Orientation & Planning

Orientation & Planning

Orientation

Island hopping between Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, and Belize City is simple, though getting to other cayes can be more complicated. Caye Caulker Water Taxi Association water taxis—fast, open boats that hold 30 to 50 passengers—regularly connect Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, and on trips to and from Belize City, also stop on demand at Caye Chapel and St. George's Caye. Other than that, you're generally left to your own devices to find transportation between islands. You can charter a small boat with driver—typically BZ$400 and up a day—or negotiate a one-way or round-trip price. Remember that distances between islands in Belize often are substantial. For example, it's more than 50 mi (82 km) from San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, to the southern tip of Turneffe Atoll. Even at a rapid 20 mph clip, that's 2½ hours one way. You'll have little luck renting a powerboat on your own, as boat owners are reluctant to risk their crafts in the hands of someone without local knowledge of Belize's tricky waters. Plus, new laws require that even if you own your own boat, you need to obtain a Belize captain's license before you can take it out in Belize waters.

If you're diving or snorkeling, a speedboat will take you to your destination. Power generally comes from two hefty outboards mounted on the back, and with the throttle open it's an exhilarating ride. Sit in the middle if you don't want to get splashed.

Once on the islands, you'll generally get around by golf cart, bike, or on foot. Ambergris Caye is the only island where you'll see cars and trucks,

but you can only rent a golf cart or a bike on this or any other island. Around San Pedro, taxis are usually minivans, though some hotels will transport you in a jumbo golf cart. When you're going to remote areas of North Ambergris, the resort at which you're staying will often provide transportation via water taxi or a boat. On Caye Caulker, the only taxis are golf carts.

Planning

When to Go

Island weather tends to be a little different from that on the mainland. Although weather varies depending on the island's location (those in the far south get more rain than those in the north), the cayes are generally drier than the mainland. Storm squalls come up suddenly, but just as quickly they're gone, leaving sunny skies behind. Keep in mind that if you see rain in the forecast for Belize City, this doesn't necessarily mean it'll be wet in San Pedro.

Health & Safety

Visiting Ambergris Caye is like a vacation in Florida—you'll face few health concerns worse than sunburn. San Pedro's water, from a treated municipal water supply, is safe to drink. More remote resorts on the north end of the island have reverse osmosis systems. On Caye Caulker, the water, usually from brackish shallow wells, often smells of sulfur. To be safe, drink only bottled water. On other remote cayes, the water usually comes from cisterns. Stick to the bottled stuff, unless you're assured the water is potable. At times, the sand flies on Caye Caulker and some remote cayes can be irksome—apply baby oil or another oily lotion liberally to your feet and ankles to keep them at bay. Insect repellent with at least 30% DEET helps ward off mosquitoes.

In terms of crime risk, the cayes are among the safest areas of Belize. However, petty thefts—and sometimes worse—do happen. With almost 20,000 people living on Ambergris Caye now, including many itinerant construction workers, the island has the same crime problems, including rapes and murders, as any area of similar population. There are drugs, including crack cocaine, on both Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye. Ignore any offers to buy drugs.

Restaurants & Cuisine

Ambergris Caye has the biggest selection of restaurants of any destination in Belize, and among them are some of the country's best. They range from simple beach barbecue joints to upscale, sophisticated eateries, where, especially if you eat lobster, you can easily spend BZ$100 a person, or more, including a drink or two. You have a wide choice of kinds of food on Ambergris, too: seafood, of course, but also steak, pizza, sushi, tapas, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, and French.

Caye Caulker has several small bistros where fish arrives at your table fresh from the ocean, and sometimes you find yourself eating with your feet in the sand. On other islands, you're usually limited to eating at your dive lodge or resort.

Many restaurants have sea views. Some are in thatch palapas, and others are in concrete or wood buildings that have windows open to catch the breeze. On Caulker and Ambergris cayes you won't have a problem finding places serving late-night snacks or breakfast in the morning, including the traditional Belizean breakfast of fruit, fry jacks, eggs (from brown eggs only), and delicious Belizean bacon or sausage, washed down with good Guatemalan coffee and fresh-squeezed OJ. On remote cayes and the atolls, you'll probably be at the mercy of your hotel's meal schedule, with specified hours for each meal.

Great Itineraries

It's difficult to recommend itineraries on the cayes, because what you do and where you go depends greatly on the island where you're staying. If you're on a remote caye or atoll, your activities and itineraries are defined partly by your interests (whether it's diving, fishing, or just lazing in a hammock), and by the lodge's daily schedule (or lack of one). Your basic itinerary might go a little like this: dive, eat, sleep, and dive.

