11 Best Places to Shop in Belize

The body creams here, made with Belizean coconut oil and cocoa butter (a by-product of chocolate-making), may be the best in the world. They're a bargain, too. Owner Lara Goldman (who makes the creams) also sells chic tote bags, soy candles, and other fashionable gifts, all made in Belize. You can even buy lionfish scale earrings. 

The biggest gift shop on the Southern Coast, and one of the country's best, GariMaya has a large selection of Garifuna and Maya crafts, including masks, clothing, jewelry, and wood carvings, although some items appear to be imported from Guatemala and Mexico. (Look carefully.) You'll also find a good selection of souvenir T-shirts, too.

At Graniel's Dreamland, the showroom for Armando Graniel's beautiful carpentry, you can find stunning tropical woodwork at affordable prices, like one-of-a-kind bowls of knotted wood, clam chairs, or cutting boards. The shop will package your items for shipping or for carrying back home.

Enter through the blue picket gate to discover curated goods and crafts all made in Belize. Paintings by local artists can be found here. The owner, Jessie Wigh (who also runs Namaste Café), writes the charming Caye Boy series, children's books about the joys of growing up on Caye Caulker.

This gallery has one of the best selections of Belizean and Guatemalan crafts in Belize. It has an especially good selection of wood items from tropical hardwoods, including bowls, small pieces of furniture, and carvings. There's also a small restaurant and guesthouse here.

With one of the largest selections of arts and crafts in Belize, Art Box is the place to go if you're looking for handcrafted gifts, books, jewelry, or souvenirs. Upstairs is a gallery featuring Belizean artists including Carolyn Carr.

Handicraft vendors line the block of North Park Street between Fort and Cork Streets. (More show up on days when a cruise ship is in port.) There's nothing terribly formal here, but you'll find Belizean souvenir items, including hand-carved figurines, pottery, and woven baskets. The prices are about as good as you'll find anywhere in Belize, and the salespeople are friendly.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, local coffee and cacao beans, and some craft items are sold at indoor and outdoor stalls at the central plaza near the clock tower. The busiest market days usually are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, but this is a quieter affair with not as much activity as the market on Front Street.

Wednesday and Saturday are the big market days in the area along Front Street near the Civic Center, with Monday and Friday seeing a bit less activity. You'll find food stalls, and vendors selling fruit and vegetables, chocolate, and copal incense, reputed to be useful for energy cleansing. Some crafts and miscellaneous household items are for sale here. (Look carefully: Many of the crafts here come from neighboring Guatemala.) This is an earthier market than the goings-on at the Central Plaza.

This permanent market has a couple dozen stalls with friendly vendors selling ziricote wood carvings, Maya masks, weavings, handmade dolls, jewelry, trinkets, and other goods, some of which are made on the island.