We found our Belize home on Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) – similar to AirBnB. We have had good luck with these types of sites and have used them all over the world.  You can usually find more unique homes than through a resort – and at much better prices.  And feel like you are a local.  We love going to the market, cooking meals, and “living” in a new town or city.

I have a routine I follow when I book. I scour the homes and only look at those with reviews.  I like a place that has at least a handful of reviews and make sure they include at least some negative feedback – so I know they are real.  Then I email the owners a few times to get a sense of who they are.  If I feel funny, I don’t move forward.  Kind of like online dating.  : )

Anyway – I have been emailing with the owners of our Belize home, who live in Kansas, and had a great feeling because they were super nice and so helpful. We worked out a monthly deal and here we are!

We were astounded. They have a beautiful home – much nicer than I even dreamed.

And right on a gorgeous beach.

The village is about a mile away, then there are a few resorts, and then a little enclave of houses, including ours.  The houses share a security guard who patrols at night, “yard guys” who clean the beach once a week, and a man who sprays for mosquitoes and sand flies.  Most of the owners we’ve met are either Canadian or American – a very friendly bunch.

We have our own little section of beach with chairs, hammock, grill, and kayak (the dock belongs to our neighbors, and Frank is desperate to fish from it – he’s buttering them up hoping to get an invite – but there’s a public dock down the way).

We could spend all day just sitting out watching the world go by. We think we’re going to like it here!