Things to do in San Pedro
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit San Pedro
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall, dry season, clearest water and little sargassum, but peak prices and crowds.
Connoisseur shoulder, Easter crowds gone and hotel deals begin, with lobster closed until July 1.
Lobsterfest and summer crowds, hot and breezy with often heavy east side sargassum.
Cheapest, quietest and riskiest, peak hurricane season, closures in September and conch opening October 1.
Value sweet spot, rains ease, sargassum clears and lobster and conch are both in season.
What's on
- San Pedro Lobster Festival July 1-11
The island's signature week opening lobster season, with events day and night.
- Conch Season Opening October 1
Not a festival, a food season, menus transform overnight with ceviche, fritters and chowder.
- Costa Maya Festival typically August
International Mestizo cultural festival in San Pedro with concerts and pageantry, runs intermittently.
- Pok ta Pok Festival May
Revived Maya ballgame with an eco museum, local food and music.
- Carnival February/March
Paint, parades and national holiday celebrations, smaller than mainland versions.
- September Celebrations September
National holidays with parades, lively but smaller than mainland versions.
- Garifuna Settlement Day November 19
National celebration with drumming and food, felt in San Pedro cultural programming.
Best things to do in San Pedro
Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Guided snorkel through a reef cut with turtles, rays, nurse sharks and huge schools of fish.
Shark Ray Alley
Snorkel in shallow water as docile nurse sharks and stingrays gather around the boat.
Secret Beach
Shallow, sandy, turquoise swimming with in-water tables, far from the sargassum on the east side.
Front Street, San Pedro
Walk Front and Middle Street early or at dusk for docks, stalls, Central Park and beach bars.
Belize Chocolate Company
Bean to bar tasting and hands-on class using Belizean cacao, ideal for families and rainy days.
Marco Gonzalez Maya Site
Shaded Maya trading and salt site at the island's south tip, best understood with a local guide.
The Truck Stop
Shipping container food park with a pool, games, live music, trivia and movie nights.
Palapa Bar and Grill
Over-water beach bar where you float in inner tubes while drinks arrive by beer zipline.
Where to stay in San Pedro
San Pedro Town
first trip, all-round base
Walk to dive docks, restaurants, bars, the airstrip and the water taxi, with no cart needed.
South of Town
quiet luxury with town access
Larger, quieter resorts on Coconut Drive, still a short cart ride or beach walk from town.
North of the Bridge
space, families and longer stays
Condo resorts with kitchens and big pools, at the cost of a cart ride for every town dinner.
Secret Beach and West Side
swimming over reef access
Calm sandy swimming and sunsets on your doorstep, but a long cart ride to every reef trip.
Think twice about
- San Pedrito and the back street blocks west of town centre
Poorly lit residential blocks, not tourist zones. Do not walk them alone late at night, take a licensed taxi or cart home.
- Far North, 7+ miles from town
Not unsafe but impractical and isolating, with an unlit road, mud after rain and every dinner an expedition.
- Belize City
A transit point for the airport and water taxi with a higher crime profile, never a base for a San Pedro trip.
Best restaurants in San Pedro
Elvi's Kitchen
San Pedro's institution for upscale Belizean seafood under a huge flamboyant tree.
El Fogón
Family-run kitchen cooking over an open wood fire, with big portions below beachfront prices.
Hidden Treasure Restaurant
Dinner-only local favourite for special occasions, with Latin-Caribbean dishes and live music.
Estel's Dine by the Sea
The town's rated breakfast, fry jacks and Mayan eggs with bare feet in the sand.
Caramba Restaurant
Pick your fish, lobster or conch from the ice display and have it grilled your way.
Blue Water Grill
Reliable beachfront dinner with sushi nights, ceviche and grilled fish on the deck.
Palmilla Restaurant
Caribbean fine dining at Victoria House, the splurge for anniversaries and last nights.
Pupuseria Salvadorena
Tiny Salvadoran spot for griddled pupusas with curtido and salsa, for a few Belize dollars.
