Description:
1BR and 2BR, 2Ba direct-beachfront suites w/panoramic, unobstructed views of the Caribbean. Pool, beach bar, own dock, free bikes, walk to beachfront restaurants. Privacy, close to town, caring resident management. | |
Additional Information:
Belize Beach Suites at White Sands Cove is an upscale resort with 1BR and 2BR, 2Ba air-conditioned, custom-decorated suites in a secluded setting close to San Pedro. Pool, beach bar, free bikes, small guest shop for basic food and vacation purchases, hammocks under the palms, perfect jumping-off place for all mainland excursions (cave tubing, Mayan ruin tours, jungle cruises, spas), and diving, snorkeling, and fishing at the world's second largest barrier reef 500 yards off shore.
We are unabashedly proud of our accommodations. Our 1BR and 2BR/2Ba air-conditioned, beachfront suites all have fully-equipped kitchens, right down to the coffee and coffee-makers, and are fully furnished, right down to the linens and towels.
All project quality throughout -- in their construction, their spaciousness (550 square feet for 1BRs, 1,100 for 2BRs), their tile floors and countertops, the cabinetry of mahogany and Belizean cedar, the decorative imports from Mexico and Guatemala, the stainless steel ceiling fans, the cathedral ceilings, the spacious bedrooms with custom-designed furniture, the hand-made sinks and large showers, and lots of windows facing the Caribbean waters. We believe you’ll find these suites exceptional, and uncommon for island accommodations. All are entertainment-quality. Maid service? You bet. | |
Amenities
The things you’ll want to know:
- We are the closest resort to San Pedro, just north of town, a fun and picturesque 15-minute boat ride or interesting bike ride away.
We welcome singles, couples, families, groups of friends, children of all ages, and honeymooners -- we host many. Take a look, by clicking below, at what some of our past guests have said about their time with us.
- We enjoy 400+ feet of natural, pristine beachfront, with our own 250' dock, from which all the local guides come to pick up our guests for excursions of many kinds, both on the island and on the Belize mainland.
We offer complimentary bikes; a poolside Palapa Beach Bar and an indoor bar w/outdoor deck; palm trees and beach chairs and hammocks; an outdoor barbecue; and a small, on-site shop with vacation sundries.
- You can beach-walk in minutes to some of the best restaurants on the island, all of them also on the beach. Or you can order groceries or pizza in, delivered to your suite, just like at home.
- A caring and very experienced resident management team, expatriate Americans, specializes in eliminating guest hassle. We will book your connecting flight from Belize City to San Pedro; our Pedro will meet your plane and taxi you to the nearby water-taxi landing (a five-minute drive, with a supermarket stop along the way); from which Ariel will whisk you to our dock. We’ll be there at dockside to greet you and escort you to your suite, then will join you in planning all the things to do you’ve heard about and which brought you to our island.
- And finally, if you elect to join us, before you depart for your trip to Belize we’ll provide you with unparalleled email and phone support, giving you information on Ambergris Caye, excursion opportunities and dining recommendations, and answering your questions whenever they occur to you -- uniquely on the island, we believe. | |
Activities
Pool, bikes, beach swimming. Guides pick up our guests, at our own dock, for all mainland excursions and for all water activities. Walk to excellent, nearby beachfront restaurants, water-taxi in minutes to the sandy streets of San Pedro.
White Sands Cove is also a launching pad for adventures of many kinds.
Plan to dive? Certified divemasters are based two minutes down the beach, are great with experienced and neophyte divers alike, take our guests out to the best of scores of spectacular dive sites, including the world-famous Blue Hole, an amazing, mysterious, collapsed oceanic cavern.
Snorkeling? There’s Hol Chan Marine Reserve, one of the very best snorkeling sites in the world, just minutes offshore at the second largest barrier reef in the world.
Swim with sharks? There’s Shark Ray Alley, where you can join the guides cavorting with nurse sharks and huge sting rays, a thrilling and unforgettable experience.
Fishing? All kinds -- fly-fishing, flat fishing, bone fishing, mangrove fishing, deep sea. These guides too are based right next door.
Talk about unlimited options! Want to cruise inland waterways, explore Mayan ruins, watch local craftspeople at work, bird-watch, see and hear howler monkeys, spend time at a spa, explore deserted beaches, experience the thrill of tubing in underground caves, visit the bountiful Belize Zoo, play golf at a brand-new, world-class course on a nearby island? Our resident management team can set it all up for you, with the best guides when you need them.
