I have an
insatiable desire to live in a Spanish-speaking country. My daughter has been
in Spanish immersion programs and school since she was 18 months old so her
fluency in Spanish along with the fact I grew up on the gulf coast spending
many weekends burning my skin in the south Texas sun and splashing in the Gulf
of Mexico has led to my need to rejuvenate each summer somewhere that has a
beach, sand and a whole lotta sun which makes traveling to Mexico or Central
America a natural choice when looking for a summer vacation destination.
I'm also scoping out our next home, or at least, home away from home, when we
travel south each summer.
Last
year we began a new tradition with my sister and her family! We spend a week
together on summer vacation visiting a country outside of the U.S. that has
some form of water. Last year we chose Cabo San Lucas. This year we decided Belize
would be an adventure, so we found a property through Expedia and booked it. This
is my take on our week on the island of Ambergris Caye (pronounced Amber-gris
key), Belize.
Things
To Know
1. If you're
looking for a Spanish speaking country, do not look here! Yep, that's
right! Belize is NOT a Spanish-speaking country. They are a former
English colony (All Hail the Queen!), so the official language of Belize is
English, not Spanish much to my dismay. Though I will say, you'll hear as much
Creole in this beautiful Central American country as English. And if
you're lucky, poquito Espanol!
2. Looking for
Uber and Lyft? Don't come here! Want to know how you get around on the
Island of Ambergris Caye? Look no further than a golf cart. I thought this
was super cool when we first arrived but a week later, not so much. This is an
emerging country, so the roads are full of dirt and holes (and not necessarily
in that order). After seven days of bouncing all over the front and back seat
of a golf cart, we were anxious to get back to Colorado.
3. Don’t like
bugs, keep on looking for your next vacation destination! You’ll need as much sunscreen as you do bug
spray! The mosquitoes are out of control, at least in the rainy season
which begins in June. Go ahead and pack double the amount of bug spray you
think you'll need…and then be ready to buy more! Yes, they are that bad!
4. Don’t get
sucked into the not so secretive “Secret Beach” north of San Pedro. I had high hopes of white sand and crystal
blue waters but what we found after our 20-minute golf cart ride through holes
and swarms of mosquitoes was a tourist trap.
The water was green but there was not a true beach. There were shells
that were beaten down to a substance that resembled sand and lounge chairs containing
cushions that looked like they had not been cleaned in this century all on the waters
edge, but it wasn’t a “beach” in the usual definition of the term. It was a huge disappointment. OH, and the
restroom situation in this area would give any porta john you’ll find at a
music festival full of college kids in the U.S. a run for their money! Hold it tell ya get home if you can…or there’s
always that beautiful green water… 😊
5. Do NOT rent
golf carts from your resort, they literally are double the price of a rental
agency out of San Pedro. We used a company
called Tropical Golf Cart Rental and
were very pleased with not only their service but also the price they
charged. We rented a cart for 7 full
days and paid $230 USD which included delivery and full insurance coverage in
comparison to our hotel, which charges $388 for a week of golf cart
rental.
6. If you do not
have WhatsApp, get it before you go to Belize. We were able to communicate
effectively with any and everyone we needed to while there through the app, including
the front desk of our hotel and to order room service. It was impressive!
7. Don’t forget to buy your Belizean Travel Health Insurance before you
arrive in the country. Effective
February 15, 2022, the Belizean Tourism Board mandated insurance that helps protect travelers against
incurred medical and non-medical expenses if they test positive for COVID-19
during their stay in Belize. The insurance is $18 USD/person and is good
for 21-days.
Let’s
talk about the good stuff now…
The
Belizean people are very hospitable. The service we received at every restaurant,
the hotel spa, the front desk of our hotel, the golf cart rental folks, etc. was
second-to-none! We found everyone we met to be kind and helpful. San Pedro’s
economy is built on tourism, but I have wondered if the town being overrun with
Americans is annoying to locals. From what we experienced; they welcome the money
flooding their economy.
Wondering where to eat, stay and what to do while in Belize, here are our recommendations:
Breakfast:
Estel’s by the Sea – I’ll have the
Mayan breakfast with bacon and fry jacks, please (that’s sopapillas for all you
Texans or beignets for all you southerners)!
D Family Caf̩ РTheir almond
milk latte with cinnamon was divine but the Belizean breakfast really tooted my
flute!
