Welcome to Belize Hotels; where Central America meets the Caribbean
The evening waves of the Caribbean Sea are in a lazy, friendly mood as they gently kiss the sandy shores of Ambergris Caye. The ocean breezes are calm and friendly; it’s as if the Caribbean is gently breathing out with exhalations that make the fronds of the coconut palms flutter next to seaside restaurants in San Pedro. In these eating and drinking establishments, the refreshing trade winds tease the hair of guests and bring smiles to their faces. Whether staying at a San Pedro Hotel or residing in Ambergris Caye, it’s difficult not to smile as the tropical sun streaks the sea with gold before it drops beyond the horizon. The patrons might also be smiling because they are finishing off a delicious dinner of conch, lobster, and coconut flavored delights with cocktails made with that classic Caribbean spirit...rum. In the end, whether they are staying at a Belize hotel or not, they are simply happy because they just passed another day in the Central American paradise known as Belize; an English speaking country that blends the blue waters of the Caribbean with the jade green rain forests of Central America. See a video about Belize.
Transportation
The International airport serving all of Belize is The Philip S. W. Goldson
International Airport (BZE). It’s located just outside of Belize City in the
small town of Ladyville. BZE accommodates daily flights from the United States
including Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and Charlotte. Displays in the
airport terminal provide information about a variety of services, accommodations
and properties. Once in Belize you have a number of ways to travel the country.
Rental cars companies are available directly at the airport. An easy and common
way to travel in Belize is via small plane. These short flights known as “hopper
flights” have routes to the municipal airports around the country multiple times
daily.
More
detailed information and alternative travel options.
Hotels
Belize hotels are as diverse as the geography, people, and culture of Belize.
You’ll find accommodations from celebrity owned full service resorts to beach
hostels strewn with hammocks. The one thing they do have in common is that they
are all unique. Belize City has a few names you know (Radisson & Best Western)
but otherwise, Belize has an abundance of charming locally owned hotels. But
don’t let the lack of a brand name deter you, they’ll charm you with local color
and friendliness. If you are a little more adventurous, you can find small
hotels and guesthouses with very modest rates. In several locations, there are
also condo units rented daily or weekly with full amenities and friendly
management teams. Whether it is a casual beach cottage or a jungle resorts,
Belize has a place for you.
Cayo Espanto
( Editors Choice )
Location. The Cayo Espanto Is A Private Island Located Off The Shore Of San Pedro, Belize. The Resort Is Five Kilometers From San Pedro And Six Kilometers From The Belize Barrier Reef. Hotel Features. The Cayo Espanto Features Five Oceanfront Private Cabanas And One Over-water Bungalow. The Resort's Spa Offers Massages, Skin And Nail Treatments, And Aromatherapy Services. The Hotel Offers Tour Assistance And Arranges Guided Snorkeling And Diving Excursions, Boating And Fishing Tours, And Private Picnics. Children Under 10 Years Old Are Not Permitted On The Property. Guestrooms. Guestrooms Feature Personal Housemen, Three Daily Meals, Snacks, All Drinks Except Champagne, Wine And Cordials, And Non-motorized Water Sports.cabanas Feature Private Alfresco Showers, Oceanfront Patios And Freshwater Plunge Pools. The Over-water Bungalow Offers 360-Degree Views Of The Ocean. Beds Are Swathed In Yves De Lormes Sheets And Turndown Service Is Performed Nightly. All Accommodations Feature Hardwood Floors And Tropical Motifs. Unique Design Elements Are Incorporated Throughout Each Unit, Such As Granite Countertops, Cabbage Bark Ceilings, And Zirocotte And Jobillo Wood Paneling. Expert Tip. Before You Arrive At Cayo Espanto, The Resort Provides A Culinary Survey For You To Complete. Based On Your Responses, Chefs Prepare Three Custom Meals Daily. Whether It's Breakfast In Bed Or A Candlelit Dinner On Your Personal Verandah, The Epicurean Cuisine Is Award-winning And Prepared Especially With Your Palette In Mind.
