Cell phone

There are 2 different types of cell phones available in Belize: SIM card driven thru BTL (www.digicell.bz), or CDMA 800 or 850 MHz technology thru SMART phone stores (www.smart-bz.com). Once you decide which way you want to go most of the plans revolve around the purchase of minutes instead of monthly plans (much like the US plans when cell phones first started or the current "go" phone scenario) there are several sub-programs, from pre-paid to post-paid, with and without wifi, touch pad, roaming, international, blah, blah, blah…pretty much equivalent to the states in the ways they can spend your money.

I have a few cell phones laying around. Is it worth bringing one down and getting a pay as you go option for a 8 day stay? Do you know what my cheapest option would be. BTW most phones I have are t-mobile but I probably could rustle up a AT&T phone. My wife and I have Samsung G3 and Note II phones and I don't plan on bring them or trying to unlock them but I know I have a Motorola Defy and an HTC laying around.

If your phone is already "unlocked" then bring it down, buy a SIM card with minutes and you're good to go. (I understand it's illegal to unlock a phone in the US)
If it is not already unlocked, it may take a couple of days to get your phone unlocked in Belize. After 4 days in the "shop,"  I was told that my AT&T phone was not able to be unlocked.
Hope this helps?

Verizon 3G "dumb" phones are all (or at least mostly) already unlocked.  We were able to take our Verizon phones to SMART in San Pedro and have them reprogrammed (they don't have a Sim card) for Belize for $40BZ, then buy pre-paid minutes as needed (and very inexpensively). 

Don't know what would happen if you took one programmed for Belize back to Verizon in the US and tried to have it reprogrammed for the US, though!