belize tourism village

Belize has done a nice job of providing tourism services in a central location. The restrooms are clean, the locals are very nice and helpful. Lots of shops and restaurants in a compact area. I booked excursions prior to arrival but you could easily find a tour at the villageI

We were on a Princess Cruise and Belize City was the stop. The cruise lines were not allowed to use their tenders to bring passengers into the port. I think that the local government was making them use local contractors. We had to ride with local contractors in rather iffy boats. I saw one ski boat sized craft with about twenty people in it. I cringed at the thought of the safety factors and asked a fellow passenger would they have gotten on it and the answer was no way. As I was watching the water in the harbor, it was like looking a gray sludge. Disgusting. Vendors were pushy and the local security people in the "compound" where passengers were to shop were unhelpful. I thought I might venture out of the compound and see some "real" folks (since the locals can only come if they have employee ID). I started for the exit, but the stench that smelled a lot like sewage turned me back fast. I bought nothing and headed back to the ship on a contractor boat that was a little scary. The doors were supposed to close with bars at the top and bottom of the doors but since the doors were very rickety and the bolts didn't go all the way through, I kept worrying they would swing open and somebody would be swimming. So I sat and examined the rust blooms all over the boat and hoped for a quick trip back. My traveling companion was snorkeling but was so beat up by the waves, that she gave up and got back in the boat on her excursion and felt it was not a good excursion. About the only positive thing I have to say about the small area is that there were canvas awnings over most of the sidewalks in front of the shops. You get the idea? Don't bother. Stay on the ship and have a massage.

Don't get stuck here thinking this is Belize! You need to go outside the port gates and walk around a bit, buy a cheap taco (3/$1.00) from a food truck, see some of the real town, walk along the waterfront and see the lighthouse at the very least. The Village is nice, there are some nice bathrooms and lots of souvenir shops. Easy to navigate and walk around.

This is the port where the cruise ship tenders dock to let you into the country. There is everything there that a tourist could dream of to purchase. Bars and restaurants for great food and Belikin beer. It can get crowded when more than one ship comes in at a time so pace yourself and map out where you want to go. You can find it all here at the Center!

If this is all you see of Belize, you never saw Belize. It's very clear that people who are not on a cruise are not very welcome. It's very touristy and pricey. Belize is a beautiful, safe and interesting place so please don't waste too much time in this area. Get out and explore and find a truer experience that the one the ships try to give to you.

Good service-seem to run on schedule. There are two. The one is a lot larger and probably best for longer trips-like to Ambergius Caye for example. I took the smaller (and slightly cheaper) one to Cauker Cay. They both have schedules and actually, each seems to go to most of the same places. If you miss one, you can walk on over the toe other, about a couple blocks distance.

The Tourism Village is mostly a cruise port for the ships that are coming in and it does offer great scenery, some shopping and food/beverage options. Grab a Belikin is the local brew of Belize and talk to some locals or other tourist. This area is where most excursions leave from and you can find some great independent vendors around and right outside the village. I am planning to go back to Belize as it seemed to offer much to do and experience.

Once you get through the village go to the backside of the building- there are small stalls selling tourist trinkets. Find the guy selling coconuts to drink, they are iced down. He cuts the top off with a machete puts a straw in it, hands you a bottle of rum and a lime and you pour how much rum you want. Quite a refreshing drink. ~~~~you put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up!

We visited on Thursday, January 29, 2015, while on a Royal Caribbean cruise. The ship is at anchor about 20 minutes away and we were tendered in a small boat to Belize City.This is an average tourist stop. Many souvenir shops, etc. We did stop at a restaurant, The Bearded Clam, right on the water. Two Belikin beers for $5.00 usd. This is the only beer brewed in Belize. Great taste and nice and cold.

Great renowal, lots of fun, music, food, beverages, tours. Love travelling to Belice and Tourism Village is a good beginning. Great place to visit Belice.

What a exciting way to see Belize. Love to come back soon and stay a little longer to see more sites.April H

It was like evey cruise port. The stores and the proces are the same in every port. It is alway better to leave the area to get original articles that are not massed produced.

This is much like any other tourism hot spot for shopping....with a little bit of everything thrown in. I did purchase a beautiful hand embroidered skirt for a good price. They will haggle a bit with you, so be prepared for that. Convenient to the cruise ships, as your tender will pick up and drop you here.

This area was developed for the purpose of separating cash from cruise passengers to the local economy. There are many shops selling all types of tourist things to show you were in Belize. There are high end overpriced jewel stores from one end to the other. There are a few bars build over the water where one can get a drink and kill time watching other cruise travels wandering around. The area is safe and clean and is in general an okay place to visit off your cruise ship. The tender ride from the cruise ship to the village only took 25 minutes and was not bad. All in all not an unpleasant place to waste a couple hours if you don't want to stay on the your ship.

Tourist village for cruise ships coming in. Not much to see here unless you like to shop. Worth killing a little time, but is not anything special