Entering Belize

After the international ferry from Chetumal, Mexico arrived at San Pedro port, all passengers had to disembark. Including me, about half the passengers’ destination was San Pedro, while the rest would continue on the same boat to Caye Caulker in Belize. After disembarking, the first thing that caught my eye was the colorful “belize” letter wall. I found that almost all cities in Latin America, regardless of size, like to build such letter walls as photo spots for tourists. This is despite the fact that Belize does not belong to “Latin America” because its official language is English, having been the British colony “British Honduras”.

San Pedro’s immigration checkpoint was very small, even appearing somewhat crude. However, all passengers queued together for immigration procedures, and the whole process was quite smooth. The border control staff checked my passport and stamped it for release without any extra difficulties or confusion. Generally speaking, border control officials in various American countries are quite reliable, reflecting that their central governments’ power is reasonably effective (the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border might be an exception).

After entering Belize, I immediately felt the distinct difference from Mexico. Compared to Mexico, which is dominated by Mestizos, the physical characteristics of the people here are somewhat different. Although still mixed-race, what I saw most were people with African ancestry. These people might be from other British colonies in the Caribbean, descendants of African slaves mixed with Maya indigenous people. In addition, there are many immigrants from all over the world here, among whom those of Indian descent are the most conspicuous.

San Pedro

The cityscape of San Pedro is like a typical Caribbean island town: intense sunshine, full of lazy vibes, yet with a particular kind of dilapidation. The town is located on a narrow strip of land flanked by the sea on both sides: to the west is the lagoon of San Pedro, and to the east it faces the vast Caribbean Sea directly. The core area of the town is small, and the main streets can be covered just by walking.

It was already past noon when I arrived, so I decided to find a place for lunch. Although San Pedro is east of the Yucatan Peninsula, it is one hour behind Chetumal, so the local time was just 12:00 PM. As a town centered on tourism, the variety of restaurants here is much richer than in Chetumal. I walked into a random restaurant, Elvi’s Kitchen, and ordered a Caribbean-style stewed chicken served with sauce, rice and beans, fried plantains, and vegetables. It tasted very good.

The price of this lunch (20 Belize Dollars) was reasonable, cheaper than I expected. I also ordered a bottle of local beer for 7 Belize Dollars. The local currency, the Belize Dollar (BZD), has a fixed exchange rate with the US Dollar, where 1 USD equals 2 BZD, making conversion very simple. In San Pedro, a bottle of water usually costs between 0.5 and 1 USD (1 to 2 BZD). Regarding accommodation, a standard hotel can be sorted for a few dozen US dollars. Prices here are slightly more expensive than in Mexico, but cheaper than in many Caribbean island nations. Considering Belize has almost no industry and limited agriculture, with all supplies relying on international imports, plus a sparse population, small market, no large ports, and not being on major shipping routes, logistics costs are naturally high. Therefore, my initial expectation for prices here was actually on the high side, thinking it would be comparable to Caribbean island nations.

After arriving at my booked hotel, I dropped off my luggage and decided to go out for a stroll around the town to get a feel for this Caribbean town. In the central area of San Pedro town, besides tourist-oriented facilities like restaurants, supermarkets, and convenience stores, there are also some souvenir shops and travel agencies. Apart from that, the main attraction is the beach. San Pedro’s town beaches are concentrated on the east side, facing the more open Caribbean Sea, where the water is relatively clear. There weren’t too many tourists on the beach; many were leisurely lying on the sand sunbathing. There are also many bars and restaurants next to the beach.

Golf Carts

A unique feature of San Pedro is the golf carts running all over the streets. It’s very interesting, and I noticed many of them right after disembarking and entering the country. Here, golf carts are lightweight alternatives to cars. There are not only personal transport vehicles but also cargo vehicles, taxis, and school buses. Almost every shop has such vehicles parked in front. I finished walking through the core area of San Pedro town quite quickly, so I decided to rent a golf cart to explore further afield. After visiting a few shops, I finally rented one from an owner for 40 USD a day, price including gas. Renting the vehicle didn’t require checking a driver’s license; I don’t know if local laws just don’t require it.

