san pedro, bz
San Pedro Belize is by far the most popular place in the country to visit. The place is packed with tourists year-round. Most of them from the States and Canada. San Pedro itself is located on Ambergris Caye. When I was first going to Belize I thought that the two were different things, but San Pedro is actually just the big city on the Caye. So when someone recommends Ambergris Caye, or recommends San Pedro, they are typically going to be talking about the same thing. For the sake of this page I will just get into what is going on in San Pedro rather than the Caye as a whole, which is massive, and actually connects physically to Mexico. But outside of San Pedro there are no roads, and nothing developed other than some resorts with water-only access. San Pedro itself is on the south part of Ambergris Caye, in northern Belize. The island is filled with sandy streets, golf carts, colorful houses, bars, restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops. The island town has about 20k residents, and it draws hundreds of thousands of tourists per year. So the tourism here is pretty crazy. There is no cruise ship port here, but there might as well be. The place is just full of US and Canadian tourists. I was personally pretty turned off by the island. The sheer tourism for tourism's sake. The people that fill the streets of the town are people on vacation, not travelers or backpackers really. So for what I was looking for, this was not it. It's relatively cultureless, there's not much of a traveling community to speak of, it's really expensive, and hard to find food that isn't inflated for the tourists. Plus everything just felt crowded. That all being said, it's not like San Pedro is a terrible place, — I just didn't like it for what I was looking for. There's beautiful beaches that you can go explore. The diving off the island is nice, and you can enjoy beers and seafood in quaint little beachfront shacks with a view of some pretty, perfect, blue ocean. You can rent a golf cart and explore the island. All things that are good and well. If you come here, there will be things to do, but I will never return to this place just due to the amount of tourism that is here. To me, there are better places to see in Belize, but if you find yourself planning to or coming to the most popular destination in Belize, here's some advice. NOTE - there will be a massive Sargassum issue here in the summer months. You can see from one of the photos below how bad it gets. the Eastern facing side of the island is essentially unswimmable from shore during these months. And it smells. But this is the case for Caribbean Mexico, and Belize in general.
San Pedro is located in Northern Belize on Ambergris Caye. A massive Caye that actually physically connects to Mexico through a series of mangrove forests. But there is no way to cross over from Mexico to Ambergris Caye by land. Getting to San Pedro is actually very simple, speaking in terms of Islands at least.
The first thing you will need to do is get to Belize City. Once you have gotten there, then there are two ways to arrive at the island. By ferry, or by plane. They have obvious differences when it comes to price, speed and comfort. Personally I think the ferry is a great option, you'll spend less money, and the ride on the ocean is fun and pretty. But the plane ride in will bring some spectacular views as well. Just pick your poison.
1. By Ferry - To get there by ferry you will have to take some form of bus or taxi transport from the airport in Belize City to the ferry station that is located here. You will have to buy a ticket for your ferry. They can be purchased, and schedules can be found here. You just need to get yourself to the ferry port in Belize City, and the rest is pretty straightforward. The ride out will take about an hour-and-a-half, and costs $31 one way or $57 round trip.
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If you are driving in, that is great too. Just be careful in Belize City where you park your car. It's notorious for theft and robberies. If you park it in one of the port lots and want to head out to the islands you won't have anything to worry about though. There's no car ferry out to the islands so you have to leave the rig. It will be fine. It's surveilled, with fences usually, and the golden rule of 'find someone to pay to park your car' is certainly in effect here. Your car will be fine. It will cost like $10 per day to park. I know — pretty brutal, but at least your stuff will be safe.
2. By Plane - You can also take a plane out to the island. This may be a pretty interesting experience, and probably one of the shortest flights you will ever take. The flight leaves from the Belize Airport (BZE), and will arrive at the San Pedro Airport (SPR). There are multiple flights per day, and it is $98 each way. The flight will take less than 15 minutes. You can see flights here through Maya Island Air. The plane will also be a tiny little 8-seater hopper. If that makes you uncomfortable, don't do it. If you think it's cool, then hey — this little plane might be a good option for you.
