Experience the best of Hopkins

Hopkins lies along a palm-lined beach in Stann Creek District, a short drive south of the town of Dangriga. Garifuna people founded it in the early 1940s, and the village keeps the language, drumming and dance that UNESCO has recognised as Garifuna heritage. Wooden houses stand along sandy lanes, and fishing boats pull up on the shore beside small guesthouses and beach bars.

Inland, the Maya Mountains rise behind the coastal plain. Mayflower Bocawina National Park has waterfalls and Maya ruins reached by jungle trails, and the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary was set aside to protect jaguars. Offshore, the Belize Barrier Reef and its sandy cayes offer snorkelling and diving, and the Placencia peninsula lies farther south along the coast.

Meals follow Garifuna tradition: hudut, a fish stew in coconut broth served with mashed plantain, and cassava bread baked on a griddle. Fresh fish comes in daily from the boats. The driest weather falls between February and May, and on Garifuna Settlement Day in November the drums come out in force and the villages fill with music and processions.