AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Banana Beach

Hi everyone, can anyone tell me how far Banana Beach is from town? Would we need a golf cart all the time to get to town or can you walk it? We can't decide between Banana Beach and Exotic Caye and wondered which is nicer!! Is Exotic really busy and noisy or is it really nice and a short walk to town?

Speaking of busy!! Are all the resorts so close together like we see in the pic's? Are most of the beaches very small? It looks like a great place to go but a first hand opinion on things would help us out!!!

Thanks for all your input, you guys are great!!!

Banana Beach is about 1.5 miles from town, located on a beach with several other resorts.
Exotic Caye is much closer to town.
My personal opinion (after staying in Exotic Caye my first trip down) is that Banana Beach would be the nicer of the two. I have not stayed at BB, or even seen their rooms.
Exotic Caye's bar, Crazy Canucks is a great bar, very lively, but not the quietest place if you want to sleep. The pool at EC is above ground, and not the nicest. And some of the units back up to a busy road that is quite noisy, especially when the Disco across the street is open.
In answer to your questions regarding the closeness of the resorts, No. Not all are so close together. And some beaches are really nice, while others are pretty cramped.
Cheerz,
Vicki

Hey, Lakegirl. Where is Gun Lake Michigan? I'm from Linden, MI just south of Flint. In any event, here are my thoughts.

I haven't stayed at Banana Beach so I can't attest to the accommodations but I do know it is a far walk into town. Far meaning if you want to do it a couple of times a day.

Exotic Caye is about 10 minutes from town, walking. It has some really nice condo units. Some of them do butt up against the road and I can't attest to the noise as I have been renting unit 2B which is one of the side condos. Each condo does have an ocean view, which is nice.

The pool is above ground with a wooden deck. Not the nicest that I've seen, like at Banyan Bay where I stayed in March but nice enough to cool off after you've been laying in the sun.

Crazy Canucks is a fun beach bar on site. It usually only gets crazy on Monday nights which is Punta Night. The remaining nights can get busy but it doesn't get all that crazy or noisy.

Monkey Bites is the restaurant on site. It's open from 7:00 - 3:00 p.m. The food isn't bad but if you stay there, you'll definitely go into town and experience more of the restaurants. There are a ton to choose from.

There is a new dive shop on site now at Exotic Caye and Don and Carol, the managers, can hook you up for those excursions or basically anything else you'll want to do. They are very nice.

Exotic has a nice beach area and the sea grass gets cleaned up every morning that gets washed to shore.

Bottom line, I enjoy the Exotic Caye. It's close to town, fits my pocket book and I like having the beach bar right outside my condo. There are many resorts on the island, it's all personal choice and how much you want to spend.

If you want you can email me at [email protected] and I'll be glad to answer any other questions you may have.

Take care!

we stayed at BB in february...walked to town on the beach a few times...it's a lovely walk...but it depends on your level of fitness...takes about 20 minutes or more...we took it slow and two times in one day was a bit too much for us...sore feet...so we ended up renting a golf cart a couple of times too...that was a great way to rest up between days when we did more walking.

i liked the looks of exotic caye...but i think BB has better digs...still exotic caye is closer to town and the beach area there seemed really spacious...unlike BB which has a very small beachfront (but a pretty good swimming beach next to it).

there are pros & cons for each...but once you're on AC...it won't matter all that much...it's a small place and you'll enjoy getting around to see most of it...just don't expect miles of sandy swimming beaches like other carib destinations...the attraction to AC is for other reasons...great snorkeling/diving, the friendliest people, excellent hospitality & dining, tropical weather and a lack of full blown commercialism that also characterizes many carib locations...

go and enjoy...without a doubt!

Hey lakegirl & Fluffy~
I'm from Michigan also. About a 1/2 hour north of Muskegon!
We stayed at Coral Bay Villa's in Feb. and are going back in Jan. No pool, but only 6 units and not a bad walk to town. We used Caribbean Villa's
dock to be picked up for dives, fishing, & sunset cruises.
Coco

Hey Coco. My sister lives in Twin Lake. Probably right around the corner from you!

I lived in Clarkston Mi....stay at o'farrell house, you'd be extremely happy there! it's very close to town, classy and private! They will get you a double room rate if you e-mail them(it's not on their web site yet).

We stayed at BB for 3 nites after staying at Coral Bay Villas. We really liked BB. It is more upscale but not real "resorty". A comfortable feeling, plus the rooms were fairly inexpensive, $85 for a one bedroom & $67 for a studio. Swimming pol is nice. The walk to town is not bad. Gives you a chance to enjoy the ambiance of San Pedro. We went by Crazy Canucks several times. Seemed like the place was hopin'.
If you like quite, pick BB.

hmmmmm doncha jus luv it when peeps promo their own prop's on threads that are not even the subject matter?

Hey thanks for all the help!! I can't believe all the Michigan people!!! We all get so sick of the cold!!

Well now I am really confused!! Each place has pros and cons.

Hey Coco Lady, how was Coral Bay Villa's digs? We had been looking at them, great prices.