Caye Caulker
With Ambergris Caye on steroids, ballooning to some 10,000 in population and new buildings going up right and left, for anyone yearning for the slower-paced, more traditional Caribbean, Caye Caulker is looking better and better.  Here you’ll still find sandy streets and almost no cars.

Caye Caulker isn’t just for backpackers anymore.  It has new restaurants and some new and improved lodging.  Food and hotel prices here generally are one-third to one-half less than in San Pedro. The newly rebuilt Seaside Cabanas turned out beautifully, I think.  It’s nice to at last have a hotel with a swimming pool on the island, and the little private rooftop nookeries on four of the units are a great idea. You can own the hotel, as it’s now for sale for US$2.4 mil.  Here and at Iguana Reef you can get an upscale experience at a Filene’s Basement price, only a little over US$100 double.

Cayo

Cayo is an interesting situation now.  It still offers great natural beauty, fabulous caving, and wide open spaces. It has some of the great treasures of Belize, including the biggest forest reserve in the country, the Mountain Pine Ridge, the fabulous Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, the Mopan and Macal rivers, Caracol, Xunantunich, and El Pilar Mayan sites, a collection of remarkable jungle lodges including the Lodge at Chaa Creek, duPlooy’s, Hidden Valley Inn, and Blancaneaux,  and several wonderful attractions including Green Hills Butterfly Farm, the Belize Botanic Gardens, and the quirky Poustinia Land Art Park.

On the other hand, this inland area is not getting the tourism investment of the cayes and coast.  As beautiful as much of Cayo is, foreigners want to be on or near the water.  (Maybe one day the Chalillo Dam lake will actually prove to be a tourism asset.)  The perception that crime is spilling over from Guatemala into Cayo also works against the district.

There hasn’t been a major new lodge or hotel built in Cayo since Mopan River Resort opened in 1999, and this highly successful all-inclusive is now for sale.  Several small lodges have opened, one hotel in Belmopan, the Chinese-owned Yim Saan, several budget places in San Ignacio Town, including an annex for Martha’s Guest House.  A few places, including Chaa Creek, Blancaneaux, Hidden Valley Inn,  and the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, have expanded or upgraded, but no big-time tourism investment has been made here for years.

Among the tourism properties for sale in Cayo are:
Mopan River Resort, Benque Viejo, US$2,850,000
Eva’s, San Ignacio, US$150,000
Parrot Nest, Bullet Tree Falls, Cayo, US$460,000
Roaring River Lodge, US$250,000
duPlooy’s Lodge, Cayo, US$1,300,000
Five Sisters Lodge, Mountain Pine Ridge, US$1,998,000
Casa Maya Eco-Lodge, San Ignacio, US$900,000
Los Cedros Lodge, Cayo, US$340,000
Touch of Class, Santa Elena, US$750,000

San Ignacio town, which for a while was going through a restaurant and hotel boom, has lost some tourism businesses. You wouldn’t know it, though, by the number of cars and the trouble you’ll have finding a parking place.

The Royal Indian has closed.  Serendib has changed hands, but the food is still about the same as always. Bob Jones at Eva’s is still there, dispensing cold beer, hot food and good advice, and the buyer of the famed tourist info center and restaurant, the former owner of the Tikal Inn, will be around soon to learn the ropes. Jones says he looks forward to more time for fishing and seeing parts of Belize he hasn’t had time to see.   Hode’s and Sanny’s are still popular dining spots (Sanny’s is only open for dinner now.)  Well-run downtown hotels such as Casa Blanca Guest House and Martha’s seem to as busy as ever.

The Saturday market in San Ignacio is my pick for the best market in Belize.

Congratulations to Lucy Fleming of Chaa Creek, outgoing president of the BTIA.  She had a rough year, to say the least.  Chaa Creek, by the way, has never looked better, and the lodge has upgraded several of its duplex cottages into gorgeous new suites.

I visited a spell with John and Judy at The Trek Stop, which has 10 popular budget cabins in San José Succotz.  They say they are restarting the shuttle between Belize City and San Ignacio and may even add another van, so they can meet more flights.  Advance booking is necessary.

