Fodors Belize

Belize City. Depending on your perspective, Belizes commercial, transportation, and cultural hub is either a lively Caribbean port city of raffish charm or a crime-ridden, edgy backwater best seen through the rearview mirror.

The Cayes and the Atolls. Hundreds of cayes (pronounced keys ) dot the Caribbean Sea off Belize, both inside and outside the Barrier Reef. The largest are Ambergris, Belizes most popular visitor destination, and Caulker. Farther out are three South Pacificstyle atolls.

Northern Belize. This is the land of sugarcane and sweet, off-the-beaten-path places to visit. Corozal Town, up against the Mexican border, has a lovely bayside setting, and Sarteneja is a fishing village just waiting to be discovered.

The Cayo. The rolling hills of Western Belize, anchored by San Ignacio, offer outdoor activities aplentycaving, canoeing, hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Several remarkable Mayan sites also await you, including Caracol and Actun Tunichil Muknal.

The Southern Coast. Want beaches? The best on the mainland are on the Placencia peninsula, especially in the Maya Beach area, and in Hopkins.

The Deep South. Rainy and lush, beautiful and remote, Punta Gorda in far southern Belize is the jumping-off point for the unspoiled Mayan villages of Toledo District and for onward travel to Guatemala and Honduras.

El Petn. This part of Guatemala, easily visited from the Cayo District of Belize, is home to the most spectacular of all Mayan sites, Tikal, and the remains of many other ancient cities.

Like the United States, Belize held national elections in 2012, and, also like the United States, Belize re-elected its first black leader in history. Dean Barrow, a lawyer by profession, educated in Jamaica and Miami, first became prime minister in general elections in 2008. His party, the United Democratic Party (or UDP) swept into office then with about 57% of the popular vote. In its first years in office, the UDP generally took a low-key approach to governing. It followed a reform-oriented agenda in an effort to mitigate charges of high-level corruption levied against the former government. Seeking greater diversity in government, the UDP tapped Mayas and Mennonites for high office, in addition to the traditional core of Creole and Mestizo politicians. However, as the years since the 2008 election passed, Belizes UDP government has faced growing challenges and increasing popular discontent. The 2012 election against the Peoples United Party, the main opposition party, was much closer. Rising prices and a slow economy (when the U.S. sneezes, Belize catches a bad cold) cost Prime Minister Barrow some popularity, as has increasing crime, especially in Belize City. The government has become mired in new charges of corruption and in messy efforts to renationalize the main telephone company, Belize Telemedia Ltd., and the electric company.

Although a runway extension at Goldson International Airport near Belize City was completed years ago, anticipated new scheduled airline service, including from Europe and Canada, hasnt yet materialized. Indeed, existing airlines serving Belize, including Delta and US Airways (as of this writing set to merge with American), have cut back on service from the United States. While international service by one of Belizes two puddle jumper airlines, Maya Island Air, fizzled, the other local airline, Tropic Air, has added international service to Cancn, Mexico, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and Flores and Guatemala City, Guatemala. Tropic also added domestic service to Belmopan and the San Ignacio/Benque Viejo area. Construction on a controversial new international airport near Placencia has essentially stopped, and its now unclear when or even if the airport will open. The national bus network, divided into northern, western, and southern zones, with franchises often awarded on a political patronage basis, has been in a state of flux since the bankruptcy or closing of several large bus companies. A number of small regional bus lines have filled the gap, providing frequent and inexpensive, if not always comfortable, service on the main George Price Highway (formerly Western Highway), Philip Goldson Highway (formerly Northern Highway), and Southern Highway routes and elsewhere. Belizes water-taxi network has expanded, and there are now three different companies providing service between Belize City and San Pedro and Caye Caulker. Also, two water-taxi companies are now running boats between Chetumal, Mexico, and San Pedro and Caye Caulker, making it easier for those flying into Cancn to reach Belize.

George Cadle Price, the George Washington of Belize, who led Belize to independence from Britain in 1981 and who served as the countrys first prime minister, died September 19, 2011, just two days short of the 30th anniversary of Belize independence. Never married, George Price was known as an ascetic and religious political leader. A populist, he believed in Belize for Belizeans and often opposed tourism development.