We discovered San Pedro via Internet. We talked to experienced divers/frequent visitors and they told me it was Paradise.

When we got to the Belize City airport, we were absolutely surprised to see the small airport and the undeveloped conditions. The taxi ride from the airport to the water taxi was no difference. During the taxi drive, we saw many females selling their home cooked meals in the corners and several males worker line-up to eat. The cooked meals where kept in simply pots and pans as they will be at home at the kitchen table. My heard broke; here I was in a taxi visiting a country that needs tourist's dollars but I couldn't enjoy the country because I felt guilty. Guilty that we had shoes and that our idea of fast food was a McDonalds and not a female in the corner with a pot of home cooked meal.

Our waiting time for the water taxi was long as we met several locals and tourist in the small waiting room. Interesting enough, they had a bathroom lady that sell small pieces of toilet paper for 50 cents. We speak both English/Spanish, but the Belizean Creole/Kriol language was hard to understand. At this early stage of our trip we choose to stay with the Spanish language, unless we encounter the Creole and then we switch to English.

One hour and 45 minutes later, we arrived in San Pedro. The first thing a notice was the beach front. It is looked like a lake, but it had sea grass and trash. The water was dark green and it was missing ocean waves. We talked to locals and they told is that San Pedro beach front are NOT like Bermudas. That we need to rent a boat tour and check the reeves. As local they don't care for the beach front water and that they prefer the split at Caulker.

It rained every night, but during the day it was very nice. We rode our bikes south and north of San Pedro several times during our stay, we did that in 4 hours. We meet several vendors form El Salvador, Nicaragua and other Central America countries. They bring their merchandise once a month to sell to the tourists.

During one of our bike rides to the north side, we encounter the toll staff asking us for $2.00 per person to cross the bridge. We had no idea we had to pay; we had crossed the bridge several times before in our bikes for free. In this occasion, we didn't have any money. Our wallet got stolen from our backpack, but we had NO idea. At this point we notified the Police and they filed a report. We asked the police if we could cross the bridge for "free" and they told us sure! The Police escorted us to the bridge, but the toll staff told us that we couldn't cross the bridge for "free" because we weren't "workers".

We saw much trash on the street, many street dogs and many locals without shoes. We asked other tourist what is the attraction, they told us scuba diving. That San Pedro what we see is what it is, nothing else to talk about.

To complete our trip, we had to paid $36.50 pp as a departure tax, collected by unfriendly staff. Ironically, the tourist staff was in the airport asking tourist to complete a survey and to tell then if we would return to visit in the future.

The fact is that, we didn't think it was an Isla Bonita, we didn't think it was Paradise�. we don't think we can ever go back.

I think it depends on what you want to see. Ugh... those places so done up with super fancy resorts, one after the other with those ultra-snobby people that I'd rather not spend anytime with... those Wal-Mart's, McDonald's and Starbucks... blah... rather stay home.

San Pedro is definitely Paradise for me. The locals/tourists are amazing, water is so clear and peaceful, the atmosphere of the island is like no other and those are just thoughts at the front of the brain... you just didn't get "bitten by the bug". That's ok though. SP is not for everyone.

Hope you have a better time on your next adventure!

Oh ya, departure tax - that's life! Can't avoid that in any country!

Ambergris Caye isn't for everyone. It is unlike most other tourist destinations which is why so many love it. This is not the place to come if you like the cookie-cutter type of vacation or island.
Sorry you didn't have a good time. (although you probably should have done a bit more research)

By the way, A lot of people don't wear shoes here whether they can afford them or not. Thats part of the laid back atmosphere.

Interesting trip report.

I haven't worn shoes for 14 years. Guess I'm giving a bad impression of Ambergris Caye.

My definition of Paradise is a place with clean blue ocean water front and untouch nature. Where visitors $$$ are welcome but they can't purchase the land and they can't bring their business. Locals should own a 100% of the land and business. All taxes collected should go back to the caye administration for improvements and up-keeping.