Once you arrive in San Pedro is pretty self explanatory. It's a tourist island, so there's not much to learn. A few roads run up and down the island, filled with bars and restaurants.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
There are hotels and Airbnbs here all over the place. I mean realistically, the majority of the town and island is some form of accommodation that is tailored to the tourists that line its shores. So if you are looking for a hotel or an Airbnb, there are going to be tons of options. They won't necessarily be that cheap though.
When I was here I went the hostel route per usual, and there are only a few options, but at least there are some options. One of them is actually pretty good. It may not be cheap though, and if you are just leaving Mexico, brace yourself for the price increase that is associated with Belize.
This place is actually pretty great. It's right on the water. It's really nice, and the dorms actually aren't that expensive at $14 a night at the lowest depending on the season. There's a pool, a dock, a restaurant, and a bar. It's really the first and only place you should look on San Pedro for good accommodation at a good price.
This place is directly behind Sandbar. I think they are connected, but have different names. I was confused myself, when I was there. Good option if you can't find a dorm at Sandbar. They also have cheaper private rooms here, which is a good option if you want that, or are traveling with a partner.
EATS
After leaving Mexico the quality of the food just goes down. Maybe it's not the quality, but it's more the diversity and the cultural heritage around food isn't what it is there. I'll say that a lot through the Central American section. Belize is no exception. It's not really a food destination, unless you are a huge fan of chicken and rice. That's pretty much the local cuisine here.
While San Pedro itself has a lot of food that is tailored directly to tourists, there are some great local options. Belize has a few things that are traditional to its cultural cuisine. Jerk chicken, fry jack or johnny cakes and rice and beans being a few of them.
Most of the places I recommend will be much more local food. But there's international cuisine here as well.
Restaurants
Try Fry Jacks
'Fry Jacks' are probably the most Belize-specific type of food that you will find here. Rice and beans will be served with everything, but that happens everywhere in Central America. Fry jacks are deep fried puffy pieces of dough, that are reminiscent of New Orleans style beignets. These delicious fry jacks are unique to Belize, and are great with breakfast.
One of the better things to spend your day doing here in San Pedro. You have to get out to Secret Beach, which is by no means a secret. There will be people all over the place. You will need to rent a golf cart to get over there. It's way out of town. About 45 minutes with a golf cart. So it's a commitment. But when you get out there, there's a few really cool beaches and beach bars.
The best one is Blue Bayou. They have these picnic benches just in the water, and you just go float around, drinking beers and hanging out. It's a really fun day, and great drinking activity as well.
Small little beach bar in town. I really liked it. It was mellow, and one of my favorite places to just stop and grab a drink, or a bit to eat. — Low key and no frills. My favorite little bar in San Pedro.
Really being in Chacahua is the thing that you are here to see. So soak it up. Enjoy it and try to relax. Relaxing and disconnecting from the entire rest of the world is the best thing to do here. So try and focus on that. I turned my phone off for 2 weeks and just lived here. It was really amazing. But that's what I wanted at the time.
There are a few things that are really nice to do here, that I would recommend.
In my opinion, easily the best thing to do here in San Pedro. There's really good diving off the coast of Ambergris Caye, and there are dive shops everywhere. If you are a diver, or even if you want to learn to dive this is a good spot to do it. There is also some world-class destination diving here that is within spitting distance. You can, for example, visit the world famous 'Turneffe' or 'Blue Hole'. It will cost you though. There are dive shops all over the place. The one I went to, 'Scuba Steve', is linked. It's $80 for a two-tank dive.
It's not that expensive to rent a golf cart, and it really is the best way to explore the island. I would recommend getting one for at least a day and then exploring. The one I used, 'One Love', is linked.
On the other side of the island is a spot called Secret Beach. There's a few little bars and stuff over there, and it's one of the best ways to spend a day. It's about a 45-minute drive over there though, so you'll need to get a golf cart or hire a taxi.
SURFING
Flat as can be, in the Caribbean Sea.