Late in the afternoon on Ambergris Caye, small planes drop onto the island’s airstrip, golf carts hum along the sandy streets, and the light over the water turns the color of rum. Xanadu Island Resort belongs to that scene, a resort on the largest caye in northern Belize. What follows is the setting around it: the island, the reef, the town and the ways of reaching all three.
What is Xanadu Island Resort?
Xanadu Island Resort is a resort on Ambergris Caye, the island that anchors Belize’s northern waters. Its name suggests a retreat apart, and the island gives that idea a plausible home: a thin strip of land with the Caribbean on one side, mangrove and lagoon on the other, and a barrier reef running offshore.
A stay here is really a stay on Ambergris Caye, so the island shapes nearly everything about the days you spend. The sea sets the rhythm, the reef is the main reason people come, and the island’s town supplies the dinners, the bars and the small shops.
An island of reef and sand
Ambergris Caye is the largest of several hundred cayes in the northernmost waters of Belize. It stretches about 25 miles from north to south, yet it is only about a mile across, so the sea is never far from wherever you stand. Most of the island is reserved for national park or wildlife preserve, which is one reason building is limited and why large stretches stay green.
The main draws are the Belize Barrier Reef and the island’s beaches. The reef is the second largest in the world, after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and it sits at the heart of how people spend their time here: on boats, in masks and fins, or simply looking out at the line where the water changes color.
San Pedro, the island’s town
San Pedro is the town on the southern part of the island, in the Belize District. It was granted township status on November 27, 1984, and Gilberto Chico Gomez served as its first mayor. Today it is described as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Belize, with protected areas such as Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Shark Ray Alley and Bacalar Chico close to its story.
For a guest at a resort on the caye, San Pedro is the reference point. It is where boat trips are talked about, where the Ambergris Museum tells the island’s past, and where the island’s biggest celebrations are held. Think of the resort as your base and the town as the place the island’s life gathers.
What the name promises and what the island delivers
The island offers sea air, a reef to look at from the surface or below, mornings that start with a walk on sand and evenings that end with a plate of grilled fish. Belizean Creole cooking is everywhere: stewed chicken with rice and beans, fry jacks at breakfast, ceviche made with conch or fish and a rum punch as the sun goes down.
None of this needs a packed schedule. The island rewards a loose plan, one reef outing, one evening in town, one stretch of beach with a book, and long pauses between them.
Where is it?
Xanadu Island Resort is on Ambergris Caye, off the northern coast of Belize in the Caribbean. Administratively the island belongs to the Belize District, even though the closest point on the mainland is part of the Corozal District, a detail that explains why the island feels tied to the north as much as to Belize City.
Reaching the island
There are two ways to arrive, by air or by water. The island has a small airstrip served by Tropic Air and Maya Island Air, and Astrum Helicopters services the local airstrip and various resorts. A flight from Belize City to Ambergris Caye takes about 20 minutes, which means the transfer from the mainland is over in the time it takes to settle into a window seat and look down at the reef.
By sea, numerous fast ferries run to the island from Belize City, and the island can also be reached by ferry from Chetumal in Mexico. Arriving by boat has its own appeal, because you cross the same water you will soon be looking at from the beach.
| Route | Connects | Operators or mode |
|---|---|---|
| By air | Belize City to Ambergris Caye | Tropic Air, Maya Island Air |
| By helicopter | Local airstrip and various resorts | Astrum Helicopters |
| By sea | Belize City to the island | Numerous fast sea ferries |
| By sea from Mexico | Chetumal to the island | Ferry |
Getting around the caye
Because the island is so small, the main form of powered transportation is the golf cart. You see them parked outside shops, lined up at the beach bars and gliding past the colorful wooden houses in town. It gives the whole place a slower tempo than a car-based resort area would.
North of San Pedro Town, the north road runs for over 10 miles. It has opened the way for resort and beach house development with better access than boats alone once offered, and it leads toward Secret Beach, one of the more popular beach destinations in Belize.
