St. George's Caye

St George's Caye was the settlement's capital before Belize City, occupied by the logwood cutters from the seventeenth century, and it was where the naval engagement of 1798 was fought that settled British control of the coast, still marked as a national holiday every 10 September. The caye is now largely private holiday houses with a small resort and an old cemetery holding graves from the settlement's earliest years.

What you actually see

• The old cemetery - graves from the settlement's first decades.
• The 1798 site - the water off the caye where the engagement was fought.
• The holiday houses - a caye of private wooden houses on stilts.
• The channel - the cut between the caye and the reef, used by the settlers' ships.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and the calmest for the crossing. Around 10 September the national holiday brings events. Boats are charter rather than scheduled.

Honest expectations

Most of the caye is private property and there is no public beach to speak of. There is little to see beyond the cemetery. Access requires a charter and there is no regular service.

Nearby

Belize City is southwest, and Goff's Caye is south on the reef.