Want to explore San Pedro’s gift shops, restaurants, beach bars, discos, a small gambling casino? No problem. Just kick off your shoes and stroll its sandy streets.
Your only problem, in fact, will be fitting it all in. Or, if you prefer, you can just kick back, soak up the sun, dig your toes in the sand, swim in our pool or off our dock, or curl up in your suite with that great book you’ve put off reading and have brought along.
That’s our story here at White Sands Cove. We should add that you’ve chosen a great Caribbean island for your vacation — close to the Continental USA, friendly natives, good food, a mean annual temperature of 80 degrees F, English spoken everywhere, the currency American. No matter how long you decide to stay, our bet is you’ll want to return.
We hope you’ll decide to join us. We’d like very much to host you, and help make your island visit a memorable experience.
Ambergris Caye is the name of Belize's largest island. The history of the island goes back to the days of the Maya, European Pirates, and Mexican Refugees who fled during the Caste War. The descendants from Mexico make up most of the island's population today. The economy of the island was once dependent on the coconut industry, followed by the fishing industry and presently it depends on tourism.
Ambergris Caye (pronounced Am-BUR-gris or Am-BUR-grease Key) is the largest of some 200 cayes that dot the coastline of Belize. Ambergris is 25 miles long and a little over a mile wide in some places, and is located in the clear shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea just off the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
Her coastline is protected by the 190 miles long Barrier Reef, the second largest living coral reef in the world. In Mayan times, Ambergris Caye was a trading post. The Marco Gonzalez ruins at the southern tip of the caye and the Basil Jones site to the north, as well as the many recently excavated "home sites" in the heart of San Pedro Town give evidence to a former Maya population of 10,000. The narrow channel that separates Mexico and Belize was dug by the Maya to provide a trade route from the bay of Chetumal to the Caribbean.
Following the Maya came the whalers and buccaneers and the ancestors of present day residents who were fishermen and workers in the coconut plantations. Today tourism has replaced fishing as the major source of income for the islanders although the mahogany skiffs are still in service for charter fishing and diving.
San Pedro Town is the only inhabited area on the island. It's atmosphere is that of a small bustling fishing village.
The town is clustered with wooden houses, some with Mexican decor, others Caribbean, and some still remain with the English colonial architecture. Gift shops, boutiques, bars, cafes, and restaurants adorn Front And Middle streets (now named Barrier Reef Drive/Pescador Drive). A short walk in town will make you feel the friendliness of the people and enjoy their lifestyles as they go around doing their daily chores. Barefeet, tee-shirts, and shorts is the typical island dress code.
The people of the island are called "Sanpedranos" and speak English, Spanish, Creole, and Maya all at the same time, making it their own island dialect. They are proud of their heritage and are willing to share it with the tourists. Before tourism picked up in the eighties, the islanders wer mostly Mestizos (Maya-Spanish). Today they share their island with the Creole, Maya, Central American refugees, and Americans that have made San Pedro their new home. To see the many faces of the island, see the Kay Scott FACES & PLACES OF SAN PEDRO online photo gallery.
The island's biggest tourist attraction is the Belize Barrier Reef that runs parallel along the entire coast of Belize. The reef is only a quarter mile from the beach of Ambergris Caye making diving easily accessible. The island's seaside is jammed with jetties and dive shops which offer trips to the different dive sites and to the Great Blue Hole. The also offer certified scuba lessons in NAUI, PADI, and SSI. One of the most popular dive sites is the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, which is only a ten minute boat ride from town. The reef's beauty and richness has put Belize among the top ten dive destinations in the world.
The evenings on the island are a social event. You will find tourists and islanders at the different bars and restaurants listening to reggae and latin music and sharing the day's adventures. For those that like to take a day off from diving, the travel agencies in town arrange day tours to the Maya ruins and rain forest. For those who just want to relax, a day on the sandy beach will certainly do.
When planning your next vacation to one of those exotic islands that offer everything but crowds, remember my name is . . . . . Ambergris Caye!
Gach Guerrero, Amigo Travel
Ambergris Caye was once a part of Mexico and therefore its wildlife is vastly similar to that found in northern Belize and southern Mexico. Plant life for the most part consists of White, Red and Black Mangrove, Buttonwood; littoral forest plants such as black poison wood, red and white gumbo limbo, sapodilla, ziricote, wild sea grape, fig,copal, coco plum, coconut, saltwater palmetto, and several small shrubs.
