Country code: 501. Stay away from the blue and yellow phones in tourist areas. You'll pay close to $US40 per minute for long distance calls.

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is good along most of the coast and along the main routes to Mexico and Guatemala. Turn your phone local by inserting a SIM chip bought for US$25 and then using pre-paid cards sold throughout the country. You can also get yourself set up with a plan with Digicell (www.digicell.bz) or with Smart Phones (www.smart-bz.com).

There are Internet cafes in urban centres and popular tourist centres offering reliable connections. The larger urban cities are starting to offer wireless.

Mail to Europe takes up to five days.

Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800/0830-1200 and 1300-1630. A few open on Saturdays.

Belize's constitution guarantees a free press, though exceptions are provided for in the interest of national security, public order and morality. There are no daily newspapers; most of the weekly papers come out on Friday and are heavily subsidised by political parties. All TV channels and radio stations are privately run.

• The major weeklies include Amandala, The Belize Times, The Reporter and The San Pedro Sun, a community paper published on Ambergris Caye.
• The Guardian is a United Democratic Party-affiliated paper.

• Commercial channels include Channel 5, Channel 7 and Channel 9.

• Love FM is a commercial music and news station.
• Estereo Amor is a private, Spanish-language station.
• Krem FM is a commercial station.
• More FM is a private music station targeted at younger listeners.
• Wave Radio is United Democratic Party-affiliated.
• Positive Vibes FM is People's United Party-affiliated.