Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Where to Live in Belize? San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

Ambergris Caye, Belize

We have been to Belize several times and have stayed on both the mainland and on the islands.  Belize was not our first choice of where to retire, it was originally Key West, Florida.  But I was just never sold on the idea of retiring to Key West and we had never really considered the option that we could move to another country and retire.




Last year we starting reading and looking into Belize and after making another trip to Belize, this time just staying mainly on the island of Ambergris Caye in the town of San Pedro, Bill and I decided Belize is where we wanted to be.  We felt like Belize had the best of everything to offer, it has the islands, jungles, Mayan ruins, they spoke English, easy access to the US and we could afford to live there.  We thought, what more could we ask for?




Ambergris Caye is Belize's largest island in the Cayes and is the most popular destination in Belize, for expats and tourist.  It has the largest expat community with a resort island atmosphere.  Belize has the second largest coral reef system in the world.  The reef lies 1/2 mile east of the Ambergris Caye shoreline and runs the entire 25 miles length of the island.  This has made San Pedro Town the dive and water sports capital of Belize and Central America.  The Great Blue Hole, Turneffe Islands, Shark Ray Alley, Hol Chan, Marine Reserve, Mexico Rocks, and Lighthouse Reef are only a short boat ride away. 






San Pedro reminds you of the Caribbean of 30 or 40 years ago, before the boom of international travel.  There are just three main north-south streets which are lined with wood houses and shops painted in bright tropical colors.  Most people get around town on foot, bike or golf cart.






Ambergris Caye has the sun and heat of the tropics, but is cooled by the trade winds off the Caribbean Sea.  Temperatures range from about 75-95 degrees during the day year round.  The rainy season is May to February, with most of the rain following in the late afternoon and evening.  Southern Belize may get up to 140 inches of rain a year, Ambergris Caye only gets about 40 inches per year.  The water temperature stays pretty much around 82 degrees year round.

Other post you may be interested in:
Where to Live in Belize?  Caye Caulker
Where to Live in Belize?  San Ignacio

4 comments:

  1. San Pedro looks so good, especially the beach. Hoping will have a chance to get here and enjoy this place.

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  2. Nava, I hope you get to visit San Pedro one day to enjoy the beauty it has to offer.

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  3. Great post. I wonder if it really does get to 95 on Ambergris Caye, though? We found out only after our two-week trip there last May that May is the hottest month, and I don't recall it ever getting above about 89 the entire time we were there. It felt hotter because of the intense sunshine, but it gets much hotter than that here in NC! We were told that being on an island, it is always cooler on Ambergris than on the mainland.

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  4. When we were in Belize the first time..it was in July and all I know, it was really really hot. The last time when we were there it was September..and it was hot but nothing like it was in July.

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