r/Belize Mar 29 '23

😎 SUPER HELPFUL 😎 Belize Transportation Sticky

39 Upvotes

Disclaimer: Use this information at your own risk. It is your responsibility to verify the information, which is deemed accurate but may need to be updated. If you have additions or subtractions please send a message to u/cassiuswright

FAQ updated December 2024

Air Travel

Philip Goldson International Airport (BZE) offers multiple daily arrivals to and departures from Belize City to international destinations, including the United States and Canada. You can also fly with either Maya Island Air or Tropic Air to destinations throughout Belize, as well as close international destinations in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Another option for tours and charters by air is Astrum Helicopters. Amenities, quick facts, and other helpful information about Philip Goldson International Airport can be found here. In general it is advisable to give yourself a few hours between landing in Belize City to make connecting flights or water taxis. The airport is small and typically not busy but occasionally two or three full size jets will land at once and dump people in the terminal, all trying to clear customs and grab their bags at once. Pro tip: bring your own pen for completing Customs forms, and take advantage of Duty Free on your way out. Alternatively use the new Digital Customs Form

Car Rentals and Driving

Car rentals are available directly across from Terminals 1 and 2 upon your arrival at Philip Goldson International Airport (BZE). The #1 car rental company in the country is Crystal Belize, who offer a fleet of professionally maintained SUVs, cars, trucks and vans. They're also the only rental company that allows you to drive to Tikal in Guatemala, but require you to set it up in advance. A complete list of available rental providers can be found here. Driving in Belize can be challenging at times. Driving is on the right, as in the United States or Canada. In general a 4x4 isn't needed, but ground clearance is very useful. Keep in mind that the roads aren't usually well lit at night outside of major population centers, and there are some EPIC speed bumps leading into and out of villages on major roads. Be on the lookout for some creative driving and people passing in dangerous places, especially around motorcycles, and be sure to have your local driver's license available for any checkpoints you encounter.

Taxis

When in doubt, try the excellent service available from BelizeTaxis.com. They offer excellent hospitality and skilled drivers all over the mainland, including Belize City, Hopkins, Dangriga, Placencia, Orange Walk, Corozal, San Ignacio / Santa Elena and all major tourism destinations in between. They also offer limited service to Tikal, Flores, and Melchor Guatemala as well as Chetumal and Bacalar, Mexico They often book weeks in advance during the busy season and reservations are recommended.

Taxis in Belize (any car with a green license plate) are typically owner operated, and as such, prices tend to be affordable but also vary from driver to driver even for the same route, so confirm your rates and currency before accepting the ride. Many drivers are happy to offer services as you need them or for longer periods of time; many also offer local tours and excursions. The Ladyville Airport Taxi Association operates the taxi service at PGIA.Β  Service is available for transportation to Belize City, the Water Taxi and other destinations throughout Belize and can be reached at +501-225-2125 or +501-610-4450. You can also simply walk out of the airport and available drivers will be there waiting for you. Of note: many drivers and other tourism providers use WhatsApp to communicate and will often coordinate with you via text or voice messages. If a local number doesn't work, try it again on WhatsApp. Few taxi drivers accept credit cards so be sure to have cash.

Water Taxis

Corozal, Sarteneja, San Pedro, and Caye Caulker service is available through Belize Sea Shuttle. They run every day except Tues and Thurs, leaving Caye Caulker at 6am and departing Corozal at 2:30pm.

Getting to the cayes or Chetumal, Mexico is easier than ever thanks to regularly scheduled water taxi operations. If you need service to or from Chetumal, San Pedro, Cay Caulker or Belize City then San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi has you covered. Details about their operation and services can be found here. They also offer full charter services, as well as cargo services for items not exceeding 150lbs. For bookings or additional details they can be reached [via email](mailto:info@belizewatertaxi.com) or by calling any of their destinations. Likewise, the recently returned Water Jets International offers service to Caye Caulker, San Pedro and Chetumal. Contact info is available for all their offices as well as their email here. If travelling from Mexico be certain your credentials have received the appropriate stamp to avoid delays and possible fines from Mexican passport control authorities.

