Gourmet products local specialties and wines South Side

A wooden hut, where you drink very good coffees whose beans have just been minced. Cold cafés are also very good, like the few juices and cakes served in accompaniment. 

On the main road, in the center of Placencia, you'll find the ice cream parlour that produces ice creams considered by many Belizeans to be the best in the country. The flavors change according to the whims of the owner, who is Italian of course! Mango, banana, passion fruit, stracciatella or pistachio, you'll find all the great Italian ice cream classics. Special mention goes to the salted caramel ice cream, which is surprisingly Central American. This small ice-cream shop is one of the city's must-visit addresses, not to be missed under any circumstances.

In Belize, it's not always easy to find a wide variety of fruit and vegetables in one place, but Eddie's is paradise in that respect. He runs a small kiosk right in the center of town, offering a vast selection of beautiful produce, often grown without pesticides. Oranges, bananas, mandarins, watermelons and a host of exotic fruits vie for top billing with zucchini and other vegetables that make you want to buy them all.

Punta Gorda's market is located not far from the gentle lapping of the ocean, on a street lined with casual boutiques and cafés. Sitting on overturned milk crates, in the back of trucks and under rainbow-colored umbrellas, Belizeans sell everything from fresh produce to kitchen utensils to socks. However, it's the Mayan women selling spice mixes who are the stars of the market. These glass jars with red plastic lids are sought after by chefs all over Belize.

This is one of the most pleasant places to take a break in the town of Dangriga. The room is large and tastefully decorated, with a pretty wall covered with Emojis painted by local youngsters and a superb exterior wall covered in graffiti, setting the tone that the city's youth love to come here to relax. A wide choice of smoothies, ice creams and juices, as well as tasty sandwiches and pizzas, await you here. Of particular note are the fresh fruit milkshakes, which are particularly tasty and pleasant in this often sweltering city.

Here's a truly surprising place. In the heart of Dangriga's main gas station, behind a small but opaque glass door, you'll enter another world and be greeted by charming young girls offering the best ice creams and sorbets in town in a cosy, well-decorated room. Brownies, cookies, sundaes and ice creams are on the menu, as well as a very good espresso coffee, which is quite rare in the area. It's the ideal place to take a break before catching the bus, whose station is right next door.

A basic market where food and cosmetics are found. 

This factory and shop offers guided tours to introduce you to the different stages of chocolate production. Everything is made here from local cocoa, and local producers. No need to book, and the visit is free. If you have been won over, you can then choose chocolate bars to bring back in your suitcases, or to taste on the spot. There are also some by-products such as soap and jewellery made from cocoa beans.

As well as food products such as vegetables (often organic) and fish, you'll find a little bit of everything at Dangriga's central market. Clothes, shoes, handicrafts, hammocks... Some stores have been established here since the new market opened in 2014. Products from all over the district are sold here. Small stalls just outside the market allow you to eat more cheaply and sample the specialties that are so popular with the locals. This market is probably the cheapest place in the country to find souvenirs.

Tiburon is an excellent rum from Belize, bottled in sublime bottles that are worth the effort alone. When the bottle is full, all you see is amber rum, but as the tasting progresses, a superb shark silk-screened on the back of the bottle is revealed. Here, you can sample the full range of Tiburon rums (in moderation, of course, especially on hot days) and perhaps take home two of Belize's emblems in one! Prices are the same everywhere, but the ambience of the tasting room is an undeniable plus.