Spanish Lookout gets more and more amazing. Where San Ignacio looks like a typically rundown Central American town, Spanish Lookout looks like a prosperous part of western Pennsylvania. Route 30, the road from near Georgeville to the Mennonite settlement, is a gorgeous paved highway, and many of the roads around Spanish Lookout are also paved.  The Mennonites do their own paving. The stores and small shopping centers are doing a land office business, and even gas is cheaper in Spanish Lookout than in San Ignacio.

Up in the Mountain Pine Ridge, Blancaneaux still looks lovely. Craig and Lisa are no more at Hidden Valley Inn; the new managers are a couple who ran the bookstore in San Pedro for a short time. Hidden Valley was on the track to become a top lodge, and I hope we’re not back to musical chairs again.  The convoy system is still in effect for trips to Caracol.  There’s a lot of dissatisfaction with the system, which involves two or three convoys daily escorted by the BDF, because it’s not very flexible – for example, for birders who want to get to Caracol early it’s not ideal.

One of the under-appreciated assets of Cayo is the town of Benque Viejo del Carmen.  The Benque House of Culture there is just one of the little places that deserve more attention, not to mention Che Chem Ha and Poustinia.  On the way to Benque, do stop and have lunch at Benny’s Kitchen, near Xunantunich.  This little open-air restaurant, not far from one of my favorite budget spots in Belize, The Trek Stop (which now has the first “disc golf course” in the country) serves hearty Mayan and Belizean dishes at low prices. Most items on the menu are US$4 or less, including chilimole (chicken with mole sauce), cow foot soup, escabeche, and stewed pork with rice and beans and plantains.  San José Succotz village, across Benque Rd.  from the ferry to Xunantunich. Turn south just west of the ferry and follow signs about 3 blocks;  tel. 501/823-2541.

Since I started coming to Belize almost 16 years ago, only San Pedro and Placencia have changed more than Belmopan.  Belmopan has turned into a bustling small city, with an increasing number of stores and restaurants.  The University of Belize campus and the growing government presence have helped transform the area.

Have you seen the new United States embassy in Belmopan? The old embassy in Belize City was an old wooden building brought from New England in the 19th century.  The new embassy on Floral Park Road in Belmopan near the hospital is a huge fenced and gated compound, massive and brutalist (though, I grant you, not as ugly as some of the Belizean government buildings in Belmopan).  It cost US$50 million to construct.

The Garifuna Coast

Dangriga is still Dangriga, but the new Gulisi Garifuna Museum, opened in late 2004, is definitely worth a visit.  Named after a Garifuna woman who founded the village of Punta Negra in Toledo, the museum has exhibits on the Garinagu migration from Africa to St. Vincent, then to Honduras and Belize.  Other displays are on Garifuna food, clothing, music and dance. On exhibit are a number paintings by Benjamin Nicholas and other Garifuna artists.  Mile 2, Hummingbird Hwy., Dangriga;  tel. 501/502-0639;  admission US$5, open Mon.-Fri.10–5; Sat. 8–12.

Hopkins is changing like crazy.  Considering that 10 years ago there was nothing here but a little Garifuna village without telephones or other conveniences of modern life, the transformation is amazing.  Besides Hamanasi and Jaguar Reef, which seem to do very well, Belizean Dreams is a new beachfront condo colony (the three-bedroom condos sold for several hundred thousand dollars each) where you can rent a complete villa or choose a one- or two-bedroom suite at US$225 to $500 a night.  The Belizean Dreams folks also are building another condo project.

In addition to the big upmarket places, there are a number of charming little budget and moderate spots on the beach.  I still like Tipple Tree Beya Inn and Hopkins Inn.  Jungle Jeanies, relocated to the beachfront, looks delightful, and at around US$30 it is a bargain.