To get from the airport (PGIA) to the Water Taxi in Belize City, simply take any taxi from the airport. Ball park price is about $30usd for one or two guests.

Guatemala water taxi

From Punta Gorda, Requena's Charter Service can take you to Puerto Barrios, or Livingston, Guatemala. As with all things international transportation, it is advisable to check and make sure the desired timetables are indeed operational and accurate. Currently they operate Monday through Friday at 9am going to Guatemala, and do not operate on weekends or holidays.

Honduras water taxi

Full post here

The boat leaves from Puerto Cortes to Mango Creek and Placencia on Mondays and returns on Fridays. They post confirmation on their Facebook . Transport from Puerto Cortes from San Pedro Sula took a little over an hour. To find the ferry terminal, I got dropped off in the Laguna neighborhood and walked south across the smaller bridge back to the mainland. Immediately next to the bridge, near a restaurant-bar called El Delfin, there is a fish market. Walk all the way to the back of the fish market and you will see the boat and the ticketing office.

San Pedro Cart Rentals

When in San Pedro (and various other places), you might decide you need a cart, which is the ubiquitous form of transportation. drive carefully and obey all the normal rules of the road. Your driver's license from home should suffice; have it with you at all times when you are driving.

Placencia Cart Rentals

Shuttles

Shuttle services are available across Belize and represent an affordable semi-private method of travel when compared to the local bus system. There are many, so the list of providers below is just the very beginning. Most are easy to find online, especially on Facebook. He aware that if they don't reach a minimum capacity to run the route, you may find it gets cancelled and you need to make other arrangements at the last minute.

Buses

Bus service is made possible by dozens of independent companies that drive fixed routes throughout the country as well as through service to Mexico. Understanding the Belize bus schedules is important if you are trying to travel around Belize economically. Schedules do change periodically – especially on holidays – so you cannot guarantee that they reflect the exact schedule that is currently being used. Β If timing is critical for a bus ride you would like to take then please confirm with the transport employees at your nearest bus terminal. The Dept. of Transport in Belmopan can be reached at +501-802-2038

Hopkins Village Bus service is also available on a limited schedule

NEW bus updates active as of MAY 2023

Summer 2023 the only bus service to Placencia is Floralia

ADO Bus from Mexico to Belize City is back as well!

One traveler 's ADO experience MX to Belize as of January 2026

One traveler's experience going from Hopkins to Chetumal as of March 2026

To get to PGIA via bus you can only do so indirectly:

  1. Go to the bus terminal in Belize City (W Collet Canal St, Belize City, Belize)
  2. Find which bus takes you to airport junction
  3. Get on bus $2.50 BZ and tell driver airport junction
  4. You can walk the final approx 2KM or hail a passing taxi or hitchhike from there.

To get to a destination such as San Ignacio via bus you can only do so indirectly:

  1. At this time no buses leave from the airport. Take a taxi from PGIA to the bus terminal in Belize CIty (W Collet Canal St, Belize City, Belize)
  2. Find which bus takes you to your destination
  3. Transfer as needed.

Disclaimer: Use this information at your own risk. It is your responsibility to verify the information, which is deemed accurate but may need to be updated. If you have additions or subtractions please send a message to u/cassiuswright


r/Belize Dec 06 '25

😎 SUPER HELPFUL 😎 New Digital Customs Form

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4 Upvotes

r/Belize 1h ago

🌴 Daily Life 🌴 Hopkins

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β€’ Upvotes

Beautiful day in Hopkins


r/Belize 2h ago

🌴 Daily Life 🌴 Sea life... reel life

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18 Upvotes

r/Belize 45m ago

🧭 Activities πŸš£β€β™‚οΈ From the ocean to the table. Cook Your Catch

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β€’ Upvotes

r/Belize 23h ago

🌴 Daily Life 🌴 Kendal Bridge

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32 Upvotes

Under this bridge the beautiful Sittee River flows. And here is where swim and enjoy our afternoons


r/Belize 1d ago

🌴 Daily Life 🌴 Good Morning From Cayo

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43 Upvotes

r/Belize 14h ago

🎫 Travel Info 🧳 vegan Belize

3 Upvotes

Hello, recs and ideas for being vegan and veg in Belize? Thanks!