Fauna include over 200 species of birds including endangered birds such as the black cat bird. Common sightings include the white-eyed vireo, Yucatan vireo, common tody flycatcher, great Kiskadee, black and gray catbird bird, chachalaca, cinnamon hummingbird, parakeets, black hawk, yellow-bellied elaenia, laughing falcon, white-collared seed-eater, golden-fronted woodpecker, black-headed salator, blue herons, egret birds, roseate spoonbill and the hooded oriole.
Less frequent visitors to the Caye include green-breasted mango hummingbirds, yellow-backed oriole eastern kingbirds, scarlet and summer tanagers, regal white-crowned pigeons and the rose-throated becard.
The northern end of Ambergris Caye is also home to many other terrestrial wildlife such as peccaries, racoons and white-tailed deer. Some locals have even reported seeing jaguars!
Ambergris Caye is a food lovers paradise. Local cuisine is abundant featuring the Belizean favorite of rice and beans, stewed chicken and potato salad. Local foods are influenced by the Spanish and Mexicans with dishes such as Chimole, Escabeche, Panades, Salbutes, Garnaches, Tacos, Bollos, Tamalitos, Tamales and Burritos.
Of course Seafood is a common delight, with feasts of succulent lobster, conch, and a delicious array of fish, squid, muscles, scallops and even shark. Most restaurants specialize in seafood dishes, however, lobster and conch are seasonal so be sure to check what is in season before ordering.
Added to this array are the exquisite taste of seasonal tropical fruits such as pineapples, bananas, star fruit,cantaloupe, soursap, water melons, oranges, grapefruits,tangerines, may plums, figs, blackberry, mangoes, craboo, and much more.
Or, if you're in the mood for something different there are several restaurants that feature European, Cajun, Indian, Chinese, and Jamaican cuisine.
Ambergris Caye has many small settlements on the north and south of the main town, San Pedro. People who acquire land on Ambergris Caye and make it their home tend to give names to their pieces of paradise and as more people move into the area the names are often adapted by all. Each area has its unique features that both visitors and locals have come to love and enjoy.
San Pedro Town
Saint Peter Town - the only town on the island of Ambergris Caye is about one and a half-miles long and in some places about a mile wide. This is home to the majority of the island's population as well as a majority of the restaurants, bars, clubs and hotels on the island. Visitors will most likely find what they need within walking distance.
North of San Pedro
San Juan or St. John, is a community located directly north of the center of San Pedro Town. The area is home to majority of the work force on San Pedro and has its own unique mixture of people from all over Belize, Central America, North America and even Europe. The Zaak Ba Ajo Lagoon is a great spot to snorkel, boasting unique aquatic life and the lagoon's own little blue hole.
Boca Del Rio or Mouth of the River - is a settlement in the north of the island located directly after San Juan and just before the river. A ferry links Boca Del Rio Area to other areas in the far north of the island. Visitors to Boca Del Rio can enjoy swimming where this salt water river meets the sea as well spending time at the Boca Del Rio Park. The water slides in the park are especially fun for small children.
South of San Pedro
San Pablo - Saint Paul is a small community located just over a mile and a half southwest of the center of San Pedro Town and facing the lagoon. Visitors often take bicycle or golfcart rides up Avenida Del Sol which stretches to the Lagoons edge - in San Pablo to watch to sparkling sunsets over the glossy surface of the lagoon. Swimming and snorkeling can be enjoyed along San Pablo.
Mar De Tumbo or the Tumbling Sea is the only spot on the island where the waves tumble to the shore through a break in the reef instead of first breaking on the reef like the rest of the island. This is a popular swimming area located just over a mile south of San Pedro.
Other communities include the Escalente Sub-division in the south, San Miguel near San Pablo, San Telmo in the south near Mar De Tumbo, Sunset Coves in the south, San Pedrito located along the San Pedro Lagoon, Tres Cocos in the north, Las Palmas, and the Basil Jones area both also located in the north.
The 1/2 mile from the beachline to the reefline has an abundance of wonders. Click here for detailed information about this area. Click here for information showing the main points of the Outer Reef Lagoon, San Pedro and South, and the main cuts through the reef east of the island. | |
Property Amenties & Services:
Services & amenities not necessarily included in rate.
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