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Welcome to The Cayes and Atolls

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By Lan Sluder

Imagine heading back to shore after a day of snorkeling, the white prow of your boat pointing up toward the billowing clouds, the sky’s base darkening to deep lilac, spray from the green water pouring over you like warm rain. To the left, San Pedro’s pastel buildings huddle among the palm trees like a detail from a Paul Klee canvas. To the right, the surf breaks in a white seam along the reef.

You can experience such adventures off the coast of Belize, where more than 400 cayes dot the Caribbean Sea like punctuation marks in a long, liquid sentence. A caye, sometimes spelled “cay” but in either case pronounced “key,” is simply an island. It can be a small spit of sand, a tangled watery web of mangroves, or, as in the case of Ambergris Caye, a 25-mile-long (41-km-long) island about half the size of Barbados. (Ambergris is locally pronounced Am-BUR-griss.)

Besides being Belize’s largest island, Ambergris Caye is also Belize’s top visitor destination. Around half of all visitors to Belize make at least a stop at Ambergris, and many visit only this island.

Ambergris Caye is easy to get to from Belize City by water taxi or a quick commuter flight. It has the largest concentration of hotels, from budget spots to the ultra-deluxe, and the most (and some of the best) restaurants in Belize. Although the island’s beaches may not compare to classically beautiful beaches of the Yucatán or the main Caribbean, Ambergris has miles and miles of beachfront on the east or Caribbean side, and the amazing Belize Barrier Reef is just a few hundred yards offshore.

Though it’s developing fast, San Pedro, the only real town on Ambergris Caye, still remains mostly laid-back and low-rise. In spite of the growth in tourism, Sanpedranos remain authentically friendly and welcoming to visitors. Some of the main streets have concrete cobblestones, but most side streets are hard-packed sand. Golf carts are the main form of transportation, although the number of cars on the island continues to rise, and in some areas of downtown the traffic on the narrow streets is really bad and dangerous to pedestrians.

Caye Caulker is Ambergris Caye’s sister island—smaller, less developed, and a cheaper date. Caulker, whose name derives from the Spanish word for coco plum, hicaco, has the kind of laid-back, sandy-street, tropical-color, low-key Caribbean charm that some travelers pay thousands to experience. Here it can be had almost for peanuts. Less than 10 miles (16 km)—about 30 minutes by boat—from San Pedro, Caye Caulker, sometimes called Caye Corker, is definitely worth a day visit.

Most of Belize’s cayes are inside the Barrier Reef, which allowed them to develop undisturbed by tides and winds that would otherwise have swept them away. The vast majority of them are uninhabited but for pelicans, brown- and red-footed boobies, and some creatures curiously named wish-willies (a kind of iguana). Island names are evocative and often humorous: Wee Caye, Laughing Bird Caye, and—why ask why?—Bread and Butter Caye. Names can suggest the company you should expect: Mosquito Caye, Sandfly Caye, and Crawl Caye, which is supposedly infested with boa constrictors. Several, like Cockney Range or Baker’s Rendezvous, simply express the whimsy or nostalgia of early British settlers.

Farther out to sea, between 30 miles and 45 miles (48 km and 74 km) off the coast, are Belize’s atolls, Glovers (or Glover’s), Lighthouse, and Turneffe, impossibly beautiful when viewed from the air. There are only four true Pacific-style atolls in the Americas, and Belize has three of them (the fourth is Chinchorro, off Mexico). At their center the water is mint green: the white sandy bottom reflects the light upward and is flecked with patches of mangrove and rust-color sediment. Around the atoll’s fringe the surf breaks in a white circle before the color changes abruptly to ultramarine as the water plunges to 3,000 feet.

Top Reasons to Go to the Cayes and Atolls

Scuba Diving. Dive destinations are often divided into reefs and atolls. Most reef diving is done on Belize’s northern section, particularly off Ambergris Caye, but head to the atolls for some of the world’s greatest diving opportunities.