Beaches and Dreams has new owners.  Tony and Angela Marsico, who formerly ran a popular restaurant in Fairbanks, Alaska, purchased Beaches and Dreams with another couple, but are now buying them out.  Tony says:  “We do plan on expanding the food service operation to include a few more upscale items in mid to upper price range as well as keeping the Belizean comfort foods and pizzas in the lower to medium price ranges. We are going to be putting an outdoor show-kitchen in and have a feature of the evening. Thursday nights will be Belizean paella night, cooked outdoors over a big outdoor burner in a 2-foot diameter paella pan which I had especially made for me to bring down there.  Another night will feature a fresh shrimp boil-up. I have contacted the shrimp farm and made arrangements to get fresh shrimp in every Friday. On Saturdays, a Belizean style bouillabaisse, all these items cooked on our outdoor burner (it is an Alaskan fish cooker). I am also going to feature a steak, some chops with mango chutney and some vegetarian as well. As for pricing, pizzas with three ingredients about BZ$30 , lots for lunch in the BZ$16-24 range.  Dinners from casual at BZ$24 to BZ$50 for our specialty nights. As for the rooms, we are keeping the four we have now.  Plans are to move the two cabanas to another lot for weekly rentals and build eight new rooms from concrete and tile, but construction won't begin until April  2007.” A grand opening party for the Marsicos’ Barracuda Bar & Grill was held in November 2006.  Rates are around US$95 double in season. Sittee Point, tel. 501/523-7259; www.beachesanddreams.com. 

Pleasure Cove also has reopened, under new management.

Real estate sales are blossoming around Hopkins, but there’s a lot of local concern over destruction of the mangroves.  Near Hopkins are some of the tallest mangroves in the hemisphere. 

Sanctuary Bay Estates south of Hopkins, bordered by the Sapodilla Lagoon, the Caribbean,and the Sittee River, has one of the slickest web sites I’ve seen on a Belize property. Or any property anywhere. It supposedly will have — eventually — a marina and yacht club, equestrian center and golf course, as well as a 35-room hotel and spa. Let’s hope the development turns out to be as nice as the web site. I won’t get into it here, but the fellow who put up the original dough for the project, Andris Pukke, is controversial, to say the least, due to his role as a credit counseling entrepreneur in the U.S. He and his companies settled U.S. Federal Trade Commission charges for US$35 million. Not much has actually been done yet on the project, despite the promises of the web site. The project says it has 220 lots for sale, ranging from US$50,000 to $200,000. According to the company, lot buyers will also be issued shares in the 10,500-acre Sittee River Wildlife Reserve. As always, do your due diligence before plunking down your cash in Belize.

I visited Sanctuary Bay in November 2006 but got, shall I say, a cool reception. After the folks there found out who I was, I was informed there was nobody available to show me around, and I was told not to drive around anymore by myself, as I might “get lost.”  What I did see, however, is that not much has been done here, and that the project looks absolutely nothing like the web site. I was a little creeped out by the whole thing.  The road into Sanctuary Bay is quite good, though, and I take it that many of the lots in Phase I have been sold.

The Islands of Belize. If you’re dreaming of life by the Caribbean Sea, take a look at Belize and its 400 islands. Even if you have a bazillion frequent flyer miles, you’ll be impressed by the islands of Belize. The water is impossibly green and turquoise, and just a few hundred feet off the sandy beach the waves break on the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. Enjoy some of the best diving in the world. Go fishing or catch spiny lobster for your dinner. Relax over drinks (rum is around $25 a gallon) and a good meal with friendly locals and interesting expats -- and they all speak English! Go home to your cozy seaside house with the trade winds rustling through the coco palms, or just bunk down in an island hotel for $15 a night or less. 

Island Living in Belize by Lan Sluder is a 240-page report on what you need to know about Ambergris Caye (Belize’s #1 destination for travelers and expats), up-and-coming Caye Caulker, and Belize’s other islands. How to get there. Where to stay. How to stretch your dollars and save money. How to find the best deals in beachfront and sea view real estate. How to retire under Belize’s “QRP” program or get permanent residency. This eBook covers all of these practical details, and much, much more. Get the report - Click Here

Placencia Peninsula

The Placencia peninsula is hot, hot, hot ... at least in the real estate end.  Lots sales are booming, and people are actually starting to build houses and condos.

