- I dreamed of overwater bungalows in places like the Maldives but dreaded the long flight there.
- Then, I discovered places in Central America and the Caribbean are home to overwater resorts.
Waking up to ocean waters lapping underneath me, a breeze rustling through a thatched roof, and sea salt coating my skin is my vision of an ideal tropical vacation.
And I believed the best place to create that experience would be in an overwater bungalow — the epitome of a luxury tropical vacation.
For years, I assumed I'd first have to hop on a long-haul flight if I wanted this tropical getaway.
I could fly 17-plus hours to Tahiti, where the accommodation concept originated, or explore the dozens of overwater resorts in the Maldives, as long as I was willing to embark on a 26-hour journey.
This winter, I was proved wrong with a stay at Thatch Caye, an all-inclusive, private island resort home to overwater bungalows off the coast of Belize.
There's a reason overwater bungalows aren't as popular in the Caribbean
Overwater bungalow resorts are more than 55 years old. And it all started when three Americans — Jay Carlisle, Hugh Kelley, and Donald McCallum — moved to French Polynesia to start a vanilla farm.
When vanilla couldn't grow on the land they bought, the men pivoted to the hospitality industry. They bought a run-down hotel on the island of Moorea and named it Bali Hai.
The trio — who became known as the Bali Hai Boys — built other hotels, including on the island of Ra'iātea, where the idea for the overwater bungalows originated. As this resort grew in popularity, there was nowhere to expand, Hugh Kelley's daughter, Vaihiria Kelley, told Business Insider. A road cut off one side of the resort, and other resorts neighbored Bali Hai.
"The only way to expand was to expand out over the water," Kelley said.
Using inspiration from traditional Tahitian fishing huts, which similarly sit over the ocean, the men built the first overwater bungalows in 1967.
And Ra'iātea's calm waters made it the ideal place for an overwater bungalow, Kelley said. The trio built ladders leading straight into the ocean and added clear panels to the bungalow's floors so guests could view aquatic life below.
"They didn't expect it would be so popular and that it would be such a novel concept," Kelley said.
It was. The Bali Hai Boys added overwater bungalows to all of their resorts. Then, other resorts started popping up with the accommodations, too.
Today, sites like Overwater Bungalows state that more than 250 resorts worldwide offer this accommodation style.
Yet, most of these places are in the Maldives and South Pacific.
Places like Tahiti and the Maldives have the ideal environment for overwater bungalows since the region's waters tend to be calmer, and tranquil lagoons often surround the islands, Condé Nast Traveler reported. In the Caribbean, strong tides and hurricane-prone regions can make building overwater bungalows a feat.
But that hasn't stopped companies across Central America and the Caribbean from building these structures. In 2016, the Sandals Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, was the first resort to offer overwater bungalows in the Caribbean, according to Condé Nast Traveler.
Other resorts followed. The accommodations now exist in Aruba, Panama, Antigua, Mexico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Belize, and Turks and Caicos, according to Dream Overwater.
Without a desire to spend 26 hours traveling to the Maldives, I settled on Belize
At the end of last year, my friend and I were planning a scuba diving trip. We wanted to go somewhere with incredible diving but didn't want to spend most of our vacation on a plane.
We landed on Belize, which involved two three-hour flights from Denver, Colorado. If we had flown directly, it would've taken just four hours.
When it came to accommodations, I started looking at luxury options. Thatch Caye's overwater bungalows caught my eye.
I realized I could have the overwater bungalow experience much closer to home than I originally thought.
The private island is home to eight overwater bungalows, and it's one of the few resorts that offer them in Belize.
Five are considered premier with private decks; the other three share a deck. Depending on the season, the premier overwater bungalows cost about $950 a night for two people, which includes resort fees and taxes.
The photos online were stunning. Wooden decks led out to the ocean, and each premier bungalow had a hammock for lounging and comfy beds for sleeping.
So when I say settled, I mean we eagerly booked two nights at Thatch Caye. BI received a media rate for the two-night stay.
The bungalows exceeded my tropical vacation dreams
For two nights, I did exactly what I had dreamed of. I went to sleep under a spattering of night stars with the ocean lapping beneath me. I woke up to the wind rustling in the thatched roof and the sun shining.
The overwater bungalows lacked two amenities I had hoped for: a clear floor to peer into the ocean and direct water access from my bungalow.
But the resort made up for it in other ways. The island had a sandy beach area where guests could wade in the water, as well as a snorkeling area for spotting rays, starfish, and nurse sharks. There were complimentary kayaks, paddleboards, and sailboats, and an on-site dive shop that coordinated dives and allowed me to explore the Belize Barrier Reef.
Since Thatch Caye is home to only 30 guests, the entire trip felt much more intimate than other all-inclusives. I bonded with other vacationers as we dined at a communal dinner table each evening, and I watched sunsets from a hanging hammock.
My first overwater bungalow stay reminded me I don't need to hop on an all-day flight to experience the accommodation.
But that doesn't mean places like Tahiti are no longer on my radar. And Kelley urged me to prioritize a Tahiti bungalow experience.
"The concept was really inspired, at the end of the day, by something that's culturally tied to Tahiti with the fisherman hut," Kelley said. "I'm biased, but I do think the most beautiful ones are in Tahiti."
So, one day, I'll get on that 17-hour flight.