Located in San Ignacio, this cottage is in a rural area and on the waterfront. Cahal Pech Mayan Ruins and Xunantunich Mayan Ruins are local landmarks, and some of the area's attractions include San Ignacio & Santa Elena House of Culture and Upe Nai - Living Maya Immersion. Benque Viejo House of Culture and Green Hills Butterfly Ranch are also worth visiting. Kayaking and swimming offer great chances to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with ecotours nearby.
San Ignacio & Santa Elena House of Culture - 6 min drive - 5.0 km
Cahal Pech Mayan Ruins - 8 min drive - 6.4 km
Belize Botanic Gardens - 13 min drive - 9.2 km
Getting around
San Ignacio (CYD-Town Airstrip) - 19 min drive
Restaurants
The Hive - 7 min drive
Ko-Ox Han-Nah - 7 min drive
Urban Brownie Basket - 9 min drive
The Guava Limb Café - 7 min drive
Cenaida's - 7 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Is Casa Sophia – Peaceful Riverfront Eco-Comfort at Alma Del Rio pet-friendly?
Yes, this property allows pets (limit 2 total). Some restrictions may apply, so please contact the property for more details.
How much does it cost to stay at Casa Sophia – Peaceful Riverfront Eco-Comfort at Alma Del Rio?
As of 30 October 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at Casa Sophia – Peaceful Riverfront Eco-Comfort at Alma Del Rio on 3 November 2026 start from NZ$846, including taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.
How much is parking at Casa Sophia – Peaceful Riverfront Eco-Comfort at Alma Del Rio?
On-site parking is available at the property.
What time is check-in at Casa Sophia – Peaceful Riverfront Eco-Comfort at Alma Del Rio?
Check-in begins at 3:00 PM.
What time is check-out at Casa Sophia – Peaceful Riverfront Eco-Comfort at Alma Del Rio?
Checkout is at 11:00 AM.
Where is Casa Sophia – Peaceful Riverfront Eco-Comfort at Alma Del Rio located?
Situated on the waterfront, this cottage is steps from Macal River and within 3 mi (5 km) of Monkey Falls and San Ignacio & Santa Elena House of Culture. San Ignacio Market and Ajaw Chocolate & Crafts are also within 3 miles (5 km).
Reviews
10
Exceptional
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
This property exceeded all of our expectations! The location is absolutely beautiful. And the host was fantastic. Hadas set up our excursions for us and was always available to answer questions or get us a taxi into town. I highly recommend this property.
We had a fabulous stay at Casa Sophia at Alma del Rio. The house is even more beautiful than the photos show. The thoughtful design, attention to detail, and execution are all very impressive. I look forward to seeing the additional lodgings completed. We especially enjoyed the view over the forest and the rainwater shower. Birding from the upper floor was fantastic. We called it our treehouse. Hadas and staff made us feel welcome and responded quickly to questions.
So much thought and detail put into this peaceful riverside spot. Close to everything, yet far enough away. Hosts are thoughtful and tend to every detail. Thankyou Hadas and family.
What an awesome experience. This is a bird lover's paridise! We saw and heard many toucans, aracari and tanagers along with howler monkeys. The outdoor shower was a favorite!
Stayed 6 nights in Jan 2023
Verified review
10/10 Excellent
Victoria
6 April 2023
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities, communication
The property and hosts (Elmer and Dora) exceeded all expectations. The property was beautiful and we had everything we needed. Elmer and Dora helped make my daughters 13 birthday so special by delivering a cake and song! We definitely will be back. 10 out of 10 ;)
This was one of the best rentals I've stayed in. The hosts were excellent- meeting us for check in and answering all of our questions. We even had our rental car battery die and they came to jump us.
The property is beautiful and has everything inside you need from towels, to games, and cooking utensils. The location is good if you have a rental car. We went horseback riding, kayaking, and had dinner in San Ignacio very easily. We had complimentary coffee and fruit in the morning while watching the Howler monkeys down by the river... Property doesn't have wifi if you are looking to work from home, but it's gret for people wanting to explore nature. Definitely a 10/10 stay!! I highly recommend and hope to be back again soon.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 14 November 2022
Thank you so much for the lovely review!
It was nice meeting you guys.
We do have WIFI and it is pretty fast as well. We had many guests working remotely.
I am sorry you didn't get the chance to enjoy it :)
(Internet was operational on their stay)
The house was beautiful, such wonderful attention to details in the decor. The house is a short beautiful drive up the mountain away from town- so it is peaceful and quiet but close to everything. The pictures do not do this house justice.
The shower- was a work of art- nicest shower ever! What is not pictured was a child play house- which was perfect for our 3 year old. The jungle sounds of birds were amazing. The house was clean, had all the basics. Thank you for the recommendation of St Leonard’s- we had a amazing day with Carla, Rob and Miguel. Thank you Hadas for making such a beatiful and sharing it with us to enjoy.