If all the plans announced for condo developments in Placencia are actually built, the peninsula will have more than 1,500 condo units at The Placencia, Bella Maya, Chabil Mar, Coco Plum, Ara Macao, Laru Beya and others.  Chabil Mar, The Placencia and Laru Beya are already operating, and Bella Maya is working on the first phases of its plans.  I doubt some other projects will go forward in their present form, however. 

Bella Maya is being developed by a company in London that specializes in "emerging market" real estate, with other projects in Latvia, Bulgaria, and Brazil.  Bella Maya is expected to eventually have a total of 60 condominium apartments, most available for nightly rental. The 1100 sq. ft. apartments go for US$270,000 to $450,000, with one-quarter fractional ownership available for around US$86,000.   Opening has been delayed until sometime in 2007.

Ara Macao, ironically named for the endangered Scarlet Macaw, says it is a 582-acre master planned community on part of The Plantation lands at the north end of the peninsula.  If the project comes to fruition – it is still awaiting final Belize government approval -- it will have 456 upscale beachfront condos, 296 villas, 260 seaview condos, and 59 golf course home sites.  The master plan calls for a marina, casino, an 18-hole golf course, multiple swimming pools, several restaurants, a spa, and retail and commercial space.  The developer is ioVest Development LLC, a low-profile Chicago company with some ties to EKRK, a Czech real estate organization.  The president is Paul Goguen. Many local people and expats have opposed the mega-development on environmental grounds, and also that such a massive project is out of character with the rest of the peninsula.

I will say that Coco Plum II is one project that has put its money where its mouth is.  Stewart Krohn (who also owns Channel 5 TV in Belize City) has paved the project’s peninsula road frontage, and this road and the internal roads are absolutely fantastic.  Krohn himself has a house on the peninsula, has been visiting there for over 30 years, long before there was a road or airstrip, and I think is going to build another house there.  This long-term connection to the peninsula makes a difference, I think, and I wish more developers (hey, like Ara Macao and Bella Maya) had closer connections to the peninsula than just dollar signs.

While real estate is hot, oddly the tourism business on the peninsula is still struggling.  The business is still more seasonal in Placencia than in San Pedro, and off-season, except at a few well-marketed and well-run properties such as Turtle Inn and Inn at Robert’s Grove, occupancy levels are low.  More than a dozen hotels on the peninsula and nearby are actively for sale, including the following:

Manatee Inn, Placencia Village, US$375,000
Serenity Resort, Placencia, US$2,000,000
Maya Breeze, Maya Beach
Miller’s Landing, Placencia, US$1,500,000
Singing Sands, Maya Beach, US$890,000
Luba Hati, Seine Bight, US$2,500,000
Macovy Blues Hotel & Restaurant, US$475,000
Soulshine Resort, Placencia, US$600,000
Mariposa Beach Suites, Placencia
Paradise Vacation Hotel, Placencia Village 

Rum Point Inn has recently sold.  Reportedly also Lost Reef has been sold, and possibly Calico Jack’s.

Laru Beya is a nice addition to the lodging options.  It’s a condo colony on seven beachfront acres just south of Robert’s Grove.  The larger villa units, with up to three bedrooms, have full kitchens, and some have rooftop Jacuzzis and verandahs with sea views.   Rates start at US$100 for a garden view room, but you can pay as much as US$475 for a seaside penthouse.  Seine Bight, tel. 501/523-3476 or 800/813-7762 in the U.S. and Canada; www.larubeya.com. 