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With its abundance of beautiful, natural
attractions, it’s no wonder that Belize receives over one hundred thousand
annual visitors from the United States alone. Some come for the beautiful
beaches and relaxed atmosphere of places like
Ambergris
Caye, while others spend their time at Belize hotels and ecolodges in
the jungle. On
Ambergris
Caye, you will find plenty of accommodations
at
San Pedro
hotels, and even more choices and activities under the hot, tropical sun. Diving and
snorkeling trips can be arranged to visit the Belize Barrier Reef near
Ambergris
Caye,
and other islands. The diving is some of the best in the Caribbean
with hundreds of brightly colored fishes and corals, and the chance to see
various sharks and rays in warm water with high visibility. There are also
diving and snorkeling opportunities available from beginners such as easy
shallow shore dives, to dives that should only be undertaken by skilled divers
with trusted guides. The latter could include descents
into deep blue holes and explorations of the continental shelf that can be
arranged from most Belize hotels..jpg)
Blue holes are underwater sink holes, the Great Blue Hole in Belize being one of the most famous. This amazing feature gets its name from the dark blue appearance of the water in its 410 foot (125 meter) depth compared to the light green of its shallow surroundings. See a video about the Great Blue Hole.
The continental shelf can be explored by visiting the edge of the Belize Barrier Reef; essentially an underwater cliff that drops 3,000 feet! Multitudes of corals cling to the rocky walls, schools of smaller, silver-colored fish zip by, and down below in the depths, the ominous shapes of larger predatory fish can be discerned.
Other water activities include fishing for a variety of shore and deep sea species, windsurfing, and sea kayaking that can get you up close and personal with friendly, curious dolphins.
For those who need a break from the hot sun, Belize has numerous cave systems that can be visited and explored. Once again, these activities activity should only be done with an expert guide. The same goes for kayaking or tubing in rivers; an amazing but potentially dangerous experience as water levels in these natural, underwater theme parks can change with rainfall.
Birding and wildlife observation are other popular activities for visitors on the mainland. Belize has over five hundred species of birds, monkeys, wild cats, crocodiles, and even Tapirs (the national mammal of Belize) that can be found in its many natural and protected areas. Many birds can also be seen around Belize hotels.
A fairly small country, at around 170 miles (280) from north to south and 62 miles (100 kilometers) from east to west, Belize is about the same size as the state of New Hampshire. Despite its small size, its waters encompass part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second largest reef of its kind in the world (the largest being the Great Barrier Reef of Australia), and the most important reef complex in the Caribbean Sea. Related to the reef system are a series of islands known as “cayes” (pronounced like “keys”) located off the eastern coast. The northernmost island, Ambergris Caye, on which San Pedro is found with its many hotels, has often been called the southernmost extension of the Yucatan Peninsula. Ambergris Caye would be a part of this peninsula and belong to Mexico if it weren’t for a narrow canal that separates the island from the Mexican mainland. This tidal creek is usually called a canal because of the common belief that it was dug by Mayans. Although at some points, the waterway that separates Ambergris Caye from the mainland is so narrow that a boat can barely get through, this creek has a winding course with a far more natural appearance than a straightly dug canal.
Several other islands and Belize hotels are scattered south of Ambergris Caye including three of only four atolls found in the Americas. Atolls are islands surrounded by a ring of coral reefs, these reefs eventually grow larger and remain as a circular island or reef as the land mass of the original island erodes away. The abundant, colorful life forms that make atolls their home are important source of food and income from diving tourism.
In addition to the three atolls; Glover Reef, Lighthouse Reef, and Turneffe Islands, thousands of corals grow on the Belize Barrier Reef. A major part of the Great Mesoamerican Reef Complex, it has over one hundred coral species, over five-hundred fish species, and thousands of invertebrates. Much of this large reef has yet to be explored, so it no doubt holds many undecided species.
On
the mainland of Belize, many wetlands and lagoons are found along the coast as
well as some Belize hotels. The northern part of the country is dominated by
flat, swampy coastal plains, while the southern part of the country includes its
sole mountain range; the Maya Mountains. The Maya Mountains, a fairly low series
of mountains shared with Guatemala to the west our home to
Doyle’s Peak, the highest
elevation in Belize; the 1,124 m
(3,690 ft). This mountain and much of the highlands in the Maya
Mountains are covered with Caribbean Pine forests.To the south and east of the
Maya Mountains are flat coastal plains similar to those of the north except for
the higher amount of rainfall and subsequent taller rain forest. Rain forest is
also found in most other areas of the country, the forests of the north sharing
a pronounced dry season, fauna, and flora with that of the Yucatan Peninsula.
