Flashpacking Belize

Belize is a beautiful small country bordering Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the left and the Caribbean Sea to the right. It was a nice surprise to get off the boat in Belize and be greeted in English with a thick Caribbean accent. Belize is famous for its barrier reef, the largest in the northern hemisphere and second largest in the world, second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Belize has a tiny population of 350,000 and is rich in a Garfunkel Caribbean culture. The eastern coast of Belize is dotted with hundreds of little islands called cayes (produced “keys”) and some of them you can stay on or visit for the day. If you’ve come from neighbouring Mexico or Guatemala, the price hike in Belize will make your eyes water. It is known as one of the most expensive if not the most expensive country in Central America but it’s such a small country two weeks is plenty of time to do the islands, Southern Belize and the western part of the country with jungle, ruins and caves to explore.

Things to know about Belize:

• Currency: Belizan dollars but they take American dollars too. The exchange rate to 2 BZ $ to 1 US $.
• Language: English and Belizean Creole, most people speak the official language which is English.
• Transport: The chicken buses are regular and reliable and it’s such a small country you can take the local buses to get to most places. You can get the bus timetables online here: https://www.belmopanonline.com/belize-bus-schedules
• Hitch hiking is safe in Belize, I hitched hiked in San Ignacio and in Hopkins and the people were so helpful and friendly.
• Go slow is the motto: Don’t be in a hurry to go anywhere or go starving into a restaurant. You’re on island time so enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and slow down.
• Cash is king: most places like hotels and restaurants take care but charge a minimum of 3% surcharge. Smaller establishments usually won’t accept card and some of the smaller cayes have no ATM on them so taking US dollars before you get there is advisable.

Two weeks in Belize

Getting there
I started off my trip to Belize from Chetumal in Mexico, a port town with not much in it and is usually used as a spring board to enter Belize from. There are two ways to get to Belize or the cayes from Mexico.

1. A cheaper but longer option of getting a bus from Mexico to Belize city and a 40 minute ferry from Belize city to San Pedro and Caye Caulker or
2. Getting a bus to Chetumal in Mexico, a ferry to San Pedro where you go through immigration and then other boat to Caye Caulker if that is your destination.
   The latter is more expensive but quicker. It was $55 US and took about 3 hours. There is an entry fee of $2.50 US at immigration so have some dollars with you. They also change Mexican pesos to Belizean dollars on the ferries.

Caye Caulker

This island epitomises the “go slow” motto. I went for a run one morning and was told to slow down, no one is in a rush here. The island is full of cute, colourful rustic huts, palm trees and coconuts. It’s much smaller then the neighbouring San Pedro. It is cheaper and has more of a backpacker scene. Here are a few things to do on the island, places to eat and where to stay.

1. Go snorkelling with nurse sharks, turtles and manta rays. I did a half day snorkelling trip with Ragganmuffin tours for $35 US. I heard great things about the full day trip to the Hol Chan Marine reserve too.

• See sunset at The Split. The island was split in two by infamous Hurricane Hattie in 1961. Get a happy hour drink at the Lazy Lizard at the Split and watch the kite surfers jump over the sunset.

• Go scuba diving. Frenchies diving school was recommended to me. Caye caulker is the cheapest place to dive to the Blue Hole. The dive to the Blue Hole is more expensive then doing a normal dive ($300) but included two other dives along the reef, lunch and snacks and the 2 hour boat ride to the Blue Hole.

• Hire a bike or a kayak and cycle or paddle around the island. Our accommodation provided both for free.

Where to eat:

• Maggie’s kitchen- Great food and view of sunset. It’s always busy here so don’t be in a rush for your food but the wait is worth it. 2-for-1 happy hour cocktails too.
• Beach side stalls- there are several beach side stalls doing coconut curries, lobster, fish and chicken. The veggie and shrimp coconut curries are amazing.
• Cafe Y Amor- Great place for a healthy breakfast or a fluffy stake of pancakes.
• Namaste- amazing breakfast bagels and lunch options. Good for vegans or vegetarians. They do yoga classes here too.
• Ice and beans- the mini cinnamon donuts are to die for. Good for breakfast or a snack and nice views of the beach.
• Roy’s- I had a gorgeous vegetable coconut curry here. It came recommended and there was a queue to get in the first time I attempted to eat here so that’s always a good sign.