Chabil Mar Villas, a gated condo development just north of Placencia Village that opened in June 2005, has some of the most upscale and beautifully decorated condos I’ve seen in Belize.  The property was developed by Dianne Bulman, a Canadian. Chabil Mar means "beautiful sea" in Kekchí, and the beach here is one of the best on the peninsula.  Each unit is different, but they're all very upscale, with features like marble floors, original art, and four-poster king beds.  Each unit comes with broadband wireless, DVD, satellite TV, dishwasher, and washer and dryer.  Rates are US$260 to $550 in-season, a little less in summer. There's no restaurant, but you can have meals prepared and brought to your condo.   Just north of Placencia Village, tel. 501/523-3606; www.chabilmarvillas.com. 

Anybody who is not brain dead would have to worry about the future of the peninsula.  The McMansions being built on filled swamp land at the north end of the peninsula don’t look like sustainable development to me, any more than does a 1,000-unit project on a peninsula with a current population of only a couple of thousand.  New, high-density condo projects are planned for several areas.  That’s in the face of the fact that, with a few exceptions, most of the existing condo developments and hotels stay empty much of the time, especially in the summer and fall.  Even if they can sell out these projects, who is going to stay there?  The owners aren’t going to live there full-time, and unless the BTB gets its act together and Belize gets more air service from Canada and direct service from Europe, there will be a lot more empty properties like The Placencia.  I have stayed there and visited there many times and rarely see more than a handful of guests rattling around this big property.  I asked the guy on the front desk why that is the case.  He said, “It takes eight or ten years to build an image for a new hotel and get people to try it.”  Tell that to the investors.  We will build them, and they will come?  Maybe not.

There’s little infrastructure in place on the peninsula, and yet here are all these foreign developers ready to put up multi-million dollar projects.  The peninsula road is pretty bad, but not as bad as it was a few weeks ago in the rainy season, when at times it literally was impassable, even for four-wheel drives.   Some of the larger hotels with guests coming by road are bringing them into Independence and boating them over the lagoon.  There is talk again of paving the road, with a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank.  Maybe it will happen this time, but we’ve all heard that many times before.

So what else is happening on the peninsula besides real estate?  There’s a new French restaurant in the village, French Connection.  Long-time visitors to Placencia will remember another French restaurant, La Petite Maison, which was in its day the best restaurant on the peninsula.  I had dinner at the French Connection with Bob and Risa Frackman of Robert’s Grove and with a young American who is attending cooking school.  For Belize, the FC serves remarkably sophisticated food such as lobster and crab bouillabaisse (BZ$35) and a chorizo and baby octopus starter (BZ$16). 

I enjoyed dinner at FC, but my favorite restaurant on the peninsula remains the Bistro at Maya Beach Hotel.  I stayed one night at Maya Beach Hotel and loved being at the hotel and at the restaurant.  It just has a nice, laid-back atmosphere and excellent food. Owners John and Ellen Lee (he’s Australian, she’s American) traveled the world and worked in over 20 countries.  They obviously figured out what travelers love.  The Bistro menu changes occasionally, but among the standards are fresh ceviche, snapper stack, five-onion cioppino and cocoa-dusted pork chop on a risotto cake. You’ll pay around US$12 to $25 for entrees here.  The hotel, with six rooms, is small but charming.  Rooms are bargains at around US$65 to $100 double. There are some minimum-stay requirements.  Maya Beach Hotel also rents several apartments and houses nearby. Maya Beach, tel. 501/520-8040 or 800/503-5124 in the U.S.; www.mayabeachhotel.com. 

Wendy’s in the village has expanded again and is still a wonderful place for local food at a good price.  Yoli’s, on a pier Bakader near Harry’s Cozy Cabañas, is the hot new nightspot.  Food is prepared at Merlene’s nearby and brought out the pier to Yoli’s, which is a terrific place to enjoy a Belikin and the sea breeze.  Afterwards, stop by Tutti Fruiti for a real gelato.  This is still the best ice cream in all of Belize.

There weren’t many tourists on the peninsula while I was there, but Turtle Inn and the Inn at Robert’s Grove were both bustling.  Robert’s Grove was hosting a group of travel writers (a tour set up by the BTB), and the grounds and suites look fantastic, as always.  Turtle Inn is completing a new group of cottages plus a new swimming pool and restaurant.  When completed shortly, Turtle Inn will have 25 units, with three pools and three restaurants.

