Destination content © Chicki Mallan and Joshua Berman, used from Moon Handbooks Belize, 6th edition.
Maps © Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.
GALES POINT
A small village originally established by logwood cutters sits on a two-mile-long peninsula that juts into the Southern Lagoon; both are called Gales Point. Gales Point is about 15 miles north of Dangriga in Stann Creek District and 25 miles south of Belize City. To get to Gales Point by car, choose either the Manatee Highway (Coastal Road) or the Hummingbird Highway and make sure it’s not raining! Going by way of the Hummingbird is about 25 miles longer.
Access from Belize City by boat is a pleasant way to Gales Point. The boat winds through mangrove-lined canals and across the Sibun River before going through the Northern and Southern Lagoons.
Southern Lagoon
The lagoon is part of an extensive estuary surrounded by thick mangroves. Their tangled roots provide the perfect breeding grounds for sport fish, crabs, shrimp, lobster, and a host of other marine life. Rich beds of sea grass line the bottom of the lagoon and support a population of manatees. These gentle mammals are often seen basking on the surface of the water or coming up for air (which they must do about every four minutes). This is a popular spot for boaters to bring visitors to observe the manatees.
Driving the Northern Highway
If you are driving to Bermudian Landing from downtown Belize City, leave town on Freetown Road. You’ll pass through the intersection with Central American Boulevard (to the left) and Princess Margaret Drive (to the right). Continue straight out of town. As you cross this major intersection, the road becomes the Northern Highway; set your trip odometer just a couple of hundred yards farther, where the road begins a gentle bend to the right.
Expect a good deal of traffic in the mornings and afternoons on the stretch past the Bella Vista suburb and the Belize Biltmore Hotel. You’ll encounter lots of school buses, vehicles pulling over to pick up riders, and speed bumps. The Belize River is off to the left. At about Mile 5.5, you’ll come to Haulover Bridge (one-way traffic at a time) and continue skirting the river northward on Northern Highway.
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