Expert: Jamie Rivers - 2/12/2011

Question
Hi Jamie,

I hope you can help me figure out the best way to sight see, and how to search/find a good company that is able to educate me more about the beautiful country of Belize, while driving us through the country.

I have a two day conference in Belize City.  From there, I take a quick flight to San Pedro Town. That is supposed to be home base. That can change depending on your advice.

The third day I will sight see the Ambergris Caye. On the fourth day I like to tour for the day from San Pedro Town to to Palencia and Cayo Villages.  On the fifth day, I would like to have a Real Estate Person spend some time with us. On the sixth day, strictly RandR.

My question is how should I go about seeing/planing for the fourth day tour?  I travel from San Pedro Town to the southern area of Belize?

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.
Warm regards,
Lori Ann

Answer
Hi Lori Ann,

You sound like you have quite a bit planned for your trip! While San Pedro/Ambergris is a great place to vacation, I wouldn't recommend it as a home base if you are trying to see mainland Belize in such a short period of time.

While Belize is a small country, the infrastructure and roads make for slower travel than you are used to in the US. You could possibly get from Ambergris to Placencia and back if you were able to charter a flight (I know Ambergris has an air strip, but I'm not sure if you can actually fly into Placencia). Otherwise, it will take you a full day of travel, if not more depending on boat and bus schedules, just to get to Placencia. There is no ferry directly to Placencia, so you would have to take a boat from Ambergris to Belize City (which will take 45 minutes to an hour and a half) and then catch a bus or hire a driver to take you to Dangriga (2 1/2-3 hours). Placencia is a peninsula, so from Dangriga you can take a boat or catch one of two daily buses that drive the peninsula. And then you'd have to do the whole thing over again to get back to San Pedro. Either way, I can't imagine any way you'd be able to do it without making it at least a 2 day trip and even then, you would just be traveling there and back without time to spend in Placencia. Keep in mind that while the people of Belize are welcoming and friendly, they run on 'Central American time' and just because a bus or a boat is supposed to leave or arrive at a certain time, that may or may not happen! Everything moves just a little bit slower and scheduled times are not set in stone.


If you'd really like to see Southern Belize, I would suggest skipping San Pedro and heading south after your conference. To see Placencia and some Cayo villages, you will most likely spend 3 to 4 days getting from Belize City to the south and back.

If you'd like to see San Pedro and Ambergris (and I assume you're meeting with a real estate agent on Ambergris?) may I suggest sticking with your plan to make San Pedro your home base, but touring a little closer to the Caye? From Ambergris there are quite a few options for day tours depending on what you'd like to see. Sticking to the cayes will give you a glimpse into Afro-Caribbean Belize while heading inland towards Guatemala or north towards Mexico will introduce you to Maya culture. You can easily get to archaeological ruins from Belize City, you can travel up the river into the mainland by boat, or you can take a boat to nearby cayes (my favorite, and also the closest to Ambergris, is Caye Caulker).  

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions about anything I suggested. It's really interesting to go from the cayes, or even Belize City, further into the country towards Guatemala and see how drastically the people, the culture, and the language change.

Happy travels!

Jamie