties: Collado, torteado or buns.

Tamalitos

Tamalitos or ducunu deliver the mestizo flavor that is not found in the aforementioned tamales. These mini are made from corn husks with toasted corn baked with coconut milk, salt, sugar and butter before the tamalitos are steamed to perfection. Whether we call them tamalitos or ducunu, they are also called the most delicious.

Cow Foot Soup

Beef Soup There is no mysterious source of meat in this hearty soup that is cooked slowly so that ingredients like potatoes, onions, okra and carrots absorb the flavors of cilantro and black pepper as they get married. It is usually served with corn tortillas, white rice and habanero chile sauce for more heat, this is an emblematic dish of Belize.

Pibil

Look for dishes like Cochinita Pibil in the menus of the restaurants and they will treat you with pork that has been marinated, wrapped in leaves and buried to cook slowly, just as the Mayans prepared this succulent dish thousands of years ago. Served with tortillas, use them to keep the meat filling for the quick delivery to the mouth.

Sere

Dry. This fish soup owes its flavor to a mixture of fried fish, coconut milk, banana, and cassava. Sere resembles hudut, a dish from southern Belize that is representative of Garifuna cuisine. Here is the turn: the hudut is prepared by cooking bananas until they are tender, combining it with fish and spices and serving it with a dip of coconut milk.

Rice & Beans

No visit to Belize is complete without tasting the basic food of Belize, but do not be surprised if it hardly resembles the rice and beans that you tried elsewhere, because in Belize, it is Creole cooked style, and you will always find it in the Cahal Pech Resort menu.

Once in country, our local coordinator can help you find the most reliable and safe tour agencies for weekend trips, you can pay in cash or in most locations with a credit card. These tours are not part of the ABV fees.

Private Altun Ha And Cave Tubing from Belize City

Discover a ruined Maya city and float through a series of flooded caves with a 6-hour private tour from Belize City to Altun Ha and the Caves Branch River. Explore broad plazas and towering pyramids as you visit the archeological site with your guide, and see the precious treasures excavated from the Temple of the Green Tomb. Hike through a lush forest to the Caves Branch River, then go tubing through soaring caverns as your headlight illuminates cave walls that glint with crystal formations and stalactites.

Cave Tubing and Zipline Adventure from Belize City

Satisfy your appetite for adrenaline on a full-day tubing and zip line adventure from Belize City. Designed for travelers craving thrills, this experience takes you through a cave network replete with stalactites and stalagmites, and over the lush canopy of the rainforest. Float on underground rivers in a tube, conquer seven vertiginous ziplines, and enjoy hotel pickup and drop-off.

Howler Monkey Sanctuary Shore Excursion from Belize City

Observe Belize's rowdy black howler monkeys in their native habitat with a shore excursion from Belize City to the Community Baboon Sanctuary, a unique conservation area that combines jungle, villages, and pasture. As you hike along forested trails with a guide, learn about the lifestyle and endangerment of the black howler monkey and how the sanctuary is helping protect these amazing animals in Belize, one of the few places in the world where they can be viewed in such a setting.

Belize Zoo and Baboon Sanctuary Tour from Belize City

In this tour you will visit the Belize Zoo and the Baboon sanctuary, getting close to an incredible array of wildlife. Both attractions are located just a short drive from Belize City.

Hol Chan and Turtle Garden Snorkeling Tour

Hol Chan Marine Reserve is located off the southern tip of Ambergris Caye. Mayan for “little channel”, Hol Chan Marine Reserve is doubtfully one of the most popular dive sites in the Caribbean, and indeed in Belize. The entire reserve focuses on a cut through the reef (called a Quebrada) which is little more than 25 yards wide and 30 feet deep about 4 miles southeast of San Pedro. Hol Chan has burgeoned into a unique refuge, with vigorous coral formations and richness of marine life. We will then head to the neighboring Turtle Garden, where you will snorkel or dive and be able to get up close and personal with ecstatic Sea Turtle and Southern Sting Rays. When you arrive, you will see the surface often boiling with rolling sharks and stingray as they compete for the scraps. These creatures have a great tolerance for divers and snorkelers.

Baron Bliss Day Parade and Annual Boat Regatta – March 9

An Englishman named Baron Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss had a soft spot for Belize’s Caribbean Coast. He left the Belizean government a large amount of money in his will. Belize honors him every year with a festival of fishing and sailing.

Easter–Lent, Carnival, and Semana Santa

Belize is no different from other Latin American countries – Easter is a huge deal. Easter weekend is an extremely festive and colorful celebration. Benque Viejo del Carmen is a particularly devout city, and holds a weeklong party from Palm Sunday to Good Friday.

Ambergris Caye and Belize City are both good destinations for Carnival parades. While the parades are not as large as those in Brazil, the exuberance and penchant for giant, feathery costumes are the same.

St. George’s Caye Day – September 10

On September 10, 1798, the battle at St. George’s Caye finally drove the Spanish away from Belize. Spain wanted to add Belize to its collection of Central American colonies. Settlers from Great Britain had settled on the coast in order to harvest the trees for lumber. The Spanish objected to the British presence on the coast and attempted to drive them away repeatedly. At the Battle of St. George’s Caye, British settlers ensured that Belize would never be a Spanish colony. As a result, Belize City celebrates this anniversary with music, cooking, and drinking.

Belize Independence Day – September 21

September is a busy time of year for Belizeans, especially Belizeans who like to party. The span of time between St. George’s Caye Day and Independence Day is known as Belize’s most festive time of year. Belizeans mark their independence day with noisy parades and raucous concerts.

After Belize gained its independence from Great Britain in 1981, the country maintained friendly relations with Great Britain and became a member of the British Commonwealth. To this day, the Queen is on the Belizean currency.

Belize City Carnival – Mid-September

Wild floats crowd the streets during Belize City’s Carnival. This festival is the largest demonstration of Caribbean spirit in Belize. Men and women don elaborate costumes – some resemble large birds, and will remind you of Brazilian Carnival costumes. But the music here is distinctly Belizean, played with gusto at seaside concerts that last long into the night.

November 19 – Garífuna Settlement Day

This day commemorates the Garifuna’s arrival in Belize in 1823. Supposedly they migrated to Belize after getting shipwrecked on St. Vincent Island, arriving in dugout canoes called dorys. This festival is celebrated in Punta Gorda, Belize City, Dangriga, and Hopkins.

The Garífuna’s musical tradition includes lots of fast-paced drumming. Dancing accompanies the music, as does traditional food and drink.

Boxing Day (Day after Christmas)

The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day, a British holiday that is also widely celebrated in the Caribbean. On Boxing Day, slaves in British colonies were allowed a day to celebrate amongst themselves.

In Belize (and other Caribbean countries) this holiday means a Junkanu parade. Participants wear masks with pink skin and bright red lips. The masks and choreography were developed as a way to mock the European slave owners. Historians aren’t sure where the term “Junkanu” comes from – all we know is that the celebrations originated as a way to briefly experience respite from a life of oppression and toil.