After landing in Belize City, take a quick, heart-stopping flight to San Pedro, the laid-back, sandy street town on Ambergris Caye. A short boat ride delivers you to, well, paradise, also known as Matachica Resort & Spa, where the friendly staff awaits your arrival with rum punch and cold towels.

Matachica’s 26 vibrantly colored villas face the world’s second largest barrier reef, making it a perfect destination for scuba divers and snorkelers. Mayan ruin tours, cave tubing, and fishing are also available nearby for those who prefer to stay above the water. Or don’t leave the resort and try a Mayan coffee scrub at the spa. Even that’s too much? Just relax in the hammock on your villa’s patio. The villas are informally elegant, with neutral, calming color palettes and mosaic bathrooms. For meals, you can ride a bike or take a water taxi back into town, or have roasted lime grouper prepared at Mambo, the resort’s beachfront restaurant.

Now back to that hammock.