Jenny Wildman is opening a new art and crafts gallery in Maya Beach.  It will be called Spectarte (www.spectarte.com, 501-523-8019).  I’m happy to see more galleries opening in Belize – this is the kind of business the country needs, instead of more souvenir shops. 

Punta Gorda and Toledo

Every time I visit PG I think tourism here is finally going to take off.  There’s so much to see here, it’s so beautiful, the town of PG is so friendly and pleasant, with a gorgeous setting on the Bay of Honduras, and the Southern Highway, once a hellish road, is now the best highway in Belize, beautifully paved for all but 9 miles near Big Falls.  Prices are also far lower than in more popular resort areas of Belize. Things may be picking up a little in tourism, and there are several new lodging choices, but it’s a slow row to hoe. For some reason, PG is just not on the radar of most visitors to Belize. I guess it’s the lack of beaches and the perception that it’s remote. 

One thing that may help a little is that a group of tour operators and hotel owners have banded together to offer a regular series of fixed tours around Toledo, with specific tours and trips always running on specific days of the week, as long as there is a minimum of two persons (three or four persons for a few trips).   This way, visitors to Toledo are assured there will be tours every day.  Hotels and tour operators involved in this program include TIDE Tours, TASTEE Tours, Sun Creek Lodge, Sea Front Inn, the Lodge at Big Falls, and others.  Contact any of these for details or to book.  The full-day trips usually involve a mix of activities, such as snorkeling and fishing.  The specific tours are as follows, although the days, rates and tour descriptions may change:

Monday:  Port Honduras Marine Reserve, with manatee and dolphin spotting, snorkeling, swimming, and fishing; US$93 per person
Tuesday: Blue Creek, with cave swimming and hiking; US$76 per person
Wednesday: Same as Monday
Thursday:  Pueblo Viejo Mayan village, hiking, visiting a waterfall and Dem Dat's Doin' botanical gardens; US$84 per person
Friday:  Canoe trip on Moho River, with visit to the Garifuna village of Barranco; US$80 per person
Saturday:  Visit to Lubaantun Mayan site and Rio Blanco Park; US$84 per person
Sunday: Sapodilla Cayes, with snorkeling, fishing, and beach swimming; US$97 per person.

Two new lodging places I love in PG are Coral House Inn and Hickatee Cottages. Americans Rick and Darla Mallory bought and renovated a 1938 colonial-era house and turned it into one of the coolest guesthouses in Belize.  You'll recognize the Coral House Inn it by the coral-color and the vintage red and white VW van parked in front.  There are Confederate graves in the cemetery next door, a legacy of the Confederate immigration to Toledo after the U.S. Civil War. The four guest rooms, US$75 to $95, have tile floors, good beds, air-conditioning and wireless high speed internet. There's a small swimming pool. 151 Front St., Punta Gorda; tel. 501/722-2878; www.coralhouseinn.com. 

A British couple, Ian and Kate Morton, built Hickatee Cottages lodge, a little over a mile south of PG.  It opened in late 2005.  The three Caribbean-style cottages, with zinc roofs and private porches, are nestled in lush foliage.  Rates are an affordable US$60 double.  Meals are available (dinner is US$15, and full AP is US$25 per person), with fruits and vegetables from the owners' organic nursery next door.  A hickatee, by the way, is a river turtle, Dermatemys mawii.  Ex-Servicemen Rd., Punta Gorda; tel. 501/662-4475; www.hickatee.com. 

Another addition to the hotel scene in PG is Beya Suites.  You can’t miss it -- it’s painted a bright pink.  It’s Belizean-owned and very nice, with six rooms with air-conditioning and TVs.   Rates are around US$75 to $90 double.  Front St., #6 Hopeville, Punta Gorda; tel. 501/722-2188; www.beyasuites.com. 

