Best Belize Blog

Stunning reefs protect the Belize Shorline

I came across a magazine called Luxury Living International yesterday that has just launched an online version and we found an entertaining article on Belize. Called a “webzine”, apparently this one was originally a paper magazine. After spending some time on their sites, some unbelievable homes in the Belize real estate section as well as other places in the Caribbean, etc., I thought I’d post it. As I looked around the pages of Luxury Living International, I found it interesting that here is a magazine done with an emphasis and focus on Belize, Costa Rica, the rest of Central America and the Caribbean in both real estate and as they say “living the good life in paradise”. So, unlike most that I’ve come across, this site gives a pretty good perspective on this growing tropical region.

One thing I agree with in the story is…well…my quote!

“Placencia is the hottest Belize real estate market on mainland Belize,” says Bill Shea, with Three Palms/Coldwell Banker in Placencia. “Although the market here cooled along with everything else in the Caribbean, in the past three months we are getting traction again. The new airport coming in is one key, the charm and the best beach in Belize doesn’t hurt either.”

Yes, its true. Yours truly is now famous! Here is a link to Luxury Living International – www.luxurylivingint.com – enjoy!

Belize offers a vastly surprising list of experiences dependant on which part of Belize you happen to visit. If you want an eco-experience then you’ll aim to the mountains outside of Hopkins or San Ignacio. If you’re aiming for a beach experience you’ll need to aim in the opposite direction, towards that amazing blue water surrounding the reef. My last trip up north off the reef took me out to Caye Caulker: a completely different experience than was expected.

Rarely have I woken up on a Tuesday and had the distinct feeling that it might be Sunday. Only one other time have I ever had to shake the dust off my shoes before wearing them for the first time in days. In Caye Caulker, the days really do run together, shoes and shirts are completely optional attire. This is a very simple place and time is somewhat irrelevant. In recent years Caye Caulker has turned into a growing stop for tourists that come to Belize and it’s no surprise. La Isla Carinosa – the friendly island – Is what people think of when they visit countries like Belize. Similar to Ambergris Cay (without the t-shirt shops), it is one of the places that convinces you to come back again – once they visit the mainland and places like Placencia. continue reading…

It’s a fact—Belize does not have a bunch of big-name hotel or resort flags flying around, yet. As a matter of fact it has none…the Radisson in Belize City doesn’t count.  But there are some very cool places to stay in Belize as long as you don’t mind not being in a 300-room Marriott! There is a great mix of nice lower-budget places to stay, but the properties below represent the best Belize has to offer. The funny thing is that as I put this list together with the help of my friends—and to make sure we got what we considered the best in Belize—you realized there is such variety here, even in a relatively short list. All of these represent some prime real estate many with great spas and food. Without further ado (and in no particular order), here are the finest resorts and hotels offered in this Caribbean jewel known as Belize: continue reading…

I was hot, and impatient, and growing more so by the minute. It was June 2005 and my first time in Belize, and I was waiting at the airport for a friend who was in Belize to fly fish and look at real estate.

I’m not the most patient fellow and neither is my friend, less so if anything. A tall, hard-charging sophisticated big city guy, he’s a born salesman who loves life in the fast lane. In the four years I’d known him at that time I don’t think I’d ever seen him without silk slacks and high-dollar dress shoes.

We’d crossed signals and were late to reconnoiter, and I could imagine what kind of mood he was in; the two of us would be a real pair until we could get somewhere out of the heat and relax.

So imagine my shock when a rental car pulls up in front of me, and out steps a guy who is a dead ringer for my tall friend, except it can’t be him. The guy is wearing sunglasses, a mostly unbuttoned Tommy Bahama shirt, board shorts and flip flops. continue reading…

(PLACENCIA, Belize) – As Belize becomes one of the biggest boom areas of the Caribbean, affluent visitors—and more and more celebrities—soon find themselves switching from the adventures of island-hopping to the pastime of island-shopping.

Whether fly fishing, diving or sailing, wealthy visitors soon hear that private islands and prime properties can be purchased in Belize from original owners for a fraction of what waterfront costs back in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Caribbean.

