Belize travel beach and kayaks

Want to hit the best Belize beaches instead of coming up short? Check out our new tour story from Belize here.

Belize is known as a great diving and snorkeling spot, but many people go to Ambergris Caye on vacation and are disappointed by the beach scene. Or more accurately, the absence of a beach scene. Really this is just a case of the most popular destination not necessarily being the best.

Don’t get us wrong there are a lot of great luxury hotels on Ambergris, but if you want to take a beach stroll and regularly wiggle your toes in real sand, you’re better off hopping a Maya Island Air flight to Placencia. There you’ll find a gorgeous stretch of sand that extends miles and miles down a long peninsula. So that’s where this story starts, at Belize Ocean Club.   This gorgeous resort with big suites straddles the width of the peninsula and has a 5-star PADI dive center.

Belize private island beach Since Belize has hundreds of islands scattered offshore, some of them close to the famous reef, you can also get a nice private island experience for your honeymoon or anniversary trip without traveling 12 time zones away. We hopped another Maya Island flight to skip a few hours of driving and landed quickly in Dangriga. There is was a 15-minute boat ride out to a dot on the horizon, Thatch Caye Resort. (See our detailed review of Thatch Caye here, or reserve on the company website.)

We had the tough decisions there of whether to go snorkeling or lobster hunting, whether to lounge on our cabana’s hammock or the one by the beach. Paddleboarding or kayaking? Then it was the tough decision of what to order for happy hour at the bar on stilts over the water.

It was then back to the mainland for a short stay at Hopkins Bay Resort. (See links in the tour story for our review and the company website.) Another gorgeous stretch of sand with calm waves lapping the shore, another great beach bar with a view of the water. Down the beach that night, a Garifuna band singing and banging multiple drums into the night. In the morning waking up to a sunrise from the suite balcony, it was time for a hearty breakfast at the Rhum Shack before a last short prop plane flight quickly up and then quickly down at the international airport.

Fly Belize Maya Island Air

If you’d like to escape to paradise and do this Belize Beaches tour yourself, see the details here: Beach-hopping and a Private Island in Belize.