Belize City

Belize City is more of a town than a city—few of the ramshackle buildings here are taller than a palm tree, and a short distance beyond the city center, streets give way to two-lane country roads where animals outnumber people. Any dining room downtown could leave the impression that everybody knows everybody else in this town, and certainly among the elite who can afford to dine out, that's probably true.

Although on paper Belize City looks like an ideal base for exploring the central part of the country—it's two hours or less by car to San Ignacio, Corozal Town, Dangriga, and even less to Altun Ha, Belmopan, and the Belize Zoo—most old Belize hands will advise you to get out of Belize City as quickly as you can. They point to the high crime rate, similar to or higher than the rate in an inner-city area of a large U.S. city, and to the relative lack of attractions in Belize City.

That's true enough, and certainly any visitor to Belize City should take the usual precautions for travel in an impoverished urban area, but Belize City does have an energy and excitement to it. There are good restaurants, the most varied shopping in Belize, a vibrant arts community, and, outside some of the rougher parts of town, nice residential areas and a number of pleasant hotels and B&Bs. There's also an easy-going sociability in Belize City. People meet on the street, talk, joke, laugh, and argue.

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