Entertainment Overview

San Pedro on Ambergris Caye has the most active nightlife scene in Belize, but, still, don't expect Miami Beach. Beach bars abound, and you can get sloshed just walking from your South End hotel into town. A few spots have live music. Generally, the action starts late (after 10 or 11). Karaoke is big in Belize, and some bars and clubs in San Pedro have karaoke nights, which are more for locals than visitors. In late January and early February, singer Jerry Jeff Walker holds "Camp Belize," two weeklong events in San Pedro during which Walker puts on shows for his loyal fans.

In Belize City, the nightlife scene is limited at best. Although locals love to party, safety concerns keep visitors away from most nightspots except hotel bars, such as the bar at the Radisson Fort George or the Calypso Bar at the Princess Hotel & Casino. After dark, take a taxi, or, if driving, park in a fenced and secured lot.

One uniquely Belizean style of music is punta rock. It's based on the traditional punta rhythms of the Garifuna, using drums, turtle shells, and rattles of the Garifuna. In the late 1970s Pen Cayetano, a Garifuna artist in Dangriga, began writing punta songs, updating the music with an electric guitar, keyboard, and other electronic instruments. Punta rock, earthy and sexy, swept Belize and later became popular in other Central American countries, a result of the export of the music by Andy Palacio, "the ambassador of punta rock," and other punta rock stars.