Ambergris Cay Things to Do Tips by Bwana_Brown Top 5 Page for this destination

The Beach 'Scene'

We had arrived on Ambergris Cay in late-morning on a Sunday, so by the time we checked-in at our hotel and found a bite to eat, it was already early afternoon. It was only then that we found out the place to be is at BCs Sunday beach BBQ, only a few steps away from the Water Taxi dock! The photo shows the square beach cabana on the left, sheltering a central bar area with seating at the bar, or stand-up, around it's four sides. Scattered around the sandy beaches are some tables and chairs for customers as well as the old abandoned cabana on the right side. We tried to find a spot at or near the bar on this Sunday afternoon, and again on the Monday evening, but we had no luck. The place was always packed out, with hardly any room to move at all - so get there early if you are planning to go! There are a few other 'happening' places in this same general area of San Pedro - such as 'Mango's' or the 'Crazy Canucks Beach Bar'.

Chill Out at Your Hotel

After a stroll around San Pedro on our first day on Ambergris Cay, Sue and I returned to the Hotel del Rio to spend a few hours just relaxing in our new surroundings. The hotel has a beautifully treed area just off the beach (third photo) where guests can relax under a thatched roof shelter with a large table, several chairs and hammocks available as you watch the beach activities.

We were reading our books when Ruth, the lady who runs the place for the absentee American owners (her husband did the paperwork as we checked in), came over and sat down beside us for a chat. It was interesting to hear her story, having emigrated from Guatemala 13 years ago because of all the civil unrest at the time. She and her husband have complete control over the running of the hotel and, not having any children, she has taken on a couple of cats as permanent guests. One of them took a liking to Sue, and ended up asleep on her lap (second photo). This cat had its jaw broken some months before after an attack by one of the many roaming beach dogs, but Ruth and her husband had forked out quite a bit of money to have a vet fix the cat up so the jaw is still useable. The afternoon passed quickly in conversation instead of reading, and we got some useful tips from Ruth regarding bicycle rentals and good local restaurants!

We finished the afternoon off with further conversations with other guests (all American) as they joined us on returning from their various day-trip excursions.

Address: Hotel del Rio, near the San Pedro River

Enjoy the Beautiful Beaches

The eastern (reef) side of Ambergris Cay has some beautiful beaches to play with and this photo shows the street of Boca del Rio which is actually the beach itself. There was a good amount of pedestrian, bicycle, golf cart and vehicle traffic along this stretch as the locals went about their business. Even the school fronts onto this street, so it was cute to see the children parading along in groups of two or three with their school uniforms on.

There are good swimming spots dotted along this beach and we spent some time on it in front of our hotel, where we saw a Heron (second photo) wading in the shallows as he quickly darted his beak to pick up a snack or two in the shallow tidal pools.

Unlike these 'people' oriented northern beaches of San Pedro, those at the southern tip of Ambergris Cay are pretty well locked up for the guests of the fancy resorts located there (see my 'Tourist Trap' tip for a look).

Directions: Along the east side of San Pedro

Plenty of Water Activities

As would be expected on the various northern Cays of Belize, there are many different water-based activities available for visitors. We had already done our little bit of snorkeling on Caye Caulker, so were content to just sit back and watch the activities during our 2 days on Amergris Cay. In addition to the various SCUBA diving tours, such as those arranged by the Bottom Time Dive Shop, we also watched large speed boats readying to take small groups of people out for a bit of deep-sea fishing. With a decent sized airport located in downtown San Pedro, sky-diving was also a popular activity, with most of the jumps actually landing in the off-shore waters.

A group of tourists that was staying at our Hotel del Rio arranged an all-day boat trip from Ambergris to the mainland where they were taken on a tour of one of the many Mayan temple complexes dotted around this part of the Yucatan Peninsula. We were planning to take in similar ruins later in our trip when we were near the Guatemala border, so we passed on this chance at it.

Address: San Pedro