The Coral Beach Hotel (Front St., tel. 501/266-2013, www.coralbeachhotel.com, US$57 with fan, US$12 more for air-conditioning) offers 19 clean, small rooms, each with private bath, hot and cold water, and air-conditioning or fan. There’s a nice veranda overlooking the action on Front Street. Meal plans are available.

Lily’s Hotel and Restaurant ((tel. 501/226-2650, www.ambergriscaye.com/lilys, US$65–75) has six good-value rooms with private bath, air-conditioning, and very nice verandas on the beach; there are a few apartments too. This simple hotel is run by Felipe Paz and family—friendly longtime residents of San Pedro. Lily’s has been known for years for offering excellent local food in plentiful family-style servings.

The beachfront Conch Shell Inn (tel. 501/226-2062, belizeanmark [at] hotmail [dot] com, US$49–99) is in the heart of San Pedro, beside Sunbreeze Suites. It was the third hotel to open in the early days of tourism. Renovated in 2008, the five upstairs single and double rooms have great views and tiled floors, and the cheaper downstairs rooms are steps from the sea. British owners Dr. Mark and Joan are well known for providing the free “Smiles” dental clinics to islanders.

Another quaint and homey option south of town is Changes in Latitudes Bed and Breakfast (36 Coconut Dr., tel. 501/226-2986, U.S. tel. 800/631-9834, www.ambergriscaye.com/latitudes, US$95), with six cozy rooms with air-conditioning, ceiling fan, private bath, and pool privileges at Exotic Caye Beach Resort. They’re serious about the breakfast, which is served daily in the common room.

On the north end of town, toward the cut, Hotel del Rio (tel. 501/226-2286, www.ambergriscaye.com/hoteldelrio, US$50–145) offers great value. Accommodations range from basic economy rooms with shared baths and cold water to bigger casitas built of natural materials (some with king or two queen beds).

Apart from the Turtleman’s House in Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, the only budget option north of the bridge is the Ak’Bol retreat center (a.k.a. the “yoga barracks”) on the lagoon side, which has 30 fantastic value rooms (US$35 s, US$50 d) in a long wooden building with a massive shared bathroom/shower/locker room. The lagoon here is unspoiled and full of wildlife, and it’s on a narrow strip of the island so that the beach (and yoga deck and bar/restaurant) is only a 30-second walk away.