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem. Unlike some parts of the mainland, the cayes are all about relaxing. “Go Slow” street signs dot the sandy roads, and you spend a lot of time lazing in hammocks or sipping beer in a beachside palapa alongside vacationing Belizeans.

Snorkeling. You don’t have to don scuba gear to enjoy the colorful fish and psychedelic vistas under the surface of the sea. Some of the best snorkeling in the Caribbean is off the coast of Belize. Jump in a boat for a short ride out to the reef or to patch coral.

Good Eats. Because they attract so many free-spending tourists, Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker have more restaurants than anywhere else in Belize, and some of the best, too.

Beaches. While not your typical wide, sandy spreads, they’re still classic postcard material, with windswept coco palms facing expanses of turquoise, green, and purple waters. You’ll usually have a front-row seat, because most hotels in all price ranges are actually right on the beach.

Getting Oriented

Belize’s two most important cayes, Ambergris and Caulker, are both off the northern end of the country, easily reached from Belize City. Other, smaller cayes dot the Caribbean Sea off the coast all the way south to Punta Gorda. The Belize Barrier Reef runs all along most of the coast of Belize. You’re closest to the reef when you’re on a beach on North Ambergris Caye. As you go south, the reef is farther from shore, 20 miles (12 km) or more off the Southern Coast. The three atolls are outside the reef, as much as 45 miles (74 km) offshore.

The Cayes. Ranging from tiny stretches of sand, mangrove, and palms to large islands like Ambergris and Caulker, Belize’s cayes have excellent swimming, diving, fishing, and snorkeling.

The Atolls. Ovals of coral, majestic and remote, Belize’s three atolls offer some of the best diving and snorkeling in the Western Hemisphere. The catch? They’re difficult and time-consuming to get to, typically requiring a two-hour boat ride on open seas.

Planning

When to Go

Island weather tends to be a little different from that on the mainland. The cayes are generally drier. Storm squalls come up suddenly, but just as quickly they’re gone, leaving sunny skies behind. Late summer and early fall are prime tropical-storm season, a time when island residents keep a worried eye out for hurricanes; more than eight out of ten hurricanes that hit Belize arrive in either September or October. If a hurricane does threaten, the cayes are evacuated. The Christmas to Easter period, when the northern climes are cold and blustery, is the most popular time to visit the islands.

Getting Here and Around

Island hopping in the northern cayes is simple, though getting to other cayes and the atolls can be more complicated. Water taxis connect Belize City, Ambergris Caye, and Caye Caulker. There is also frequent air service between Belize City and San Pedro and Caye Caulker. For the other cayes, you’re generally stuck with whatever boat transport your hotel provides. Once on the islands, you’ll get around by golf cart, bike, or on foot.

Air Travel

Maya Island Airways and Tropic Air operate flights between both the international and municipal airports in Belize City and Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. Each airline has roughly hourly service during daylight hours to and from the cayes. One-way fares on either Tropic and Maya Island to either San Pedro or Caye Caulker for the 15- to 20-minute flight are about BZ$83 (municipal) and BZ$144 (international). To the cayes, you save more than 40% by flying from the municipal airport in Belize City rather than the international airport north of the city. The catch is that if arriving or departing internationally you have to transfer by cab between the two airports—about a 25-minute ride—and a cab is BZ$50 (for the taxi, not per-person), so unless you’re in a group of three or more the extra hassle may not be worth the savings. TIP Both airlines usually offer a 10% discount if you pay cash rather than use a credit card, and sometimes more. But you’ll have to ask for the discount, which only applies in person, not online, and usually not on Saturdays.

Boat, Ferry, and Water-Taxi Travel

There are no scheduled water-taxi services up and down the coast of Belize, so for example you can’t hop a boat in Belize City and go down the coast to Hopkins or Placencia or to one of the southern cayes. Likewise, except from Belize City, and between busy Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, there is no scheduled boat service to or between Belize’s cayes. There is limited water-taxi service to these northern cayes from Corozal and from Chetumal, Mexico.

