population approximately 10,000, is located on the
southern portion of the island. The town core is about 1 mile long and
at one of the narrowest parts of the island. From the town core heading
south, you can travel for about 4 miles to the southern tip of the
island. From the town core to the San Pedro River "cut", which is
heading north, is about 3/4 mile. The river cut is a man made
waterway which bisects the island from east to west. The cut is
approximately 50 ft wide. This allows a form of short-cut travel between
the windward and leeward sides of the island. The river also is a
natural barrier which has curtailed town growth in the past.
The town is very quickly growing westward and southward due to easy
accessibility of utilities such as water, sewer, cable t.v., telephones
and electricity.
On the northern part of the island, beyond the river cut, there are land
line telephones up to the 3.5 mile point and road access the same
distance. Electricity lines run 7 miles up the coast. There are
no water and sewer lines across the cut at this moment. There
are quite a few nice resorts on the northern end of the island. The
majority of these are boat accessible only. They use shallow wells
(10ft) and fresh water (rain) catchment systems for water and septic
tanks for sewerage. Many of these resorts use fixed base cellular
telephones. The furthest resort from town is The Avalon Resort which is
located approximately 7 miles north of town (right on the latitude line
of 18 degrees.)
Ambergris Caye has a domestic airport and uses commuter planes to bring visiting guests from the international airport (12 minute flight) and all other domestic airports. During the height of the tourist season, this airport runs around 70 flights per day. There are also numerous ferry boats which run from Corozal town, Belize City and other islands.
Tourism is Belize’s number one industry and Ambergris Caye is Belize’s number one tourist destination. The Belize Tourist Board, a department of the Ministry of Tourism, is aggressively marketing and promoting Belize to the North American and European markets.
For more detailed information on Ambergris Caye and San Pedro Town be sure to take a look at http://www.sunrisebelize.com.
Please read through our website carefully to decide if you would like to pursue your options for a retirement home here on our island.
