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Information
Overview
Dabbling its toes in the Caribbean
Sea, Belize has more in common with its island neighbors than with the
fiery volatility of the rest of Central America. English-speaking,
Creole-dominated and with a thoroughly coup-free history, most of this
tiny country has an atmosphere so laid-back it's almost comatose.
Belize can be a difficult place to
travel - only three of its major highways are fully paved, prices are
high for this part of the world, and except in the touristed areas
hotels are few and far between.
Belize compensates with some of the
best diving in the world, dramatic Mayan ruins looming out of
untouched jungle and secluded ecolodges catering to the most sedentary
adventurers.
Full country name:
Belize
Area: 23,300 sq km (9087 sq mi)
Population: 249,183 (growth rate 2.8%)
Capital city: Belmopan (pop 5000)
People: 44% mestizo, 30% Creole, 11% Maya, 7% Garifuna
Language: English, English Creole, Spanish, Maya and Garífuna
Religion: 60% Catholic, 30% Protestant
Government: Parliamentary democracy
Governor-General: Colville Young
Prime Minister: Said Musa
GDP:
US$740 million
GDP per head: US$3100
Inflation: -0.9%
Major industries: Sugar, bananas, fish products, garment
production, food processing, timber, tourism, construction
Major trading partners: USA, UK, Mexico, Canada
Facts for the Traveler
Visas:
Citizens of the US, European Union and Commonwealth countries do not
require visas if they have a passport and return ticket. All other
nationalities require a visa. British embassies frequently handle
Belize's diplomatic affairs.
Health risks: Cholera, dengue fever, hepatitis, malaria,
typhoid
Time: GMT/UTC minus 6 hours
Electricity: 110V, 60 Hz
Weights & measures: Metric
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When to Go
The best time to travel is the dry
season from November to May, but this is also the busy winter tourist
season, when prices rise and hotels fill up. It's cheaper to travel in
summer (July to November), but keep in mind that this is hurricane
season.
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Events
The big national holidays are
dictated by the Roman Catholic calendar, but other celebrations
include the wonderfully titled Baron Bliss Day (March 9), which
honors a philanthropic British nobleman who fell in love with Belize
and upon his death willed the bulk of his fortune in trust to the
people of Belize. Belize National Day (September 10)
commemorates the Battle of St George's Caye; celebrations continue
until Independence Day (September 21). More festivities occur
on Colombus Day (October 12) and Garífuna Settlement Day
(November 19). The latter commemorates the arrival of the Garinagus
(Black Caribs) in dugout canoes from Honduras in 1823. Dangriga is the
place to celebrate this festival: the small town explodes in a frenzy
of dancing and drinking.
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Money
& Costs
Currency:
Belizean dollar (BZ$)
Meals
- Budget: US$3-7
- Mid-range: US$7-10
- Top-end: US$10 and upwards
Lodging
- Budget: US$8-15
- Mid-range: US$15-25
- Top-end: US$25 and upwards
Compared to the rest of Central
America, Belize can be expensive. Even if you're traveling there on a
budget, you'll pay at least US$15 (and more often US$20) per day for a
room and three meals. On the upside, staying at a flashier hotel and
eating decently won't push your costs up much higher than this.
It's easy to change US dollars just
about anywhere, and US dollar travelers' cheques, pounds sterling and
Canadian dollars can be changed at any bank. Other currencies could
cause you difficulties. You can change money legally on the street or
at border crossings (at a better rate than the banks will give you).
Belizean ATMs will not accept foreign cards. Most businesses will
accept cold hard US cash money without question.
Haggling is not a popular pastime in
Belize, but it might be worth a try if business looks slow. Only the
posher restaurants, bars and clubs are likely to expect a tip - 10% is
the going rate. In over- touristed areas, tipping tour leaders and
dive operators is becoming more common.
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Attractions Belize
City
This ramshackle, colorful Caribbean
city was Belize's former capital and is the country's only settlement
of any size. The tropical storms which periodically razed the town in
the 19th and early 20th centuries still arrive to do damage to its
aging wooden buildings, but they also flush out the open drainage
canals, redolent with pollution, which crisscross the city. When
there's no storm, Belize City bustles, steams and swelters. Few people
come to Belize City for a holiday or to see the sights but it's the
transport and commercial hub of the country, so travelers are likely
to spend some time here. Some travelers report that the city can be
quite dangerous, particularly after dark.
The city's commercial center is
divided from the more genteel northern neighborhoods by Haulover
Creek, a branch of the Belize River. The creek is spanned by the Swing
Bridge. Interesting spots south of the bridge include Battlefield
Park, which is always busy with vendors, loungers and con men;
St John's Cathedral (1847), the oldest and most important Anglican
church in Central America; and the Bliss Institute, the city's
cultural center. North of the bridge is the wood-framed Paslow
Building, housing the city's main post office. Heading south from
there is the Image Factory Art Foundation, showcasing work by
Belizean artists, and before the tip of the peninsula is the Belize
Audubon Society, a good source of info on national parks and
wildlife reserves throughout the country.
