Are there similar water consumption/bacteria concerns in the country of Belize like there are in Mexico.?

Question

I am considering taking a vacation to Belize and want to understand the risks of consuming the food/water. We all know about the restrictions in Mexico but you dont hear much about central and south america. I get very sick everytime I go to Mexico regardless of how carefull I am and dont want to have to experience that if I dont have to.

Answer 1

In Belize you have to worry about the water but not the food.  My wife and I moved down here with two kids (8 and 4) about 18 months ago from the States.  We have travel across Belize and eaten in many different places and many types of food with no problems - none.  Some of the primary places we have eaten are San Ignacio, Belmopan, Belize City, Dangriga, P.G., and a couple of Cayes - these are just the primary places we have eaten food in several other parts of Belize as well and no issues.

In the area of water we follow the saying "When in Roman do as the Romans do."  Here in Belize locals drink bottled water and, in general, so do we.  There are a few times we have drank straight from the tap but I would not make it a practice - the water systems here are just not good enough.

In short - come to Belize, have a great time, eat food as you like, but be careful about drinking the water - you probably would not get sick by drinking it but why take the chance.

Answer 2

The concerns in belize are probably worse than in Mexico, curently. The country is a lot poorer than Mexico on average, and much of the infrastructure is substandard.

On the other hand in some of the nicer resorts that are isolated from any local towns they probably have relatively clean water.

If you travel around Latin America enough you eventually will get sick from the local bacteria. After you get over it a few times you will be relatively immune like the locals. One should be prudent, but if one eats the local food eventually you will get sick. Drinking bottled water helps, but all of the food and dishes etc will be washed in the local water so if it is there, you will get exposed eventually.

Answer 3

Yes, water and food are pretty similar than in Mexico, take precautions.