Where are the best beaches in Belize?

The best beaches in Belize are located in three parts of the country: San Pedro, Caye Caulker, and my home, which is Placencia.

 

I have lived near the sea all my life.

 

If you want white sandy beaches (coral sand), you need to go to the Islands like San Pedro and Caye Caulker. If you want the golden river sand, that is definitely Placencia.  On a clear sunny day our sand is also white, but we do get the chance to have a...

The best beaches in Belize are located in three parts of the country: San Pedro, Caye Caulker, and my home, which is Placencia.

 

I have lived near the sea all my life.

 

If you want white sandy beaches (coral sand), you need to go to the Islands like San Pedro and Caye Caulker. If you want the golden river sand, that is definitely Placencia.  On a clear sunny day our sand is also white, but we do get the chance to have a golden sandy beach. 

 
Now if you are environment friendly,...

 
Now if you are environment friendly, fishing oriented, diving oriented or snorkeling oriented, like most people here, that is a good thing because the turtle grass serves as a nursery for the baby shrimp, crabs and other little sea creatures. However, if you are trying to wade in the water with a child, it may not be as nice because the sand here is not hard white sand under your feet. From that perspective, it is not a good beach, but it is a great beach because it is abundant in marine life.
 
The best beaches on this particular Caye (Ambergris Caye) would include the Baymen Bay Beach and Ramon’s Beach. Many years ago, they raked out all the turtle grass before we had any environmental protection, so now those beaches have hard white sand and you can just walk right into the ocean like most people want to do. Otherwise, the majority of the people accommodate environment, thankfully, and they go off the end of the dock, swim into the water, and climb up the dock staircase.  Being in the sea is all good. You are wet, you are cool, but being on the dock allows you to eliminate the mushy shallow water entry. 

The good thing about the country of Belize is that everything is pretty much spread out. There is not one area that is just considered just the beach area. The southern part of Belize, in Placencia, has a lot of good beaches.  Also, when you go up north, the northern cayes (islands) like Ambergris Caye, Goff’s Caye (photo on the left), and other islands located off of the coast of Belize also have very nice beaches.

 

From my personal...

The good thing about the country of Belize is that everything is pretty much spread out. There is not one area that is just considered just the beach area. The southern part of Belize, in Placencia, has a lot of good beaches.  Also, when you go up north, the northern cayes (islands) like Ambergris Caye, Goff’s Caye (photo on the left), and other islands located off of the coast of Belize also have very nice beaches.

 

From my personal experience, the beach that I highly recommend for people to try is Turniffe Atoll. It is one of the most untouched areas of Belize in terms of marine life and the coral systems. There are other nice beaches that I can suggest, but most of them are saturated with a lot of guests, so I like referring people to areas that are unspoiled and are really beautiful.

 

The waters in the beaches in Placencia is not that crystal clear, but the water is clean. The current is a little strong in that area, but there are cayes that are located about 20 minutes away from the peninsula where the water is crystal clear. The sand in Placencia is brown and a little bit coarse, which makes it different from the sand in the beaches in the northern part of Belize. The sand in San Pedro in Ambergris Caye is white and less coarse. In Turniffe Atoll, the sand is a mixture of shells and white sand. The beaches here in Belize are just a little bit different from each other, but they are all beautiful beaches nonetheless.

 

San Pedro is the main town of Ambergris Caye.  About 45 minutes to an hour away, there is an island called Caye Caulker (photo on the right), which is also an excellent caye. You can go to Caye Caulker via one of the domestic flights that go from the Belize City or you can take a water taxi to Cay Caulker. It is en route from the mainland to San Pedro, so the water taxis make a stop at Caye Caulker before going to San Pedro. These are the two most excellent cayes in the north eastern part of Belize. Caye Caulker is similar to San Pedro in that it is a very small town. Some people reside there and a lot of expats are now moving to that area. Caye Caulker is very warm, but it is not a party place like San Pedro. The beaches of Caye Caulker have very clear waters. You can go fishing and you can just walk off of a pier and jump right in the water. The water is not extremely deep; it’s very shallow, so you have to walk out more to get to the deeper areas. It is a really nice beach for kids to swim and play. There are dive shops on the beach where you can get snorkeling gear if you want to go out snorkeling. Just about 20 minutes out of Caye Caulker, there exists the best snorkeling spot probably in the whole world.