El Pescador PG has changed hands and its name.  The fishing lodge near Punta Gorda, is now being operated by a U.S. company, Outpost International.  The name has been changed to Machaca Hill Lodge.  Manager Jim Scott has moved on to the Radisson in Belize City. The original El Pescador on Ambergris Caye remains with Ali Gentry Flota and her family. Outpost International says it plans to add more activities beyond permit fishing, including sea kayaking, biking and diving, and also will make the lodge more attractive to families and couples.  The company says it also has acquired Nicholas Caye in the Sapodilla Marine Reserve and plans to develop it as a "safari-style" lodge. 

Emery Restaurant and Grace’s are still good places to eat.

I stopped by Sun Creek Lodge, which I had not seen before.  I missed Bruno Kuppinger but met his beautiful Belizean wife, Melissa.   Bruno, from Germany, runs tours, including a new high-adventure tour to the remote Columbia River Forest Reserve, called Maya Divide.   Melissa focuses on the lodge and does the cooking, and I’m told she’s an excellent chef.  The thatch cabanas at this budget-level lodge are simple but look comfortable, with outdoor showers surrounded by plants.  The grounds are nicely landscaped. Car rentals available.  14 miles from Punta Gorda, off Mile 86, Southern Hwy.; tel. 501/604-2124; www.belizenet.de. 

Farther north, The Lodge at Big Falls has added a swimming pool.  This is a wonderful little lodge, with six thatch cabanas, a great spot for birding and wildlife spotting.  Owners Marta and Rob Hirons are working hard to make this lodge successful.  In-season rates are US$155 double, plus US$44 per person for three meals.  Off Mile 79, Southern Hwy.; tel. 888/865-3369 in U.S. and Canada; www.thelodgeatbigfalls.com. 

Belize City

Belize City still has a bad rep among tourists, and even among some Belizeans.  True, crime continues to be a problem in some areas of the city, but, surprisingly, visitors actually have a lower risk of crime in Belize City than in some popular tourist areas of Belize.  With hundreds of thousands of cruise ship daytrippers, plus many overnight visitors on their way to somewhere else, the tourist and regular police have done a good job making the Fort George and surrounding sections a safer place. 

The city is also looking better these days, with new paint, cleaner streets, and lots of directional signs.  There are plenty of great dining options, from the upscale places like the Smokey Mermaid at The Great House and the romantic Harbour Inn to budget eateries like Big Daddy’s Diner and Nerie’s to touristy but good spots like the Wet Lizard.  Riverside is a new restaurant that is getting good reviews.

Katie Valk of Belize Trips took me to the Riverside Tavern, on Mapp Street just off Freetown Road, the restaurant and bar owned by Barry Bowen.  This new spot is a big success.  One reason is that it has plenty of safe parking – the lot is fenced and guarded.  Another is that it has the best hamburgers in town. Since the restaurant expanded its kitchen, it will be upscaling its menu a bit, with more steaks and prime rib from Bowen’s farm. There are also plans to add more outdoor seating on the river.  Where’s the beef?  At the Riverside.

It’s not Disney World, but Belize City is worth exploring, and it’s the kind of place where Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, or Joseph Conrad might have felt at home.

There’s a lot going on in Belize City, and also along the Western and Northern highways near the city, notably Old Belize, Gran’s Farm, and Orchid Garden west of the city, but let me tell you about two nice and fairly new lodging options in the northern “suburbs.”

D’Nest Inn is a B&B run by Gaby and Oty Ake. Gaby is a retired Belize banker, and Oty is originally from Chetumal. The two-story, Caribbean-style house is on a canal 50 feet from the Belize River. It’s in an area called Belama Phase 2, a safe, middle-class section between the international airport and downtown. Oty’s gardens around the house are filled with hibiscus, roses, and other blossoming plants. The three guest rooms are furnished with antiques such as a hand-carved, four-poster bed, but they also have modcons like wireless internet, air-conditioning, and cable TV. With a private entrance and your own key, you come and go as you like.  Rates are US$60 to $70 double and include a delicious full breakfast. 475 Cedar St. (from the Northern Hwy., turn west on Chetumal St., turn right at the police station, go 1 block and turn left, then turn right on Cedar St. ); tel. 501/223-5416; www.dnestinn.com. 