Currently, non-locals are building several resorts in the north part of the island. Construction is also in the south part of the island (after the water plant)

I know what I saw and I do know what I didn't like...I can't visit San Pedro only for the diving and ignore the rest.

Hear, hear TQ.... I couldn't agree more. SP is not for everyone, but the ones that do love it, love it with all their heart. Not every destination is for everyone.

For me, the diving is the best I've done so far. SP is easy (for me) to get to and fairly affordable. I've met some really great people in San Pedro and on this board. One thing we've all discoved about one another is our facination with San Pedro and Belize.

I echo the sentiments that you did not enjoy your stay, but maybe on one of your future travels you will find "your Isla Bonita"

Bon Voyage and Happy Trails

Me noh know!

Hi Mildred,
Just a couple of small notes to your report. The vendors selling there homemade food...the reason so many workers where lined up was because the food is good. Since the vendor is not paying for rental space it saves them money therefore they can pass the saving on.
We have no waves because of the reef...the sea grass is there to protect the reef and marine life.
Most people choose to walk barefoot on the island it isn't because they can't afford shoes it is more comfortable and cooler not to use shoes.
I understand San Pedro is not for everyone and I am sorry your wallet were stolen.

Mildred, your comment about the locals started me thinking. In all of the islands I have been to in the past 20 years, I find it impossible to think of a place with the clean blue water, untouched nature, and only locals owning/running the tourist industry. No doubt there are some, but they do not have any flights into them. You would have to locate, and then take a private boat to reach them. Just an opinion.

They are plenty of Paradise Island, but that is for me to know and for others to find out.

Good call Mildred. Keep your Paradise to yourself, and it won't get too crowded. Once the word gets out, the tourists come in, along with developers. Too bad most locals don't have the cash to do their own development.

There are a lot of places you have to pay a exit tax. Sounds like you need to stay in Main with the Kennedy's.

Why in the world would you want to visit some place that is just like home? I have never lived any place but America (yet) but the first thing I do when I get home is take my shoes off. But then I have never lived any place I didn't need shoes most of the year.

If your rules were in place then everybody in America would have to go "home". They would have never been allowed to immigrate there.

BTW I don't think there is a "Mildred". I think it's one of our Master Baiters.

I am pretty sure that a lot of you are NOT locals.

I am a local and here are my two cents.

First, this is a Caye NOT an Island and yet it is BONITA for us the locals as native from San Pedro.

It's very sad to see soooo many changes that the foreigners bring via construction and how the water gets a lot of construction trash. I have never seen a developer clean the beach front water and invest money onto the up-keeping�.unless is in front of a $$ resort such a Casa Victoria and Captain Morgan.

Marine life and the reefs are suffering with so many excursions, tourists and boats. In addition, we had an increased in foreigners buying our land and businesses. The fact is that a lot of my family members have migrated to Belize City or Mexico. The main reason is that we can't get jobs here that are NOT as a construction worker, taxi driver, cleaning help, gardener or security staff for the foreigners. The foreigners will never create jobs for the locals as the Manager of one of their Properties or offer to sell us one of their condos at a discount price or something that we could afford.

I am glad that those visiting tourists like "Mildred" are noticing this trend. I do hope that more of them agree not buy a timeshare here, don't move their families here and/or build their own lucrative business here. While we the locals can't own or develop in our own land�but we are good enough to keep around as helpers.

"Bonita" is in the eyes of the beholder, so I can tell why others visiting can see what WE option not to admit.

Mildred -I just do not believe you

1. At Belize International there are no food vendors

2. I do not believe Kenisha-her family probably sold the land to foreigners-if she is a real person(doubtful)

Both people appear to have grudges

Pedro,
She did not imply that there was food vendors at Belize International airport.. just on the drive from there.

But I do believe that Kenisha has an axe to grind..

Mildred,
I am not sure where you are from, but it doesn't sound like you really did much investigating about the Country or SP before you went.....