Several private boats do make the run from Dangriga to Tobacco Caye for around BZ$35–BZ$50 per person one-way. They leave Dangriga around 9:30 am and return from Tobacco Caye in late morning or the afternoon. Check at the Riverside Café in Dangriga or ask your hotel on Tobacco Caye.

Other than that, you’re generally left to your own devices for private boat transportation to the cayes. You can charter a small boat with driver—typically BZ$600 and up a day—or negotiate a one-way or round-trip price, up to BZ$800–BZ$1,500 or more one-way to the atolls. (Gas is about BZ$12 a gallon, and boats capable of handling the open water to the atolls have big dual or triple outboards.) You’ll have little luck renting a powerboat on your own, as boat owners are reluctant to risk their crafts, and new laws require that you need a captain’s license before you can operate a boat in Belize waters (sailing charters are excepted).

Belize City to San Pedro and Caye Caulker

There are three main water-taxi companies—Caye Caulker Water Taxi Association, San Pedro Belize Express, and Water Jets International—with fast boats that hold 50 to 100 passengers, connecting Belize City with San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) and Caye Caulker. They also connect San Pedro and Caye Caulker. From Belize City it’s a 45-minute ride to Caulker and 75 minutes to San Pedro. Going between Caulker and San Pedro takes about 30 minutes. There’s also a new premium water taxi service, Tropic Ferry, that meets you at the international airport and takes you from its dock near the airport to your resort on Ambergris Caye.

Caye Caulker Water Taxi Association.
Caye Caulker Water Taxi Assocation boats leave from the Marine Terminal at 10 North Front Street in Belize City. Despite the Caulker name, there are around six or seven boats per day to and from both San Pedro and Caye Caulker. On both Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye the Water Jets International terminals are on piers on the front (sea) side of the islands. | Marine Terminal,12 N. Front St., near Swing Bridge | Belize City | 223/5752 in Belize City, 226/0992 in Caye Caulker | www.cayecaulkerwatertaxi.com | BZ$30 one-way between Belize City and San Pedro; BZ$20 between Belize City and Caye Caulker; BZ$20 between San Pedro and Caye Caulker.

Riverside Café.
This local café on the river in Dangriga is a place to meet local boat owners and arrange transportation to Tobacco Caye. | Riverside & Oak Sts., west side of North Stann Creek River | Dangriga | 661/6390 | Daily 7 am–9 pm.

San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi.
San Pedro Belize Express water taxis depart from the Brown Sugar terminal on North Front Street. On Caye Caulker, San Pedro Belize Express boats arrive at the pier near the basketball court on Front Street, and in San Pedro they arrive at the pier at Black Coral Street on the east (sea) side of the island. They also provide daily service between the Muelle Fiscal or municipal pier in Chetumal, Mexico, and San Pedro and Caye Caulker. | 111 N. Front St., Brown Sugar Terminal | San Pedro | 223/2225 in Belize City, 226/3535 in San Pedro | www.belizewatertaxi.com | BZ$20 one-way between Belize City and Caye Caulker; BZ$30 one-way between Belize City and San Pedro; BZ$20 one-way between San Pedro and Caye Caulker; BZ$75 one-way between San Pedro and Chetumal.

Tropic Ferry.
The Tropic Ferry provides a premium ferry service between the international airport near Belize City and most resorts on Ambergris Caye. A ferry representative meets you at the airport for a short ride to the dock in Ladyville. It’s around a 90-minute trip to your destination on Ambergris Caye. You’ll get a complimentary rum punch en route. Rates for this service are somewhat higher than a flight to San Pedro. (This water taxi service is unrelated to Tropic Air, one of the domestic Belize airlines.) | 1659 Yellowtail Snapper Dr., Vista del Mar | Ladyville | 631/9253 | www.tropicferry.com | BZ$170 per person one-way or BZ$270 round-trip between Belize international airport and your hotel on San Pedro.

