Ambergris Caye - Belize Vacation

Ambergris Caye is the largest of the 200-plus cayes (islands) located off the Belize coast. Only half a mile from the Belize Barrier reef, Ambergris Caye is the premier Belize destination for scuba divers and snorkelers.

Ambergris Caye - The Island

Ambergris Caye offers a wide variety of water-oriented activities - swimming, fishing, sailing, windsurfing, and jet-skiing - as well as nature hiking, bird-watching, bicycling and even a Mayan ruin site. Accommodations and restaurants are available for all budget levels. Ambergris Caye receives cooling tradewinds most of the year, which keeps the temperature down and the mosquitos away.

Ambergris Caye is twenty-five miles long; its width ranges from a few hundred feet to over four miles. Northern Ambergris Caye is separated from the southernmost tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula by a small channel.

Since 1989, archeologists have been studying Marco Gonzalez, a Mayan ruin site located near the southern tip of Ambergris Caye. The site is located in what is now a mangrove swamp; but the archeologists have determined that when the town was founded around 200 BC, the sea level was much lower and the environment quite different than it is today. It is believed that Marco Gonzalez was once a prosperous town and important Mayan trading center. Building and pottery remains indicate that the town reached its peak from 1150-1300 AD and began to decline thereafter, although a few Mayan families remained when the Spanish arrived in the mid-fifteenth century.

Pirates and Fishing

Ambergris Caye was a favorite hiding place of English pirates during the 17th century. In the mid-18th century, refugees fleeing civil war in the Yucatan Peninsula migrated to Ambergris Caye. The primary economic activities were fishing and coconut production. In the early 20th century, the fishermen of Ambergris established cooperatives and San Pedro became a prosperous fishing community. Tourists began visiting Ambergris in small numbers in the early 1960's and began growing rapidly in the 1980's. A recent editor from U.S. Boat Magazine describes Ambergris Caye thus:

"A week gives you enough time to get in some wonderful sailing, but if you can stretch it to ten days to three weeks, you'll have a chance to see the interior of Belize, too. You should begin your trip by flying into Belize City and then hopping on a small plane to Ambergris Cay, to pick up your boat. The flight to Ambergris Cay alone is reason enough to visit Belize, as you gaze far below at the many-colored reef and three of only four coral atolls in the Western Hemisphere - Turneffe Islands and Lighthouse and Glovers Reefs.

Provisioning your boat is easy in San Pedro on Ambergris Cay, where you'll find grocery stores that carry many of the same foods you can get in the United States, plus real delicacies like papaya, mangoes and -- believe it or not --canned bacon. Everyone drinks Belikan beer, and it's good to bring some extra on board to trade for fish, in the off chance you don't catch any yourself.

While you're in San Pedro, you might want to buy some souvenirs. Unlike the eastern Caribbean, there's little glitz and glitter here and no duty-free shopping. Instead, you'll find some great wood carvings, hand-woven baskets, wonderful paintings and homemade hot sauces that will leave you gasping. (Try one that uses papaya.) Hardly anyone leaves Belize without a Belikin T-shirt."

Ambergris Caye - The Town

San Pedro Town, located in the south of Ambergris Caye, is about a mile long and only a few blocks wide. The streets are sand, which is great for walking around barefoot and bad for motor vehicles. There are few cars; instead, the vehicles of choice (besides feet and bikes) are electric golf carts, which are available for rent. San Pedro is a laid-back town, and most of the activity happens near the waterfront.

There are many restaurants specializing in fresh seafood (lobster and conch are plentiful and inexpensive when in season) and the Belizean national dish (spicy stewed chicken, served with a delicious rice and bean combination cooked with coconut juice.) Mexican, Italian, and Chinese food are also available, as well as pizza. The best bargains in town are the freshly made tacos, rice and beans sold by the street vendors in the evenings, and the Lions Club steak and chicken barbecue held every Friday and Saturday night.

The town has several bars and three full-fledged discos for dancing off your dinner. Musicians from the mainland are sometimes brought to San Pedro for Saturday night beach parties, where everyone is invited; no-host bars are set up on the beach for these events. Several important fiestas are held in San Pedro each year; the biggest one is the Costa Maya Festival, a six-day event that showcases a different Central American country each year.