I've seen several people post about Belize in the past, so I'm assuming there are some travel experts in here. The wife and I are going to Ambergis Caye in a few weeks and staying a little south of San Pedro. Some questions:

• What's the best way to get to the island? We've been looking at the 15' flight, the direct ferry and the water taxi options.
• Is there anything to do or see in Belize City? This might help determine what method we take to get to Ambergis Caye.
• Restaurants you recommend in San Pedro?
• Other things to do on the island? Our hotel has sea kayaks, SUPs, and bikes we can use, but we'd be interested in other fun "excursion" type things to do on the island.

We're going to be there for just a few days, so don't need too many things to do as we'll be by the beach and pool most of the time.

Fly to the island, not many reasons to stick around Belize City IMO. Do the snorkeling with sharks/stingrays.

Belize is cool. But don't go there for the beaches...at least on Ambergris because they are all man made and very narrow. If you are going to the BeliZe seaside, you are going for the diving and the fishing.

My recommendation would be to go to the rainforests and mountains. They are much cooler. You can rent a car or take buses, but most hotels in the mountains will pick you up for free. You can arrange awesome trips with certified guides to go caving, camping, canoeing, etc. One great thing in the mountains is the waterfalls.

There is so much more to Belize than ambergris, which imho is becoming a condominium hell hole.

Edit: Belize City can get sketchy. Try the Gibnut and the Rice and Beans with a lot of hot sauce.

You can take the water taxi. When we were there it was HOT. No AC in the boat and they lock down the hatches. It's also about an hour ride. If I had to do it again, I'd fly one of the charters.

Take the plane from Belize City. The water ferry out there is brutal plus you have to take taxi from Goldson to marina in Belize City.

If you only have a few days, the bikes will probably work for you, otherwise renting a golfcart would help.

Look into a Shark Ray Alley daytrip or a trip over to Caye Caulker for a half day.

It's been a few years but for restaurants, Fidos (lunch), Estelle's by the Sea for breakfast, breakfast tacos at Elvi's, Hidden Treasure (dinner), Rojo Lounge (10 minute water taxi up north)..

Do the 15 minute flight. We used Mayan Air.

We rented a golf cart for one day, just to explore north of the bridge. Other than that, we walked everywhere.

Thanks for all the replies. We're going with another couple and they wanted to go to Ambergis Caye so that's how we decided to go there. We did a trip to Costa Rica several weeks ago and got in some mountain/volcano/rainforest excursions in on that trip.

From what y'all are saying, avoid the water taxi and pony up for the flight. We were looking at a one-way flight there and water taxi back, but we might change that, especially since Belize City leaves a lot to be desired. Thanks for the restaurant recommendations also. Looking forward to it!

• What's the best way to get to the island? We've been looking at the 15' flight, the direct ferry and the water taxi options.

My wife and I did the water taxi and in hind sight, would probably choose to fly. We thought the water taxi would be cool, and scenic. It's really not. It's moderately bumpy, there's not much to see. It's not terrible, but it's not fun.

• Is there anything to do or see in Belize City? This might help determine what method we take to get to Ambergis Caye.

We wandered around belize City for a couple of hours, and I wouldn't recomend much that we saw.

• Restaurants you recommend in San Pedro?

Loved the Rojo Lounge. Also like Casa Picasso. The mojitos at Wild Mango are amazing! We ended up walking there most afternoon and having a couple while sitting on the deck.

• Other things to do on the island? Our hotel has sea kayaks, SUPs, and bikes we can use, but we'd be interested in other fun "excursion" type things to do on the island.

Snorkeling is amazing. Swim with the nurse sharks and feed them by hand. We did a half day of fishing and it was just ok, but I have heard that the tarpon fishing and fly fishing for bone fish is amazing.

enjoy some Belikin beer!

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enjoy some Belikin beer!

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I prefer the One Barrel Rum

I agree with everyone on taking the plane to Ambergris. And don't mess around in Belize City.

We've been to Belize multiple times and love
It, but we don't do Ambergris. We are avid divers and prefer to stay out on the atolls.

On our next trip I think we will spend some time in Placencia.

Have fun!

