Belize City

[Hank49]

An alternate is to go to Placencia. It is probably the fastest growing tourist destination in Belize and has the best beaches in Belize. There is lots of accommodation to fit any budget, lots of adventure tours from there, diving and snorkeling with a national marine park close by and several marine reserves.

Best beaches in Belize....ahem....are you sure about that?

But to the OP...Belize City does kind of suck. Crowded, kind of dirty...I only go when I have to, although it's not as dangerous as Peter was told. I've walked a lot around there and had no problems.

 

[Damselfish]

We did a handful of dives down south, not enough to review the whole area, but we weren't all that impressed with the reefs. I'm curious if there are better reefs than we saw. We did have a brief in water encounter with dolphins, and met a humongous old and half blind turtle that would swim straight into you if you didn't move.

 

[Hank49]

I don't know if it's really better down this way, but it's different than San Pedro. We don't have so much of the 'spur and groove' that predominates up there and the reef wall is more accessible here. It starts here at anywhere from 60-100 feet. In San Pedro, the actual wall doesn't start until about 130 feet or more.
For me, I like the wall diving here but I like the white sand beaches of San Pedro and would say that they are the best in Belize.
At least they're definitley better than the ones here in Mullins River. hah. Sand fly kingdom here.

 

[peterbj7]

I would say Caye Caulker has the best beaches I've seen in Belize. Though there are several small and intimate beaches on Thatch Caye that are also lovely.

 

[Thatch Caye Belize]

Placencia has about the same quality of beach as Mullins and just about anywhere along the coast. Nothing to be compared with the cayes. Any caye that has a beach will be better than Placencia and other coastal areas because the cayes actually have clear water around them with white sand and many cayes even have reef right off shore that is beautiful to snorkel and dive.Placencia does have a long beach with coconuts and lots of hotels on it if that is what you like, but compared to most Caribbean beaches, Placencia would be last in quality. However they will get you on a boat and out of there to somewhere else in a blink when you want to dive or snorkel, so it seems to work for some people.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Best beaches in Belize?
Adaptor Kit Belize by Lan Sluder: “Tourism boosters in Placencia brag that they have the best beaches in Belize. Not everyone would agree, pointing to rival stretches of sand on Ambergris and other cayes, and to the mainland beaches around Hopkins. But Placencia certainly has the longest beach in Belize, running with few interruptions some 16 miles along the sea.”
Destination Belize by BTIA: “A 16-mile-long white sand beach, colourful clapboard stilt cottages, a sidewalk that serves as a main street, and million dollar seaside villas all make Placencia a one-of-a-kind beach destination that attracts film starts, backpackers, anglers and divers alike.”
Lonely Planet: “Perched at the southern tip of a long narrow, sandy peninsula, Placencia is the caye that you can drive to. ….. Unlike most of the cayes, however, Placencia has good palm-lined beaches on its east side. The beaches attract an international crowd looking for sun and sand, and they make low-key pastimes such as swimming, sunbathing and lazing-about the preferred activities for many visitors.”

 

[Hank49]

Best beaches in Belize?
Lonely Planet: “Perched at the southern tip of a long narrow, sandy peninsula, ”

'that was a mangrove swamp before it was cleared and filled for residential lots'. It's nice....but it isn't world class.

 

[peterbj7]

To get back to the original question, the OP was concerned about ready access to what he calls eco-tours. Plus good diving.

Hey, I was thinking about staying in Belize City so we'd be closer to some of the eco-tours. Is there any good places to stay there and can I find any good diving from that location. Thanks

Now, if all you want is inland tours, to ruins and/or jungle, you'd be best off staying inland. San Ignacio and area is probably your best bet. A wide range of hotels/resorts and prices, including some of the cheapest in Belize, and several excellent tour companies. You are however a long way from any diving.

For diving with the opportunity for inland tours you really need to be on one of the cayes, or maybe in the southern area between Dangriga and Placencia. This includes Hopkins, which has some very upmarket resorts. From the northern cayes, especially Ambergris, there are daily boat trips to the mainland to visit ruins like Lamanai and Altun Ha, and to do things like cave tubing etc in the northern part of Belize. These are all whole day excursions with relatively limited (though adequate) time at the destination. You can also fly to visit these places, though that involves road transport from Belize City. It goes without saying that there is also superb diving available from these cayes, on the northern (Belize) section of the barrier reef, where you'll find fascinating spur-and-groove coral formations.

To visit areas further south you really want to be staying further south. I haven't visited Placencia so I can't speak for the areas accessible from there for land-based eco-tours, but you're pretty close to the mountains and I'm sure there are interesting places to visit.

I have visited Thatch Caye several times, and perversely it's a good jumping off point for many inland sites - as well as offering superb diving in the Southwater Caye Marine Reserve (which offers wall dives instead of the spur-and-groove found further north), and at the right time of the year/month visiting the whale sharks at Gladden Spit. They are one of the few operators licenced to take you there. They have their own docking facilities on the mainland, about a 30 minute boat ride away, and several of their own vehicles that they then take you themselves in to visit some real attractions. No transferring to another tour operator, with the attendant issues of timing and paying - they do it all themselves. At appropriate places they tie up with a local guide - I've visited the ruins at Cahal Pech with them and the guide they chose, and learned a great deal at this most interesting site. Having your own vehicle and not being tied to anyone else's timing you have great flexibility, such as for example stopping off after visiting the ruins at Xunantunich to browse around the local market, or stopping off at a farm shop to eat delicious home-made yoghurt. And as they run their own boats back to the island, no timetable to meet there either. Paradoxically, I've had better and longer, and certainly more relaxed, visits to the ruins right at the Guatemalan border with them than I have had with conventional tour companies based on the mainland.

In case this sounds like a commercial, I hasten to add that I am totally independent and have no financial ties with anyone I've mentioned. I just like a good product when I see it!

 

[hpbelize]

Apart from being a port city Belize City is also the hub for inland and marine adventure due to its geographical location. You have easy access to the central part of the Barrier Reef, Turneffe Atoll, and LHR as well as several Mayan Sites, Belize Zoo, and a number of national parks. I would easily dismiss what Peter was told but I have personally heard taxi drivers at taxi stands and hotels tell tourists that sort of thing to get a job for which they'd charge an arm and a leg. The southside is known to be pretty rough at times but it's not Mogadishu and if you are staying in the city there is no need for you to be in that part. Belize Adventure Lodge is located on one of the Drowned Cayes, less than half hour from Belize City. We have daily boats to and from the mainland and you are free to choose a custom itinerary for inland and marine tours. We are about 10 minutes from the Barrier Reef, less than half hour from Turneffe, and the hour and a half boat ride to LHR/Blue Hole is mainly through calm waters. Transfers from airport city and city to island are included. If you are looking at doing everything from diving to cave tubing, zip lines to mangrove kayaks, manatee encounters to Mayan sites, and everything in between you might want to check us out. Enjoy your vacation.

 

[SkimFisher]

Been there. Done that. Unless I go back with the Red Cross it's never going to happen again...

Most of the resident I met were nice, but it's not a vacation destination.