Water Jets International.
Water Jets International boats, also confusingly known as San Pedro Water Jets Express, leave from the Marine Terminal at 10 North Front Street in Belize City. There are around six boats per day to and from San Pedro and Caye Caulker. On both Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye the Water Jets International terminals are on the back (lagoon) side of the islands. They also provide daily service (sometimes every-other-day off-season) between the Muelle Fiscal or municipal pier in Chetumal, Mexico, and San Pedro and Caye Caulker. | 10 N. Front St., Marine Terminal | Belize City | 226/2194 | www.sanpedrowatertaxi.com | One-way fares are BZ$24 between Belize City and Caye Caulker; BZ$35 between Belize City and San Pedro; BZ$24 between San Pedro and Caye Caulker; BZ$80 between San Pedro and Chetumal.

Corozal

Thunderbolt.
Thunderbolt has round-trip service between Corozal Town and San Pedro Friday through Monday. (Off-season service may be reduced or eliminated.) The trip takes 90 minutes to two hours, depending on weather conditions. The boat stops in Sarteneja on demand. In Corozal, the Thunderbolt arrives and leaves at the Reunion Pier in the center of town; in San Pedro it arrives and leaves at the dock on Black Coral Street on the back side of the island near the soccer field. | Reunion Pier | Corozal Town | 610/4475 boat captain’s cell, 422/0026 landline in Corozal Town | BZ$45 one-way | No service Tues.–Thurs.; service may be reduced off-season.

Up and Down Ambergris Caye

Coastal Xpress.
Coastal Xpress provides scheduled ferry service up and down the island. It offers about a dozen daily trips between the Amigos del Mar pier in town and Pelican Reef hotel in the south, and the same number between Amigos del Mar and Blue Reef Island Resort in the north, with stops and pick-ups on demand at all private docks and hotels and restaurants. At this writing, service starts at 5:30 am and ends around 2:15 am. Coastal Xpress also offers charter boat service to other cayes and coastal locations. Ferry schedule and service is subject to change—check locally for updates. | Amigos del Mar Pier, Beachfront | San Pedro | 226/2007 | www.coastalxpress.com | BZ$8–BZ$40; weekly pass also available.

Golf Cart Travel

On Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker there are no car rentals, but you can rent a golf cart. Most carts are gas-powered. Golf-cart rentals cost about as much as a car rental in the United States—around BZ$120 a day, or BZ$500–BZ$550 a week, plus 12.5% tax. Golf-cart-rental companies spring up like weeds, and many hotels have a few carts to rent. Compare prices and ask for discounts.

Contacts
Castle Cars. | 1 Barrier Reef Dr., | San Pedro | 670/2624 | castlecars@btl.net.
Cholo’s Golf Cart Rentals. Cholo’s has a fleet of more than 100 four- and six-seat rental carts, with four-seater gas cart rates BZ$120 per day or BZ$560 per week, plus 12.5% tax. | Jewfish St., behind police and fire stations, | San Pedro | 226/2406 | www.choloscartrentals.com.
Island Adventures Golf Cart Rentals. Island Adventures rents four-seater gas carts for BZ$120 a day or BZ$500 per week, plus 12.5% tax. | Coconut Dr., near airstrip, | San Pedro | 226/4343 | www.islandgolfcarts.com.
Moncho’s Cart Rentals. Moncho’s rent four-seater gas carts for BZ$146 per day or BZ$619 per week, including tax. | 11 Coconut Dr., near airstrip, | San Pedro | 226/3262 | www.sanpedrogolfcartrental.com.

Taxi Travel

Regular taxicabs are available in San Pedro and in the developed area south of town on Ambergris Caye. Most trips in and close to town are BZ$10 for up to four persons. For trips north of the bridge over Boca del Rio, cabs charge BZ$25–BZ$50, including the BZ$12 vehicle bridge fee. Currently, taxis go only as far as Las Terrazas. Have your hotel arrange for a cab, or hail one of the cabs cruising the downtown area. On Caulker there are golf-cart taxis, which charge BZ$5–BZ$10 per person for most trips.

