Hi I’m going to Belize In Dec
For anyone that has gone to Belize advice please …. Im deciding between Ambergris Cays and PLACENCIA
Im thinking AMBERGRIS CAYE because the flights are less and I want a big selection for restaurants. I still want to hear opinions as I have never been to both. If I stay at Ambergris Cays I will be staying at Belizean Shores resort or at Cocotal Inn and Cabanas… if anyone has any advice between the two please let me know

Are there any tours I should pre book to get deals ??? Or just go with the moment while I’m there ??? Thank you everyone !!!

Idk how long you have but why not do both?
There are lots of tasty options in Placencia as well! Loved the tipsy tuna! Placencia has a more laid back vide, whereas San Pedro is more hussle bussle/ party. San Pedro has nicer sand but there is a ton of seaweed. You basically need to enter the water off the docks if you want to go in further than your knees. In Placencia the sand is coarse the the sea bottom is perfect.
Both are good options it just depends on what your looking for. No need to book tours before you arrive. They are plentiful. I would bet the ones you find online would be more expensive anyway. ( I don't actually know that, it's just a feeling I have.)
Also if you have time I highly suggest San Ignacio. There are so many cool tours you can do there. I found it was a lot more fun then the beach destinations! But if you're looking for a lazy beach week your better off in San Pedro or Placencia!
Enjoy your trip! I love Belize! Have a stuffed fryjack, Belikin, Marie Sharp's, and a rum for me

Kayla I was going to write pretty much this too! We loved San Ignacio!

Terri SAME!!! I think I could live in San Ignacio!

Kayla yup!

we stayed in air bnbs and would never do a hotel in Belize!
For snorkeling we went with the guy 2 houses down from our airbnb and it was incredible! We were the only 2 on the reef! This was in hopkins. In San Pedro we splurged and stayed at our boutique Hotel

Terri I was told I have to stay in a gold star covid approved hotel :((((

Margaret no way! Lol. Belize was incredibly friendly the airbnbs we stayed at were amazing! One host made us supper with the fish we caught. Another drank rum with us on their amazing patio overlooking the jungle at sunset. And the boutique Hotel was amazing just being there ahaha

Margaret we also had our one host set us up with a taxi from one location to the next so we could do some sightseeing along the way. I am not sure I would do Belize any other way!

Margaret yes. With COVID you have to do everything Gold Standard certified. Hotels, vrbo, airbnb, transportation, restaurants. We had to change two of our booked airbnb’s because they weren’t Gold Standard. We go in February, and our westjet direct flights have been canceled, so we have to go through Toronto now.

Kayla I’m going for one week only, plane
is 500 from Belize city to San Pedro and 700 to PLACENCIA. I’m not sure the amount from cays to placencia ??
I don’t party I just enjoy snorkeling and sight seeing and eating yummy foods

Margaret keep in mind that you also have the water taxi option from Belize City to Ambergris. It’s much more affordable than Tropic Air.

Margaret what currency is that? That seems so expensive! I flew from Caye caulker to Placencia for about 200cad. But that was years ago. There's a really nice reef between San Pedro and Caye Caulker. I've taken the ferry from the city to Caye Caulker and San Pedro on different occasions. For that price I would take the ferry. It's not that bad. I've definitely been on worse. You could consider Caye Caulker as well. I've traveled a lot and I can definitely say that place is unique! We dive and found the prices cheaper on Caye Caulker vs San Pedro. That was almost 8 years ago tho

Margaret so I was curious about why those flights are so expensive and I came up with 157usd per person round trip on tropic air

Kayla maybe because I’m going at Xmas ??? Or using a travel agent ??

I will look up tropical air

Margaret

Margaret what's the reasoning for the good standard thing? I've never even heard of that.We're headed to Mérida Mexico for 5 weeks and just staying in a airbnb like normal.

Kayla it is a Belize government thing. Mexico is fine. When we arrive in Belize, apparently we have to indicate from a list which Gold Standard accommodations we will be staying in. We went to Mexico in October, and just had to do the Mexican Arrival app and the ArriveCan app, and have our PCR test to come home.

Kayla it’s a thing you have to do now in Belize which makes things very expensive!!!!

Covid related

Margaret we didn’t find our Gold Standard airbnb’s and vrbo’s any more expensive than the non~gold standard, just fewer to choose from. Maybe hotels are more expensive, but we didn’t book any hotels. We have never been to Belize before, so maybe things are more expensive than they used to be, but we don’t have anything to compare to.

Donna I’m still planning and it looks like the places I’m finding are between 200-300 a night but I didn’t know there were gold star airbnb’s

We went 3 years ago the Cayes are more touristy. I would honestly do both!

Terri how do you do both are the close to each other how did you travel ?