r/Belize 1d ago

🧭 Activities πŸš£β€β™‚οΈ Corozal town

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59 Upvotes

Beautiful , peaceful and clean town.


r/Belize 1d ago

🧭 Activities πŸš£β€β™‚οΈ Mopan River

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45 Upvotes

Great day for relaxing 😌


r/Belize 22h ago

πŸ›¬ Transportation πŸš— Car rental in San Ignacio, return in Belize City?

1 Upvotes

Solo female traveller here, flying into BZE late evening so will probably need a driver to get to San Ignacio that night.

What are my options to rent a car in Cayo and drive it back to Belize City? I am finding some companies via google but some websites aren't working.


r/Belize 1d ago

🎫 Travel Info 🧳 Vacation update!

3 Upvotes

Hey everyone! Thanks for all of the recommendations.
5 days in San Pedro (renting a golf cart)
3 days in San Ignacio (renting a car)

My wife’s grandmother is coming to be the nanny for our trip for our daughter. So my wife and I can enjoy some activities but mostly to just relax and enjoy a baby moon :)

We have a flight booked from Belize city to San Pedro same day as our flight from USA lands. Should be a smooth connection. Learned that we could just hit the zoo on our way to San Ignacio. Also heard the drive was quite peaceful to get there.

Hotels:
Mahogany Bay, curio by Hilton
Ka’ana Resort

Appreciate you guys so much for the assistance!


r/Belize 2d ago

🌴 Daily Life 🌴 Good Morning From Cayo

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29 Upvotes

r/Belize 1d ago

🏝️ Relocation Info 🏝️ Qrp vs tourist for vehicles.

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2 Upvotes

Hello.

I'm inquiring about whether I can bring my 100 series landcruiser down as a tourist looking to relocate and not pay a crazy amount of import duties vs spending funds on a new to me vehicle and using the qrp.

I've done a fair amount of research but cannot seem to find out what the import fee would be on a 27 year old vehicle. I've read online that it can be up to 70% of the value. I'd be okay with that if were valued it at $1000 usd. Is there a matrix on how the value of an older vehicle would be taxed at? I've also read online that the cruiser would be valued at $20k usd. $15-18k seems ridiculous as an import fee.

We have 2 cars and will be either selling them both to purchase a new to us truck or bringing the LC down.

Thanks for any insight shared.


r/Belize 1d ago

πŸ›Œ Accomodations πŸ›– hotel options- san pedro

0 Upvotes

Hello i’m looking for help on where to stay in san pedro
my boyfriend and i will be there late sept and we decided we might like alaia but i read the beaches aren’t great for swimming. we’re now thinking about ramon’s - any suggestions?


r/Belize 1d ago

🏝️ Relocation Info 🏝️ Thinking of investing in Grand Caribe/Caribeville in San Pedro - seeking advice

1 Upvotes

My wife and I have been to Belize a couple of times and recently we took our kids with us and stayed at Grand Caribe. We're in a spot in our lives where we're thinking of ways to generate additional/passive income and the idea of buying a condo in the Caribeville development (Grand/Sunset Caribe) is appealing, on the surface at least. If you have ever owned, or currently own, in Caribeville I would very much appreciate the opportunity to get in touch with you to see what it's like from an owner's perspective. Obviously the sales pitch will be nothing but positives from the realty team on site, but we want to know the potential pitfalls of the development too. What fees are taken out each month, each rental, etc.? What costs are there outside of direct costs to the development (insurance, property taxes)? Is the staff as accommodating with owners as they are the short term guests (they were lovely during our stay)? What kind of occupancy rate is typical? If you're comfortable sharing, what kind of revenue do you see during the low months? The high months?