As for cities and towns, Belize is mostly a laid-back, rural country of small towns and farms. San Pedro on Ambergris Caye reflects this way of life with just a few thousand inhabitants. The main urban areas are coastal Belize City with a population of seventy-thousand, and Belmopan; a designed city of nineteen-thousand found near the center of the country. The decision to move the government from Belize City to an inland site was made after Hurricane Hattie destroyed much of the city in 1961. The site for Belmopan was chosen the following year, this pre-designed town declared the official capital by 1970.
Belize is an interesting mix of Central American and Caribbean cultures. Although English is the official language and is spoken at most Belize hotels, around half of Belizeans speak Spanish and other sectors of the population speak Mayan languages or Creole languages with African roots.
Mayan people still live in Belize although in much lower numbers than before conflicts with the Spanish seriously reduced their population. There are three groups of Mayans; the Yucatec that immigrated into Belize during the eighteen hundreds to escape persecution further north, and two groups that mostly reside on the southern part of the country; the Mopan and the Kekchi. Each of these groups has a distinct language that is still spoken.
The largest culture in Belize is that of Spanish speaking people who are descended from Spanish and Indigenous settlers from the Yucatan who, like the Yucatec Mayans, fled to Belize to escape war. Most of these people live in northern Belize and on the cayes, including San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, many working in the tourism industry at Belize hotels.
Historically the largest group in Belize, the one that is most identified as “Belizean”, “Kriol” people now make up only twenty-five percent of the population because so many have left the country as immigrants to the United States and Great Britain. Kriols are descended from British pirates, loggers, and Africans who were enslaved and brought to the Caribbean region. Kriol people speak patois that is a mix of English and African based languages and mostly reside in urban areas.
The other principle culture in Belize is that of the Garifuna (plural Garinagu) people. This unique culture is made up of descendants of African slaves and Indigenous Caribbean peoples who were exiled to the island of Roatan over two hundred years ago by the British, half of the Garinagu died during the voyage. After arrival on Roatan, the Garinagu realized that the small island couldn’t support their numbers and therefore petitioned the Spanish Government to be accepted as settlers in nearby coastal Honduras. The Spanish government accepted, employed them as soldiers and they eventually spread to Guatemala and Belize. The Garinagu speak a language with Arawak and Carib roots with some influence from English, French, and Spanish.
A final group of Belizeans are composed of lesser numbers of modern day immigrants from China, Taiwan, India, Lebanon, and retirees from the United States, Canada, and Europe, many of whom reside on Ambergris Caye or are owners of Belize hotels.
Modern day life in Belize
Belize is a developing country with a higher standard of living than most other Central American countries. Outside of Belize City, the economies of small towns and villages are predominately agriculture. Typical crops are sugar cane, cacao, and bananas along with corn, cassava, and plantains.
Most people either work in agriculture, or in the tourism sector; the second most important part of the economy. Although there are some resorts in Belize, much of the tourism to Belize is of the “adventure” variety that takes advantage of the country’s beauty, biodiversity, and archeological sites.
Christianity is the predominate religion of Belize, about half of Belizeans are Roman Catholic, the other half Protestant.
The country of Belize has been settled for several thousand years, the first and most enduring culture was the Mayans. According to some authorities, Mayan people have lived in Belize for at least five thousand years, their Belizean capital located in west-central Belize at Caracol. This city was a part of an empire whose central ruling government was located in Tikal; now a large, famous series of ruins and world heritage accessible from most Belize hotels as this site is found in nearby Guatemala.
Various migrations of different groups of
Mayans
occurred in Belize and throughout the Yucatan Peninsula during times of
warfare between Mayan city states. Around 850 A.D., while most areas of Europe
lacked effective central governments with people living in rather chaotic
situations, the Mayan civilization in Belize reached its peak. A timeframe often
referred to as the Late Classic Period of the Mayan Civilization, there may have
been four hundred thousand Mayans living in several organized city-states at
this time in Belize. A little more than two hundred years later, though, the
Mayan civilization began to decline everywhere, Belize included. In conjunction
with the decline of organized city states, the Yucatec-Mayans in Belize
successfully rebelled against their rulers, the Itza-Mayans. Although there are
many theories and factors involved with the decline of the formerly organized
Mayan civilization, a prolonged drought that affected most of Central America
probably had the greatest effect as this would have severely limited the
capacity to grow crops such as corn; the basic food source upon which the Mayan
civilization was built.
