Rums and liqueurs
Rum is a popular drink in Belize, and you can find a variety of local rums with unique flavors. You can also bring back liqueurs made from tropical fruits such as coconut, pineapple or guava, which are very popular with Belizeans and cannot be found outside the country. Beware: supermarket prices are often more attractive than in specialist stores, where you'll find rarer rums for connoisseurs. Of particular note is the superb bottle of Tiburon brand rum, engraved with a beautiful shark, which can be seen in transparency on bottles of white rum, but only once the bottle has been emptied for dark rums. The bottle is a souvenir in itself.
Wooden sculptures and objects
Made by local artisans, decorative and sometimes practical like the precious wood tableware, they generally make perfect gifts! Throughout the country, whether on the islands of San Pedro or Caye Caulker, or in Placencia, San Ignacio or Hopkins, you'll find local artisans displaying their creations on simple street-side stalls. Don't hesitate to bargain a little if you feel like it, but don't forget that it often takes several hours to make such sculptures, so don't be too hard up for bargains - the craftsmen aren't often rolling in money even though they spend many hours in their sketchy workshops.
Hammocks
Enjoy a rum-based cocktail, Belizean of course, while swinging in your hammock at home, and you'll be whisked back to Belize any time! Hammocks are a great way to relax on a sunny day. What's more, they add color to your garden or terrace. Colorful and sturdy, they don't take up much space in your suitcase, so you can keep them for a long time.
Maya basketry and local leather goods
Basketry is a long-standing tradition of the Mayans, who have lived in the region for over 3,000 years. A hand-woven basket is a great way to support local artisans and bring home an authentic piece of Belize. Give your home a special touch with one of the many unique basket designs you can find at local markets, particularly in the Cayo district around San Ignacio, but also on the road to Placencia or in Punta Gorda. If you like quality leather bags, you'll also find what you're looking for, and we can't recommend enough Twig & Pearl, a small company of designers in the Belmopan region that produces a wide range of high-quality bags worthy of the most renowned leather goods manufacturers.
Shell jewelry
Delicious to eat, conch is used for jewelry thanks to the unique pink cameo color of its shell. You can find pretty hairpins, bracelets, earrings and many other accessories cut from a polished conch shell. Or you can buy a whole shell, cleaned and preserved, which makes an excellent decorative object. If you appreciate detail, we recommend Caye Caulker, where you'll find the best conch carvers in the country. The pearl necklaces or bracelets carved from conch are truly unique, but be warned: each pearl takes around 2 hours to make, and prices suffer when they're well done.
Jewelry
The country abounds in stones used to make traditional jewelry. Jade, coral, shells, animal bones and teeth are the centerpieces of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, tiaras and other pieces that are easy to acquire in Belize. Here again, the markets are a good place to go in search of treasures, and a few boutiques in San Pedro, Placencia and Belize City offer refined pieces of certified quality. Of particular note are the original creations of Kaj, a San Ignacio artist who was the first to create jewelry using the pectoral and caudal fins of the Lionfish, a superb fish native to the Indian Ocean and now invading the Caribbean. She combines the useful with the pleasurable by encouraging fishermen to eliminate this ferocious predator, while transforming the superb colorful fins into unique jewelry.
Chocolate
The country is famous for its cocoa production. Cacao is very special in Mayan culture and, as a result, Belizeans make some of the most delicious chocolates. Chocolate is available in many flavors in local stores. In some cases, you can even see the production process before you buy a few delicious bars of your beloved chocolate, as for example in San Ignacio at Ajaw chocolate, a small business set up by a Mayan family who teach you traditional manufacturing with traditional tools often inherited from their ancestors.
Hot sauces
Although not all foods in Belize are spicy, habanero and jalapeño peppers are widely grown here, so you'll find plenty of hot sauce to accompany your meal. Take a bottle for yourself and a few for your spice-loving friends. One of the best-known brands is Marie Sharps, a family-run business located a few kilometers before Dangriga on your way in from the west. You can visit the factory to learn about the manufacturing process. Don't forget long sleeves, as the ambient air is so saturated with capsaicin, the spicy molecule in chillies, that your bare skin may be irritated before the tour is over.
Authenticity and regulations
When buying souvenirs, be sure to support local artisans and buy authentic products. Also check the customs regulations of your home country to make sure you can legally bring back the items you want. When it comes to alcohol, beware: the limits are often lower than you might think!
