Getting Here

The first step to your Caye Caulker vacation is actually getting here. Here are some quick things to know which will hopefully make your travels as worry-free as possible.

First, you have to get to Belize. For most of us, that means flying into Philip Goldson International Airport (BZE). There are multiple cities in the US & Canada that fly direct to BZE. If you are travelling from Europe your best bet is to connect through Miami (MIA). From there it is only a 2 hour flight.

Everyone must clear immigration & customs when they arrive - so have your passports ready. Your airline should provide you with the proper forms and there are extras along the walls while you wait. Speaking of waiting, the first line you'll wait in is for immigration. Usually this takes between 10-30 minutes. However, if a flight is delayed or comes in early, the line can be upwards of 45 minutes. So give yourself a good 2 hours of buffer between landing in BZE and leaving for Caye Caulker.

After immigration you pick up your checked bags. One of the good things about waiting in the immigration line is that you usually do not have to wait for your bags (because they are already there).

Next is customs. The usual rules apply - no food or plants or soil or etc. Go to the line on the right if you have nothing to declare, which is most of us. Typically the wait for this is only a few minutes.

Once you've cleared customs you are officially in Belize! To get to Caye Caulker you can either take a Water Taxi or a small, single-engine "puddle-jumper" plane. Both options are ran by local outfits and each have their own pros & cons.

For the Water Taxi, you can either go with the Caribbean Sprinter or the San Pedro Express. To get to either company's terminals you must take a (land) taxi to the heart of Belize City. There are plenty of (land) taxi options as soon as you step onto the curb, and they all charge the same flat rate to get to the water taxi terminals. The Sprinter is somewhat (maybe 15 minutes) faster, but to us it 6 in one, a half-dozen in the other. Travel time on the water is between 45-60 minutes.

We usually recommend the puddle-jumper, for a couple of reasons. First is the view. While cruising along the crystal blue Caribbean waters on the water taxi is pleasant, looking down on them from 1000 feet up is MUCH cooler. The other reason we love the plane is that you never have to leave the airport. Yes, you have to jump through the same hoops for customs and immigration listed above, but clearing security to get back into the terminal is a piece of cake. Once in the air, the flight is exactly 10 minutes. We also love the plane because the airstrip in Caye Caulker is walking distance to The Coral Casa, whereas the water taxi dock is a (golf-cart) taxi ride away. You have 2 options for air travel to Caye Caulker - Tropicair or Maya Island Air

TO help you decide which method of travel is best for you, here is the view from a water taxi:

And here is the view from the puddle-jumper:

Hope this helps. Safe travels and as always - Go Slow!

-Dan & Kristin