Health and Safety

In San Pedro Town and nearby, the water comes from a municipal water system and is safe to drink, although most people including local residents prefer to drink bottled water. On North Ambergris, water may come from cisterns or wells. On Caye Caulker the water, sometimes from brackish shallow wells, may smell of sulfur. A new village reverse osmosis system began operation in 2011, but not everyone is on it. If in doubt, drink bottled water. On other remote cayes, the water usually comes from cisterns. Stick to the bottled stuff, unless you’re assured that the water is potable. To be green, you can buy water in large one- or five-gallon bottles and refill your carry-around bottle rather than throwing away liter bottles after use; you’ll save a little money, too.

In terms of crime risk, the cayes are among the safest areas of Belize. However, petty thefts—and sometimes worse—do happen. With some 20,000 people on Ambergris Caye, if you count tourists and itinerant workers, the island has the same crime problems, including rapes and murders, as any area of similar population. There are drugs, including crack cocaine, on both Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye. Ignore any offers to buy drugs, even marijuana, which, while widely used in Belize, is still illegal, and police do make arrests for weed.

Emergencies

The San Pedro Lions Poly Clinic and the public San Pedro Dr. Otto Rodriquez Poly Clinic II on Ambergris Caye have services just short of a full-scale hospital. They are open weekdays 8–8 and Saturday 8–noon. Doctors and nurses are on 24-hour call. Three or four other clinics and private medical practices, four pharmacies, a chiropractic clinic, several dentists, and a hyperbaric chamber (affiliated with many Belize dive shops) are also on the island. For serious medical emergencies, patients are usually transferred to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, the nation’s main public referral hospital, in Belize City, or to one of the private hospitals in Belize City, Belize Medical Associates or Belize Healthcare Partners.

On Caye Caulker the Caye Caulker Health Center is usually staffed by a volunteer doctor from Cuba. For dental care or serious ailments you need to go to Belize City. There are no medical facilities on any of the other cayes, but if you have an emergency, call your embassy or contact Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, Belize Medical Associates, or Belize Healthcare Partners.

Astrum Helicopters provides emergency airlift services.

For police emergencies, call 911. On marine radios, channel 16 is the international distress channel.

Clinics
Caye Caulker Health Center. | Estrella St., | Caye Caulker | 226/0166.
San Carlos Medical Clinic, Pharmacy and Laboratory. San Carlos Medical Clinic is a private medical clinic, pharmacy, and laboratory, operated by Dr. Giovanni Solarzano. | Pescador Dr., | San Pedro | 226/2918.
San Pedro Dr. Otto Rodriquez Poly Clinic II. The government clinic has three physicians, two health nurses/midwives, two practical nurses, two registered nurses, a dentist with a volunteer assistant, a lab technician, a pharmacist, an assistant pharmacist, and two caretakers, along with administrative staff. | San Pedro Dr. Otto Rodriquez Poly Clinic, | San Pedro | 226/2536 | Weekdays 8–8; Sat. 8–noon.
San Pedro Lions Polyclinic. The San Pedro Lions Clinic is supported by the local Lions Club. | Near airstrip, | San Pedro | 226/4052 office number, 600/9071 for emergencies | Weekdays 8–8; Sat. 8–noon.
Subaquatics of Belize. This is the only hyperbaric chamber in Belize. The hyperbaric clinic is a part of the international SSS Recompression Chamber Network with locations also in Mexico, the Bahamas, Galapagos Islands, Thailand, and Germany. | Near airstrip,11 Lion St., | San Pedro | 226/2851 | www.sssnetwork.com.

Money Matters

Most of Belize’s banks operate on Ambergris Caye: Atlantic Bank, Belize Bank, Heritage Bank, and ScotiaBank. Most are open weekdays from 8 until around 3 pm, with longer hours on Friday afternoon. A couple also are open on Saturday morning. All the local banks except Heritage Bank accept ATM cards issued outside Belize, giving cash in Belize dollars. Belize Bank alone has six ATMs around San Pedro. Still, on busy weekends some ATM machines run out of money, so don’t wait until you’re down to your last shilling to get cash. Cash advances on your Visa or MasterCard are also available from these banks. In addition to these commercial banks, Ambergris Caye also has offices of several international banks (offshore banks) that do not offer retail financial services to local customers. On Caye Caulker there’s just one bank, Atlantic Bank, but it has two ATM machines on the island. There are no banks on any other islands.

