What to Pack for Belize (with a toddler!)
Traveling with toddlers is…at the best of times…challenging. Traveling to a developing country? That’s hot? Has bugs? Has brutal UV rays? Where you’re going to spend most of your time outside? A potential nightmare. But don’t worry…we’ve got you. We first visited Belize from the US blissfully childless, then again when our daughter was 10 months old, then again when she was 19 months old, and then moved here when she was just shy of 2 years old.
She’s now 3 1/2 and I think we have a fairly good grip on family preparedness when it comes to Belize, specifically. (Maybe not as good a grip on actually raising said toddler…but can’t win ‘em all.)
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So the first concern is always the airplane. Depending where you’re coming from, there may be multiple flights and the idea of a child meltdown gives everyone some level of panic. Here are few things we’ve tried that have worked for 3 minutes or more. (A lot of these are Bluey themed. Sorry. My kid likes what she likes.) ALSO: High chair wipes to clean the funk off of every available plane seat surface that your kid will definitely touch at some point during the flight.
Yoto Mini Yoto Mini Headphones Yoto Mini Case
Once you land, sunscreen and bug spray are your new best friends. Love them. They will treat you well. These are our tried and tested. And when you forget the bug spray or miss a spot? After Bite. Every time.
Bug Spray for the Whole Family
Sunscreen (this one is a splurge but so easy to apply on the go)
There aren’t a lot of stroller friendly excursions here and not a lot of pavements for leisurely evening strolls. So you can probably forego the stroller, unless you want to use one at the airport. The key is to have a comfortable carrier.
Durable Compact Stroller (we’ve put this one through hell)
You won’t find very many king sized beds in Belize outside of fancy resorts, so if you co-sleep or not, it might be helpful to bring along an air mattress so everyone sleeps in comfort.
We used this portable high chair sooooo much when we first visited. I I feel like this doesn’t need much of an explanation. Child, seat, table, eat, fold up, done.
If your kid is potty trained, bring a foldable toilet seat like this one. The toilets here can be in questionable places at times, so make sure you check for bugs (literally just found a spider under a toilet seat last week). Also—Belize pro tip: DON‘T FLUSH YOUR TOILET PAPER. If there is a trash can with toilet paper in it next to the toilet…it’s there for a reason. Be respectful. Don’t flush with reckless abandon. If your child is still in diapers? Bring enough for the whole trip and vacuum pack them. We have basic diapers and wipes here, but if you’re looking for low-chemical, hemp-derived, angel kisses for your little one’s bum—you won’t find them here.
Foldable Toilet Seat (PERFECT size to keep in a diaper bag)
Quick dry towels come in so handy. These ones can fit in a backpack and have saved us on more than one occasion. Any body of water is fair game here. Rivers, springs, ocean, pool…we’ve gone into the river in full clothing on more than one occasion. Having these towels in the car or in a backpack keeps us from being moist (shudder) on the way home.
A good travel fan is such a great thing to have if you’re not used to the heat. These turbo charged ones are like aiming a hair dryer on the cold setting at your face and are well worth the money. You can clip them on your pants to blow sweet, sweet cool air up your shirt like you’re a tropical Marilyn Monroe.
Unless you are staying at a resort, most excursions will take some drive time in a car. You can rent a carseat from a rental company (we recommend Crystal Auto), but don’t expect it to be up to US “standards”. Honestly, kids here ride in the back seat, front seat, on motorcycles with 2 other people, on horses, on ATVs, in Mennonite carts, etc…so it’s just not something that’s particularly common. Use your best parental judgement. You know what’s best for your child. That being said, the plane activities can double as car activities…and make sure your Spotify account is active unless you want to listen to one of the 4 radio stations, which are Christian worship music, Soca versions of US Top 40 Hits from 12 years ago, Christian worship music, or Mariachi music.
Lastly, hydration is KEY. The water is totally fine to drink in Belize, but admittedly on our first trip we didn’t know that and brought Britta filter bottles. If that makes you more comfortable, you do you, but definitely bring a reusable water bottle that you can fill at the Airbnb or hotel and take with you during the day. Bottled water is easy to come by here, but if your little cherub is not confident with plastic bottles, it may be difficult to get enough water down throughout the day. Bonus points if you bring some toddler-approved electrolytes.
And that’s it! Now keep in mind—you by no means need all of this. We are a “less is more” family so notice I didn’t mention things like a pack and play, white noise machines, floaties, snack cups, or water shoes…those are totally up to you. But this is a list of what helped us and we can confidently say made our trips to Belize more seamless. So seamless, in fact, that we moved here and are coming up on 2 (!!!) years of living in this beautiful country. Hope some of these tips help! Safe travels!