On the other hand, if you're on Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker, you can set your itinerary around a wide choice of daily island activities, day trips to the mainland, snorkeling or diving on the Barrier Reef, and day trips to the atolls.

If You Have 5 Days on Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker

Spend your first full day getting to know the island. On Ambergris Caye, rent a golf cart or bike and explore the north and south ends of the caye. Have a beach picnic or enjoy one of the many good restaurants. If you're on Caulker, which is much smaller, you can explore on foot, or, if you prefer, on a bike or in a golf cart. On your second day on either caye, take a boat trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark-Ray Alley for snorkeling, and spend the rest of the day on the beach or just hanging out in San Pedro town or Caulker village. On your third day, take a full-day dive or snorkel trip to Lighthouse Reef, with stops at the Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye. If you're not planning to spend a few days on the mainland this trip, take a tour to the Lamanai Mayan ruins, which includes an exciting boat ride up the New River, on your fourth day; or, for some pampering, take one of the combined day trips to Maruba Spa and the Altun Ha Mayan site. If you do plan a mainland stay, then use Day 4 to try windsurfing on Caye Caulker, parasailing on Ambergris Caye, golfing on Caye Chapel, bonefishing in the flats, or sea or lagoon kayaking. On your final day, take a relaxing daylong catamaran snorkeling trip with a beach barbecue.

If You Have 5 Days on a Remote Caye or Atoll

On arrival, take off your shoes, take a deep breath, grab a cold drink, and relax. This is what the islands are all about, with the cooling trade winds in your hair and no decisions to make except whether you want the grilled fish or the lobster for dinner. If you're on a dive package, you typically do two to three dives a day, weather permitting. On a fishing package, you'll be out on the flats or the reef all day every day. If you're not tied to a package, get up early and watch the sun rise on your first full day. Then spend the day exploring the island: go swimming, spend some time beachcombing, or snorkel off the shore. On your second day, take a dive or snorkel trip to the nearest atoll. On the third day, hire a guide and try your hand at fishing for bonefish or permit on the flats. On your fourth day, take a catamaran sail along the Barrier Reef, with stops for snorkeling and a barbecue on a deserted beach. On your final day, go kayaking around the island and relax on the beach.

About the Hotels

The more budget-oriented cayes, such as Tobacco and Caulker, have mostly small hotels and simple cabins, usually built of wood and typically without any amenities beyond a fan or two. Caye Caulker, for example, currently has only two hotels with swimming pools. At the other end, notably on Ambergris Caye, are deluxe condotels (condo developments where individual owners rent their units on a daily basis through a management company) and an increasing number of vacation villas, usually rented by the week. Some of these are extremely upscale, with 5,000-plus square feet of luxury and the latest toys, whirlpools, plasma TVs, DVD players, and custom kitchens. Nearly all the hotels on Ambergris Caye have air-conditioning, and a majority also have swimming pools. Air-conditioning is also available at nearly all the remote caye lodges, except at the very low end.

Regardless of which caye you're staying on, lodgings have several things in common: they're small (often just five or six rooms), low-rise, and almost always on the water.

One lodging category, sadly, is becoming an endangered species: the thatch cabaña or thatch hut. Why are there so few of these traditional island lodgings still around? They're easy targets for tropical storms and hurricanes; the thatch is expensive to maintain; and they're havens for creepie crawlies.

Off-season (typically just after Easter to around Thanksgiving), most island hotels, except some budget hotels, reduce rates by around 30% to 40%.

About the Water Activities

The cayes are all about diving, snorkeling, fishing, sea kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, and even parasailing. Diving and snorkeling are excellent on the Barrier Reef and truly world-class around the atolls. There's great fishing, whether for bonefish, tarpon, or permit on the flats, or snapper, grouper or barracuda near the reef, or sailfish, marlin, tuna, and other big fish in the blue water outside the reef. Caye Caulker is known for its excellent windsurfing, especially in spring, and the Belize cayes are famous for kayaking. Boating and sailing are good in the protected waters inside the reef. Beach swimming, however, is only fair in many areas because of the shallow waters, mucky bottoms, and large amounts of sea grass near shore. Still, most resorts have a swimming area off a pier or on a part of a sandy beach where they've cleared the sea grass. The Caribbean here is usually crystal clear and around 80°F.