While it hosts the trendiest restaurants, funkiest bars, and most resorts, relaxed Ambergris Caye remains light years away. The seafood comes fresh. The beer flows cold. The living is easy.

A handful of vehicles putter down a recently paved main road. But such modern trappings do not sway the resolve of visitors to kick off their shoes as soon as they arrive. One traveler coined the saying, "No shoes, no shirt, no problem," and the motto stuck.

What makes this place so special? Perhaps the bare-footedness: Sandy roads encourage everyone to go barefoot, or else learn the true meaning of "having sand in your shoes." The island offers sand instead of asphalt, golf carts instead of cars, and low-rise thatched resorts instead of high-rise mega-hotels.

Known as la Isla Bonita, beautiful island, Ambergris Caye blends Caribbean charm with a hint of Mexico and a dash of Old Key West. Tiki bars and seaside restaurants dot the waterfront. Thatched-roof structures - some brightly painted, some aged by weather - spring from the pages of a Hemingway novel.

Narrow Bacalar Chico channel, dug by ancient Mayas, separates this largest Belizean caye from Mexico. Home to 10,000 residents, the slender island stretches 25 miles north to south, with its beach just a half mile from the magnificent Belize Barrier Reef. Mangroves on the western shore nurture abundant wildlife.

Getting here, 36 miles northeast of Belize City, is a joyful journey, either by boat or plane. Water taxis depart seven times a day from Belize City's marine terminal, arriving in 90 minutes. Hourly commuter flights take just 20 minutes and cost just US$30 from Belize City's municipal airstrip ($54 from the international airport). Spot the white line offshore, separating brilliant turquoise from royal blue. It marks the famous reef.

The airstrip on Ambergris feels like a downtown street party, with flights buzzing right into the center of San Pedro Town. Many excited visitors step off the plane and walk to their resorts. Forget rental cars. Nearly everything is within walking distance. Otherwise, people get around by golf cart (US$60/day) or bicycle ($12.50/day). A taxi costs US$5 or less.

Barrier Reef Drive (Front Street, by the sea), Pescador Drive (Middle Street), and Angel Coral Drive (Back Street, by the lagoon) parallel the beach.

On the drowsy north end of Ambergris - sparsely dotted with beachfront houses, condos, resorts, and restaurants - the only sounds generally heard are softly breaking waves, exotic birdcalls, and an occasional startled iguana. A new bridge crosses the cut, replacing the quaint old hand-pulled ferry. If the bumpy northern road provides too much adventure, an island ferry runs from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Fido's dock.

Maya, Mexicans, buccaneers, and seafarers wove the colorful history of Ambergris Caye. Perhaps 10,000 Maya lived here once, their influence still visible at the archaeological sites Marco Gonzalez (south end) and Basil Jones (north end). Whalers came after the Maya, and named the caye Ambergris, after a waxy cholesterol substance from the intestines of sperm whales.

After the whalers came buccaneers, explorers, and coconut planters. San Pedro Town - named for Saint Peter, patron saint of fishermen - sprang up in the mid-1800s. It provided refuge for mestizos (mixed Spanish and Maya) fleeing the Caste Wars of the Yucatán. In the late 1800s, Englishman James Hume Blake bought the island at a bankruptcy auction for US$625, and turned it into a coconut plantation. Locals returned to fishing after the coconut business cracked.

Boatfuls of happy vacationers now ply these waters, making tourism the island's leading industry. Friendly islanders, called Sanpedranos, speak English, Spanish, Creole, and Maya.

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