Overwater bungalows in Belize

• Overwater bungalows: 1
• Total rooms/suites: 7

Cayo Espanto, which is located just off Ambergris Caye in Belize, bills itself as a “private island resort.” There are only 7 total villas and suites, including exactly one overwater bungalow, and unusually, the overwater room is the smallest and cheapest accommodation here, even at over US$1,000 per night.

This is pure luxury, including a private butler for each suite among the many other amenities. And you can actually do the private island thing here, as they offer packages to rent the whole place out for one flat fee. Anyone looking for a large and luxurious overwater bungalow in the Caribbean should be happy here if they can afford it.

• Overwater bungalows starting at US$1,595 per night

• Overwater bungalows: 6
• Total rooms/suites: 10

Located on a private island 9 miles from Dangriga in Belize, the Thatch Caye Resort is probably the closest thing to a Maldives-style complex anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. The all-inclusive resort has 5 overwater cabanas which are perched just over the water’s edge, plus one huge Family Suite comprised of 2 bedroom cabanas and 1 living room/kitchenette cabana.

The resort has only 10 rooms in total so the entire island never has more than 24 guests at any given time. The service is excellent and the food gets high marks as well. Those with larger groups can rent out the entire island for a bit over US$3,000 per day all-inclusive, which could be excellent value for 10 to 12 active couples.

• Overwater bungalows starting at US$699 per night

• Overwater bungalows: 6
• Total rooms/suites: 12

Just a short boat ride from Belize City itself, St. George’s Caye Resort is located on a mostly private island. Six of their 12 bungalows are located on a semi-circular pier, so they are over the water but also bunched together as well. This resort works on a mostly all-inclusive basis, with all food and even unlimited rum punch included in the room rate, making it quite a good value when those are factored in.

The location is just off the enormous Belize Reef, so the diving and snorkeling are excellent, but St. George’s Caye is also a couples resort, restricting guests to 15 and up, so it’s popular with honeymoon couples as well. This place gets fabulous reviews so it’s clear that most guests are extremely happy with what they get.

• Overwater bungalows starting at US$154 per night

• Overwater cabins: 8
• Total rooms/suites: Unsure

While it calls itself a resort, most guests describe Glover’s Atoll as a private-island campground that has 8 overwater cabins as well. It’s located in a great diving and fishing area and it’s very cheap compared to any other “resort” on this list, but it’s cheap for a reason.

Having no electricity at all in the cabins, plus a shared bathroom on the island, means that staying here really is a camping experience, so it’s not a good fit for many people. Reading online reviews from past guests shows that some love the place but many feel the service (or complete lack of it) has ruined their trip even when they had camping in mind.

• Overwater cabins starting at US$40 per night

If you are looking for an ideal and luxurious resort for a honeymoon, anniversary trip, or just an active vacation of diving and snorkeling, you’ll want to head either to the South Pacific (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora) or the Maldives, which is just southwest of India, and especially popular with Europeans.

Between these two regions you’ll find over 90% of the overwater bungalows in the world, including more than two-thirds of this total in the Maldives alone.