We are planning a family vacation and are considering Belize. What are the beaches like? Do I need to be worried about the weather if we want to go in the summer? Thanks in advance for any help.

Belize has some beautiful beaches, but they are usually not the wide sandy beaches you find in places like the Yucatan or Anguilla -- the difference is the barrier reef offshore that slows wave energy which over time builds wide beaches. Most of Belize's beaches inside the reef (the Belize barrier reef is the longest barrier reef in the Western and Northern hemispheres) are fairly narrow and there's often seagrass on the bottom.

Summer is the rainy season but there's plenty of sunshine, especially on the cayes and coast.

--Lan Sluder

Thanks for the reply...Wide beaches are fine, what I'm looking for is a beach my kids can swim at. Is the sea grass a big problem? Does it affect all the beaches on Ambergris Cay?

Most beaches on Ambergris do have some seagrass (it's an important part of the barrier reef ecology)but many hotels remove the seagrass in an area of the beach or by a pier for better swimming.

--Lan Sluder

I was in Belize in March and while you can swim in the ocean (and we did) you usually have to go to the end of a pier and then enter the water to avoid some of the seagrass. It is not really a problem unless your kids are afraid of the seagreass. The water is shallow pretty far out. Most hotels also have kayaks you can take out (I saw a lot of kids doing this) and swim/snorkle in the clearer water.