I would recommend the Lamanai Tour. They took us by plane to Belize city, drove us to the new river by van (1-2hrs can't remember) then you get on a boat and traverse down to lamanai another good hour or so on the river. Lots of cool stuff you see just on the travel portion. the wildlife on the boat trip is worth the it. Our guide was very informative on every animal out there. Lots of different birds, Hawks, monkeys, crocs etc. Lamanai was cool compared to any other ruins we had seen because they let you climb and crawl all over the ruins. It's not even close to commercialized like in Mexico. The High Temple is 108ft tall and you just walk up the shear face of it via some pretty steep stairs. There's a rope if you need it l, but I just took my time. If you fall you're not stopping until the bottom. It's an already elevated area they built the ruins on so when you're at the top you're very much above the tree line and can see the borders of Mexico and Guatamala. It's pretty cool. It will be an entire day trip from Ambergis Caye but imo it's worth it.

Oh ya, and definitely take the plane instead of the water taxi. We did and I did not hear one person the entire trip say they enjoyed the taxi from Belize City

It's unbelizable!!!!

ask the locals about feeding the gators on the south side of the island...

Got back last night...had a blast!

The short plane ride from the mainland airport to San Pedro was definitely worth it, both for saving time and a more fun experience. We stayed at the Pelican Reef Villas about 2 miles south of town. A smaller, quaint resort with only 20 rooms or so. Pool, beach, and pier area were all really nice.

Breakfast was included, so we were on our own for only lunch and dinner. Ate at Hidden Treasures, Black Orchid, Pineapples, Elvi's and Rico's. All were quite good, but Elvi's was the best. Fry jack tacos are my new favorite thing. We did a half day excursion with Island Dream excursions...snorkled at Hol Chan, swam with and pet some rays and nurse sharks. Had shrimp ceviche (lobster isn't in season) and unlimited drinks on the boat (much bigger boat than most of the other excursions).

Rented a golf cart the second day and drove around town and north of the bridge. Had some more Belikins at Palapa and Fidos. Heard good things about the Truck Stop, but it wasn't open (bartender on vacation).

Overall it was a great quick trip. Wish we could have stayed for one more night and done a fishing excursion. I think I enjoyed staying a little out of town versus some of the places in town. I would definitely recommend San Pedro to friends, especially those living close to Houston. Flight down there was a little north of $200 and 2 hours. Super easy to get to.

Thanks again for the recommendations!

Have read the 3 or 4 Belize chains here and on the OB.

If we wanted to split between Ambergris and the mountains (maybe Chaa Creek), how many days would you do in each. At least 2 days fishing or snorkeling and then want to see the cave and do some hiking, but looking for recs on how to split maybe a 7 or 8 day trip.

Xposting on OB.

The Chicken Ranch said:

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I agree with everyone on taking the plane to Ambergris. And don't mess around in Belize City.

We've been to Belize multiple times and love
It, but we don't do Ambergris. We are avid divers and prefer to stay out on the atolls.

On our next trip I think we will spend some time in Placencia.

Have fun!

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Don't want to hijack the thread, but curious as to where you found the best spots were for diving. It's all the same reef system of course, but I'm always looking for a good spot that has some semi decent beach for the kids, but also good dive spots. Was on Ambergris Caye a long time ago now, and have not been back to Belize since. Would be interested to learn of other spots.

Thanks!

The three atolls are technically not part of the mesoamerican barrier reef. Turneffe, Lighthouse, and Glover's are the three in Belize (Cinchorro Banks in Mexico being the fourth atoll in the area). For diving, atolls are night and day above the barrier reef. However, I do think the barrier reef down around Dangriga to Placencia is a little better than up around Ambergris and Caulker.

I really like Turneffe Atoll. There are a few options to stay out there: Trurneffe Resort, Truneffe Flats, and Blackbird. There is also an eco dive lodge on Lighthouse Reef called Itza. Turneffe Resort and Turneffe Flats are first class. Awesome diving and both great places to stay. However, the are very secluded. There isn't any night life and there isn't much of a beach at either. But everything else makes up for the lack of beach. There are some lodges on Glovers, but I hear they are a little rough.

If you want a really good beach for the kiddos and some really great diving, check out Cayman Brac Beach Resort. Mrs. TCR and I want their this summer and really regret not bringing our daughter, even though she is just two.

Placencia Island was awesome when we went

Where did you stay in Placencia? I've heard good things about Robert's Grove.