Dinner:
Caroline’s
Cookin’ – Oh my heavens to Belize! This place was by far the best food we ate
on the island. They cook everything from scratch when it’s ordered. The service was fabulous as was our meal. The
entire menu is listed on a wall chalkboard but don’t let that scare you
away. The food is divine!
Blue Water Grill – This is a
beautiful, upscale restaurant on the water. The open-air concept was perfect
for our party of 11 with a myriad of choices for adults and children. They also have incredible desserts (yes, my
sister and our friend devoured the key lime pie in 1.3 seconds flat!).
Elvi’s Kitchen – This is the oldest
restaurant on the island. Celebrating its 46th anniversary this
year, this is the restaurant that is the gift that keeps on giving. What I
found especially interesting about this ole place is the sand floors. Yes, you
read that correctly, the floors are sand. I can honestly say this is the first
time I’ve eaten in a restaurant that’s inside a building with sand floors and
servers that wear black dress pants and white dress shirt but scoot around on
sand.
Where
to Stay
I can only attest to our experience at the CoCo Beach Resort 20
minutes north of San Pedro (via golf cart, it’s much quicker in a taxi). The hotel is small, about 50-something rooms
that are condo-style. Our room was a two-bedroom, one bath with a full kitchen
and was nicely appointed with wicker furniture and new appliances. The bed in
the master bedroom was king-sized and very comfortable. The second bedroom was
a twin daybed with trundle which was perfect for Elyse and my niece. The bathroom
was teeny tiny, but the water was always hot in the shower and had great water
pressure. The room had incredible air conditioning,
which we were thankful for since foreign countries can have a different definition
of “air conditioning” than what we have in the States, especially if you live
in the South where there are three seasons:
hot, hotter, and hot as hell.
The service
at the front desk was impeccable. I would write asking a question via WhatsApp
and would have an answer instantly. I’m not sure if the issues we experienced
in the one restaurant on property are because we were in Belize during low
season or if they have staffing issues like the rest of the world but when we
ate at the pool restaurant two times, it took 45 minutes to an hour to get our
food and when it came out, it was in shifts, not all at once. We did get room service one night and the
food was delicious, and it came in 30 minutes, which was what I would expect
from room service. Since our hotel was far from town, it was very disappointing
to have one dining choice on property.
If
you look up the property on TripAdvisor, do not be fooled by the pictures of a
beautiful beachfront property. There is no beach front. There is brown water
and a water’s edge but no beach and a slew of seaweed. It was gross and no way to
enjoy lying on a lounge chair enjoying a sea breeze.
I
would not stay at this property again because of the proximity to town, limited
dining options, only one medium-sized pool (there are three pools but only one
is conducive to keeping kids occupied all day) and no beach.
Though
I have not been in these properties, from the outside they look
incredible: Grand Caribe Belize, Mahogany
Bay Resort & Beach Club, and Alaia
Belize, Autograph Collection.
What
To Do
We are not big excursion people when we travel but when we realized Belize is
really a haven for snorkeling and scuba diving, we decided to partake in one of those
activities (…When in Rome, right?…). We had an incredible day at sea with Tuff E Nuff Tours lead by our boat captain
Pepper and his co-captain and lead swimmer, Raul. They took us to Hol Chan
Marine Reserve where we snorkeled with schools of fish, a nurse shark, sea turtle
and sting rays. We then had lunch and saw a sea horse farm on Caye Caulker,
another island 30 minutes from Ambergris Caye, and walked along the main street
and browsed through shops. Once back on the boat, Pepper took us out to a spot
known for Manatee sightings. Lucky for us, we found one and were able to swim
with it for an hour or so before the swells became dangerously large, and we
headed back to shore. It was a great day though exhausting for all of us,
especially the children.
We
also visited the following shops several times while on the island: Belize
Chocolate Company, French
Croissant and for great souvenirs, Belizean Breezes Soap Company.
In conclusion,
I’m an advocate of exploring the world and have zero regrets about spending a
week in Belize. With this said, since we
were looking for a beach destination, this was not a good fit for our family in
terms of returning (like we do with Mexican destinations). If you are a fan of snorkeling or diving,
this is definitely a place you should visit but if not, perhaps look for options in the Caribbean or on the Mexican Riviera.