North Front St, on the north bank of
Haulover Creek, has a good selection of budget accommodations. The
luxury hotels are located at the end of the north shore peninsula. The
main commercial streets are Albert, Regent, King and Orange Sts.
The Cayes
Belize's 290km (180mi) long barrier
reef is the longest reef in the western hemisphere. To the west of the
reef are numerous cayes basking in warm water usually not much more
than 5m (16ft) deep. The two most popular with travelers are Caye
Caulker and Ambergris Caye. Caulker is commonly thought of as the
low-budget island; Ambergris is more resort-oriented.
Caye
Caulker (pop 800), 33km (20mi) north of
Belize City, is 7km (4mi) long and only about 600m (650yds) wide at
its widest point. Actually, Caulker is two islands now since Hurricane
Hattie split it just north of the village in 1961. Mangroves cover
much of the shore and coconut palms provide shade. The reef is just a
short boat ride from the eastern shore and offers some of the world's
most exciting diving, snorkeling and fishing. Underwater visibility
can be an astonishing 60m (197ft) and the coral and tropical fish are
wonderful. Don't swim out to the reef from the beach unless you want
to gamble on a 50-50 chance of being decapitated by boat propellers.
Ambergris Caye
(pop 2,000), 58km (36mi) north of Belize City, is the largest of the
country's cayes. It's 40km (25mi) long and almost connected to the
Mexican mainland on its northern side. Like Caulker, it has an
engaging laid-back atmosphere, though holiday condominiums are
beginning to appear. The reef is 1km (.5mi) east of the main town of
San Pedro. There are a host of excursions offered to diving and
snorkeling spots and to other cayes in the region, including to
Blue Hole,Half Moon Caye and Turneffe Islands, the
only three coral atolls in the western hemisphere.
Lamanai
This impressive, semi-restored,
semi-excavated Mayan site is located in its own archaeological reserve
near the settlement of Indian Church. Its 60 significant structures
include a grand 34m (112ft) high late Preclassic building, a small
temple and a ball court. Lamanai (submerged crocodile) was occupied as
early as 1500 BC and became a major ceremonial center with immense
temples long before most Mayan sites. The Maya lived here right up
until the arrival of the Spanish; two ruined Indian churches nearby
testify to the fact that there were still Maya here to be converted.
The 90-minute boat trip up the New River from Orange Walk to reach the
site is an adventure in itself. The boat passes the Mennonite
community of Shipyard and offers the opportunity to see plenty
of birdlife and crocodiles.
Xunantunich
Xunantunich (Stone Maiden) is the
archaeological pride of Belize, although you might find it
anticlimatic if you've seen Tikal or Copán. Set on a levelled hilltop
near the Belize River close to the Guatemalan border, Xunantunich
controlled the riverside track which led from the hinterlands down to
the Caribbean coast. The site flourished as a ceremonial center and is
thought to have been abandoned after an earthquake damaged it around
AD 900. The site has not been extensively restored, though its tallest
building - El Castillo - rises an impressive 40m (131ft) out of the
jungle.
Placencia
Perched at the southern tip of a
long, narrow, sandy peninsula in Southern Belize, this laid-back beach
town is worth every bump and grind of the dirt roads you need to
travel to get here. All commerce and activity used to be carried out
by boat, thus the village's 'main street' is just a narrow concrete
footpath less than 1m (3ft) wide. The main attractions are the beaches
and water sports, but there's also fishing, bird and manatee watching,
overnight camping on remote cayes, and excursions to jungle rivers and
the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. The latter is home to
jaguars, pumas, ocelots, margays, agoutis, anteaters, armadillos, boa
constictors and birds galore.
Mountain Pine Ridge
This 800 sq km (312 sq mi) forest
reserve in western Belize's beautiful, unspoiled mountain country is
dotted with waterfalls and teems with wild orchids, parrots,
keel-billed toucans and other exotic flora and fauna. The rough forest
roads in the reserve are often impassable in the wet season, but it's
this inaccessibility which keeps the area pristine for those willing
to explore it on foot, horseback or canoe. Excursions include the
Rain Forest Medicine Trail (a rainforest walk focused on herbal
medicines); Chechem Ha (a recently discovered Mayan cave
complete with ceremonial pots); Caracol (a vast, unrestored
Mayan city engulfed by jungle); Thousand Foot (Hidden Valley) Falls
(a 300m/984ft high silver cascade plunging into a misty valley); and
Barton Creek Cave (gaining populartity but still less visited,
with skulls and bones and lotsa pottery shards).