I think you should stick to the Bahama's.........

Whats wrong with going barefoot? These people are happy and live in a paradise! Most of us would give our eye teeth to live there... the food on the corner's could have been some of the best meal's of your life if you gave it a try. Did you see the smiles on the childrens faces? For as little as they have they are the happiest children i have seen in a LONG time, not like a lot of the spoilt little children back here in the US that have so much they are bored wit something new in 15 minutes....

I just don't think you 'get it'. Still shaking my head in disbelief.

Thanks for the input Mildred. We can expect that you will be one less person on the Island that many of us love so much.

I was there a few days at the same time as you were, and for the life of me, I remember, NO rain each night. Be that as it may, the people I met and spent time with there did not give me impression that they were downtrodden,unhappy,or destitude enough to not be able to have shoes unlike the perception you tried to put over. I walked around without shoes, many a day while there. So if I gave you the impression that ( if you saw me) I was too poor to have shoes thats your prejudicial perception and not the case in reality.

I am truely sorry that you money was stolen from you. I would like to ask you what kind of precautions you put in place to avoid this, but I'm not at all sure you would respond. Having your money lifted from you is not a San Pedro problem. It's your problem. you were not accosted by anyone, you were not injured by anyone in the removal of you wallet from your backpack. So you must have been careless in safeguarding your valuables. You would have encountered the same problem in 99% of any city you were in. So, please don't judge an entire city by the unfortunate incident that you, in the main, could have prevented by a little common sense.

San pedro is going though a transformation, largely in part to the large buildup that is going on ( both North and South ) of the town. With this build up comes the usual problems of a expanding metropolis. Electricity, water, sewage, roads, ad infinitum.This has been brought on by the tourist industry that the GOB has come to depend upon for it's very exsistance. Is it wrong? you better belive it is! Is it inevitable? sure thing! As you travel about the world you will find ( even in your "I know a place, you dont")it will eventually happen. Sad as it may seem to you and "We" who love Belize it's a fact of life and economics.

However, at the moment, the lifestyle, the atmosphere, the friendship, the "Isle of Bonita" that is so loved by countless of people, both residents and Tourists, persists.

Your chosing to not return can be looked upon as a good thing. I for one will return however and enjoy what is available away from the " Maddening Crowd" of the congested cities , the UP-Scale, over priced, resorts and enjoy the lovely San perdranos and thier paradise.

BTW: I'm not sure where you are from.. But you paid an Exit fee when you left for Belize. If it's the U. S. it is around $9. It may be higher by now. But Thats what it was a few years ago.

Interesting..."Kenisha" is in Austin, Texas.

Jesse,

FYI, Austin is my college address since 2005....wow!!

I think that this is the crux of Mildred's post. To me, it wasn't about San Pedro. Her post was about how she felt before she ever got there.

...and no one can tell another person how to feel.

Weh dis? I noh andastan!

If you are not a native Belizean, you should NOT be commenting as if you had something of value to add to this forum. Trip reports are an open page for others to read and learn our town before they visit. We can't stop the love of non-locals have for our town, but it is what it is.

I never had the opportunity to own/rent a boat for scuba diving or any other $$$ water activity here in San Pedro. I do know that the tourist attraction is in the water, with the reef and the shark ray alley, hol chan etc....but the town needs help! We need help allocating better paying jobs for US and we also need to add a cap to all non-local developers. I think they should invest in developing better schools and subsidizing a better health care system�.that is what we need. Amen

Unfortunately, the non-local developers quite often are interested only in lining their own pockets. Unlike the local government officials who should be tackling the situation.

I am not, obviously, a native Belizean. I am however, a cash cow on my visits. My wife and I, on a one week trip, will drop anywhere from one to two hundred plus per day cash money into the economy. To me it is worth it. What is done with the revenue I have absolutely no say in. How much of the money from AC finds its way back to the mainland government? How much benefit is returned to the island (caye?)? The development should definitely be controlled by the local government, with a keen eye on benefiting the natives. Is this being done? Is it the tourists responsibility or your local elected officials? It seems to me that the tourist base is doing a lot more for the educational environment there than your fellow Belizeans.

