CASA CARACOL - YOUR HOME ON THE BEACH

My family and I (6 adults, 1 baby) recently stayed in the downstairs at Casa Caracol and had a fantastic week!!! The house was perfect for us! The pictures represent it well. We cooked quite a bit and had everything we needed in the kitchen. The beds are comfortable and we slept well. The location is short walking distance to almost everything, but just far enough from town that it's not too busy. There's a good mix of locals and tourists in this area and we felt like we were part of the normal goings on of the town. Phil and Marie were great hosts and a wealth of information. We used Patojo's Dive shop for a couple snorkel and dive trips, went on a private sunset sail that Phil set up for us and mostly just relaxed. We brought a few toys for our 14 month old, but hardly needed them because he was outside most of the time. The beach is perfect for young kids. The water is calm and there's a nice shady spot over the water so I wasn't worried about sunburn all the time. Duly, the housekeeper, babysat for us a few times too.

Definitely ask about Rueben's ceviche (we had it about 5 times!) and the bakery at Casa Pan Dulce. We walked to the bakery almost every morning (which is not normal for this family of health nuts).

It was a fantastic vacation and I was sad to leave!! Thanks for everything Phil and Marie!

Recently 2 friends and myself rented out the downstairs of Casa Caracol. The house was right on the beach and a short 5-10min walk to town. The pictures posted do accurately show the house as it is. Air-conditioning was definitely needed this time of year! Phil was available to help us with all of our questions, booked us a fantastic tour and within 10 minutes was able to get a golf cart to cruise around the island. He was great and very knowledgeable with everything "Belize".

My friends and I arrived on the 20th of Sept, Independence Day, and the island was just about to get ready for their biggest day of the year. A block party that started early in the evening and went until after 1am was a good time. We enjoyed the food, sites and sounds on our first day. I especially liked the live music in the street. The entire town seemed shut down the following day and a parade made its way up and down the streets. Overall it was a lot of fun and interesting to see; even my friends found a way to get included in the action and danced in part of the parade! Way to go Lois and Igor!!

We spent our 3rd day relaxing by the pool a few doors down from the house. In high season it may have been a little better, but the bar was closed this week. There was, however, a nice worker who ran for beers for us. That night, Phil had passed the word on to a friend to stop by the house with lobster tails and we had a delicious dinner at home on the bbq, another nice feature that Casa Caracol has to offer.

The 4th day Phil got us the golf cart. We had a little trouble navigating the island on the north side since it had rained the night before and the streets are not paved. You are only allowed to go so far before you have to turn around. We stopped at a yoga retreat, Ak' bol, and had the best breakfast of the week! We headed over to the south side of the island and you can see a change in the architecture and what makes this island charming. There were a lot of small shops but unfortunately, with the holiday week and off season, it seems that a lot were closed.

Our last full day was our favorite as we headed out on the El Gato Catamaran. It was an amazing trip that took us to the marine reserve Hol Chan, Caye Caulker and to Shark Alley. Highly recommendable!

Overall, the island was an experience and Phil provided wonderful hospitality. The house is exactly what we expected. The island is great if you want peace and quiet, diving and some local flavor. Thanks Phil!

I just returned from a 7 day stay at Casa Caracol. Phil, the owner was very helpful every step of the way from the time I contacted him to request information through the last day of my stay.

The property is as advertised. The location is particularly excellent, we where easy walking distance to multiple dive shops (Phils reccomendation for a local dive shop was spot on), markets etc.

One should not expect "Like New" or "Luxury 5 star" accomodations when staying here or you might be dissapointed.

Location, Location, Location, good value for your dollar(s),clean and reasonable, and an honest and responsive and helpful owner that is not trying to oversell or nickel and dime you is what to expect.