My family of 6 stayed at the Pelican Beach South Water Caye in June of this year and it met our desire for a ecotourism experience right on an undamaged reef.

We stayed in the spacious Osprey's nest cottage which easily fit six people. The verandas both had hammocks which were also positioned strategically around the property. The cottage is central and offers sweeping views of the island and water.

A warning for those expecting luxury living - this is rustic with solar electricity running lights, no air conditioning, and rainwater providing showers. The screens were in poor shape which I would confirm before staying in this cottage because you need the wonderful breezes to come through and cool you off.

The food was the only disappointment of the trip. The cooks are sweet and flexible but the food was very simple and occasionally difficult for my kids to stomach (ex.refried beans for breakfast). The staff tried to be flexible (ex. pancakes for breakfast more than one day) and were a friendly presence thoughout the trip. Island life revolves around the meal bells so it was a shame that this was mediocre.

The staff was very friendly but also willing to leave you alone. They were able to arrange scuba trips as well as a couple of snorkeling trips to different parts of the reef. One highlight was a trip to nearby carrie bow caye where we toured the smithsonian institutes research station and later went bait fishing with the guys.

There was nobody on the island in june save the occasional school group at the pelican university and day snorkelers from pelican beach dandriga. It is a long 45 min boat ride out to the island so having the reef at our disposal was great. The kids rolled from the cottage to reef in a 1 minute and as a result could go back and forth all day long. The kayaks are in good shape and provided another way to get around the place. The beach is pristine and you really feel like you are alone on this island.

The reef is 20 yards off shore but the fish are right on the shoreline allowing kids to see barracuda etc without going more than 5 feet. Further on the reef we saw several types of rays, a nurse shark, tons of fish and every variety of coral in great shape. I felt the patch reefs around the island and the other snorkeling locations nearby were as interesting as the scuba diving (although I saw more sponges and turtles when diving). I rented my scuba equipment and used my own mask which worked out fine. Note of caution, bring all your own snorkeling stuff because they are not equiped for kid snorkeling and minimally equiped for adults. My kids ranged from 6-12 and had no problem snorkeling on their own.

At night there were a cuople of activities arranged for the school groups to which we were invited but my kids spent a lot of down time reading so bring books. They have some reef guide books but they came and went so bring your own because you will see many of the things in there.

We spent 5 days which was too much - this could be packed into 2-3 days on the island just as easily. Adding a jungle experience to a trip like this was a nice mix. I recommend the area around San Ignacio - we stayed at Maya Mountain where you can see my review.