By Boat & Ferry in The Southern Coast

There are no scheduled boat or ferry services from Belize City to points along the Southern Coast, nor are there any scheduled water taxis or ferries between those points or to offshore cayes. However, there's a scheduled water taxi, a small boat named the Hokey Pokey, between Placencia Village and Mango Creek and Independence, two adjacent villages on the west side of Placencia Lagoon. With a combined population of about 3,000, the villages of Mango Creek and Independence are home to residents who work at Big Creek, a nearby deep-water port that ships bananas, citrus, and, now, oil from Belize's new wells in Spanish Lookout, Cayo. There's little of interest to most tourists here. Currently the boat departs the M&M Texaco dock in Placencia Village at 6:45 AM, 10 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:30 pm, 4 PM, 5 PM, and 6 PM (the 6 PM boat doesn't run on Sundays.) From Independence/Mango Creek it departs at 6:30 AM, 7:30 AM, 8 AM, 11 AM, noon, 2:30 PM, and 4:30 PM. One-way fare is BZ$5. For information, call 523/2376. The schedule changes frequently, so ask locally.

From Placencia, a weekly boat, the Express, runs to Puerto Cortes, Honduras, with a stop in Big Creek across the lagoon to clear immigration and customs. The boat departs Placencia at 9:30 AM Friday, arriving in Honduras at 2 PM. It returns Monday from Puerto Cortes at 10 AM, arriving in Placencia at 2 PM. Fare is BZ$100 per person one way. You can purchase tickets and make reservations directly or at the BTIA Placencia Tourism Center.

From Dangriga, another boat charter service runs twice weekly to Puerto Cortes. The boats are the Nesymein Neydy, a 47-foot cabin cruiser that can accommodate 60 people, and Nesymein Neydy II, a 32-foot cruiser that can carry up to 30. One boat departs from the North Riverside dock in Dangriga at 9 AM Thursday, stopping in Placencia to pick up passengers at the M&M Texaco dock at 11 AM, and arriving in Puerto Cortes around 2 PM. On Saturday, the boat boards in Dangriga at 8:30 AM and does not stop in Placencia. Boats return from Puerto Cortes from the fish market in Laguna at 8:30 AM on Monday and 9 AM on Tuesday. The trip costs BZ$100 per person one way.

The boat trips to Puerto Cortes can be very rough and wet. If you're prone to seasickness, take antinausea medications and avoid the trip entirely in stormy weather.

Also from Dangriga, boats go out daily to Tobacco Caye. There are no fixed schedules, but the boats generally leave around 9 to 9:30 AM, and the fare is BZ$35 per person one way. Ask at the Riverside Café.

Contacts

Hokey Pokey (Placencia. 523/2376). Express (Placencia. 523/4045). Nesymein Neydy Charter Boats (North Riverside, Dangriga. 522/3227. www.belizenet.com/boatcharters).