While the Bahamas has been a draw for the trendy island homes of many celebs in recent decades, Belize is quickly moving into the mix for its more consistent climate, warmer water and weather, affordability, incredible barrier reef and proximity to that which the Bahamas will never have: an astonishingly bio-diverse mainland replete with stunning waterfalls, ancient ruins, jaguar jungles, mountains and rushing whitewater rivers. Not to mention super-friendly tax laws and the fact that Belize is an English-speaking member of the British Commonwealth.

Most people coming to Belize for the first time never get off Ambergris Caye. North Americans who have been here many times have discovered that the most beautiful and best places to live are on the mainland. It’s a more relaxed, non-touristy atmosphere and allows you some breathing room, yet still has great beaches and is minutes from the beautiful Mayan Mountain range.

Belize is also blessed with true tropical weather. It’s far enough south that visitors are never subjected to the chilly waters and wish-I’d-brought-a-sweater days that are the Bahamian winters. High-profile celebs who favor fly fishing and diving invariably come to Belize at some point. That’s nothing new, what with vacationers like the actress Charlize Theron, who swam in Belizean waterfalls in 2007. But while celebrity visits to Belize are practically de rigueur, more of them seem interested in getting a piece of this paradise for themselves. continue reading…

Why Belize Now?

The answer is simple. You know Mark Twain’s famous quote “buy land, there not making it any more”? Well, they’re is a lot of truth to that especially in Belize. Keep in mind this little English-speaking speck on the map is only 170 miles long and 60 miles wide, barely. It’s just not very big to begin with, and much of it is rainforest and jungle that fortunately can never be disturbed by development. And frankly, the northern section above Belize City is not exactly the paradise most want own a vacation home or to retire to. Flat, a bit barren and hot.

Belize is less than half the size of Costa Rica yet has all that has made that country a famous destination, and a bit more. Don’t get me wrong I love Costa Rica, but I can’t speak Spanish (or read the Spanish contracts), it’s a longer flight to C.R., the beaches and snorkeling are OK at best, it doesn’t have the second longest barrier reef in the world (doesn’t have one at all), and the weather is not as good year-round as Belize. Dry season in Belize is very green, C.R. very hot and brown (at least in Northeast Guanacaste) and both have beautiful rainforests. But as far as real estate is concerned Belize is at least a 30 to 40 percent cheaper if you’re comparing apples to apples. continue reading…

If you’re looking for a place to buy a property in 2009, what about Belize? It’s a spectacularly beautiful nation with a fabulous climate, it’s part of the British Commonwealth and English is the main language in Belize, tourism is on the increase, the nation is considered safe and stable – and if all that wasn’t enough to persuade you, what about the fact that it’s a celebrity hotspot?

Not only are Hollywood stars drawn to holiday in Belize, but the likes of Leonardo di Caprio and Francis Ford Coppola already own celebrity property in the nation – and if you buy in, you could literally be rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous.

As stated, the actor Leonardo di Caprio has real estate in Belize – in fact, he owns an island off the nation’s shore called Blackadore Caye where he’s currently planning the construction of a luxurious hotel and eco property based project that will be operated by the Four Seasons group. As the island cost a mere $1.75 million dollars for over 100 acres of prime, tropical land in the Caribbean Sea, you can see that relatively speaking land and property in Belize are affordable or even cheap. continue reading…

Sometimes, the best way to appreciate a place is to go somewhere else.

In a back-to-back trip last year, I left Belize after an awesome week spent snorkeling, exploring rain forests and catching lots and lots of fish. My next stop: the much more famous Costa Rica, where I looked forward to more of the same.  After all, Costa is the place with the great long-established reputation for eco-adventure, pristine environments, super-friendly people and gorgeous countryside.

I found the people all right. Hundreds of them. Seemingly everywhere I went. I wasn’t in the most touristy part of the country, but it didn’t matter, it’s just not that easy to get away in Costa anymore. continue reading…