Nightlife:

Most of the bars have a happy hour, local rum punch is delicious and usually the cheapest option. The sports bar was the place to go for dancing and good music until midnight when it closes, then people usually migrate towards the Regge bar on the south side of the island which stays open until late.

Where to stay:

I had a bit of a nightmare with accommodation on the first night here. I had booked into Bella’s Backpackers. Basically don’t stay here! I swiftly left the next morning on a mission to find a guest house or hostel with availability and which wouldn’t destroy my budget. Some of the places on the island aren’t on booking.com or online so I found two places which didn’t come up on booking.com. The first place was M&M Guesthouse. We got a triple room with three huge beds, AC, private bathroom with hot water and towels. We paid $25 US a night which was only $5 more than the hostels.

The second place was my favourite. Sun Sea Guesthouse had gorgeous rooms, private or shared bathrooms, free bikes and kayaks and was near the split but away from the noise of the main strip.

Leaving Caye Caulker:

After four days we left Caye Caulker and headed for Hopkins in the south. Two ways of doing this:

1. Take the ferry back to Belize city and catch a bus, flight or taxi to your next destination.
2. Go on the 3 day 2 night Ragamuffin sailing tour. This trip is definitely a spurge at $400 US but I heard from everyone who did it that it was a brilliant experience.

Hopkins:

Getting there we took a bus from Belize city to Dangria which took about 2 hours and a 30 minute taxi to Hopkins. We could have gotten a bus but it would have meant a 3 hour wait so we decided to get a taxi.

Next on my list of Belize was Hopkins. Hopkins is a sleepy little town along the south east coast of Belize. There is only one ATM in the town which we out of order when we were there so I would bring cash with you! I hear from the locals it’s often on the blink.

Things to do in Hopkins:

• Chill out on the beach.

• Hire a bike and cycle to the Marina. There is a gym and nice restaurants and resorts down the south end of the town.

• Experience the Garfunkel culture and get involved with the live music and dancing on a Saturday night in Driftwood bar.

• Go diving or snorkelling with Hammanasi.

• Hike in the Cockscomb Basin and taste traditional Mayan chocolate on your way out. We took a taxi to and from the Jaguar reserve to go for a hike which took about 2 hours. Great waterfalls to swim in and lovely views from the top. There is an abandoned plane wreck in the reserve aswel which is pretty cool to see.

• Bioluminescence tour by night. The hostel organises a tour most nights depending on numbers.

Where to eat:

• Driftwood pizza- great pizzas and nightlife on a Saturday
• The Fat Mermaid- amazing vegan and vegetarian menu. Meat eater friendly also.
• The Gym Cafe- really nice for lunch and breakfast. Good gym there also and they do day passes for $12 US.
• Peres- a German run restaurant that is known for super quick and German efficient service serving pasta and curry dishes. Shrimp Alfredo pasta is really great.
• Gecko cafe- new restaurant that serves good lunch and dinner options.

Where to stay:

The Funky Dodos Hostel was one of the best hostels we stayed at in Belize. Good kitchen for cooking, responsibly prices , hot showers. The private rooms were fairly reasonable too.

Tobacco Caye:

If you want to see a paradise island, go to Tobacco Caye for a night. Its a tiny island 30 mins on a boat from Dangriga that’s a total of five acres. There isn’t too much to do on the island bar chill out and relax on paradise. There are no shops or independent bars on the island, the accommodation is sold as a package deal including meals and transport to and from the island.

What to do:

• Snorkelling- the island is directly on the southern barrier reef and was the best snorkelling I’ve ever seen. We snorkelled with spotted eagle rays and sting rays to mention a few. The guesthouse provided free snorkel gear and kayaks.

• Kayak around the island.

• Sunbath on the deck with a book

Where to stay:

We stayed in Windward Lodge in their budget room. It was a dormitory style room with two toilets and a shower in the room and we had the room to ourselves. The food was lovely in Windward. The boat picked us up at 12pm from Dangriga, the boats leave between 10-12 to go to the island and leave Tobacco Caye to return to mainland on request. It was $80 US for breakfast, dinner, accommodation and return transport to the island. Some of the snorkelling trips alone from Hopkins were charging $80 for a half day.