Bobber, I knew there was a reason I love you! I'll be down soon... plan on about $400/day! :P

Kenisha/Auburn Skin - "If you are not a native Belizean, you should NOT be commenting"... GIVE ME A FREAKIN BREAK! Just because some of us don't live there full time doesn't mean we can't see what's going on. A lot of us have read enough about BZE to know the history of the country and all the frustrations. To say that some of us don't know or shouldn't be commenting is just dumb on your part. We not as dumb as we look, mon!!!

Ja! Ja! Que risas me dan. Tratare de mantener mis lentes de Sol puestos la proxima vez que visite el super. Al parecer somos mas los que somos que los que no somos.

Que alegria! Asi que la proxima vez que mi esposo se quede sin trabajo, le dire que leea esta pagina para que se anime.

SOMOS POBRES, nuestra piel es oscura y con mucho orgullo.

A la persona que comenzo este reporte viajero le agradesco haber sido tan sincera y al grano. El que sabe sabe y el que no, que lo siga caminando.

But tourists, such as Bobber, are bringing $$ to the island. That's been great for Belizeans whether you see that or not.

I'm sorry to hear hubby is w/out work.

Do we control your situation, or do you? Do any of us?

Good one, Bobber.

Auburn, certainly you do not blame US developers and tourists for your husband being out of work and being poor. What kind of work did he do 8-10 years ago before the huge building boom? Were you better off then?
There are plenty of successful Belizean business owners and also Local developers, no?

Biggest developer on the island is Cheffy Paz, a San Pedrano.

Most of the Belizeans I am acquainted with, employed at whatever, do not have a computer or internet access, unless it is at work. Might I assume hubby is unemployed because someone from the U.S. took his job? If it is for any other reason, you have my sympathy but no guilt.

I worked for several years at the BELIZE TOURISM BOARD. I always appreciated the fact that I had the opportunity to read travelers trip reports from this forum.

We did our best to survey visitors at the airport, as far as I know the board still does. We do care to know as much if a visitor had a great time, as we do, when they didn't. Travels reports are very important, as we use that information to alert Government and others entities of the impression that visitors have when they visit. From there we can access how we can improve. The main goal is to have visitors return and expend their currency here year after year.

As for this trip report, the traveler had an eye opening to our daily routine and we can derive how a first impression can make us or break us.

We often advertised San Pedro as a diverse, peaceful, democracy with the best diving in the world, with restaurants that serve great food. In recent years, the unspoiled and abundant fauna/flora of this tiny country on the crossroads between Latin America and the Caribbean has become a favorite eco-tourist destination. But we need to point out there is another San Pedro, marked by overdevelopment, with inadequate technology, health care and high unemployment.

Don't try to add comments to diminish the value of this traveler's trip report and let all get into positive cyber type mode. It will be better to add realistic information that could help pursue the first time visitors to become recurring visitors to the beautiful Belize. I had to admit that recurring visitors more often that none has a tendency to overlook what a new visitor is currently experiencing.

FYI-The Belize City Departure tax for USA is set $36.50 per person.

You have an extremely valid point. My first trip, first night impression of San Pedro was not particularly positive, but the next day opened the wonders of the place. Not any place is suitable for everyone. Some come and never come back. Some come and keep returning. Of the many Caribbean destinations I have visited, there is a set of tourists who would never even consider going anywhere else.

I am returning for trip 5 in a few weeks. There are things I hope to see, and things that are no longer that I will miss. To any traveler with an open mind, look for the beauty. A destination is, and also what you make it.

Were I to find a paradise where the water was beautiful, the trees and animals were unleashed, everybody wore shoes and ate in restaurants, I would rename it as something else.

