Beach Inspirations in BelizeAway from the sometimes raucous Belize City, Belize is one of the most laid-back countries in the already relaxed culture of the ex-British Caribbean. Stay on the coast or one of the coral islands here and you’ll only be disturbed by the whispering of the palm leaves.
With its musical inspiration and cuisine coming from the reggae and rasta infused Caribbean, it’s a long way culturally from its Latin neighbours, and of course everyone speaks English.
There are sugar-white Caribbean beaches on the mainland and the offshore cayes but Belize is best favoured for diving and snorkelling opportunities, with coral reefs and wrecks harbouring a wealth of underwater life. The 300km long Belizean section of the Barrier Reef lies 300m off the shore in the north but only 40m in the south and is the country’s principal tourist attraction.
Two of the best places to stay on the beach in Belize are the northern cayes and the shores of the southern mainland around the little resort of Placencia.
Ambergris Caye offers access to the Barrier Reef. It’s the largest island and easily accessible from Belize City, and hosts a number of attractive upmarket hotels which are nevertheless tasteful and low-key. Caye Caulker, a lobster-fishing island, is the original hippy paradise which has retained its easy-going atmosphere and is characterised by wooden houses and family guest houses on stilts.
Placencia is a former Creole fishing village at the tip of a spidery spit of land south of the little clap-board fishing port of Dangriga. It is still a barefoot resort although modest tourism development has proceeded apace since the 2001 hurricane destroyed many homes. There are few roads and the sand is soft and white. Again, excursions to the reef are offered here, or you can just lay back and swing in a hammock strung between two coconut palms. There's a string of quite upmarket but low-key hotels and resorts from Dangriga southwards.
|  Hotel Hamanasi
 Portofino, Ambergris Caye
 Blue Hole for fantastic diving
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