Recommended Activities while in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye!
Biking around the island - enjoy our complimentary bikes, and explore the island! Alternatively, you can rent a golf cart from us for a more relaxed day. Driving a golf cart as a car is one of the greatest charms of the island. There are three areas to explore - north and south - see below - and see "A day in town" below, which deserves its own section!
North - (of the bridge, where PUR is located) - this is considered the trendy Tres Cocos neighborhood - very desirable location, as you are a mile from the craziness in the heart of San Pedro - most famously the Boca Del Rio neighborhood south of the bridge, but in a gorgeous, tranquil, peaceful place with a ton to do. Bike/drive starting north of the bridge - the newly paved road just goes and goes….great places to stop north of the bridge - starting at the bridge and heading north: Coco Loco’s Beach Bar, Croc's Sports Bar, (then PUR!), Truck Stop, Stella’s Sunset Wine Bar, Aji tapa Bar & Restaurant(This is our Sister property just 5min north of us), or anywhere you see a crowd gathering. The resorts will all let you stop and walk around - there are some really nice ones and it is worth it to park your cart or bike, and take a walk on the beach and check them out. Some nice ones are Coco Beach & Las Terrazas, and check out the new construction going on!
Head south of town for another adventure....south of town is a mini downtown area - still crazy, and please note the road is pretty rough - you'll feel it driving! You'll head about 2-2.5 miles south of PUR by this point. We recommend a must-do below. Road Kill Bar is also known to be fun, and they have karaoke on Wednesdays.
Belize Food Tours - this is a highly recommended experience, to try a vast array of local, unique foods, and get some history about the island. You can do a dinner or a day tour, or even a cooking class.
A day in town..."San Pedro" refers to the biggest town on the island, and the heart of town is a neighborhood known as “Boca Del Rio”. You'll see locals, expats, tourists, beach dogs, kids, students, crowds, golf carts, cars, and general craziness! (Be careful walking in the streets as there are few sidewalks, even the beach is a road!) We recommend biking/driving on the beach after you cross the bridge, you'll take the first left after the bridge, and head south on the beach until you reach Sandbar/Palapa Bar area (you can float in tubes on the sea at Palapa Bar and enjoy dockside fun and beach dining at Sandbar), drinks on the shore chairs at Sandy Toes, Nauti Crab (formerly Crazy Canucks) - for almost any night of the week - but especially for Crab Races on Tuesdays (see below), breakfast at Estel’s Dine by the Sea, or just a walk as far south as Ramon’s, or as far north as (just south of the bridge), makes you feel like you are really doing something. You will always see something fun...the high school band doing parades through town, or you can watch as fisherman fight with pelicans and stingrays as they clean their fish, or the adorable kids in their uniforms on their way to school. Most of the docks are located on the beach and this is a great place to spend a day walking around. Note - see our restaurant page for our recommendations on where to eat here!
We recommend Secret Beach for a day (follow the signs, turn left a few minutes past Las Terrazas - the road recently was planed and it is now a pleasant, quick ride - about 12-15 minutes after the turn off). This is a workout with a bike, so you may want to save this for a golf cart day. See "a day at the beach" below for more info. There are beach clubs, plenty of bars/food/drinks here - bring bug spray, a change of clothes, and a towel.
Water taxi for a day at Caye Caulker - the water taxi is located right in town in San Pedro - easy to find, and this is a memorable, fun day. Visit www.belizewatertaxi.com for more info. Caye Caulker is a funky, fun island that people tend to fall in love with; it is about a 30 minute water taxi ride. Visit the Split while you are there, or rent a kayak or paddleboard - this is a GREAT place to do this on the sea!
Excursions - there are no shortage of excursions in Ambergris Caye. The three top excursions our guests love are Island Dream Tours - a full day catamaran sail, with several great snorkeling stops, with a big stop in either Caye Caulker or an amazing sand bar, where you will stop for a party in the sea! Our guests also love to do a long day of inland adventures - either the ATM Cave Tour or a half day Xunantunich Mayan ruins with the other half Cave Tubing. This is expensive but worth it! For a less expensive but still totally memorable option - our guests love the half day snorkel trip to Hol Chan/Shark Ray Alley, where you can snorkel with sharks, sting rays, and more! We recommend you book Island Dream Tours ahead of time as these book up - you can book and pay right online. We can book a full day mainland excursion or half day snorkel when you arrive.
Other popular excursions: you will find numerous dive shops right on the beach in the heart of town - these ALL have great reputations and they advertise clearly what they do. You can parasail, snorkel, fish, boat, dive….you can’t miss them and we would send guests to ANY of the places on the beach that you can find. HERE is a list of the top recommended dive tours on TripAdvisor. We recommend SeaStar Belize for diving - this is right down the road at Dive Bar. Neptune's Cove - formerly Blue Heaven Dives - Steve is located a bit further south, and also has an amazing dive shop. Xsite Sailing is one of the consistent favorites for all water outings, and we work with Diamond Belize Tours for a great deal of our land and sea tours. The Belize Zoo/Cave Tubing is highly rated, or Blue Hole/Turneffe Islands - this is a longer day - but it is one of the main attractions in Belize. You can easily find this tour with most dive shops.
Spa/Yoga - We have a lovely massage area right on site at PUR with Amy - she has a vast array of spa and massage services and she gets rave reviews from our guests! You can book anytime with her while you are here. We recommend yoga at Akbol Yoga (short beach walk away, or ride the bike on the road) about .2 miles away for daily yoga at 9am, we recommend you check times as they can change. Try Serenity at Las Terrazas, north of us, or Oasis Spa or Sol Spa at Phoenix in the heart of San Pedro for other spa services.
Rent kayaks or paddle boards from Lisa's Rentals, just minutes away.
Random facts/ideas that can improve your experience!
The water in San Pedro is some of the prettiest water in the world, with perfect white sand - but most of the beachfront is seawalled to protect the island. Because we are close to the reef, there can be seagrass that washes in, but this is also what maintains the incredible sea life for diving and snorkeling. While San Pedro has the ideal island atmosphere and does it better than almost anywhere, it is not considered a "beach town" for this reason. People love Ambergris Caye for the energy, adventures, vibe, and the island experience that you just have to see to believe!
All beaches in Belize are public, so you are welcome to walk freely on all beachfront. Although many resorts are located on the beach, most beaches are not swimmable - there are only a few actual beaches. There are docks everywhere that lead to blue Kool-Aid colored water. You can walk right to the shore, steps away, from PUR, and walk the beautiful, picturesque beach front. You can swim off the docks at Rumdog, just minutes walk away. We also recommend swinging over the water and playing in the sea at Dive Bar, just down the road, or heading to the heart of town to Sandy Toes to sit on the shore, or Palapa Bar to swim in the tubes on the sea.
There is a $2.50usd charge to cross the bridge into town - ONLY in a car or golf cart - NOT bikes. If there is someone manning the bridge, just stop and wave and they will come over and collect either $2.50usd one way or $5usd both ways, and they will give you a ticket to hold onto for your way back.
Tips to save you a few bucks...Almost everything outside of grocery stores and the larger restaurants is negotiable. 10% is about the typical discount you can get - ask for “best price.” Coffee at a restaurant is sometimes not “free-refills.” So ask before ordering one more cup of coffee, as you may be a bit surprised at your bill.
Assume that everything is in Belize Dollars - but USD is accepted everywhere. Nearly everything – outside of real estate, tours, and lodging – is in BZD. Many menus will mention that “all prices in Belize dollars” and will also note if it is in USD.
Tipping is appreciated and is about the same as the US.