There are big boat people, there are all-inclusive people, there are spring breakers, and there are visitors to AC. Just my opinion.

If everyone who visited kept coming back we'd all have to sleep standing up!

Yup. Our first trip, Paradise Villas, we met an elderly Russian couple who were leaving after 2 days because they found it, quote, "squalid and wretched", and commented they should have gone to central Mexico instead. Buh-bye.

Last post on this for me. Realize that the San Pedranos welcome us as visitors and guests, not just customers. That is part of the magic.

Bobber, I think a LOT of people feel the same way you do. Good posts.

Folks like Mildred can wank off to Bermuda, St. Bart's and Sin Maarten. I wish more people would feel the same way. It would slow the influx. In fact, a good ploy!

SIN

Most of these comments are out of context. I am guessing that some forum members quickly read the traveler report. The next time you feel the need to add a comment on a "good" or "bad" travel report of San Pedro-please read carefully before you add a comment. Others are reading and trying to follow a reason for your comments--- or maybe its a sign of antagonism!!

ok, so taking that advice, i re-read the original post. note that the whole street food/poverty/guilt part was in belize city, not SP.

she says she didn't know it was a toll bridge. heck, i pay more than $2 in bridge tolls to go to atlantic city, and i hate it there! it is common sense that bridge tolls usually go to upkeep, anywhere. instead of upset, she should have been happy she didn't pay every time.

For all the rest:



bobber always said we belize junkies are just different than other people. we just came back from trip #6.

Doesn't it just break your "heard" when you see people flocking to McDonald's, filling their body with fat and cholesterol?? I mean who would ever want a homemade wholesome meal of rice and beans with some stewed chicken, served warm from the pot, streetside when you can get a frozen "meat" patty, fried and served on a defrosted bun and some fried frozen french fries?

If it is different from home, something most be wrong with it! Netflix and Domino's is a great choice for those who want consistency in their lives.

I just looked up "Ugly American" in the dictionary.

SIN

Weh di go aan?
Aaaahh! if the traveler report is "good" the forum comments are appreciative, but if the traveler report is "ghastly" the forum comments are impolite.

Why? Who died and gave the non-Belizeans the clout over what a traveler can report? It looks to me that the forum comments took this travelers report as untrue or as inappropriate.

I would never tell a visitor to please go the Bahamas and that I am glad that they didn't like it. I am a proud Belizean and we welcome everyone in San Pedro. I give any visitor the benefit of the doubt. If they didn't like it the first time, maybe the next time they will.

As for Mildred, if you are reading this entry, please contact me via personal email-I do have great things to share about SP, that you may not know and that can be of future reference.

I am really ashamed of some of these comments.

just a quick comment to mestizo: the person you are quoting (askew) as a "non-belizean" is indeed belizean. just FYI.

also, speaking only for myself, my comments to mildred were not condemning. all i said, paraphrasing, belize is great for some, not for others.

"I give any visitor the benefit of the doubt. If they didn't like it the first time, maybe the next time they will." - as a traveller, if i don't like a place the first time, there IS no next time. people are fickle.

Just had to do one more. Mestizo, proud Belizeans are great people. As you say, you welcome the tourists. That is why most of us who post on this board go back to visit you and your country. You may very well perceive your country one way, but from the tourist point of view, our comments as tourists are valid. I did not see any errors in Mildreds report, it was quite accurate but only for her point of view. I see street vendors, I have no problem. I see no shoes, I have no problem. I see the state of the beaches, some trash, I have no problem. Many, many of us have no problem with these things and we come back. While I am not particularly fond of some of the development, it is beyond my control, so I have no problem. I did not see anything derogatory in most of the comments, just that the place did not meet her expectations. Everyones are different, everyone needs something different. No doubt she will not be back. That is her perogative as a tourist. If AC had everything for everybody, it would end up with nothing for anyone that couldn't be found elsewhere. Be satisfied with the magic that brings so many back.