Can I buy good clothes in Ambergris Caye?
Christian Burn
Everything that you can buy here in Ambergris Caye is for the tourism market, so if you are buying a shirt, you will get something with “Belize” printed across the chest or some kind of funny, ironic comment about Belize printed on the shirt. People do not come down here to buy designer clothes, but you can certainly buy clothes-- tourist clothes.
We have a little department store on Ambergris Caye. It is hard to believe but we do. It is like a mini JC Penney. There...
We have a little department store on Ambergris Caye. It is hard to believe but we do. It is like a mini JC Penney. There...
Everything that you can buy here in Ambergris Caye is for the tourism market, so if you are buying a shirt, you will get something with “Belize” printed across the chest or some kind of funny, ironic comment about Belize printed on the shirt. People do not come down here to buy designer clothes, but you can certainly buy clothes-- tourist clothes.
We have a little department store on Ambergris Caye. It is hard to believe but we do. It is like a mini JC Penney. There are fewer opportunities for shopping in Belize City than there is here on Ambergris Caye. You can get some interesting handmade things like sarongs or linens here. However, you could not buy a business suit unless you went to that JC Penney-like store. Belize is not the place for clothes shopping.
We have a little department store on Ambergris Caye. It is hard to believe but we do. It is like a mini JC Penney. There are fewer opportunities for shopping in Belize City than there is here on Ambergris Caye. You can get some interesting handmade things like sarongs or linens here. However, you could not buy a business suit unless you went to that JC Penney-like store. Belize is not the place for clothes shopping.
Posted December 2, 2014
David Drummond - Georgetown Trust
There are a couple of stores that have some North American style clothing in Ambergris Caye. You will, however, pay more for good clothes than you typically would in the US or Canada. I don’t do a ton of shopping here on Ambergris Caye. Either I wait to go to the mainland or I would go to Mexico or all the way up to the States. There are some clothes that are available here, but most people probably wouldn’t shop on the island. Let’s say...
There are a couple of stores that have some North American style clothing in Ambergris Caye. You will, however, pay more for good clothes than you typically would in the US or Canada. I don’t do a ton of shopping here on Ambergris Caye. Either I wait to go to the mainland or I would go to Mexico or all the way up to the States. There are some clothes that are available here, but most people probably wouldn’t shop on the island. Let’s say you wanted to get a Columbia fishing shirt that might cost US $50 in the US. The cost here on Ambergris Caye would be around $90. The local market tends to buy more second hand clothes. There is shopping downtown, but it is more like the resort-type shopping, as opposed to being geared towards people who live here long term or permanently. People who live here permanently tend to do their shopping in Mexico. You will not find a suit on the island of Ambergris Caye or long-sleeved shirts.
Chetumal, Mexico, is about 2 hours away from Belize City and there you will find all the shopping that you would expect to find in North America. They have the same malls, and everything that you would have in North America, would be in Chetumal. There are trips to Chetumal on a daily basis.
(Columbia fishing shirt with fish print, pictured.)
Posted May 7, 2015