The reef and the reserves to the south
Hol Chan Marine Reserve lies 4 miles south of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, and Shark Ray Alley belongs to the same protected waters. These are the names you hear again and again when people talk about snorkeling and diving here.
At the northern tip, Bacalar Chico is another of the protected areas linked with San Pedro. Together these places show how much of the island’s identity rests on the sea rather than on the land.
What is on site?
Around the resort, Ambergris Caye supplies the things that make an island stay: reef, beaches, a town with a museum, and a calendar of local celebrations. The resort’s own grounds are one part of the picture, and the island is the larger one.
The reef from the surface
The barrier reef is the main attraction, and the island is a natural starting point for it. Boat outings head to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, where the sea is full of fish, rays and coral. You may see turtles, nurse sharks or schools of colorful reef fish, though wildlife is always a matter of chance.
From the beach, the reef shows itself as a pale line of breaking water far out. The turquoise between shore and reef is the view you will keep photographing, in the early morning when the sea is quiet and again at dusk when it turns violet.
Beaches and the northern road
Secret Beach, north of San Pedro Town, is one of the more popular beach destinations in Belize. The north road leads toward it past beach houses and other resorts, so a day out there is a drive along a coast lined with palms and docks.
Piers reach out from many beachfronts, and the habit of the island is to spend time on them: fishing, watching pelicans dive, or waiting for a boat to come in. Sargassum can reach Caribbean shores, and the Belize Tourism Board describes it as a seasonal natural occurrence rather than something tied to a single beach.
Town, museum and festivals
The Ambergris Museum in San Pedro Town gives the island some history to go with the scenery, a good stop for anyone curious about how a fishing community became a resort island. Around it are the shops, bars and small restaurants that fill the town streets.
San Pedro Day is celebrated every year on June 27 in San Pedro Town. El Gran Carnaval de San Pedro is the other great party.
On its first day, the streets from Ruby’s Hotel beachfront to the cemetery area and Barrier Reef Drive are restricted to children until 7 pm, and children may not paint people who are not taking part, nor public signs, buildings or the Comparsa participants. Rotten eggs, spray paint and oil paints are not allowed.
Eating and drinking on the island
Seafood leads the menu. Expect grilled snapper, lobster in season, conch fritters and ceviche, with coconut rice and fried plantains on the side. Breakfast often means fry jacks, eggs and fresh fruit, and an evening rum punch is the island’s usual way to close the day. In San Pedro, the water is safe to drink, while on the mainland and the smaller islands of Belize, bottled water is the safer choice.
Good to know before you go
The U.S. State Department rates Belize Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, because of crime, and says the south side of Belize City has historically had the highest concentration of violent crime.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so a trip in the fall falls inside it, and the sea and sky on any given day depend on the weather. The south side of Belize City is where the State Department says violent crime has historically been most concentrated, which is a reason to spend your time on the caye rather than passing through the mainland city. On the island, plan for golf carts and boats rather than a car, and count on San Pedro for supplies and meals.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Ambergris Caye (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris_Caye), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, San Pedro Town (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro_Town), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikivoyage, San Pedro (Belize) (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/San_Pedro_(Belize)), checked October 11, 2026
- U.S. Department of State, Belize Travel Advisory, Level 2, March 11, 2026 (https://travel.state.gov/), checked October 11, 2026
- NOAA National Hurricane Center, Climatology (https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/), checked October 11, 2026
To plan your stay
- Cayo Espanto: Private Island Villas, Getting There and What Is on Site
- Chaa Creek Belize: The Lodge, the Macal River, Rainforest Trails and Day Trips
- Hamanasi Resort Hopkins: Rooms, Reef and Rainforest Tours, and Where It Sits on the Coast
- Belize Overwater Bungalows: Thatch Caye, Where to Stay and How to Get There