We were first attracted to Belize, three years ago, when we came across an online advertisement for an outfit called “Under the Sun in Belize”. We reviewed the material sent to us by the tour operator, Riley Dunn, and were quite surprised at how expensive the trip would be.




Under the Sun offers 2 basic packages, this how they are described at their Internet site.




“Sailor's Special:


The Sailor's Special includes six nights lodging, an 18 foot Hobie Cat Magnum for your daily, exclusive use from the beach, and safety support for a day sail to the cays or the barrier reef (Both include a channel crossing).




Two-day trips of your choice to the jungle or on a river. All guides, safety boats, ground transportation and the use of sea kayaks and bicycles are included. Meals are not included with this package, allowing you to choose your ambiance from a variety of nice, inexpensive local restaurants. Price: $825 per person.”




“Lodge Hopper's Special:


Our Beach to Beach & Lodge to Lodge Hopping is the favorite tour in Belize. It is the closest thing to "Big Boat Cruising" you can get without having to babysit your boat while you play. Enjoy the luxury of staying in lodges and the excitement of sailing to your destinations and adventures on an 18 foot Hobie Cat Magnum. Have more time and energy for diving (extra), snorkeling, fishing, exploring and lounging. We make all of your arrangements and provide safety and support. Non-sailors are welcome on our support boat. Price: Eight days and seven nights are only $1,985 per person. All food, lodging, toys and ground transportation are included.”




In October 2002 we decided we would take a sailing vacation for our 30th anniversary in February, 2003. We chose to do Under the Sun in Belize, The Lodge Hopper Special.




I suppose I should have been suspicious that I couldn’t find anyone who had taken this trip, or for that matter anyone who knew anyone who had taken the trip. After trading emails with Riley Dunn, I called him at his home/office in Denver to go over a few questions. The most important questions being about our accommodations and water.




I asked Riley what the accommodations would be like with specific reference to the showers and bathrooms. Riley assured me that accommodations would be first class. In his words, “First class all the way, It’s the only way to go.” Well it may be the only way to go but it sure isn’t what we got.




We were picked up in Dangriga by a cab sent by Riley. The cab was dirtier and in worse condition then most farm trucks. We arrived in Hopkins just after dark, worn out from traveling all day. There we were given bikes so we could peddle our way to the hotel (?, that’s what Riley called it). The suggestion of riding a bike through the village sounds quaint, but you should know that the village is over run with stray dogs, has no street lights and the road is an obstacle course of pot holes.




We arrived at our “hotel”, quickly washed up, with cold water (its all that there was), and walked with Riley to one of the local restaurants. The restaurant was a small block building with 4 tables. After taking a seat our waitress/cook asked us what we would like. Our selection was, stewed chicken, fish, rice and beans, or veggie rice. For drinks the normal fare was available, Bilikan beer (the only beer), or water. By the time we left Belize we had learned that this was the normal ambiance and menu offered at the “inexpensive local restaurants” of Hopkins Village. Despite the lack of selection the meal was ok.




After dinner we returned to our hotel, ready to relax in our “luxury” accommodations.” Enjoy the luxury of staying in lodges” The Whispering Seas Vacation Lodge consists of 5 elevated concrete huts. Each hut was about 12’X 12’ and is made up of one large room with a sink in the main room, and a shower/ toilet room in one corner of the main room. The shower drain was a hole in the floor to allow the water to spill onto the sand below the shower. The room had 2 lights, one ceiling mounted 8watt florescent light in the center of the main room and another small florescent light in the shower room.




As I mentioned before we found there was no hot water in the sink. The lighting was so poor that I held a flashlight so Katherine could take out her contacts, on her knees, beside the bed, using a compact mirror from her bag. In the shower we found only one water valve. Electric wires ran along the unsupported PVC pipe with wire nuts connections to the showerhead. Hot water was supposed to be supplied by a heat element in the showerhead. There was no air conditioning in the room, but it did have 4 louvered windows, with no screens. An electric fan stood in the corner.




As soon as Katherine started to shower she called for help, the water pressure had dropped to a small trickle. Fortunately, I had a 1-liter bottle of drinking water. I used the cold drinking water to rinse off her face, then I began filling it in the sink and using it to supply the water for the rest of her shower. It took four minutes to fill a one-liter water bottle with cold water. Also, the water trickling from the hot water heater/showerhead was now scalding hot. Katherine returned the favor and supplied me with a stream of water from the bottle so I could clean up. We found that when we had adequate water pressure (which was rare) we could take a cold shower. When the water pressure dropped to the point that the water could be heated there was not enough pressure to make the shower usable. We learned to save drinking water bottles to fill for showering, after each shower we would fill all the bottles we had saved and place them on the floor in the shower. When we showered we would take turns


squirting the water bottles on each other and refilling them for the next shower.