About the Restaurants

Ambergris Caye has the biggest selection of restaurants of any destination in Belize, and among them are some of the country’s best. They range from simple beach barbecue joints to upscale, sophisticated eateries, where, especially if you eat lobster, you can spend BZ$100 a person or more, including a drink or two or wine. You have a wide choice of kinds of food on Ambergris: seafood, of course, but also steak, pizza, sushi, tapas, Chinese, Italian, Thai, Mexican, and French.

Caye Caulker has a number of small bistros where fish arrives at your table fresh from the ocean, and sometimes you find yourself eating with your feet in the sand. On other islands you’re usually limited to eating at your dive lodge or resort.

On both Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye street vendors set up barbecue grills along Front Street and on the beachfront and cook chicken, fish, shrimp, and lobster. Use your own judgment, but we’ve found in almost all cases the food from these vendors is safe, tasty, and inexpensive.

About the Hotels

The more budget-oriented cayes, such as Tobacco and Caulker, have mostly small hotels and simple cabins, often built of wood and typically without any amenities beyond a fan or two, though this is changing on Caulker, which now has a number of somewhat upscale hotels. At the other end, notably on Ambergris Caye, are luxurious resorts and deluxe “condotels” (condo developments where individual owners rent their units on a daily basis through a management company) and an increasing number of vacation villas, usually rented by the week. Nearly all accommodations on Ambergris Caye have air-conditioning, and most also have swimming pools. Regardless of which caye you’re staying on, lodgings have several things in common: they’re small (usually fewer than 30 or 40 rooms), low-rise (nearly all have three stories or fewer), and almost always are directly on the water.

Off-season (typically May to around Thanksgiving), most island hotels, except some budget hotels, reduce rates by around 20% to 40%.

Hotel and Restaurant Prices

Prices in the restaurant reviews are the average cost of a main course at dinner or, if dinner is not served, at lunch; taxes and service charges are generally included. Prices in the hotel reviews are the lowest cost of a standard double room in high season, excluding taxes, service charges, and meal plans (except at all-inclusives). Prices for rentals are the lowest per-night cost for a one-bedroom unit in high season.

Tours

From Ambergris and Caulker, and from smaller cayes with advance planning, you can do day trips to the mainland to see Mayan ruins, try cave tubing, visit the Belize Zoo, and do other activities. However, because you have to get from the islands to the mainland and then to your destination, the cost will be higher than if you did the tour from a closer point.

Day-Sails

Contacts
Raggamuffin Tours | 226/0348 | www.raggamuffintours.com.SEArious Adventures | 226/4202 | www.seariousadventures.com.

Mayan Ruins

Tour operators on the Cayes run trips to Lamanai (usually a full-day trip by boat and road) and to Altun Ha (normally a half-day trip, although it may be longer if it includes lunch and a spa visit at Maruba Spa). You can also visit Tikal on an overnight trip by air to Flores, Guatemala, with a change of planes in Belize City. It’s also possible to see the small, unexcavated ruins on Ambergris Caye—including Marco Gonzalez on the south end of the island, reachable by golf cart or taxi, and Chac Balam at Bacalar, reachable by boat.

Contacts
SEAduced by Belize | 226/2254 | www.seaducedbybelize.com.
Tanisha Eco Tours | 226/2314 | www.tanishatours.com.

Scuba Diving and Snorkeling

The largest concentration of dive-trip operators (and also snorkel-boat operators) is on Ambergris Caye. It’s a short boat ride to the spur-and-groove formations along the Barrier Reef and to Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Several San Pedro operators with speedboats, including Amigos del Mar, Ecologic Divers, and Patojo’s, can take you to the Blue Hole, the largest ocean sinkhole in the world. Lil’ Alphonse Tours specializes only in snorkeling and does a terrific job at it. The cleverly named SEAduced and SEArious Adventures both do snorkel trips around Ambergris Caye and to Caye Caulker, along with offering mainland tours. Frenchie’s and Belize Diving Services on Caye Caulker take divers to the same sites as the dive shops on Ambergris Caye, and operators such as Carlos Tours and Tsunami Adventures offer local trips.

