I have my heart set on going to Belize in mid-July for a milestone birthday but have read it's during the rainy and hot season. Does anyone know if this is definitely true? Has anyone gone during this time that can or cannot recommend it? We are interested in going to one of the resorts in San Pedro. Any advice is much appreciated!

I can't help you with San Pedro advice but we spent about a month in Belize in July/August 2003 and are heading back in early August this year. We found it to be a great time to visit. It will be hot and muggy but we felt the nearly nightly rains cooled things down and I've read April and May tend to be hotter, perhaps for that reason. The rain never got in our way (a few days with light, cooling, welcomed drizzles and only 1 day of hard rain during the whole visit). There's a theoretical risk of hurricanes but they tend to be more common in the later summer and fall. Our photos and travelogue are here if you'd like to check them out:
http://flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

If that's when you can go, GO and have a blast and then tell us all about it.

We went in June for 2 weeks and had very little rain. However, it was hot as hell and we were praying for rain . My only recommendation, besides go and have fun, is to try and get accomodations w/ AC. Though it gets cooler in the evening, AC is real plus!

if you will be in San Pedro, there should be a nice breeze, and you can hop in the water if you get hot.

here's some info for July 14 - 21:

http://tinyurl.com/ce3a2c

Although I've not been in Belize in July, I wouldn't hesitate to go then. Unless there's a tropical storm, you probably won't be rained out of any activities. As someone else posted, tropical storms/hurricanes are more common there in September/October.

Enjoy your stay.

Our hottest months are April and May and temps over the summer in Belize are many times less than temps the same day in places like Chicago, NY, etc. The tradewinds on the island make the temps much more confortable.

I've been to Belize twice during July. There was a little rain, mainly a few brief downpours, but no big deal. The last time I went was April of last year, and the wind caused snorkeling trips to get canceled. The wind was not a problem in July. Each month has its plusses and minuses.

I was there in July and don't remember rain being a problem, except for one night. We were in the San Pedro area and it poured all night. I only remember it because I was afraid of flooding and the river running over. It was brutally hot while we were hiking, but no worse than hiking around home in the summer. In Ambrigris it was hot in town, but by the water it was several degrees cooler with nice winds.