We went to bed that first night wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.




The next morning we awakened at sun up to the sounds of Hopkins Village. (While in Hopkins we went to bed shortly after sunset, as there was little to nothing to do and no light to do it by. Because of the open windows, crowing chickens, and barking stray dogs, we were up with the sunrise each day.) We dressed and peddled our way to Riley's place then walked to breakfast at another village restaurant. This restaurant was a small wood hut with two tables on the front porch. Our breakfast choices were: eggs, stewed chicken, beans, rice and beans, fried jacks, or tortillas. (Fried jacks are fried tortillas). Something to drink? Water, Fanta Soda (carbonated sugar water) or beer were available, no coffee, no orange juice. We ordered eggs, tortillas and water. Then watched a small boy search the yard, bush to bush, tree to tree, finding the eggs for our breakfast. Have I mentioned the bugs? Stand still for a moment in Hopkins and they will carry you away.




After a bug swatting meal on the porch we returned to our hotel, changed and met Riley on the beach for our first sail. Winds were light, thank God, because the boats were in very poor condition. The idea of having our own boat “an 18 foot Hobie Cat Magnum for your daily, exclusive use from the beach,” to sail while there was a primary reason we chose this trip. What you are not told by the brochures, or Riley, is its yours to sail when Riley sails with you (on another boat), when Riley want to sail, and where Riley wants to go. We also did not know that Riley feels compelled to educate his guests on how to sail, regardless on your sailing ability. We tried very hard while sailing and while on land to stay as far as possible from Riley, which was hard to do, so that we could avoid having to listen to his constant instructions on everything from how to coil a rope to the proper way to bribe government officials in Belize. From sailing to Aids to international policy to drug traffic, Riley knew it all,


and wanted everyone around to share in his knowledge.




On one occasion during our first few days there, while on the beach in Hopkins, Katherine mentioned all the trash that was washed up on the beach. Riley blamed it all on the cruise ships, ignoring the fact that there was trash everywhere in Hopkins. He stated that all the cruise ships dumped their garbage overboard and the tide washed it up onshore. He went on to tell us that we should keep a sharp look out along the shoreline for packages of cocaine. As he told it, from time to time a smuggler would loose a bale or two of cocaine overboard and the packages would wash up on shore in Hopkins. “Yup, find a key of coke and you’ll be set for life.” According to him the cays of Belize are a major transfer point for the drug smugglers. Riley claimed that many of the fishing camps and lodges are actually fronts for the drug smuggling business.




After sailing the first day we spoke with Riley about how disappointed we were with how everything was working out, the restaurants, the boats and mostly our accommodations. We argued our point that he had promised us first class accommodations and that what we had was a far cry from first class. His response, “well what do you expect for a third world country”? “This IS first class, for Belize” It didn’t take long for us to realize that our argument was falling of deft ears. After expressing our dissatisfaction as strongly as we could we realized our only options were to make the best of it, or go home. Having already spent over $5000 to be there and knowing it would cost more to go home then it would to stay we decided to make do and try to enjoy the trip.




The second day we sailed out to the reef with the hope that things would be better there. After all we would be sailing from cay to cay and lodge to lodge. We sailed from Hopkins out to Tobacco Cay. Riley had us booked to stay at Ocean’s Edge Lodge. Here is one of the biggest misrepresentations by Riley Dunn and Under the Sun, “Enjoy the luxury of staying in lodges and the excitement of sailing to your destinations.” Our “luxury of staying in lodges and excitement of sailing to destinations and adventures” amounted to a seven mile sail south to South Water Cay for lunch one day and a four mile sail north to a deserted mangrove island, called Columbus Cay, for an hour of snorkeling the next. There was no staying in “lodges” as the only lodge we stayed at was Ocean’s Edge Lodge.




Ocean edge describe themselves on their Internet site this way:


At Ocean's Edge Lodge, our accommodations are simple and rustic. We have seven rooms, four of which are designed for couples. The lower units will accommodate three to four people. Each room has its own shower/toilet, and hot water. There is running water and electricity. Our electricity is generated from solar power and generators. If you are looking for peace and quiet - no TV - no traffic - just nature at its best….come stay with us. Laze in the sun and do nothing at all, or go fishing, diving, snorkeling, or try an adventure tour. It's a great get away.




The description is accurate, “simple and rustic”, again louvered windows with no screens. Meals are served 3 times a day, 8 Am 12:30 and 6PM. Boarding house style. What Brenda Lee makes is what you get. Make no mistake Brenda Lee is an excellent cook and sets a wonderful table. However, if your not there for scheduled meals there is nothing else, and there is no place else to go.




Oceans Edge was a breath of fresh air, Brenda Lee and Raymond were wonderful hosts, and had we wanted to stay at someplace “simple and rustic” we may have selected to stay there. I should point out that Ocean’s Edge is according to another island guest “…the best place to stay on Tobacco Cay. They have bathrooms in the rooms and electricity.”