The next major occurrence in the history of Belize is the same as that for the entire New World; the arrival of the Spaniards. In the early fifteen hundreds, these Europeans visited Belize for the first time. Unlike modern times, however, this was not a visit where the objective was to peacefully enjoy the culture and sites of Belize, nor to stay in any Belize hotels. As with other Spanish visits to America at this time in history, the purpose was conquest and getting rich, these two objectives carried out by force if necessary. Since Mayans (like people of all cultures) did not opt for willfully giving away their lands and resources, the Spanish invaders readily took to using violence and repression to attain their goals.
For over one hundred years, the Mayans of
Belize were repressed by and fought against the Spaniards with varying degrees
of success. Famines also took their toll upon the Mayan populace, many thousands
dying and the entire Mayan population in Belize almost getting wiped out in
1637. Just five years later, with help from the Itza-Mayans, they managed to
throw the Spanish out of Belize. Although Belize was witness to the ravages of
war for another fifty years when Spaniards under Pizarro reinvaded, the Spanish
eventually gave up on their conquest of Belize.
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Thus
Belize has the distinction of being one of the only places in the Americas where
native peoples were able to successfully fight off the Spanish conquistadors.
Despite Mayan successes against invaders, the Spanish still managed to enslave many Mayans and were replaced by another European colonizer; Great Britain. Great Britain, was, however, more concerned with logging the hardwood forests of Belize as opposed to total conquest and genocide. They, nevertheless, still kept many slaves to cut down mahogany and were making such a large profit (by of course not paying for the labor), that plantation owners put loopholes into place that would keep workers in debt and labor costs low even after slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1838.
Known as “British Honduras” during it’s tenure as a British colony, the primary resource of Belize during the rest of the nineteenth and into the twentieth century continued to be tropical hardwoods such as Mahogany. The national tree of Belize, its beautiful wood can be seen in some Belize hotels. At this time, territorial disputes with Guatemala commenced and almost led to war with Great Britain on one or two occasions. This long-standing dispute over their shared border continues to the present time although in a much friendlier manner as the two countries have strengthened their ties and worked towards its resolution.
In the twentieth century, Belize also finally gained independence from Great Britain, becoming an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Since its independence, Belize has become better known as a tourist destination. As peaceful as it is beautiful, many tourists visit and stay in Belize hotels on pleasant Ambergris Caye.
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The rain forests of the Maya Mountains in the south are a good site to see the spectacular Scarlet Macaw. This rare, intelligent bird is a huge parrot brilliantly plumaged in red, yellow and blue that has increased with protection after almost being extirpated from the country by hunting.
Ecotourism is also typically combined with visits to scenic areas in the Maya Mountains that harbor many waterfalls including the 1,000 foot Hidden Valley Waterfall; the tallest cataract in Central America.
Archeological sites are also frequently included on tours, some of the most popular being Mayan ruins such as the city of Caracol in western Belize, the ancient Cerros site from the preclassic period, and the Lamanai ruins. The Lamanai ruins have the distinction of being the Mayan city that was lived in for the longest amount of time. Mayans lived there for over three thousand years, not abandoning the city until the eighteenth century. Lamanai is a testament to the attraction this land has had for thousands of years and continues to have into the present. Whether you settle in Ambergris Caye or stay in other Belize hotels, this beautiful country has something to offer for everybody.
Weather
The year round tropical weather in Belize is
an attraction on its own. Belize has daily highs in the eighties (thirties
Celsius) accompanied by plenty of tropical sunshine. The coastline feels cooler
due to the sea breezes. While some regions inland also cool from the raising
elevation. The only noticeable seasons are associated with the predictable
changes in precipitation: the rainy season also known as the “green” season, and
the dry season. Rainy season is from May to November with a tendency for a
respite in mid August. Belize is in the dry season from December to April. Even
with the small size of the country the precipitation for each region changes
drastically. Annual rainfall in Northern Belize is approximately 70 inches
compared to 150 inches in Southern Belize.
Current Radar (Refresh page to see the latest)
Click here to watch a brief movie about Belize.
Its very good !
