Hopkins sits between two things worth the trip: the southern reef offshore, quieter than anything up at Ambergris, and the Cockscomb Basin inland — the world's first jaguar preserve, where you will not see a jaguar but will get forest, waterfalls, and the occasional set of tracks on the trail.
The village itself is Garífuna, and the drumming is not a show put on for visitors: the Lebeha drumming centre and the families who teach cooking are part of the place. The Garífuna Settlement Day celebrations on 19 November are the biggest of the year along this coast.
Boats go out to South Water Caye and Glover's Reef when the sea allows. In the windy months from December to February it often doesn't, and the operators here will tell you that rather than take you out into it.