After renting the cart, I started driving away from the town, heading towards more distant parts of the island. The golf cart is open on all sides but has a roof for shade, so it feels reasonably cool once driving. However, there were many golf carts on the road, and traffic was even congested in some places. After driving for a while, I found it wasn’t as easy as I expected because the roads were quite bumpy and had a large number of speed bumps. Since I had already been bouncing around on a boat for two hours in the morning, my back was about to break.

It’s not just tourists driving golf carts; locals rely heavily on them too. Some carts have even been modified specifically for transporting cargo. Passing by a school, I saw a six-seater cart with over a dozen children sitting on it, serving as a local school bus.

After driving for over thirty minutes on the island’s country roads, I arrived at Secret Beach in the northwest of Ambergris Caye. Facing Chetumal Bay, the water here is relatively calm. Similar to San Pedro, the beachside is lined with bars and restaurants, and there are even seats and parasols in the water, as well as overwater massage services.

Tourism Real Estate Economy

More striking than the natural scenery were the massive holiday real estate developments along the road. I saw various real estate advertisements along the way: seaside condos, detached houses, even land for sale for self-builds, and of course, timeshare properties.

Looking at the ads, these real estate prices aren’t that high; the cheaper ones are around tens of thousands of US dollars, though there are also luxury homes costing millions. But these prices don’t fully reflect the holding costs, and to me, it looks more like a commercial scam. First, the real estate liquidity here is low; it’s easy to buy but hard to sell. Second, if you don’t live here long-term and only come for vacation for a period each year, maintenance costs are high. Located in the tropical lowlands, high temperatures and humidity cause buildings to corrode constantly. Also, with frequent natural disasters like hurricanes, these properties require constant effort to maintain, otherwise they will quickly fall into disrepair. Furthermore, although the natural scenery here is beautiful, it is not irreplaceable; similar Caribbean landscapes can be seen in many places. If living here long-term, one would soon feel monotonous and bored. The land area here is small, and people easily succumb to so-called “Island Fever,” which is detrimental to physical and mental health.

Seaview apartments community with many golf carts parked.

Luxury vacation villas under construction.

Vacant lot in the swamp with a billboard saying “Build Your Home”.

San Pedro Airport

After spending a leisurely afternoon and evening in San Pedro, I decided to fly out of San Pedro early the next morning to Belize City, the capital of Belize. Although Belize’s land area is not large, apart from scattered islands, almost the entire territory is tropical rainforest, making transportation extremely inconvenient. Therefore, a special transportation network based on small aircraft has developed here. Almost every small town has a small airport, becoming the main mode of travel for local residents and tourists. I flew with Maya Island Air. Surprisingly, ticket prices were very cheap; even without booking in advance, it was only around 50 USD.

San Pedro’s small airport is not far from the town center, reachable within a ten-minute walk. Although many people choose expensive golf cart taxis, which might charge 20 USD for a few minutes’ ride, I decided to walk while the morning temperature was cool. Upon arriving at the airport, the staff quickly checked me in, and I received the crudest boarding pass I had ever seen.

The airport terminal wasn’t a large airport in the traditional sense; instead, it was a bit like the aviation clubs common in the US. I ordered a coffee in the lounge on the second floor. The environment was nice, and I could watch the planes outside. Although the airport is small, I saw multiple small planes taking off and landing within the ten-plus minutes I had breakfast, showing that the flight density is quite high.

There was no security check before boarding. After hearing the announcement, everyone was led directly onto the tarmac. The small plane I took was a British Britten-Norman BN-2, manufactured in 1983, capable of seating seven or eight people.

I originally thought the staff would weigh each passenger before boarding to ensure load balance, but in reality, they estimated the approximate weight visually and then manually assigned seats—simple and direct. For small aircraft, load balance is particularly important for aviation safety, and once everyone’s seat is determined, it absolutely cannot be changed.

What I found incredible was that from the boarding announcement to the plane taxiing and taking off, it took less than five minutes. There were no safety instructions or explanations before takeoff. Almost immediately after everyone was seated, we took off, and the pilot didn’t say a word throughout the entire journey.

Because the cruising altitude wasn’t high, the windows were all open throughout the flight, making it very suitable for sightseeing. One of Belize’s most famous attractions is the Great Blue Hole atoll. To see the Blue Hole, you also need to take a small plane for sightseeing. However, I didn’t go to the Blue Hole this time, but flew directly to the municipal airport in Belize City.

In the next post, I will recount my observations in Belize City. Stay tuned.

Last modified on 2025-11-30