Margaret there is a island air company that you can fly takes about a hour. Google Belize airlines they will come up!

I love Belize as well. As for Ambergris, we only caught a ferry from Caye Caulker to spend a few hours in San Pedro. That was enough for me as I found it very loud and busier than I wanted. I can’t speak for the rest of the caye.
We stayed in the village in Placencia, right on the water. Tons of restaurants to choose from, all within walking distance. Beautiful sand as far as you can see which we normally wouldn’t get on an island as they need a sea wall to stop erosion.
To throw some more options out there, we loved Caye Caulker. It’s so much more laid back than Ambergris, but still you have all the choices for restaurants and tours.
Hopkins may still be my favorite. We’ve stayed right in the village, not down by the expats and bigger resorts. Still lots to see and many places to eat but you get way more local feel.
Stayed in Dangriga overnight to catch a skiff in the morning out to my happy place, Tobacco Caye. You really should look at that tiny island for a couple days to disconnect. It is right on the reef and you can walk all the way around it in 10 minutes.
Our last visit we also checked out Corozal in northern Belize. It’s less of a tourist destination and right on a bay rather than on the sea. Took a boat down the river to check out some impressive Mayan ruins. Likely won’t go back to Corozal.
I know that’s a lot of information. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message. We’ve been 4 or 5 times, the last couple for three weeks. Would love to eventually spend a few months every winter.

Loved ambergris caye. Stayed in a hostel right on the beach. Went to local shops a couple of streets back. Snorkeling, bike rentals, its all right there. Take the flight from the mainland, not the boat.

Patsy I wish I could stay some where like that to bring down the price but it’s not allowed right now

Margaret haven't been away for some time so not even teasing myself by looking . Check out hostelling int'l. 35 bucks for a 3 yr pass. Once I start travelling again, will buy the lifetime. So many amazing places to stay - and ypu meet the most amazing people! The kitchens of these places become a mini UN of nations. There is nothing quite like it.

Patsy yes now you need to pre book show the government you are booked in with approved gold star hotels or bmb which are $170-350

Margaret patience is definitely needed. Wont always be like this.

Patsy yes lots of patience but it will be worth it

I’ve been several times and caye caulker wins in my books

Margaret you got some very good information here! Wish I had known this when we went. We took water taxi from Chetamul MX (bus from Cancun stayed 1 night @ Chetumal) because only 1 water taxi/day. We stayed 10 days @ Caye Caulker and visited San Pedro. SAN Pedro is verrrry busy. No cars; the streets are filled with golf carts. I didn’t like it at all. We enjoyed 8 days @ Cay Caulker. No cars @ Cay Caulker, a few golf carts. Even the taxi is a golf cart
. We had bicycles @ our place Canuck Cottage. Dinning out or trying to cook for yourself is very expensive. The pie lady (vendor on the street) is a must; a tomale guy too.
If I went again I would take some of the above recommendations minus San Pedro, Ambergris Caye and Belize City.

Robbin in what area was the most expensive for dinning ?

Margaret Caye Caulker and San Pedro is where we went. People told us before we went it was super expensive and I thought it was their opinion more than fact. It is expensive and in US dollars. PS our accommodations had some spices and oil, we tried buying groceries to cook, but groceries too are expensive due to everything has to be flown in.

When we went a few years ago we went to placencia, San Ignacio, San Pedro and caye caulker all in 10 days or so. Best trip ever, each place has something different to offer. We had a tour booked each day almost

Tammy I really want to go for 10 days but I’m going for 7nights :(( I’m jealous

I love San Pedro! So many places to eat. And eat at some local places where you see people lined up it is the best

We love Belize too!! Lots of great suggestions in these comments!! Hope you have a great trip. We were actually looking at some of our photos from our last trip there just the other day. P

John Tunks Lots of recommendations in this thread.

Also, does anyone know about where to get PCR tests done in San Ignacio and what the cost is?

I was surprised how little actual BEACH there was in Ambergris. Some right downtown. Hotels along the Caye we're mostly docks and turtle grass (there are a few exceptions). I would pick Placencia next time, but haven't been.

Greg did you go to caye caulker ??? Are you able to just walk in the water and snorkel without having to get a boat ?

Margaret just did the ferry stop at Caulker. Looked quaint. Not much beach there either except by the end of town.
Snorkelling - we did a glass bottom boat tour out to the main snorkel sites (Hol Chan etc..). At our hotel a bit up the Caye you could take a kayak to the reef a couple hundred meters (?) out tie up and snorkel but we didn't.

Margaret no.

Greg thank u that helps I think I’m switching my mind I think I will start at PLACENCIA

Anyone had the pcr testing ? Thinking of Caye Caulker early February but first time to Belize