Rental cars are not supposed to be taken in, but if you do, be sure to buy Belizian car insurance just over the border.

Money changers conveniently wait outside the border office. You can spend US dollars if you don't want to bother exchanging, especially if you are only going in for a short trip. The exchange rate was BZ$ 1 = US $2.

If you're planning to spend more than a day in Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, pick up a copy of Hunter Publishing's Explore Belize, by Harry Pariser. It's got all the details on the Rio Bravo Conservation Area, Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve, Bermudian Baboon Sanctuary, the Maya Mountains, Ambergris Caye and more. It's a bible to the ins and outs of this eccentric little English- speaking country wedged between Mexico and Guatemala and the worlds of the Maya, Hispanic, Caribbean and British cultures, as well as that of the US (superstation WGN is on satellite TV so everyone is a Cubs fan).
Every March 9, Belizians celebrate Baron Bliss Day. The British baron with a Portuguese title - the 'Fourth Baron Bliss of the former Kingdom of Portugal' - died of food poisoning while fishing off the coast in 1926. Though he never actually set foot in Belize, he left the bulk of his estate to the colony. Today, that legacy continues to finance public works and an annual regatta in his name.

For a quick and pleasant day trip into Belize, try Corozal Town, nine miles south of the border and 96 miles north of Belize City. Originally a private estate on the banks of Corozal Bay, it was settled by refugees from Bacalar during the Caste War. In 1955, Hurricane Janet blew many of the wooden houses akimbo. It's a quaint easy-going and safe Caribbean town.