About a dozen dive lodges and hotels are on or near Belize’s atolls, including Turneffe Flats, Turneffe Island Lodge, Isla Marisol, Off the Wall Dive Center, and others .

Visitor Information

The best source of information on the islands is online. Operated by Marty Casado, AmbergrisCaye.com (www.ambergriscaye.com) is the number one source, with thousands of pages of information on San Pedro, and to a lesser extent on Caye Caulker. The Belize Tourism Board has updated its website (www.travelbelize.org) with more information on the cayes and atolls. The Taco Girl blog (www.tacogirl.com) has timely information on happenings on the island, though some of it is a little commercial. Caye Caulker’s official Belize Tourist Industry Association (BTIA) website is www.gocayecaulker.com. Belize First (www.belizefirst.com) has information and extensive free downloads on the islands. The San Pedro Sun (www.sanpedrosun.com) newspaper publishes a free weekly tabloid-size visitor newspaper, the San Pedro Sun Visitor Guide. Ambergris Today (www.ambergristoday.com) is an online weekly newspaper for San Pedro.

Great Itineraries

It’s difficult to recommend itineraries on the cayes, because what you do and where you go depends greatly on the island where you’re staying. If you’re on a remote caye or atoll, your activities and itineraries are defined partly by your interests (whether it’s diving, fishing, or just lazing in a hammock), and by the lodge’s daily schedule (or lack of one). Your basic itinerary might go like this: dive, eat, sleep, and dive.

On the other hand, if you’re on Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker, you can set your itinerary around a wide choice of daily island activities, day trips to the mainland, snorkeling or diving on the Barrier Reef, and day trips to the atolls.

If You Have 5 Days on Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker

Spend your first full day getting to know the island. On Ambergris Caye, rent a golf cart or bike and explore the north and south ends of the caye. Have a beach picnic or enjoy one of the many good restaurants. If you’re on Caulker, which is much smaller, you can explore on foot, or, if you prefer, on a bike or in a golf cart. On your second day on either caye, take a boat trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark-Ray Alley for snorkeling, and spend the rest of the day on the beach or just hanging out in San Pedro town or Caulker village. On your third day, take a full-day dive or snorkel trip to Lighthouse Reef, with stops at the Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye. On your fourth day, if you’re not planning to spend a few days on the mainland this trip, take a tour to the Lamanai Mayan ruins, which includes an exciting boat ride up the New River; or, for some pampering, take one of the combined day trips to Maruba Spa and the Altun Ha Mayan site. If you do plan a mainland stay, then use Day 4 to try windsurfing on Caye Caulker, bonefishing in the flats, or sea or lagoon kayaking. On your final day, take a relaxing daylong catamaran snorkeling trip with a beach barbecue.

If You Have 5 Days on a Remote Caye or Atoll

On arrival, take off your shoes, take a deep breath, grab a cold drink, and relax. This is what the islands are all about, with the cooling trade winds in your hair and no decisions to make except whether you want the grilled fish or the lobster for dinner. If you’re on a dive package, you typically do two to three dives a day, weather permitting. On a fishing package you’ll be out on the flats or the reef all day every day. If you’re not tied to a package, get up early and watch the sunrise on your first full day. Then spend the day exploring the island: go swimming, spend some time beachcombing, or snorkel off the shore. On your second day, take a dive or snorkel trip to the nearest atoll. On the third day, hire a guide and try your hand at fishing for bonefish or permit on the flats. On your fourth day, take a catamaran sail along the Barrier Reef, with stops for snorkeling and a barbecue on a deserted beach. On your final day, go kayaking around the island and relax on the beach.

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