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Travelers who like to use their vacations to catch up on their nightlife rather than sleep will find Belize City’s scene limited at best. Although locals love to party, safety concerns keep visitors away from most nightspots except hotel bars, such as the bar at the Radisson Fort George. After dark, take a taxi, or, if driving, park in a fenced and secured lot, such as at the Riverside Tavern.
Karaoke is a craze among many Belizeans. A hugely popular, locally produced karaoke television show, Karaoke TV, has been running on Channel 5 in Belize City since 2001. Most of the hotel bars have karaoke nights once or twice a week. Even in Belize you’ll hear tried-and-true karaoke favorites such as “Crazy” by Patsy Cline and lots of Elvis and vintage Sonny and Cher, and you’ll also hear songs like “Bidi Bidi Bam Bam” by Selena and “Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston. Singers may go from country to Motown and hip-hop to funk and R&B to reggae, ska, and Latin soca. Belizean taste in music is nothing if not eclectic. At live music shows and clubs in Belize City you can hear an equally diverse mix of music, although rap in all its variations is as popular in Belize City as in Los Angeles.
One uniquely Belizean style of music is punta rock. It’s based on the traditional punta rhythms of the Garífuna, using drums, turtle shells, and rattles. In the late 1970s Pen Cayetano, a Garífuna artist in Dangriga, began writing punta songs, updating the music with an electric guitar, keyboard, and other electronic instruments. (Cayetano now lives in Germany, although he visits Belize regularly.) Punta rock, earthy and sexy, swept Belize and later became popular in other Central American countries, a result of the export of the music by the likes of Andy Palacio, “the ambassador of punta rock,” who died unexpectedly at the peak of his career in early 2008.
Bars
The bars at the upmarket hotels, particularly those at the Princess Hotel & Casino and at the Radisson Fort George, are fairly popular—and safe—places to congregate for drinks. The Bowen (Belikin beer) family-owned Riverside Tavern is a popular place to have drinks, either indoors in air-conditioned comfort or on the outside patio next to the water, as is a new bar owned by another branch of the Bowen family, Hour Bar & Grill.
Baymen’s Tavern.
This downtown bar at the Radisson Fort George is a comfortable, safe place to sip a rum and tonic, with live entertainment on weekends, usually a singer or a small band. There’s also a more casual section of the bar, on an open-air deck, with views of a garden and the sea. | Radisson Fort George Hotel,2 Marine Parade, Fort George | 223/3333.
Manatee Lookout.
Run by a Belizean who returned home after living in Canada, Manatee Lookout, a short cab ride (around BZ$8–$10) from the airport, is a place to grab a beer and chicken wings if your flight is delayed. The bar has big windows and an open-air deck overlooking the Belize River, and you might in fact see a manatee. | Mile 8½, Goldson Hwy., on Belize River ½ mile (1 km) south of international airport access road, Ladyville | 622/0630.
Riverside Tavern.
At the Riverside Tavern you can have drinks before dinner on the covered patio overlooking Haulover Creek or inside at the bar. Park your car safely in a fenced, guarded lot next to the tavern and restaurant. | 2 Mapp St., off Freetown Rd., Commercial District | 223/5640.
Casinos
Princess Hotel & Casino.
The only serious gambling in town is at the Princess Hotel & Casino, which has live tables for blackjack, roulette, and poker, along with about 400 slots. Dancers from Eastern Europe and Russia put on shows, and there are free drinks and a buffet for players. It’s open 365 days a year from noon to 4 am. You’ll have to show your passport and register (no charge) at the reception counter before you can go in. Gamble here if you like, but we don’t recommend staying at the hotel. | Newton Barracks, Marine Parade Harbor Front | 223/0638 Casino, 223/2670 Hotel | www.princessbelize.com | Daily noon–4 am.
Theaters
Bliss Center for the Performing Arts.
The main venue for theater, dance, music, and the arts in Belize City is Bliss Center for the Performing Arts, which seats 600. It’s rare to have more than one or two shows a week at the center, and most of these are local performances—a children’s dance group or a young singer’s debut concert. Concert organizers try to bring in performing talent from around the country, and on a Saturday night you could hear a Mayan singer from Toledo or a marimba band from Benque Viejo del Carmen. Most shows are in English, with Creole often mixed in. Ticket prices vary but typically range from BZ$10 to BZ$40. The Bliss Center is named after Baron Bliss, who died in 1926 while on his yacht off Belize City; he never set foot in Belize but donated his fortune to the country. | 2 Southern Foreshore, between Church and Bishop Sts., Commercial District | 227/2110 | www.nichbelize.org.
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