Most guests arrive on a Saturday and leave the following Sunday, so this plan follows the days of the week. Sundays are quiet on the island, the Chicken Drop is on Thursday, and the day after the mainland is a rest day.
- SaturdayArrive
- SundayThe villa and the water in front of it
- MondayHol Chan, Shark Ray Alley and Mexico Rocks
- TuesdayThe mainland
- WednesdayFishing, or nothing
- ThursdayCaye Caulker
- FridayA private charter, or the Blue Hole
- SaturdayThe island by golf cart
- SundayHome
Saturday: Arrive
Everaldo meets you at the San Pedro airstrip for the forty-minute run north to Secret Beach. Pool, dock, sunset over the water, dinner at the villa.
Sunday: Stay at the villa
Many kitchens on the island close on Sundays, so stay put. Snorkel off the dock: the lagoon side is shallow and calm, and the grass beds hold rays, needlefish, small barracuda, conch and turtles. Then the kayaks, paddleboards, pool, bocce and cornhole. In the late afternoon, take the cart to one of the Secret Beach bars and watch the sun go down with your feet in the water.
Monday: The reef
Snorkel Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley in the morning. Ask for the trip that adds Mexico Rocks, shallow coral heads north of town that suit children and photographs. You're back by early afternoon. For dinner in town: Elvi's Kitchen, Blue Water Grill or The Truck Stop.
Tuesday: The mainland
Leave the villa at about 5:45 a.m. for the fifteen-minute flight to Belize City, where your operator meets you with a van. Choose the ATM cave, two hours west, for fit adults who are happy to swim (no cameras allowed, capped at 125 visitors a day, so book it with your flights), or cave tubing and Altun Ha, about an hour away and fine for children. Book it as a package with flights, transport, guide, park fees and lunch included. Delma and Everaldo arrange it. The four-day itinerary has more on both options. Plan nothing for the evening.
Wednesday: Fishing, or nothing
The flats around Ambergris are a good place to try for a grand slam: bonefish, permit and tarpon in one day. All three have been catch-and-release in Belize since 2009. Bonefish are here year-round and tarpon peak in summer. A reef or deep-sea trip brings back snapper, grouper and barracuda, and Delma will cook your catch that night. Anglers aged 16 to 65 need a sport-fishing licence, which your guide normally arranges.
Or stay at the villa all day. In the evening, Up North has axe throwing, a driving range and dinner, a short drive from the villa.
Thursday: Caye Caulker
The water taxi from San Pedro takes thirty to forty-five minutes. Caye Caulker has no cars and sand streets. Swim at The Split, the channel Hurricane Hattie cut through the island in 1961, and have a drink at the Lazy Lizard beside it. Buy your return ticket when you arrive. Our comparison of the two islands has more.
Back on the island, Wahoo's Lounge runs the Chicken Drop on Thursday nights. You bet on a numbered square, a chicken is let loose on the grid, and the square it picks wins the pot.
Friday: Charter a boat
A private charter lets you set the departure time, the stops and the pace: Hol Chan, Mexico Rocks, and lunch at a beach bar you can only reach by water. For a full house it often costs about the same per person as booking separate scheduled tours. A sailing catamaran is slower and quieter, and sunset sails come back into the lagoon after dark. Party boats suit some groups. Ask Everaldo which operator fits yours.
If you dive, this is the day for the Great Blue Hole: about twelve hours, a crossing of two hours or more each way to Lighthouse Reef, and usually three dives, including the hole itself at around 130 feet (Advanced Open Water or equivalent). From a boat, non-divers see a dark blue circle. The view is from the air, on a scenic flight out of San Pedro that takes about an hour.
Saturday: The island by golf cart
Ambergris is twenty-five miles long. Drive north first while it's cool; the road thins out and the beach bars get further apart. Then head south through San Pedro for Front Street, the Belize Chocolate Company, Manelly's for ice cream, and Marie Sharp's hot sauce to take home. We send guests to MTK Golf Cart Rental, who deliver and collect. Rent only for the days you'll use it.
Sunday: Home
Breakfast, a last swim and forty minutes to the airstrip. Leave more time than you think you need.
Tips
Money. US dollars work everywhere. The Belize dollar is pegged at two to one, so ask which currency you're being quoted.
Tipping. Gratuity is discretionary. Guests who tip generally leave 10–20% of the total cost of the stay in cash at the end of the week, split between Delma and Everaldo. Guides, captains and drivers are tipped separately on the day.
Common questions
Which day is best for the mainland?
Early in the week, with a slow day after it. Tuesday works because Sunday is quiet on the island and Monday is the reef.
Can you see the Great Blue Hole without diving?
Yes, on a scenic flight from San Pedro that takes about an hour. From a boat, non-divers only see a dark blue circle.
How much should you tip villa staff in Belize?
Gratuity is discretionary. Guests who tip generally leave 10 to 20 percent of the total cost of the stay in cash, split between the chef and the caretaker. Guides and boat captains are tipped separately on the day.
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