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The Best Ways To Relax on & Explore Ambergris Caye, Belize With Kids

The Best Ways To Relax on & Explore Ambergris Caye, Belize With Kids

What’s 25 miles long, one mile wide and chock-full of fun things to do? Ambergris Caye, an island off the coast of Belize.

With fine white sand, crystal blue water and the world’s second-largest barrier reef, it’s an ideal beach vacation with kids. Here are my five favorite things to do when we visited Ambergris Caye with a toddler and preschooler.

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5 Easy & Fun Things to Do With Kids On Ambergris Caye, Belize

1. Drive a golf cart everywhere

Golf carts are the way to travel in ambergris caye

The island is walkable but the primary mode of transport is golf carts. My golf-crazed hubby and kids loved it.  

Towards the north end of the island, before the bridge, there is a place where you can drive your carts on the beach. It’s a beautiful drive, past some lovely restaurants.

Do this drive in the late afternoon, and you’ll find a great spot to watch the sunset.

2. Snorkel

Plenty of tour providers leave from San Pedro for snorkeling trips to the barrier reef. We went with SEAduced for the Caye Caulker day tour and had a fine time.

Hol chan bio reserve has easy and amazing snorkeling

The first stop was Hol Chan Marine Reserve where there is a natural cut in the barrier reef, which is as shallow as five feet in some places.  

The kids enjoyed the 45 minutes we spent snorkeling and were even able to spot some fish and corals. We brought our 2-year-old’s floating ring* and our 4-year-old wore a life vest.

The next stop was Shark Ray Alley where you do indeed get to  swim with the sharks. The sharks are much more interested in their food than you. Nevertheless, my kids decided to skip this experience.

After this, the tour stops at Caye Caulker (above, pronounced Key Cawker), the quaint sister island to Ambergris Caye.

Five-miles long by 1-mile wide (with some 30 tiny hotels on it!), it’s a lovely place to enjoy a lazy lunch, sample freshly made ice cream and savor a stroll along the beach.

We managed to tire the kids out enough that they were happy to chill out on the bouncy deck of the catamaran for the trip back.

3. Hit the Beaches

Ambergris caye has nice beaches, nost of which are public, with clear waters.

There are many beaches to choose from on the island. One of the favorites, Ramon’s Village, is easy with kids. It has a restaurant on the water.

Our little kids were happy to play in the sand and wade in the water to spot fish. Bigger kids and grown-ups can jump of a boardwalk jutting out into the sea to swim or snorkel.  We had a great day.

4. Dine Al Fresco

A few dollars gets you a prime beach spot for the whole day on ambergris caye. Here a toddler naps in the sand.

The restaurants that line the beach are expensive, and it can be hard to find any real treasures. Our favorite, Rojo Lounge, was a 5-mile, $10 water taxi ride north of the island.

Decked out with beachfront lounge chairs, hammocks, a pool and a bar as well as the restaurant, it can provide a whole day out. We spent about five hours there, swimming, resting and eating the best pizza on the island.

Tip: If you miss the 3:30 boat back, make sure you ask the friendly staff to call the water taxi to retrieve you in time for the 5:30 speedboat back to San Pedro.

5. Try the Chicken Drop

Every Thursday night in San Pedro a game of Chicken Drop, happens on the beach. Your child will think it’s hysterically funny.

A popular passtime on ambergris caye: chicken drop betting

Here’s how it works: There is a large square checkerboard in the sand with 100 numbers on it. One lucky person gets to catch the chicken, rotate it in a circle, blows on its bottom for good luck and then releases it on to the board.

Once the chicken is on the board, the crowd yells and screams to encourage it to poop. Whatever number the chicken poops on, wins. But there’s a catch! The winner has to clean up the poop before claiming her prize.

Between drops, the kids took to the board for some dancing or played in the sand. During the game they giggled a lot over the idea that all the adults were waiting for the chicken to poop.

We hope you get to visit magical Ambergris Caye in Belize with your kids. Maybe you’ll even get to throw the chicken!

Pin it for later!

Ambergris caye, belize has a laidback vice, great beaches, and amazing snorkeling, all of which make it an easy and fun place to vacation with kids.

Erin Bender and her family rented out their house, packed their bags and left town traveled the world with their preschoolers. You can read about their journey on their TravelwithBender and follow her latest travel at Explore With Erin.

*FamiliesGo! does not recommend using an inflatable ring as a swim aid or flotation device.