If you have an early morning flight out or you’re overnighting en route somewhere else, the Global Village Hotel (actually it’s more of a motel than a hotel) is a good new choice near the international airport.  The 40 rooms are sparkling clean and modern and are only US$50 double.  This Chinese-owned place is located just south of the turnoff to the international airport, and the hotel has a free shuttle to and from the airport.  You can also arrange to leave your car in the hotel’s fenced parking lot with 24-hour security.  Mile 8 1/2, Northern Hwy.; tel. 501/225-2555; www.globalhotel-bz.com.

Not too far away, on the way to Bermudian Landing via the Boom Road, Belize ‘R Us is an attractive, Belizean-owned restaurant and hotel on the Belize River.

New Resorts in Belize

I recently made a list of new resorts, hotels, and lodges that have opened in Belize in the past three years.  It's surprising how many new places there are, and I'm sure I've missed some.

AMBERGRIS CAYE

The Phoenix (under construction)
Blue Reef Island Resort (under construction)
Sueno del Mar (under construction)
Seascape Villas
Solaria
Reef Village
Belize Legacy
Grand Colony Villas
Royal Caribbean Resort
Salamander Hideaway  (now for sale)
Azul Resort
Pedro's Backpacker Inn
Tranquility Bay Island Resort 
Victoria House (condo expansion)

OFFSHORE CAYES

Off the Wall Dive Center, Glover's Reef Atoll
Isla Marisol, Glover's Reef
Long Caye Island Resort, Long Caye
Calypso Beach Retreat, Long Caye
Pleasure Island, St. George's Caye (formerly Cottage Colony)
Robert's Caye Resort, Robert's Caye (operated by Robert's Grove)

BELIZE CITY/BELIZE DISTRICT

Global Village Hotel, Ladyville
D'Nest Inn, near Belize City
Belize ‘R Us Resort, near Burrell Boom
Caribbean Palms Inn, Belize City
Cabanas at Cheers, Western Hwy. near Belize Zoo

CAYE CAULKER

Seaside Cabanas (rebuilt)
Caye Caulker Condos
Maxhapan Cabanas

PUNTA GORDA/TOLEDO

Hickatee Cottages, PG
Beya Suites, PG
Coral House Inn, PG (renovation of existing building)
Machacha Lodge (formerly El Pescador PG), PG
Lodge at Big Falls, Big Falls
Indian Creek Lodge, Belize Lodge & Expeditions, Indian Creek -- main lodge and three satellite operations
Sun Creek Lodge, 14 miles from PG
Cuxlin Ha, near PG
Tranquility Lodge, Jacinto

COROZAL TOWN/COROZAL DISTRICT

Copper Bank Inn, Copper Bank
Las Palmas (rebuild of Nestor's), Corozal Town
Mark Anthony Hotel, Corozal Town
Corozal Bay Inn, Corozal Town (new cabanas)
Fantasy Point, Progresso
Mirador, Corozal Town

HOPKINS AREA

Sanctuary Bay Estates
Belizean Dreams
Hopkins Bay
Whistling Seas Vacation Inn
Jungle Jeannie's (relocated)

CAYO DISTRICT

Belize Jungle Dome, Belmopan
Yim Saan Hotel, Belmopan
Los Cedros, Macal River
Martha's Guesthouse Annex, San Ignacio

ORANGE WALK DISTRICT

Hotel de la Fuente, Orange Walk Town
Lamanai South, Indian Church

LAN SLUDER is the author of several books on Belize, including Living Abroad in Belize,  Fodor’s Belize 2007, Adapter Kit Belize, San Pedro Cool, and Belize First Guide to Mainland Belize.  He also has written other guidebooks for Frommer’s and Fodor’s and has contributed to many magazines and newspapers around the world, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Caribbean Travel & Life, Where to Retire, St. Petersburg Times, Globe and Mail, and Bangkok Post.  He founded Belize First Magazine and runs the www.belizefirst.com web site.