Ambergris Caye

Ambergris is about forty kilometres long, mostly mangrove, with the town of San Pedro at its southern end and development running north along the coast. The barrier reef lies a few hundred metres offshore for the whole length, so the water inside is flat and shallow and the reef is close enough to reach in minutes. Hol Chan Marine Reserve at the southern tip is the country's oldest marine reserve, with a cut through the reef where the current concentrates fish; Shark Ray Alley beside it is a shallow sandy spot where nurse sharks and southern stingrays gather. Golf carts are the transport and the sand streets suit them.

History

A Maya community lived on the island before Columbus, leaving distinctive polished red pottery, and the Maya may have dug the Boca Bacalar Chico channel that separates it from Mexico to let canoe traders bypass the outer reef, though it may also be natural. In the 17th century whalers worked from islands such as this one, the name coming from ambergris, a substance from the sperm whale prized for perfume, and coconut plantations from that century changed much of the island (Wikipedia, Ambergris Caye).

Highlights

• Hol Chan Marine Reserve - the cut through the reef, dense with fish.
• Shark Ray Alley - nurse sharks and stingrays in shallow water.
• The reef - a few hundred metres offshore along the whole caye.
• San Pedro - sand streets and golf carts at the southern end.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and the busiest. Sargassum seaweed affects the eastern beaches from around April to August in recent years and can be heavy. Hurricane season runs June to November.

Good to know

The beaches on Ambergris are narrow with seagrass and a shallow shelf, so this is not a beach island in the classic sense; the water is the point. Sargassum has become a serious seasonal problem. Development has been rapid and largely unplanned. Shark Ray Alley involves long-term feeding, which has shaped the animals' behaviour.

Nearby

Caye Caulker is 30 minutes south; the atolls are two hours east.

Key facts