You’ve been dreaming of this Caribbean vacation. You take a flight into Belize City then a ferry to Ambergris Caye, to Mahogany Bay. A dreamy resort on a small caye off the coast of Belize.
MAHOGANY BAY COTTAGES
You wake up in your own private cottage, the sound of the trees gently brushing against the outside walls. You remember falling asleep to rain on the roof, but now you can see sunlight peeking through the shutters and laying across the dark hardwood floors. There’s warmth and humidity filling the room from the tropical climate seeping through the screened windows. You slowly get out of bed and get ready because there’s a full day of sunshine and relaxation ahead of you and it’s time to get to it.
THE SHOWER OF YOUR DREAMS
The shower alone feels like a vacation. The tin-walled-surround, the tiek-slatted floor; it’s shower heaven. You make a mental note to purchase one of these rainfall shower heads for your apartment when you get back home. After an indeterminable amount of time, you eventually finish up and dry off. You’ve now made the room even more humid from the warm water running, which only encourages you to throw on your swimsuit and a cover-up. and head out to Rum+Bean, the coffee shop in The Village of Mahogany Bay resort.
(Sadly this was before our blogging days, and we did not take any photos of the shower. A mistake we will NEVER make again.)
The Village is a decent walk from your cottage, but you don’t mind. It’s a beautiful day and walking through the little cottage-lined lanes is so relaxing. Many of the cottages have golf carts parked out front, because as you’ve now learned, golf carts are the only way to get around San Pedro. Which means at some point, you know you’re going to rent one from the Mahogany Bay guest services so you can get out and explore Ambergris Caye… But today is a Beach Club day.
MAHOGANY BAY VILLAGE
Upon arriving at Rum+Bean, you’re thankful to find it is exactly as the name entails and even more adorable than you could’ve imagined. Beverages and coffee, along with pastries and other tasty treats. It feels like you should immediately get on a first-name basis with the barista / bartender because you’re going to be back here… several times. You wonder if you should order one of everything, but ultimately decide to grab an iced coffee and a croissant. While you wait for your order, you lazily parooze the book collection on the wall. Once your order is in-hand, you sit out on the front porch of Rum+Bean at the white-washed wood block table and stools to enjoy the warm morning air.
TACOS WORTH SECONDS, THIRDS AND FOURTHS
You finish up with your delicious croissant and start to head over to the pier for the boat ride to the private Mahogany Bay Beach Club, but what’s that? The Taco Shack is open?? Yes, you just ate a croissant, but the Taco Shack is only open until 2:00p.m. and you know you’ll be at the beach… and you’ve heard so much about these tacos… you don’t even bother resisting because you’re on vacation! So you detour to the Taco Shack and order four tacos (hey – they’re small and maybe like $4.00 USD). You stand and chat with the owner while his wife cooks you some authentic Belizean tacos.
After your first bite you quickly realize four was not nearly enough and consider cancelling your entire day to sit and eat these delectable little tacos. They live up to the hype. You don’t even care that you’re making the people around you uncomfortable with your “mmmmm’s” and “ohmygod’s”. This won’t be your last stop to the Taco Shack. But alas, it is time to get to the pier for the 10:00a.m. ferry transport to the Beach Club.
MAHOGANY BAY BEACH CLUB
The line is already starting to form by the time you make your way through the Great House and past the pool, and you take your place. Immediately you start applying sunscreen because although it’s December, that Belizean sun ain’t messing around. No point in getting burnt before you even set foot onto the beach! Right on time, your boat and captain arrive and you and 20 other guests head out to the beach. The ferry across the bluest ocean water you’ve ever seen reminds you just how far from winter you really are.
As planned, you’re one of the first ones to the beach for the day so you’ve got your pick of the best spots to set up. There needs to be the perfect amount of shade and sun, away from crowds, but close enough to easily catch your server to bring you buckets of beer. Priorities, right? You find a couple lounge chairs under a tree that hangs just over the crystal clear blue water. Towel laid out, sunglasses on, beer on it’s way… It’s going to be a great day.
SEE’N IS BELIZE’N
Morning fades into afternoon. Your server stops by every 20 or 30 minutes never leaving you without whatever it is you want or need. You’ve had a couple Belkans and a pina colada, and set your sights on the food menu. Ceviche, chicken strips, and chips and guacamole… and what the heck, one more pina colada on the way. Every bite is perfectly hitting the spot. And everything really does taste better when you’re sitting on a white sand beach with endless ocean views.
After a little more relaxation, you work up the nerve to try some stand-up paddle boarding. The Mahogany Bay Beach Club has plenty of canoes and paddle boards set up on shore for anyone to grab when they feel like it. No renting and returning, no transporting, no paying — it’s ideal. The water is shallow as you wade out to a good spot to hop on, suddenly wondering if you should’ve tried this pre-pina colada. Everyone else has made it look so easy, so you wobble your way onto the board, and stand up, easy-breezy! Looking down into the shallow waters and you can see shiny silver fish swimming down beneath you as you paddle around the little bay.
Sunbathed to your heart’s content, you catch the 3:00p.m. ferry back to the main resort. You casually stroll through The Village back to your cottage. Time to rinse away the salt, sand, and sunscreen from the day. Resort dinner attire is always so flowy and comfortable, it’s probably the main reason people visit tropical destinations. Wearing some linen pants and a light-weight buttoned top, you know exactly where to go to watch a gorgeous Belizean sunset.
PERFECT END TO A PERFECT DAY
Out the back door of The Great House is a veranda that overlooks the pool and the shoreline of Mahogany Bay. This is also where you’ll find Shaken. A long wooden bar top with wooden stools serving up just about any cocktail you can imagine. You order something with rum to match the atmosphere, then just sit and sip as you watch the skies turn every shade of pink, purple, and orange and then finally into a deep blue. Sunset is always your cue that it’s dinner time, so you thank the kind bartender and walk back over to the sushi restaurant that just opened in The Village, JYOTO.
The air conditioning feels chilly compared to the warm evening air outside. Just like everywhere else in the Mahogany Bay resort, JYOTO is beautifully designed with warm woods and modern accents and fresh white walls. You review the menu and pick a roll you recognize and one you don’t, because on vacation you have to try new things, or else what’s the point? Both are fresh and amazing and do not disappoint. You decide to finish off the meal with a glass of wine before calling it a night.
Stepping back outside, the humid air surrounds you and warms you instantly. You see the ground is wet and giant clouds are billowing across the sky in the breeze. It must’ve rained while you were eating, but now as the clouds pass, you can see the stars shining in the dark night sky. The stars look different in this part of the world. They seem to sparkle more.
You soak it all in as you walk back to your cottage. You climb into bed and think about the amazing memories you’ll have from your perfect day at Mahogany Bay.
If you enjoyed this, check out our other PERFECT DAY locations!