San Ignacio

San Ignacio is near the Guatemalan border and is known for its Mayan ruins. In San Ignacio town itself there isn’t a whole lot but it’s nice to have a walk around for a day and use it as a gateway to visit the ATM caves, Caracol and Xunantunich.
Getting there: San Ignacio is easily accessed from the Guatemalan border and from Belize city or Belmopan via the local chicken buses.

What to do:

ATM caves: The number on thing most tourists visit San Ignacio for is the ATM caves. ATM stands for Actun Tunichil Muknal. They are a system of water caves where the Mayan people had rituals and presented sacrifices to the gods. Think Indiana Jones meets the goonies.

We booked the tour through a tour operator in the town. It was $90 which included transport to and from the caves, a guided tour, lunch, towels and water shoes. Everything gets soaked so don’t bring anything with you bar a spare change of clothes for after and water shoes or crocs if you have your own. The tour was expensive but was well worth it. Cameras aren’t allowed since some plomker dropped their camera on the remains of a skull and left and hole in the remains. Thus I thankfully cannot insert standard image of me wearing socks and crocs and a yellow safety helmet.

Chocolate making factory: A workshop takes place every hour showing how the Mayans traditionally made chocolate and how chocolate is transformed from the cacao bean to a chocolate paste.

Visit the Iguana sanctuary: in San Ignacio Resort Hotel there is an iguana sanctuary where injured iguanas are rescued and rehabilitated. The iguanas are used to being handles and are very friendly.

Xunantunich ruins: 15 mins on a bus from San Ignacio and a 20 minute walk from the entrance, the X ruins are something else to visit in s morning or afternoon. It gets quite hot so I would visit in the morning before the crowds descend and it gets too hot.

Where to eat:

We have great food in our hostel so we didn’t try many of the restaurants in San Ignacio.
Ko-Ox-Han-Nah: Mayan for Let’s go eat, great selection of vegetarian and non vegetarian options. Dinners and lunches are a mixture of Mexican, burgers and Indian.They do a great cheesecake also.
Benny’s kitchen: a must visit if going to the xx ruins. It’s just opposite the entrance to the ruins. I haven’t seen such good value for food in Belize. Lovely for breakfast and lunch serving traditional Belizean dishes.

Where to stay:

Lower dover- we stayed in a hostel that was 20 mins outside of San Ignacio by car, run by an American Family for three nights. Lower Dover is sits on 100 acres of land and has farm animals running around the grounds such as duck, roosters that can’t tell the time and chickens. The grounds are dotted with colourful wooden houses for dorms and rooms. The lady who runs the hostel provides amazing breakfasts and dinners for an extra $12 BZ and $26 BZ respectively, served in the communal dinning hall. There isn’t a whole lot to do in Lower Dover and it’s not within walking distance of anything but it’s closer to the caves than San Ignacio town and its definitely somewhere quirky to try out but probably no need to stay anymore than two nights here. Warning-the roosters are horrendously poor time keepers and go off any time from 2am onwards.

Leaving Belize:

After almost two weeks in Belize I was well and truly miles over budget but was happy with the amount of time we stayed in Belize and met some great people along my travels. One of them who I am still traveling with in Gutemala a month later, she can’t shake me. With two weeks in Belize you can see the Mayan ruins, the islands and spend some time down the south of the country visiting fishing villages without being too rushed.

We left for Guetemala from San Ignacio. The easiest and cheapest way of getting to our next stop which was Flores, Guetemala was broken into three steps for us by the hostel owner:

• Take the bus from San Ignacio to Benke and stay on until the last stop (30 mins)
• Take a taxi to the border which takes 10 mins and $5 BZ.
• Pay the $20 US to exit Belize and change any money you have.
• Walk across the bridge to Guetemala immigration.
• Get a collectivo from Guetemala to your next destination.

I hope that was helpful for anyone else embarking on a backpacking trip or holiday in Belize. My top tip would be not to just visit Caye Caulker and San Ignacio like most people do. Check out Hopkins and the smaller cayes where you really get a feel for the real Belize.