Ambergris in August

[HighSeasYoda]

My wife and I have an overwhelming need to get out of town & away from work as soon as possible - which unfortunately isn't until August. We are thinking Ambergris Caye, but it looks like August is right in the middle of the rainy season. Should we be concerned with that - I'm not real worried if it's just a few afternoon showers but daily monsoons doesn't sound very appealing.

Also, how is the walk from Victoria House to the city center? Can that walk be easily made by road/beach or should we expect to have to go with either bike or cart? We are also looking at the Blue Tang Inn as their location appears to be great for access to restaurants, bars, and exploring the city.

Thanks for any advice you can offer

 

[jlevine]

I was in Belize for two weeks in August a couple of years ago and loved it. There was some rain, but overall very little. There were not a lot of crowds due to the heat, but I liked it. I can't comment on Victoria House but I do like the location of the Blue Tang. It's at the north end of town, just down the street from two markets, and a short walk to the center of town. Another place just down the beach from the Blue Tang is Paradise Villas. The latter is self-catered while Blue Tang offers a complimentary breakfast and other conveniences such as beach towels. Ambergris Caye is a great place.

My wife and I have an overwhelming need to get out of town & away from work as soon as possible - which unfortunately isn't until August. We are thinking Ambergris Caye, but it looks like August is right in the middle of the rainy season. Should we be concerned with that - I'm not real worried if it's just a few afternoon showers but daily monsoons doesn't sound very appealing.

Also, how is the walk from Victoria House to the city center? Can that walk be easily made by road/beach or should we expect to have to go with either bike or cart? We are also looking at the Blue Tang Inn as their location appears to be great for access to restaurants, bars, and exploring the city.

Thanks for any advice you can offer

 

[AWMIII]

My wife and I have an overwhelming need to get out of town & away from work as soon as possible - which unfortunately isn't until August. We are thinking Ambergris Caye, but it looks like August is right in the middle of the rainy season. Should we be concerned with that - I'm not real worried if it's just a few afternoon showers but daily monsoons doesn't sound very appealing.

Also, how is the walk from Victoria House to the city center? Can that walk be easily made by road/beach or should we expect to have to go with either bike or cart? We are also looking at the Blue Tang Inn as their location appears to be great for access to restaurants, bars, and exploring the city.

Thanks for any advice you can offer

We have been twice in August. It can rain once a day for about 15 minutes or it might not rain at all. It might rain at night. I have yet to see it rain all day in San Pedro. San Pedro is a pretty dry place in general. I think there is much more rain on the mainland that time of year. It is not crowded. Almost everything is open. Most importantly, it is not as hot as Philadelphia that time of the year.

We usually stay above the bridge as we like the quiet at night. Sometimes we use a golf cart. Sometimes, we just ride the Coastal Express after an evening in town. I have found that a dive light can make a really good auxilliary headlight on a golfcart. I am also pretty sure it can also be used to blind any would be muggers. We have never had such a problem though.

We are trying to figure out how to get back the second week of August this year.

 

[HighSeasYoda]

jlevine & AWMIII, thanks for the replies. That's what I was hoping to hear about the weather. We can handle the occasional shower & being a little cooler than Texas in the middle of August is not a bad thing either. Not too worried about getting mugged - from what I understand that is not an issue there? More concerned about the walk into town with traffic and such. Although spotlighting muggers does sound like it could make for good times - until they get angry. Then it's high speed golf cart chase time.

Think we're sold on heading there in August, now to decide on where. What jlevine said about the location of Blue Tang Inn sound perfect to me, but the wife is digging Victoria House. I have a feeling I know how that is going to end up.

 

[peterbj7]

Victoria House is an excellent and very classy hotel, but it is quite a long way out and you'd really need transport. Blue Tang is well positioned quite close to town. You might persuade your wife towards The Phoenix, San Pedro's newest luxury hotel and even closer to town than Blue Tang. It was recently voted on Trip Advisor as the best hotel IN THE WORLD! Seems to me a bit of an exaggeration, but it's a really good place.

 

[HighSeasYoda]

Thanks Peter, I'll definitely check out the Phoenix. One probably can't go wrong with the best hotel in the world. Appreciate the help.

 

[Downing]

Be sure to write a trip report to tell us all about your stay at the best hotel IN THE WORLD.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Victoria House is a very nice place with a much better beach front, but it is a pretty fair walk from the southern end of town. Blue Tang is on the northern-end below the split, but packed into a smaller area w/ a narrow beach between two docks. We had originally looked at Victoria House on our last trip, but ended up staying at a place more reasonably priced place in town. Utlimately, we were very happy being in town w/ easy access to everything and avoiding the commute. Between the two, VH is a lot nicer IMO. BT is closer to one of the markets with a shorter walk to the main section of town.

If you like to get out and do stuff, then I'd stay closer in. If you're more into staying "on property" in a luxury setting, then VH is a great choice.

Hope this helps.

 

[HighSeasYoda]

Definitely helps Maredsous, thanks for the info

 

[Allen Raphael]

My wife and I just returned from Ambergris last weekend for a 1 week stay at the Phoenix...can't say enough good things about that place! It's very close to plenty of great restaurants and is very convenient for all the local dive shops. We went with Chuck and Robbie's, but right down the beach is Amigos del Mar. They would be the dive op I'd recommend for an atoll excusion like Turneffe or Lighthouse. One drawback to the Phoenix is the lack of beach, but honestly the pool is very refreshing and has a great view of the water. The on-site restaurant Red Ginger is pretty great too if you don't feel like venturing out too far. The service there is awesome and although we've heard great things about VH, it's not centrally located but does have a beach. They are running a 20% off special at the Phoenix in the fall, presumably because of the "rainy season" but it would be a great way to enjoy this luxurious but pricey resort.