The problem is we were paying $567 (US) per day for first class, luxury accommodations. Ocean’s Edge is a long way from first class, actually it’s somewhat like indoor camping, our nightly exercise consisted of rubbing each other down with bug spray then cleaning off our feet before climbing into our bed with its box-spring like mattress, But at $45 (US) per person per day they were not pretending to be first class.




After 5 days on the reef we sailed back to Hopkins on Thursday Feb. 27th. Our original vacation plans were that we would spend Friday sailing, take a river trip on Saturday, and head back home on Sunday. As soon as we returned to the Village of Hopkins we remembered how much we didn’t want to be there and decided to leave Belize ASAP. I contacted US Air, the Airline we flew to Belize on, and found that the next flight they had from Belize to the USA was on Saturday, February 29th. We booked tickets on the next flight out, and again planned to try to make the best of things.




We decided to sail again on Friday. The sailing in Belize was good. Nothing special, but good. Having sailed in the Florida Keys and now in Belize I would choose the Keys. The sailing is every bit as good at a fraction of the cost. For most of the time we were in Belize the winds were light, and it’s a good thing they were. On our last day there the winds were blowing 15-20. Good beachcat wind, not too much but enough to have a really good time. We sailed out several miles and were enjoying one of the few sails we took without the Riley escort. Having looked over this boat for several days we were not comfortable with it’s seaworthiness, so we were not pushing the boat.




After about an hour and a half Katherine pointed out that the shrouds were very corroded and suggested it would be best for us to head back closer to shore. I agreed and we turned back towards Hopkins. About 3 miles out we could see that Riley had just launched and was headed out. We were trying to decide how to avoid Riley and another of his “sailing lessons” when we noticed his sail go over in such a way that we thought he had capsized. Naturally, we tossed caution to the wind and made best speed towards the “capsized” boat. As we got closer we saw that he had not capsized but had demasted. We sailed over and offered our assistance. Riley told us he was fine and needed no help. In his words “no problem, I get demasted two or three times a year”. After he drifted to shore we learned that Riley didn’t waste money on “factory made” shrouds. He believed his homemade ones were better. With that we decided we had not only had enough of Hopkins but also enough of Riley and his tour service. We beached


and headed back to our luxury accommodations for a water bottle shower.




We were so “done with it all” that we caught the first flight out on Dangriga the next morning and spent the next six hours at the Belize Int. Airport waiting for our flight to the US. We both considered a 6-hour wait at Belize Int. Airport preferable to any more time spent with Riley Dunn.




Riley had done a good job convincing us that we did have first class “for Belize” accommodations. On our flight back to the US we sat with a woman who had also stayed in the Village of Hopkins. She told us she had stayed at the Jaguar Reef Lodge, which it turns out was just ½ mile up the road form our hotel. She told us that her accommodations were first class and she was shocked that ours were so poor. I looked up the Jaguar Reef Lodge on the Internet when we returned home. “Air-conditioned rooms, coffee services to your room, built in fresh water pool, a real restaurant.” She was correct; her accommodations were first class, by American standards.




We are not upset because Belize is a poor country or that Hopkins Village has so little to offer, by American standards. We are not upset that Ocean’s Edge Lodge is simple and rustic, or that lodges serve meals “boarding house style”.




What we are upset about is that we were taken for a ride by a con man. We paid Riley Dunn, Under the Sun in Belize, $4130 (US) for an all-inclusive first class luxury accommodations trip. Had we booked our accommodations with the places Riley had us stay, the cost would have been $630 (US) for both of us, all inclusive, for the entire time we were there. Basically Riley got paid $3,500 (US) to join us on our vacation.




I looked up Jaguar Reef lodge when we returned home. An eight day, seven night, all inclusive, FIRST CLASS stay there is advertised for $1,319 per person. This includes 2 river trips, guide service, and we would hope hot water showers. My point is, there were first class accommodations there. We were promised and paid Riley Dunn, Under the Sun in Belize, $4130 for a first class vacation, what we got was a third class rip-off.




Something else to consider, I have written three letters to Riley Dunn and two to The Belize Tourism Association over the past month. To date no one has bother to send me so much as a note saying they got my letter. Possibly, Belize is exactly what Riley told us it was, “ A place where you can pay people off and do anything you want.”




The bottom line. Under the Sun in Belize is a scam to be avoided. Based on our experience I suggest caution to anyone thinking about any trip to Belize. In the words of the Belize Tourism Board, “You better Belize it”




Want some additional information on why you shouldn’t vacation with “Under the Sun”? Feel free to contact me at:




Bill Cash


205 Wissahickon Trail


Browns Mills NJ 08015


e-mail, b_cash_98@yahoo.com