One of our anniversary trip stops took us to the Copal Tree Lodge in Punta Gorda, Belize for a week in February of 2019.  Punta Gorda is about as far south as you can get in Belize before Honduras, and is pretty rustic compared to other, more toursity places in Belize.  You have to take a small plane that makes several stops at towns along the way either via Maya Island Air or Tropic Air.   Punta Gorda is the last stop and is south of the main barrier reef area where most people who visit Belize go, but you can still go snorkeling or diving if you are staying here.  We did, and it was still pretty spectacular with lots of fish, conch, lobsters, and pretty corals. Copal Tree Lodge is known for its permit fishing outings, though we did not experience those (permit is a kind of fish – not a kind of, well, permit). There are definitely some hard core fishermen who stay here for this purpose as they offer multi-day fishing packages. Copal Tree Lodge sits above the town of Punta Gorda, and is perched in lush surroundings, including its own farm.  

We stayed in one of the four canopy suites, even higher up above the rest of the resort.  You can either climb up the very very windy steps, or there is a small motorized funicular that will take you up and down.  The price for the canopy suites is completely worth it.  The rooms are huge and have a large living area with a super comfortable couch, and have very large private decks from which to check out the amazing views and the neighboring howler monkeys jumping around. You will be woken up in the middle of the night by these noisy neighbors, but they chill out after about 15-20 minutes and it’s no big deal. This was probably one of the nicest rooms I have stayed in in Central America.  The bed was a bit too firm for my taste, but the soft pillows and duvet made up for that. The added bonus of staying in the canopy, is that there is an infinity pool just outside your door, and it is only shared with the three other suites in the canopy so it is usually pretty quiet.  The sunset views from the canopy suites were stunning.

One of the great things about Copal Tree Lodge is all of the activities they have on offer since you are pretty far removed from most of the tourist infrastructure in Belize.  We went snorkeling, and we toured two different Mayan ruins that were not too far away – Nim Li Punit and Lubaantun.  This is the place where we also began our love of birding.  In our intro to birding walkabout (they provided excellent quality binoculars), we learned how to use the binoculars and spotted at least 20 species of birds – just on the property!  It was incredible, and inspired us to buy binos of our own and continue our birding adventures on other trips.  Additionally, since we have done about a hundred chocolate tours around Central America and the Caribbean, we took a coffee cupping class instead.  It was really interesting to drink the same beans, but made with an espresso machine versus french press versus pour over.  I definitely learned a ton in this class, and got a pretty massive buzz!  They also offer chocolate making, tortilla making and distillery tours as they make their own rum on site.  

The food at Copal Tree was completely excellent, as were the variety of drinks on offer.  It was not cheap, but we figured that we came out about the same cost as the “all inclusive” price dining and drinking a la carte.  Go for “all inclusive” if you don’t want to worry about the bill, or sticker shock! Currently, the rates for “all inclusive” are $150 per adult per night.  The menu changed based on the availability of different food, and a lot of the food is grown or raised on the very large farm on the property.  Tours are available for that as well.  We ate a lot of fresh seafood and fresh veggies.  

My tip if you want to stay at this resort, which has won many accolades, including one of the best jungle lodges in the world according to Travel & Leisure, is to sign up for Muy’Ono resort’s email list (Muy’Ono is the parent company of Copal Tree and have a bunch of resorts around Belize) and wait for the big sales that come a few times per year.  I was actually able to stay in a canopy suite for about the same price as the regular jungle suites by booking during a 50% off sale on Black Friday weekend.  Muy’Ono resorts offer many sales throughout the year, but this is the best one for sure.  Considering all of the recent accolades Copal Tree has been getting, however, I cannot guarantee that these deals will be around year after year.  

We absolutely loved staying here, and honestly, I never think I will ever go back to the same place twice, and definitely not the same hotel twice, but I have a feeling we will be back here.  With all the activities available, and the tranquility of being up in the Canopy, we could never be bored, not even the second time around.