Sapphire Beach Resort — Hotel in North Ambergris Caye

This place is fantastic! Here are some reasons why/ things to know.

We rented a unit off Air BnB. Unit interiors greatly differ, as many are owned privately and rented out. Our experience was amazing. We stayed in a fairly new condo with very cute decor and fantastic finishing.

We had daily housekeeping which was really nice.

I love that this is a condo but in a mini resort. This meant we could do our own thing and also ask the front desk to organize diving/ outings for us, book a massage, etc. The front desk people and all resort staff were incredible.

It’s a 45min drive from town, yes. AND the roads are fairly shitty, so you’ll need to rent a golf cart. However, if you’re used to travelling and think of it as an adventure, you get over it. The place is SO worth it. You can ask Sapphire to help you rent, or find your own. There is a TON of companies.

The location is stunning and quiet, but there are still restaurants etc around to enjoy. You can kayak out from Sapphire and snorkel or drive up to Tranquility Bay and snorkel off the beach. There’s so much to see! You can rent masks at Sapphire or bring your own. We saw sting rays, tons of fish, nurse sharks, and more. We also saw dolphins off our beach!

Yes, there are sand flies and mosquitoes. DO come here with bugs spray. You can buy it here but it’s expensive. I got bit, but it didn’t really affect me much. My husband has stronger reactions to bugs and was quite itchy. I recommend bringing anti itch cream. Again, you can buy it in town, but it’s cheaper if you bring it. And if you are reading this a deterred by the idea of a few bugs, know that there’s also a splendour of other wildlife here to delight in: pelicans, bright birds, iguanas, cats and dogs, geckos, dolphins… etc.

Overall, San Pedro is wonderful, but it isn’t super cheap. As they take both Belizean currency and USD, and as they ship everything in from the mainland, groceries and restaurants cost the same, if not more (plus the exchange rate), as in Canada. It’s still SO worth the visit, but below are my suggestions for what to bring to balance this cost out:

I recommend bringing the following things: bugs spray, anti-itch cream, any coffee/granola bars/box or two of Mac and Cheese or other dried/packaged food. Anything packaged is fine to take through customs and it saves you a bunch to have some...

We have visited Sapphire Beach two times and love it. The office staff is excellent, as are the grounds, restaurant, and pool bar staff. They take your luggage up the stairs for you and bring 5 gallon jugs of drinking water up to your room every time you run out, so you never have to worry about fresh, clean drinking water--a big plus! (BYOWB- bring your own water bottle from home to avoid the single-use ones that are littering up their country.) We rented a golf cart from town (they can deliver to the resort or be picked up in town) and booked our own snorkel trip right from the dock in front (the office can do these things for you if you prefer), and they have 24-hour security on the grounds and watching your golf carts. Some people may not want to be 9 miles north of the busy town, but we felt much more relaxed up north, and there are plenty of local resorts, restaurants, bars, etc. to keep you exploring without even going into busy San Pedro (several places to the north and south to visit, enjoy good views, food, & swimming). There are two small grocery markets about a mile down the road too (but do your initial big shopping trip in San Pedro when you arrive). Sapphire has a shuttle to and from airport which isn't cheap for the 9 mile trip and cost of fuel ($50 for all passengers not including a small tip), but it's worth it to fit all your groceries, luggage, and people and it's much faster than the golf cart (though the adventure of the golf cart ride is super fun on a regular, non-travel day). There is a safe in the room for passports, etc. We felt very safe at this resort. The ocean here can have more sea kelp on different years, but they rake and keep the white sands as clean as they can. There's plenty of space on the sand to sit near the water listening to the rustling coco palms (don't sit directly under them- more deaths by coconut than sharks in the world). Again, snorkel trips with White Sands Outfit or El Norte's outfit can pick up at Sapphire's dock. We loved an afternoon cocktail at the pool bar or on the beach. (Bring No Natz bug spray for no-seeums, just like any tropical vacation!) Restaurant is open breakfast, lunch, and dinner & is delicious, and they do a pool-side BBQ once/week with music. An enjoyable and...

Sapphire Beach is a gem! It's a beautiful resort right on the beach. The staff is awesome and very responsive. They offer kayaks, canoes and bicycles for use at your leisure. There are 3 pools on the property which are all very nice. Unfortunately, there is no shade at any of the pools. There is a tiki hut between two of the pools for cocktails and refreshments. On Saturday evening they offer a limited menu BBQ dinner at the pool, which was fun. There is a restaurant on the property - open for breakfast, lunch and dinner - and the food was absolutely delicious!|Would also suggest getting your booze at the Duty Free shop at the Belize airport before coming to San Pedro - it is much less expensive there!|We took advantage of the airport shuttle offered by the resort (it's $100 US roundtrip for up to 5 people) and we were grateful for it! On the way from the airport we had the the shuttle stop at the grocery store in town for a supply stop - it was a lifesaver!! |Would highly recommend a golf cart rental. The resort arranged for the cart for our stay, which was on the property when we arrived and was returned after we left. Its such a fun way to explore and learn about San Pedro and we put it to good use! |All sites state the resort is 10 miles north of San Pedro Town - but note that it is about 40-45 minutes by golf cart. Secret Beach is about 35 minutes. Within a 15-20 minutes golf cart ride there are a number of bars and outdoor dining locations (both north and south)|If you like a massage, take advantage of the spa! The resort arranged beach massages, which were absolutely faboulous! |They suggest you bring bug spray (which we found to be ineffective) and benedryl (both cream and oral pills), which we did. The "no-seeums" are agressive. A member of our group was bit up badly and while there we were told to use baby oil or coconut oil to ward off the no-seeums. Bring that with you too :)|Enjoy Sapphire Beach - We hope you have as great a...