Ambergris Caye

Belize's most popular island, right next to the UNESCO-listed Belize Barrier Reef — a diving mecca for the Great Blue Hole and Shark Ray Alley, with laid-back Caribbean island life.

Ambergris Caye is Belize's largest offshore island, about 40 km long from north to south; its northern tip faces Mexico across a narrow channel, and the island's only town is San Pedro in the south. Within 1 km of the east shore lies the Belize Barrier Reef — the longest coral reef in the Western Hemisphere and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — making the island a base for diving and snorkeling. Climate: Dec–May is the dry season, with calm seas and good visibility, and also peak season; Jun–Nov is the rainy and hurricane season, with the highest risk in Sep–Oct, but prices are lower and crowds thinner. Water temperatures hover around 26–29°C year-round. Areas: the town of San Pedro in the south has the highest concentration of restaurants, dive shops and docks; just south of town are Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, where a half-day snorkel brings nurse sharks, rays and sea turtles; the road on the north island is now paved, so you can drive a golf cart to Mexico Rocks, Secret Beach and Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve at the northern tip. Farther afield, the Great Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye and Turneffe Atoll require a full-day dive trip or a chartered scenic flight; a water taxi reaches Caye Caulker in 45 minutes, and a combination of boat and road takes you to the Maya sites of Altun Ha and Lamanai. Getting there: international flights land at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) in Belize City, from where Tropic Air or Maya Island Air small planes reach San Pedro in about 15–20 minutes; alternatively, take a water taxi from the Belize City docks in about 90 minutes. On the island people get around by golf cart, bicycle and on foot, so there is no need to rent a car. Allow 4–6 days: 1 day snorkeling, 1 day at the Great Blue Hole, 1 day on Caye Caulker or at a Maya site, and the rest relaxing on the beach. Note: the Belize dollar is pegged to the US dollar at 2:1, and US dollars are widely accepted; Chinese passport holders must obtain a visa in advance (check the embassy's latest requirements); use reef-safe sunscreen, and watch out for mosquitoes and sargassum in summer.

Top sights

• San Pedro Town – The island's only town, with colorful wooden houses, sandy streets, and seaside piers. Dive shops, restaurants, and bars are all concentrat…
• Hol Chan Marine Reserve – Belize's first marine reserve, featuring a natural gap in the barrier reef. Coral, sea turtles, groupers, and eels are abundant here, makin…
• Shark Ray Alley – Shallow sandy flats in the southern zone of Hol Chan Reserve, where dozens of nurse sharks and southern stingrays swim around boats, and yo…
• Great Blue Hole – A round submarine sinkhole about 300 meters across at the center of the Lighthouse Reef. It is a world-famous dive site, and you can also s…
• Caye Caulker – A backpacker island that lives by the motto “Go Slow,” with sandy paths, colorful wooden houses, and a split waterway. A water taxi takes a…
• Half Moon Caye – A small island at the southern end of Lighthouse Reef, Belize's first marine protected area, with a red-footed booby colony, white sand bea…
• Turneffe Atoll – Belize's largest atoll, ringed by mangrove islets and reef walls, home to eagle rays, dolphins and large schools of fish, and a renowned de…
• Secret Beach – A calm, shallow bay on the sheltered western side of the island, with milky-blue water and bars where tables and hammocks are set up in the…
• Mexico Rocks – A patch-reef protected area just inside the barrier reef north of the island, with dense coral heads, calm shallow water and an easy spot f…
• Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve – A marine and land protected area at the island's northernmost tip, bordering Mexico across a waterway dug by the Maya, combining reefs, man…
• Marco Gonzalez Maya Site – The ruins of an ancient Maya trading port in the jungle south of San Pedro, reached by a wooden boardwalk through mangroves; the only archa…
• Boca del Rio Park – A seaside park beside the river mouth at the northern end of San Pedro, with a jetty, a water swing and a small beach, a favourite spot for…
• Altun Ha – One of Belize's best-known Maya sites, famous for its stone-faced temple platforms and a jade sun god head unearthed here, and the closest…
• Lamanai – A Maya city reached by boat up the New River through the jungle, with a 33-metre temple and a mask temple, and wildlife such as crocodiles…
• Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary – A West Indian manatee sanctuary offshore from Belize City, where boats wait quietly beside the seagrass beds and manatees often surface to…

Where to eat

• Elvi's Kitchen – A long-standing favorite that began in 1974 selling burgers from a home window. With a sand floor and a tree growing th…
• El Fogon – A small eatery cooking Belizean home dishes over open wood flames. Popular with locals at lunch, and the coconut curry…
• Hidden Treasure Restaurant – A thatched-roof garden restaurant tucked away in a residential area south of town, with live piano. The seafood platter…

Itineraries

• Ambergris Caye Barrier Reef Getaway – Based in San Pedro, snorkel Hol Chan, explore Secret Beach, and visit Caye Caulker on your way out.
• Classic Belize Rainforest Ruins & Barrier Reef – Explore caves and ruins in San Ignacio during the first half, and snorkel on the islands during the second half, coveri…
• Three Maya Countries: Copan, Tikal & the Caribbean – From Antigua via Copan, Rio Dulce, and Tikal, cross Belize to end at Caye Caulker.
• Belize, Tikal Maya Ruins & Cayes – Cross the border to see the pyramids of Tikal, linking the caves of San Ignacio with the reefs of Caye Caulker.
• Yucatan to Belize Overland & Sea Crossing – Travel from Tulum and Bacalar to Belize by boat, exploring the islands before heading inland to Maya caves.