I moved to Belize in 2017, settling my little family in the coastal village of Placencia. We enjoy a casual, outdoorsy, and active lifestyle year-round, but I must admit that Summer is my favorite season. The hazy, lazy days of summer just seem to be when Belize is its most authentic self. Not that it ever feels crowded or overly touristy on the peninsula even at the peak of high season (you’ll still never need to wait for a table at a restaurant or search for an empty stretch of sand to plant your beach chair), but the lackadaisical days of slow season are quietly appealing. The frequent overnight rains of Green Season ensure the country’s interior is at its most lush and the tranquil Caribbean Sea is bath-water-warm. Local events and festivals can be enjoyed across the country and the seasonal bounty of tropical fruit is prolific. Here are a few of my favorite things to do in Belize during the summer.
Staycation Like a Rockstar
Photo by Vivian Lizarraga / Ray Caye Island Resort
One of the many perks of living in paradise is having the opportunity to be a tourist in your own backyard. I love taking advantage of local travel deals during the summer when accommodation can be as much as 50% less than usual. For a geographically small country, there is still so much of this wild, rugged, diverse, and astounding land that I haven’t discovered yet. Summer is the perfect time to travel within Belize’s borders and experience the luxury resorts, jungle eco-lodges, and private island retreats at a deep discount.
Similar Local Weekends: The Ray Caye Travel Deal for Belizeans Wanting a Quick Escape
Festival Fun
Placencia Lobster Fest 2019. Photo by Belize My Travels
Belize loves a festival and so do I! The summer festival season kicks off in May with Crooked Tree’s Cashew Festival and Toledo’s Chocolate Festival. In June everyone heads to the village of Hopkins for Mango madness and July sees the opening of lobster season in Belize with dedicated festivals in San Pedro, Caye Caulker, and Placencia.
Similar: Chocolate, Mango, Lobster: The 2024 Belize Food Festivals to Jump Start Your Summer
In mid-July, the westernmost town of Benque Viejo del Carmen hosts an annual multi-day Fiesta complete with carnival rides, soccer tournaments, parades and processions, a beauty pageant, music, performances, and plenty of food vendors. The island of Ambergris Caye pulls visitors from near and far for Belize’s International Music & Food Festival (July 27 & 28, 2024). Some Maya communities in Southern Belize hold Deer Dance Ceremonies and Celebrations in August that blend time-honored tradition with modern gaiety and cultural cuisine you won’t find on a typical restaurant’s menu. It would be quite a feat to try to attend all the summer’s festivals!
Explore the Culinary Scene
Photo by Megan Rodden
Belize is most delicious during the summer. The food is so fresh; typically, having been pulled from the sea or from the tree the very day it’s served. Cooks have the time and inclination to go above and beyond in their preparations and plate up dishes that are just a little more special. Summertime is when you can indulge in the best street food: rich and fragrant rice and beans made with hand-wrung coconut milk, sweet and spiced candied cocoplum boiled over a fire hearth for hours, fortifying and refreshing seaweed drinks or frozen treats.
Each new summer I spend in Belize, I discover a different depth to the country’s cuisine. From time-honored family recipes passed down through generations, to new and innovative methods of using local ingredients, Belizean cuisine is fascinating and dynamic, and summertime delivers the best bites.
Build Community
Photo by Itz’ana Resort
The pulse of village life beats strongest during the summer. Children race their bicycles along the road or run barefoot up the beach while adults linger outside the vegetable market or in the coffee shop to catch up on the latest gossip. For me, the charm of small-town living is still novel and I’m appreciative of the community-driven events and socializing opportunities the summer season presents. Fishing and football tournaments, barbeques and fundraisers, beach clean-ups and running club races, there’s always something going on to get involved with. The already close-knit community reinforces its tapestry over the summer, tightening the connections in the fabric of the small society, and I feel supremely lucky to have a chance to weave in my own threads.
Similar: The Best Belize Vacation Ideas for this Summer
Summer is the season to experience Belize in its truest form: when its natural beauty is at its most glorious, the food and festivities are at their most spectacular, and the people are friendliest and most relaxed.
Featured Photo by Megan Rodden
