AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye general i'm a newbie

hey all-
we're planning on staying at caribe island aug 17- 27. any opinions about resort--haven't booked it yet. plan on doing lots of snorkeling maybe trip to tikal. anyone ever been? any info on prices and etc. departure tax? i am starting to worry about money- never done a non- all inclusive. especially since there aren't atm's on the island. how about credit card use? any body have an idea on how much golf cart's are to rent? urghh! thanks

I think golf carts are about $50/$60 per day. Tikal is AWESOME. I highly recommend it. As far as I remember, credit cards are accepted lots of places. Some places add a credit card fee to your bill, I believe. I haven't stayed at Carribe Island, but hear it's nice. We're getting to AC on Aug. 26 and are staying at Mata Rocks. Hope to run into you while we're there!

Personally, if I could do it, I stay away from credit card use in Belize. There is an added cost to your purchase for using a credit card. Only think I even consider using it for is my hotel stay. Places can add anywhere from 2% to 5% per purchase...

nikkibear ~

Caribe Island gets top marks from the folks here, I am sure you will enjoy your stay there.

Departure tax is $20 if memory serves.

Local snorkel trips run $25 - $30US. For the Tikal trip, do a search on this message board, I think it's best done as an overnight? Possibly the only way to do it; it's a long ways from Ambergris Caye ...

Re: credit cards, be aware that most charge a currency fee for charges made outside the US; this will vary so it would pay to find out which CC will charge you the least expensive fees...

For other info, that search feature is real handy. Don't sweat it too much ...

Hey Denny, do some establishments charge for the CC use? My impression was the 2% - 5% was being charged by the CC bank, not the local business...

A 4 seater cart will set you back about $250 a week.

Caribe Island is a great resort. Although we have only used their bar and a bit of the pool, we know many, many people who stay there over and over. (Some as recently as two weeks ago). It's a bit of walk to town though, but only if you're lazy and grumpy like moi.

We only use credit cards for Tropic tickets, cart rental and diving charges.

nikkibear, I'd never go to an all-inclusive even if they had one on AC. There are way too many great restaurants to try. If you're on a budget, don't sweat that either, many of them are very reasonable and don't be afraid to eat food from the street vendors--some of the best eats to be had and very cheap! There are also several deli's (Rubie's*****-that's 5 stars--and Celi's) that you can grab breakfast or a quick snack for cheap. Again, use the search function or just scroll down on the topics; there's always plenty of discussion on here about restaurants cuz eating seems to be one of everyone's favorite things to do there! You can make a list of the ones you want to check (based on budget) out. There really aren't any bad restaurants in San Pedro--they just simply wouldn't stay in business long! Enjoy!

The Caribe is GREAT !!!! We are making our third trip down in September and we will be staying at the Caribe for the third time. That should speak for itself. The Caribe is about three miles away from town but I believe they still offer free shuttle service to and from town at dinner time. For the nights we wanted to stay in town a bit later, a cab ride back to the Caribe is only about $5.

I'd like to jump o the Caribe Island band wagon. We stayed there in January. Beautiful place with a wondrful staff.

nikkibear-

I just visited AC in May. Like you, I had only been to All-Inclusive resorts in the Caribbean/Mexico. I found you can make the trip on as much / as little cash as you want. Get some good restaurant ideas from this message board and go to each restaurant's web page - a lotta them list their menus with prices (just make sure you clairfy $BZ or $US).

The biggest varible will be your bar bills. If you're a big drinker that can add up. Perhaps you should ask some of the locals on the board to suggest a place with cheap Belikin's just in case you run short on cash

Also keep in mind that depending what tours you take, a lot of them are a full day and include food & all you can drink. The tour prices were higher than I expected, but in looking back they were all well worth the cost. I booked mine through Searious, used my credit card, and I don't think they added any fees. You credit company may add some though.

You'll enjoy it; I just booked a return trip to AC for this November!