Outdoor things to do in San Pedro
Belize Barrier Reef
Two-tank morning dives in spur and groove canyons minutes by boat from town docks.
Great Blue Hole
Deep bucket-list sinkhole dive, best for experienced divers, with two superb wall dives after.
Mexico Rocks
Calm, shallow patch reef snorkel with brain coral, turtles and 50 foot visibility.
Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve
Wild full-day boat trip to the northern tip for colourful coral, trails and a Maya-dug channel.
GoFish Belize
Flats fly fishing for bonefish, permit and tarpon, with a real shot at a Grand Slam.
Reef Fishing and Beach BBQ, San Pedro
Private boat day fishing the patch reefs, snorkeling, then grilling your catch on a beach.
Caye Caulker
Sail to the slower sister island for Hol Chan snorkeling, the Split and a sunset rum punch run home.
Lamanai Archaeological Reserve
River safari to jungle temples occupied for 3,000 years, including the climbable High Temple.
Best hotels in San Pedro
Victoria House Resort and Spa
The island's benchmark luxury stay, with gardens, a spa, Palmilla restaurant and its own dive operation.
Cayo Espanto
Private island villas with plunge pools and a personal houseman, for total seclusion.
Alaia Belize, Autograph Collection
Large modern Marriott resort with three pools, a rooftop sunset pool and six restaurants and bars.
Matachica Resort and Spa
Adults-only thatched casitas with a mosaic pool and spa, reached by boat shuttle to town.
The Phoenix Resort
All-suite condo luxury in town, with kitchens, two pools and an acclaimed spa.
Ramon's Village Resort
Famous thatched cabanas in dense jungle landscaping on a prime beachfront, with its own dive centre.
Pelican Reef Villas
Spacious condo villas with kitchens, a seafront pool and strong help booking mainland days.
Grand Caribe Belize
Large condo resort with six pools and big one to three bedroom units for families and groups.
Is San Pedro expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | BZD 200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | BZD 500 a person |
| Splurge | BZD 1,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Belize Food Tours: a few days ahead
- Belize Barrier Reef: a few days ahead
- Great Blue Hole: weeks ahead
- Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve: a few days ahead
- GoFish Belize: weeks ahead
- Reef Fishing and Beach BBQ, San Pedro: a few days ahead
- Caye Caulker: a few days ahead
- Lamanai Archaeological Reserve: a few days ahead
- Blue Hole and ATM sell out weeks ahead, and top flats guides book weeks ahead from February to July.
- Victoria House, Matachica and Cayo Espanto need months in December to April and for Lobsterfest.
- Hidden Treasure and Elvi's need days in season, but do not book Hol Chan ahead in shoulder season.
Is San Pedro safe?
- Stay in lit, busy areas after dark and take a taxi or cart home rather than walking dark beaches.
- Do not buy drugs, and stick to bottled or canned drinks you open yourself in bars.
- Lock rooms and carts and keep valuables out of sight.
- Sandflies bite at dawn and dusk on most beaches, use baby oil or dedicated repellent and long sleeves at sunset.
San Pedro travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Expecting a walk-in swimming beach at an east side resort, where seagrass shallows and docks are the norm.
- Snorkeling the Blue Hole, an expensive diver-first day that snorkelers rate the worst value boat trip.
- Timeshare pitches dressed as free breakfast or a free golf cart near the airstrip.
- Valuables left on a beach towel or in an unlocked cart, where almost all tourist crime stories start.
- Beachfront places with touts and photo menus serving fresh lobster out of season.
Getting around San Pedro: public transport and more
- Golf carts are how San Pedro moves, about $30 to $40 a day from town operators, and you must lock yours.
- Walking covers the town core, bicycles suit town and the south, and taxis are unmetered so agree the price first.
- The Boca del Rio Bridge north needs a pass or toll, confirm your renter includes it before setting off.
Who San Pedro suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make San Pedro your trip
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