Bermudian Landing Community Baboon
Sanctuary
It's tough to spot the endangered
black howler monkey in South or Central America anymore, but this is
the best place in Belize to find one. The villagers of Bermudian
Landing have set up a reserve in the forest near their village (about
30km/19mi west of Belize City), and there's a visitors center with
displays about the howler and the 200 other animals and birds in the
sanctuary.
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Activities
The Cayes and the Belize Reef are a
paradise for water sports enthusiasts, offering all the swimming,
snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, windsurfing and fishing
anyone could ever wish for. If that's still not enough, travelers can
canoe on the Macal, Mopan and Belize Rivers around San Ignacio
and tube through caves along the Chiquibul River. The best
hiking trails are in Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve and the
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Bird-watchers should check
out the rivers, swamps and lagoons of the Crooked Tree Wildlife
Sanctuary, midway between Belize City and Orange Walk Town, which
attract flocks of migrating birds between November and May.
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Culture
The Maya built breathtaking temple
complexes aligned to the movement of celestial bodies. Although they
remained technically a Stone Age culture, they also developed
sophisticated mathematics, astronomy and calendars. The Spanish
constructed some plain stone churches, but the modern architecture is
predominantly British Caribbean in style.
Belize is officially
English-speaking, but the creoles (the largest ethnic group) speak
their own colorful dialect as well as standard English. Spanish is the
main language in the north and some towns in the west. You may also
hear Mayan, Chinese, Mennonite German, Lebanese, Arabic, Hindi and
Garífuna (the language of the Garinagu people of Stann Creek district)
being spoken.
The majority of Belize's population
are Roman Catholics, but British influence has created a sizable and
varied protestant congregation, including German Swiss Mennonites. The
Mayan practice of Catholicism is a fascinating fusion of
shamanist-animist and Christian ritual.
Belize has never really developed a
national cuisine. Its cooking borrows elements from the UK, the USA,
Mexico and the Caribbean. The traditional staples are rice and beans.
These are often eaten with chicken, pork, beef, fish or vegetables.
Coconut milk and fried plaintain add a tropical flavor. Exotic
traditional foods include armadillo, venison and fried paca, a
controversial brown-spotted rodent (similar to a guinea pig) that
conservationist-gourmets won't touch with a ten foot cassava.
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Environment
Belize is a lilliputian country
located in the southeast of the Yucatán Peninsula, on the Caribbean
coast of the Central American isthmus. It shares borders with Mexico
to the north and Guatemala to the west. The country consists
predominantly of tropical lowland and swampy plains, though the Maya
Mountains in the west rise to almost 1000m (3280ft). Thirty kilometers
(19mi) offshore is the world's second largest barrier reef, home to a
broad range of marine life.
Half of the country is covered by
dense (but rapidly disappearing) jungle, the rest is farmland, scrub
and swamp. The tropical forests provide habitats for a wide range of
animals, including jaguar, puma, ocelot, armadillo, tapir and
crocodile. The country also harbors keel-billed toucan, an abundance
of macaws and parrots, and heron and snowy egret.
Belize is hot and humid year round,
but respite from the weather can be found in the cooler mountains or
from the tropical breezes which waft over the cayes. Rainfall is a
whopping 4m (13ft) a year, most of it falling between June and
November.
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Getting There & Away
International flights to Belize City
tend to go through Houston, Los Angeles or Miami. There are also
flights between Belize and Guatemala, as well as other Central
American countries. A combined departure tax and dubious 'airport
security fee' (total of US$15) are payable by travelers departing by
air. There are bus services from Belize City to Chetumal (Mexico) and
to Benque Viejo del Carmen and Melchor de Mencos (Guatemala). A token
exit tax is payable at Belizean land border-crossing points. You can
travel by boat from Punta Gorda in southern Belize to Puerto Barrios
and Lívingston (Guatemala), or from Dangriga and Placencia to Puerto
Cortés (Honduras).
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Getting
Around
Belize has few paved roads and no
rail network, so it depends heavily on small airplanes for transport.
There are domestic airports in Belize City, Caye Caulker, Corozal,
Dangriga, Placencia, Punta Gorda and San Pedro. Buses travel fairly
regularly on the country's three paved roads (between Corozal and
Belize City, between Benque Viejo Del Carmen and Belize City, and
between Belmopan and Dangriga). Most other roads are narrow one- or
two-lane dirt tracks, often impassable after heavy rains. Cars can be
rented in Belize City if you're at least 25 years old. Bicycles and
motorbikes can be hired on the Cayes. Fast and frequent motor launches
connect Belize City with Caye Chapel, Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye.
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