We will be down in San Pedro for 4 weeks in Feb and March and a week in Placencia. Our local Canadian health unit in B.C. is strongly advising us to take the Chloroquine pills to protect us from those possible malarial mosquitos! I've been enjoying following the adventures of many of you board members for awhile and know there is good advice out there. Opinions and information would greatly appreciated. We will be taking several jungle tours during our stay and kayaking in the lagoon. I am looking forward to your input!

if it puts yuor mind at ease, then do so...but IMHO it's not needed for short duration stays in the bush or on the coast at all. If you were going to be camping in the jungle for days on end, I'd feel differently.

Just take plenty of good insect repellent.
You'll need it in the jungle if you like the shade like i do! I used the liquid variety of "Off" and it worked fine for me. :p

No malaria on the islands, and I doubt in Placencia either. I took chloroquine for a while when I arrived here, but I discontinued it when I realised that no-one took it and no-one had malaria.

There is inland, though. Don't rely on chloraquine to "protect" you. There are many different variants of malaria, and the reason it's growing again (it's the #1 world killer) is that the bugs are resistant to most drugs. Repellant sprays/lotions are useful but some bugs seem attracted by them. The only reliable prevention is not to have any exposed skin they can bite - when you're inland cover up, especially feet and ankles that are easily forgotten.

We opted to take chloroquine last February when we spent time in Placencia. We've not bothered when just going to Ambergris Caye. The mosquitos were brutal around Monkey River Town, other than that we didn't notice many. We're going to Panama next month for a couple weeks, and will probably take the meds then too. Only question is whether it will be chloroquine or mefloquine (sp). Jean

Jean - take whichever the CDC recommends

We took chlorquine, which was recommended on the CDC website. Because CDC recommended it our insurance covered the cost of the pills. A pill once a week for one week before you go, each week you're there and four weeks after you get home. We had no side effects at all.
We also took a couple kinds of deet, including some 100% - I still got a fair number of bites - what can I say, I'm a sweetie! I think most people are right that the chance of contracting malaria on AC is slim to none - but it was the idea of the "chance" that got me. I'll probably do it again next year.

Keep in mind also that if there are any Red cross Blood Donors going to Belize that donations are not permitted for 1 year after visiting that area because of malaria. I donated in November before going to AC & checked the Red Cross's big book of banned sites & AC was listed.

Thanks all for your feedback! We will probably err on the side of caution this trip, as it's our first to Belize, but probably not our last!

Bring some AVON Skin So Soft repellant!
We had a group of (6) and all brought various mosquito repellants with varying %'s of DEET. One couple brought the Skin So Soft and it worked the best, smelled the best, and was non-toxic. The DEET repellant's took paint off of camera's and ruined purses...we all ended up lonly using the Skin so Soft.