Garifuna Cultural & Culinary Experience - Hopkins Belize

Most Popular
Listing Type
Tour/Activity
Type of Tour/Activity
Cultural Immersion
Tour Type
Adventure
Cultural | Educational
Food Tour
Island
Private
Departs From
Start Point
Hopkins
Intensity Level
Easy
$
119
-
$
139
/ Person
Trusted Provider
Roots & Reef Experience B
Avg. Response:
2 hours
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About Listing
Features:
Cultural Cuisine, Local Products, Customs | Music | Traditions
Highlights
  • Visit to Palmento Grove on Kalipuna Cultural Heritage Island
  • Dressing in cultural outfit
  • Coconut harvesting, husking & milk extraction
  • Food & drink tasting
  • Traditional cooking of cultural meal
  • Lunch/Dinner
  • Garifuna Drumming
  • Herbal Walk
  • Garifuna Cultural & Historical chitchat
Belize Gold Standard Certified - Belizing.com

Description
Come visit Palmento Grove Eco-Cultural & Healing Lodge on Kalipuna Cultural Heritage Island located at the north end of Hopkins Village Belize where you get to be immersed in our rich Garifuna Culture, parts of which have been proclaimed an oral and intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO.   The historic island is home to Palmento Grove Garifuna Eco-Cultural & Fishing Institute where the Martinez Family welcomes you to learn and have fun all in an effort to serve to preserve a rich indigenous cultural heritage. Join us on our authentic Garifuna Cultural & Culinary Adventure Journey offering an enriching vacation experience to all our guests.  This tour is ideal for families, honeymooners, couples, solo travelers, students, and mixed groups as it is very interactive and hands-on.    As our Cultural Guests, you get the beautiful opportunity to:

Dress in our Garifuna Traditional handmade & uniquely designed clothing that is best for the subtropical climate for the duration of your Garifuna Experience. 

Explore the rich legacy of the Garifuna People via our Cultural Display Centers furnished with historical art pieces some of which are over 100 years old. 

Get to uplift your spirit with the enchanting paintings of Isiah Nicholas as you explore our Spiritual Centre.  We are blessed to house his largest art collection depicting varying aspects of the Garifuna Cultural inclusive of the historical journey of our Garifuna People, our spirituality, music, and many of our indigenous art forms, all displayed in their rich & vibrant colors.

Learn about the many magical & beneficial properties of coconut trees & coconuts and the art of traditional coconut harvesting, husking, grating & milk extraction.   

Walk with us through our herbal garden and cassava patch harvesting fresh food and herbs for our fresh, organic, healthy, and deliciously made meal that is just awesome medicine to uplift your soul.

Master the heat in our traditional kitchen preparing a Garifuna meal over an open fire-heart.  Your great reward will be the labor of your culinary love - Delicious HUDUT which is our coconut base chowder/ broth flavored with fresh herbs & sea fish of the day with pounded plantains & well flavorful seasoned fried fish; or any other Garifuna Dish of choice based on dietary preference!

Culminate your Garifuna Cultural & Culinary experience with sensational drum rolls learning the basic techniques of Garifuna drumming & Music & revitalizing your souls ultimately earning your delicious cultural dessert by way of participating in 45 minutes mesmerizing drum session.

Come enjoy a day full of learning, laughter, and fun...  One worth sharing with the world!!!
 
