Belize Travel Guide

Browse the Belize Photo Gallery

Cuisine

There is a selection of restaurants which serve international, Chinese, Creole and Latin American food. Service and quality vary but the food is generally cheap.

National specialties:
• Tacos, corn or flour tortillas, with shredded chicken, onions, cabbage and cilantro.
• Rice-and-beans; for a change of pace, switch to beans-and-rice (where the beans are cooked separately and spooned with their own gravy over white rice).
• Split peas and pigtail over rice.
• Cow-foot soup.
• Fry Jacks: fluffy fried crescents of dough.
• Johnnycakes: flattened biscuits.
• Conch fritters.
• Marie Sharp's hot sauces.
• Plantains, fried to a sweet golden brown.

National drinks:
• Coconut rum mixed with pineapple juice.
• Belikin beer.
• Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.
• Lighthouse Lager.
• Fresh orange, lime, watermelon or papaya juice.

Tipping: Many restaurants and hotels automatically tack on a service charge of 15%. Cab drivers are not tipped unless they have helped you with your luggage. Tour guides are always tipped.

Nightlife

While Belize could not be considered a major clubbing destination, there is no shortage of bars throughout the country. In Belize City, the main spots tend to be the bars in the top-end hotels, which usually have live bands. There is also a casino here. San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye, has a lively bar scene and a couple of clubs. San Ignacio has some excellent music bars. Be aware that bars can become dangerous after 2300.