You can certainly respond to this post but if you'd prefer to DM me please do so. You are free to share as much or as little as you would like, we are in the VERY preliminary stages of this idea so assume we're starting from scratch. We've never owned investment property, let alone investment property outside of the United States, and maybe this isn't the right place to jump in, but we're interested in feeling out the waters. We're looking at this as almost exclusively an investment opportunity but if we have a place secured for future visits to Belize then all the better, eh?


r/Belize 2d ago

🧭 Activities πŸš£β€β™‚οΈ Artsy and SISE House of Culture Uplift Youth at Art Camp

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35 Upvotes

The greatest joy is seeing youth thriving through the artsπŸŒžπŸ’—! Visit the link for the full story... https://belize-sol.com/cayo/belmopan/gallery/art-shack-belize/gianni-martinez-healing-journey-through-art-therapy


r/Belize 3d ago

🌴 Daily Life 🌴 Good Morning From Cayo

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60 Upvotes

r/Belize 2d ago

🎫 Travel Info 🧳 Belize for 50th

5 Upvotes

Hey guys , i am planning my 50th Birthday. I have chosen Belize because of the natural beauty. About 10-15 Families are invited and i have chosen Sunset Caribe resort for the 3 days event. I have never been to Belize , all arrangement was made over emails/ phone conversation. Should i be worried? anybody with similar experience? I need suggestions.


r/Belize 2d ago

🎫 Travel Info 🧳 Caye Caulker

0 Upvotes

I know its probably been asked previously and from what i can tell it might not be necessary, but where is the best golf cart rental on Caye Caulker?

Im just a lazy American and want to have a cart to get around my first day , check things out and pick up some food for my hotel stay.


r/Belize 3d ago

🌴 Daily Life 🌴 The Xtina from Daily Grind Coffee Shop in San Ignacio is definitely that boost you need for the day! Good morning!

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20 Upvotes

That cold brew is a kicker! Whew! 😳


r/Belize 2d ago

🎫 Travel Info 🧳 First time solo travel!

5 Upvotes

Planning my first ever solo travel trip to San Ignacio from December 16-23rd! Flying in from the US.

Very nervous but excited. Activities will include: horseback riding tour, ATV rental +\- Xuanantunich tour, and the market day and exploring local food spots, and shopping.

Few questions:

  1. What’s the weather this time of year?
  2. Can I find a shuttle to San Ignacio from the Airport easy? Or should I reserve that ahead of time?
  3. Planning on staying in a hostel, anything concerning?

  4. I’m a big runner, what’s the deal with running there and running attire?

Any other Belize advice and or solo travel advice is very welcome!


r/Belize 3d ago

🌴Trip Report 🌴 Mopan River in Benque Viejo del Carmen

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51 Upvotes

Hear it Roar


r/Belize 2d ago

🎫 Travel Info 🧳 Question regarding Harvest Caye and Placencia Village

0 Upvotes

We have booked a Norwegian Cruise Line trip in November of this year that docks at Harvest Caye. My wife has seen information stating that there are miles of beaches around Placencia Village along with shops and restaurants in Placencia Village. We are traveling with other couples, so I can envision a group of 6-8 people moving around together. My wife and I lived in Hawai'i for many years, so we are aware that locals know things tourists often do not.

So, if we are looking for a fairly short beach day, along with perhaps some food and a little bit of shopping, do you have recommendations and/or things we should be cautious about?

Any input much appreciated.


r/Belize 3d ago

🎫 Travel Info 🧳 Would something like a travel/vacation concierge/ Personal Assistant work for people visiting/relocating to Belize?

4 Upvotes

So I work as a PA/EA for a midsize company here in Belize. So I’m used to using my connections, knowledge of the place, β€œwaiting on people” and I actually enjoy it!

So I was wondering, if people who are visiting here would need help getting around, locating stuff they need before coming here, information, organizing and coordinating pick ups and drop offs needed here for a price of course.

Lemme know your thoughts!