Belize is the only country in Central America who's primary language is English. Known as British Honduras, Belize was a British colony until it was granted independence in 1981. According to one of our guides, Luis, Belize remains officially part of the British Commonwealth. Luis stated that Belize has had a long standing dispute with neighboring Guatemala over border lines. Evidently, Guatemala would like nothing more than to nab the entire country; however, Belize, a small country with a small defense force, is under the protection of the British, making Guatemala hesitant to mount a hostile takeover action. Or as Luis succinctly put it: "Guatemala has 13 million people; we have 314,000. They need our land." That's the story according to Luis, anyway. If you would like additional information, you can wiki it here. 
That little dispute aside, Belize is a very safe country in which to travel. Belize City can have a bit of shady reputation but I have never had any problems and felt comfortable at all times. Of course, I don't make a habit of wandering around after dark in unknown areas.Here is our general itinerary, basically a big circle going clockwise from Belize City (See map, above)
- Fly into Belize City from Dallas/Ft. Worth
- Take a boat from Belize City to Glover's Reef, Long Caye (pronounced key)
- Boat ride to Dangriga.
- Fly from Dangriga to Placencia.
- Drive from Placencia to Maya Center (Cockscomb Wildlife Reserve)
- Drive from Maya Center to Caves Branch (near Belmopan)
- Drive from Caves Branch to Black Rock Lodge (near San Ignacio)
- Drive from Black Rock Lodge to Belize City
Belize is a small country so none of the above travel distances were more than 2.5 hours in length
