domestic air travel
 

We will be in Belize the last week of January. We'll be going to 3 different parts of the country and want to take either MayaIsland Air or Tropic Air from Placencia to Belize City and then water taxi to Caye Caulker. The questions I can't seem to get answered are: 1) are there flights from Placencia directly to Caye Caulker or are we better off flying to Belize and doing the water taxi in to Caye Caulker? and, most importantly, 2)do we need advance reservations for these hops? If so, how far in advance?
Any input on these questions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much!

There aren't any direct flights from Placencia to Caye Caulker. I would recommend flying into Municipal airport, rather than International. Flights from there are half the price of flights from the international airport.

We're doing several domestic flights the end of February, and I have made reservations for them. Haven't paid for them though. If you're sure of your dates, you mights as well e-mail them and make sure that you will have a seat. Those planes aren't very big.

Thanks -- I appreciate your reply. That's good to know, despite the fact that we'd rather "wing it" (no pun intended) -- certainly don't want to miss a flight. Thanks again.

If you go to Tropic and Maya Airlines web sites you can get a better idea as to how many flights there are. If there are a bunch each day, you can probably just 'wing it'. If only a couple, I'd get tickets. I know there are flights almost hourly from either airport in Belize City to San Pedro, and I think any will stop in Caye Caulker on request. I think it's possible you may not save enough money by taking a water taxi to make it worth the time and trouble to get there. You'd have to take a cab from the airport to the water taxi terminal. By the time you pay for the cab and the water taxi, you won't have saved much over the cost of the flight.

I would add that if you are flying into the municipal airport (US$59 from Placencia versus US$70 to international), it's easy to take a water taxi to Caye Caulker. Just get a taxi (about US$3, no need to tip) at the airstrip and go to the Marine Terminal. There, there are water taxis every hour and a half or so, US$9 and 45 minutes to Caye Caulker. A flight from municipal to Caulker costs US$26 and would be worth the extra cost if it's a rainy, windy day.

By the way, I prefer Maya Island on flights from Placencia to Belize municipal. Why? Because Maya Island has new terminals at both the peninsula airstrip and the Belize City municipal airport. Otherwise, the airlines are about the same in prices, safety, convenience, etc.

--Lan Sluder
www.belizefirst.com