Nestled away in the perfect location if you're wanting to experience the jungle and lifestyle of Belize. Santa Elena and San Ignacio were fantastic cities to experience. Make sure to stop at the ladies fruit stand to the left at the 3 way intersection when you come into town, she has fantastic fresh juice! The property is an amazing little food forest with fantastic views of the local flora and fauna. We loved how the home uses solar heated rainwater! The home is very clean, organized, and VERY welcoming. There was even a fantastic play area for our 18 month old son. We've stayed a couple different VRBOs over the years, and this one definitely stands out as a place ran by people who care about their guest's comfort and experience.
A Sincere thank you to Tom and Hadas for being such great hosts, and sharing this fantastic experience with us!
We had a wonderful time staying at this unique, beautiful and perfectly located jungle house on the river! Our hosts (Hadas, assisted by Elmer and Dora) were warm, welcoming and extremely helpful from the time we booked right through our stay.
This property was well situated to serve as our "base camp" for excursions in the San Ignacio area. The ATM cave tour is a must see - truly a unique experience for even the most seasoned and adventurous travelers. We also did a horse ride up to Mayan ruins which was very memorable. Hadas was kind enough to handle bookings for our excursions, which was a great benefit to staying here. There's nothing like getting picked up and dropped off right at your property!
The space itself should be included in an ad for VRBO - the upstairs is the best screened in jungle viewing space I have ever seen. The bedrooms are comfortable and waking up in the jungle is a great experience! You may decide to make a return visit to Belize just for the shower here!
All in all this is an ideal location for your jungle vacation to begin!
We spent 3 weeks in Belize: first week at a yoga retreat on the northern part of Cay Caulker; 2nd week sailing on a 48' catamaran and the third week in the jungle at Casa Sophia. My partner and my 33 year old son from CA. We all agreed the jungle time was the best!! So much to see and do and we packed it in: bird watching, Rio on Pools, Caracol, ATM Cave, Barton Cave, market day, live music at Aguada and Gulley's, Big Rock Pools. Coming home every night to Casa Sophia for a shower and a Belikan...it was magnificent. And Hadas kept us informed about live music, great restaurants, great tour operators. In fact we all 3 have decided that another trip to Belize is in our future. Such a lovely country!! Easy English everywhere. Currency exchange - simple 2 to 1. Delicious and inexpensive food nearly all of it grown on the island. Little if any garbage. I've traveled and worked a lot in the Caribbean and this was by a long shot, one of the best Caribbean vacations I've ever had!
Hadas and Tom’s place is a perfect place for those who enjoy birds, nature and tranquility. The house has a huge screened window where one could spend all day watching the large number and variety of birds. It was a treat to see toucans!
The house is clean, private, quiet and secure. It is well stocked with everything one needs for cooking.
Hadas helped set up our tour, which was helpful and took the stress out of figuring it out ourselves when we are not familiar.
May be good to include driving directions to the house, especially for those driving in the dark and lose GPS access (like us!). Hadas gratiously came to find us- which was appreciated.! Some of the streets are less well marked than others. We highly recommend and will look forward to staying here again sometime!
This was the ideal forest experience. We will be back! From when I found the listing to our last minutes on site, Hadas and family(Sandra, Dora, tours with Sergio, Ian, Edwin, Carla) were amazing. Such wonderful and caring people are in Belize. This was our first time and what a wonderful oasis to come home to for a short time. They have thought of everything you may need and I felt like I was in a dream to watch the birds across the canopy of the trees to the exotic shower and the philosophy of this eco lodge. It was a lovey dream. Highly recommend the tours services in the guide book and such wonderful restaurants!! ATM with Ian, Ziplining and cave rubbing with Edwin, Xunatunich on horseback. Black rock falls, Rio frio pools, Toluca smoke house, Guava limb, San Ignacio market, and so much we missed we must return! Thank you again for everything.
My wife and I made a quick stop here while touring Belize and they picked the perfect place to build for a sunset. The unit was different but fun. There was a sweetheart black cat on the property that kept the local raccoons at bay. Overall we had a great time.
My boyfriend and I had an amazing stay at Alma Del Rio. The communication with Hadas, the owner, was great. She responded to all my questions promptly - and gave us amazing recommendations on tours, places to see, restaurants, and live music. She met us at the house personally, so check-in was a breeze. The photos of the house were a great representation, though photos can never show how beautiful this corner of the world actually is. The house was very comfortable, the kitchen was well-stocked with the needed tools - and we were happy to find she stocks, coffee, sugar, powdered creamer, salt, pepper, cooking oil, and some fresh fruit. Of course our favorite feature was the outdoor shower - which feels like you are at a tropical spa. We would definitely stay here again if we ever make our way back towards San Ignacio.
Our stay at Alma del Río was the highlight of our whole Belize trip. We miss watching bird TV out of the panoramic living room windows, and the spa - type outdoor shower - we loved the shower! Everything was immaculate, thoughtful small touches, great communication, such a stylish place.
Every detail in this house is well thought out and adds to the overall experience. My wife and I thouroughly enjoyed the stay. Only complaint is we wished we had booked a few more nights.
Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2021
Response from VrboOwner on 16 November 2021
Thank you Nicholas!
We also wish you would have stayed longer !
Until next time 🌷
Verified review
10/10 Excellent
Randy
13 March 2024
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, communication