 

One of the most common areas there is Shark and Ray Alley, which is a marine reserve. There are daily trips that go there where people can go snorkeling with nurse sharks, sting rays, and of course, different species of fishes. The sharks and ray are so used to people there that the moment they hear the boats coming, they just swim up to you. It is such a fun experience.

 

Another nice caye off the coast of Belize is Goff’s Caye, which is about 45 minutes off of the main coast of Belize City. Goff’s Caye is a very small caye but it is one of the most popular cayes because of the fact that it is open to anyone who wants to go there. It is not a private caye. However, unlike San Pedro and Caye Caulker, there aren’t water taxis that will take you.  To go Goff’s Caye so you have to go there on a private boat.

There are areas of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye (photo on the right) and certain areas of Hopkins and Placencia that have beautiful beaches. Those are the three predominant places that have beautiful beaches.

 

San Pedro has hotels and businesses, and so their beach areas are not necessarily the ones where people lay out in the sun, but they do play in the water. If you get a little bit to the north or to the south, the beaches become more private,...

There are areas of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye (photo on the right) and certain areas of Hopkins and Placencia that have beautiful beaches. Those are the three predominant places that have beautiful beaches.

 

San Pedro has hotels and businesses, and so their beach areas are not necessarily the ones where people lay out in the sun, but they do play in the water. If you get a little bit to the north or to the south, the beaches become more private, and there are some other resorts that have more of an intimate, Caribbean beach feel. They are just beautiful and have beautiful white sand.

 

If you are in Placencia, there are certain areas where the beach is prettier. I like the southern part of the peninsula, since there are a lot of nice beach areas there. There is certain resorts that have their own beaches and they keep them very nice. A lot of the beaches have some marsh grass, so to swim in them is not so nice. But if you go out to the pier and you jump into the water, it is absolutely gorgeous. Beaches are nice if you are in a resort area and you have a house.  People who live there and the resorts, rake the beach every morning because then, the bugs won’t bite you, and it keeps the beaches nice and clean.

 

Hopkins has beautiful beaches also (photo on the left). There are different areas of Hopkins that have the best beaches.

 

I cannot really say that there are any bad beach in Belize because you have the Caribbean Sea, which is just the most beautiful thing to look out at and see, because of the different hues of blue. Sometimes when you look at the Caribbean Sea, you will see five to six different shades of blue, so it is just breathtaking.

 

We have the barrier reef in San Pedro that runs the whole length of the country. It is the second largest barrier reef in the whole world.  Everyone thinks of Australia’s barrier reef, but Belize has the second largest, and yet we are a small country. It is a big feature in our area. Our reef is very alive. That is why we have such great fishing.

We would consider the best beaches in Belize to be either in Hopkins or Placencia and a few of the remote cayes (islands) such as Goff’s Caye and South Water Caye.  

 

Places like San Pedro (on Ambergris Caye) and Caye Caulker also have white, sandy beaches, but it’s not as wide as you imagine. Since we are home to the second largest barrier reef in the world, we not only have spectacular diving, but this reef acts as a barrier for...

We would consider the best beaches in Belize to be either in Hopkins or Placencia and a few of the remote cayes (islands) such as Goff’s Caye and South Water Caye.  

 

Places like San Pedro (on Ambergris Caye) and Caye Caulker also have white, sandy beaches, but it’s not as wide as you imagine. Since we are home to the second largest barrier reef in the world, we not only have spectacular diving, but this reef acts as a barrier for larger sand deposits, making our beaches a little narrower.

 

Nevertheless, our beaches are enjoyable, especially since they are far less crowded than beaches elsewhere in the world. In fact, you might just be the only person sunbathing within a hundred yards.  

 

(Blackadore Caye, Belize, a private island owned by Leonardo di Caprio, pictured.)

delicious food, many lounge chairs, and a volleyball net.

 

Either way, Secret Beach is a gem (and a must-do if you're on Ambergris Caye)!