6 Best Hotels in The Southern Coast, Belize

A friendly family operates this good-value lodging in the tallest building in town—you can’t miss it in all its green and orange. Rooms in the main building are simple but bright and fresh with air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, and cable TV. If your budget is super tight, an adjoining building offers 10 economy rooms with fan only and shared bath. Go with the standard rooms, though. They're enough of a bargain.

Inside the Cockscomb Wildlife Reserve, a small house and three cabins, each with private bath—the cabins have cold showers only—can accommodate up to four or six people (BZ$165–BZ$240 per house/cabin) and make for a rustic yet moderately comfortable way to experience nature here. If you want to go really rustic, you can also camp at one of three campgrounds in the reserve (BZ$20 per night per person), or stay in rooms in a dormitory with solar-generated electricity (starting at BZ$50 per person). The Belize Audubon Society in Belize City administers the reserve and its accommodations.

Bring your own food and water, as nothing is sold in the reserve.

One of the nicer budget options in the village has rooms set back from the road and provides plenty of peace and quiet at value prices. Rooms are simply furnished and decorated in vibrant Caribbean pastels, and each has a private patio. Though not on the beach side of the road, it’s a quick walk to the seafront. Latitude 17 is popular with student and NGO groups.

This small beachfront guesthouse in the heart of Hopkins Village provides a comfortable, no-frills alternative to the coast's upmarket resorts. The inn has rooms that are simple but immaculately clean and, for a lot more comfort, three small beachfront apartments and a separate private cabin. Kayaks and bikes are available for rent.

Gregorio Chun and his family, Mopan Maya people who've lived in this area for many generations, provide affordable accommodations in simple thatch cabañas. The reason to stay at Tutzil Nah is not the accommodations, which are basic at best, but the location near the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and to meet the Chun family. The Chun family were among those who helped Dr. Alan Rabinowitz study the jaguars in southern Belize, resulting in his well-known 2000 book, Jaguar, One Man's Struggle to Establish the World's First Jaguar Preserve. The Chuns provide a range of tours to Cockscomb and Mayan sites, and simple but tasty homemade meals are available at a small restaurant.

Gregorio Chun and his Mopan Maya family who've lived in this area for many generations provide affordable lodging in simple thatched cabanas. You stay here not for the accommodations, which are basic at best, but for its location near the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and to meet the Chun family. The Chuns provide a range of tours to Cockscomb and Maya sites, and simple but tasty homemade meals are available at a small restaurant.