Suitable for:
Kids
Teens
Adults
Families
Groups
Couples
Seniors
Recommended Age Range:
Under 10
11 - 20
21 - 30
31 - 40
41 - 50
Over 50
What is Included?
Things the supplier includes without any extra cost.
  • Tourguide, lunch, water, snack
  • boat ride, drumming lessons,
What to bring?
Recommended items to bring on the trip.
  • Great spirit & repellant, sunscreen
  • cameras
Rates
The base rates charged by the provider. This includes all taxes and applicable fees.
Capacity:
20 people
Minimum:
2 people
Minimum number of people.
Price
Unless otherwise indicated, prices are in US dollars.
Per
Price
Unless otherwise indicated, prices are in US dollars.
Description
Person
$
139
2 -3 pax
Person
$
119
4 - 10 plus
Itinerary
Activity
Description
Duration
Garifuna Cultural & Culinary TourFull Garifuna Cultural Immersion3 -4 hours
Activities
Cooking
Dancing
Drumming
Learning
Singing
History, Coconut Harvesting & Processing
Transportation
Is Transportation provided?:
Yes
Availability
Schedule
Dates
Start Time
Duration
Daily9:30 AM4 - 5 hours
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely, We accommodate guest with special dietary needs and allergies as long as we are informed when booking. We do prepare cultural meals that are great for Gluten free, Lactose intolerant, vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan guests.
No, There is also a motorized boat that come at an additional cost of USD10.00 per person round trip.
Pickup location is at the northland of Hopkins Pass Seiri Del Mar Resort. There is a rocky path along the green fence leading to the Hawaii Beach where guests are kayaked from.
Payment & Cancellation
Cancellation Policy
Strict
  • Cancellations made 90 days before will be fully refunded except for a service fee of 3%.
  • Cancellations made 45 days before will be refunded 25% of the amount paid.
  • Cancellations made at a later date will not be refunded.
Terms & Conditions
All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties
 
7 reviews   1 comments
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Was the tour accurately described on the website? In other words did it meet your expectations?
(5.0 of 5)
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A must do in Belize
Ms. Martinez, was soo welcoming. Very knowledgeable. We were educated, feed, entertained and departed with knowledge about a beautiful culture. Thank you Ms. Martinez for welcoming us into your space and sharing the Garifuna culture.
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La Tonya M
Educated, feed, and entertained
Thank you Ms. Marrinez
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Best cultural experience ever!
Eugene shared the history of the Garifuna people from their arrival to the Americas to the present day. It is a fascinating history which he and his family brought to life. From the traditional garb to the drumming to the intricate details of the herbs still used, to the fabulous inclusive preparation of the coconut-milk based soup, it was truly an extraordinary experience. I am grateful for Eugene’s ... more knowledge.
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Garifuna cultural immersion
We learned a lot about Garifuna culture and their history. Eugene and his grand daughter Diamond were great host. He showed us their way of life and introduce us to many plants and their medicinal use on the island. My daughter loved the cocoa palm fruit that tasted like marshmallows. We got to husk coconut, extract the milk to cook Hudut. It was an amazing experience. The tour ended with drumming ... more lesson from a great teacher. I only gave a 4 star on the comfort just because it was a hot day and naturally there's a lot of mosquitoes on the island and it was eating us alive until Eugene gave us some powerful repellant.
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One of the best and unique
We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It is very unique to learn the culture. Eugene and his family hosted us as their own. Recommend to understand the culture, history and family values
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Enjoyable and Educational Experience
This was one of our favorite parts of our entire trip! Our hosts were so wonderful and provided a wealth of knowledge about the culture, history, and family structure, as well as fun activities like the cooking class and drumming lesson! I would definitely recommend for anyone visiting the area.
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Garifuna cultural experience
This tour was the most enjoyable activity we had in our 3 weeks in Belize. The history and customs were amazing to learn about, as I had no background knowledge of the Garifuna people at all. My husband and I bought out tickets online, and were the only 2 people on our tour, so we had lots of opportunities to ask questions and get expert help during our cooking activities. Our guide was quick to laugh ... more and she was a joy to work with. After learning about coconuts and how to open them up, we made a coconut based soup with fish, pounded plantains, and ate a delicious lunch, and along the way learned how to get coconut oil from the coconut milk. Then we had a drumming lesson which was hilarious as my husband couldn't handle having his hands doing 2 different rhythms :) This is a wonderful tour that should really take off once word gets out. They grow their own herbs and vegetables on site, and catch their own fish. It was an amazing experience, and well worth the money. I recommend it to anyone who is a lifelong learner :)
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Amazing Garifuna cultural experience
I had an amazing time learning about the history and culture of Garifuna through this tour. Our tour guide and the host kept us entertained throughout the tour. My favorite part of this tour was entire process of making hudut and learning how to play the drums. We were also surprised with a Kayaking trip which made this tour even more spectacular. Amazing hospitality!
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