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Most visitors will reach Belize by connecting with daily flights from Miami, Houston, or New Orleans. From one of these gateways, the regular one-way fare to Belize City is usually between $150 and $200.

However, as any traveller knows, it's not a matter of what you're supposed to pay, what fare you can get. Reductions are sometimes available in combination with even a limited ground package. Frequent-flyer credits can be used on Continental and American airlines. Seasonal specials are often available just after Easter, or in the fall. Advance-purchase and 30-day excursion fares can reduce what you have to pay. Some travel agents will give you better prices than those quoted directly by the airlines.

Another option is a regional ticket that may be offered from time to time by Taca Airlines and its associated carriers (Aviateca, Lacsa, and Copa).

Airlines serving Belize City from the United States are TACA, from Miami, New Orleans and Houston, tel. 800-535-8780; Continental (tel. 800-231-0856 or 800-525-0280), from New Orleans via Houston and Honduras; and American Airlines (tel. 800-624-6262). All of these airlines can quote through fares from most U.S. and Canadian cities, even those that they don't service directly.

Be aware that since many flights leave from U.S. gateways early in the afternoon, you might not be able to make it all the way to Belize in one day.

Other routes:

Guatemala Connections

Aerovías and Aviateca (tel. 800-327-9832) fly several times a week from Belize City to Flores and Guatemala City, Guatemala. Taca flights continue to San Salvador. Tropic Air (tel. 800-422-3435) operates a tour flight from Belize City to Flores, Guatemala, for bus connections to the Mayan ruins at Tikal.

Charters

Charter Flights direct to Belize have occasionally operated from large Canadian cities, especially Toronto.

Information on charter flights is available through local travel agencies. Package prices can be attractive, if not the packages themselves (unless you want to be based for a week at a hotel in Belize City).

To Belize via Cancún

A charter flight to Cancún will eliminate several landings and takeoffs and changes of plane from most departure points in the United States and Canada, not to mention slashing your costs. Buses to Chetumal, on the border with Belize, run about every hour from Cancún, a trip of five to six hours, connecting with hourly buses for Belize City.

The 1350 miles from Brownsville, Texas, through Mexico to the border of Belize can be covered in as little as three days. The shortest route on paved, all-weather highways through Mexico is by way of Tampico, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Escarcega and Chetumal. Burros and pedestrians in the roadway may slow you down at times, but the route is eminently driveable. For vehicle recommendations, driving tips, and possible drawbacks of auto travel in Belize, see "Getting Around," a few pages ahead.

Bus travel to Belize is easy and cheap. Fast, comfortable, first-class coaches operate from all U.S. border points to Mexico City. Buses for Chetumal, near the Belize border, leave several times a day from the southern inter-city bus terminal in Mexico City. Seats are reserved, so buy tickets as early as possible.

It costs less than $100 to go from Laredo, Texas, to the border of Belize. Travel time is 35 hours, or less by the Gulf coast route via Veracruz (which might involve midnight bus changes). Buses leave Chetumal hourly for Belize City, from 4 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., passing through Corozal.

Express trains with sleeper cars operate through Mexico as far as Merida, where connections may be made for buses to Chetumal on the Belize border. First-class fares are as economical as those on buses, and second-class Mexican train travel is quite cheap.

Maritime ports of entry are Belize City, Corozal, Dangriga, San Pedro (Ambergris Caye), Barranco and Punta Gorda. Report your presence to the police or immigration authorities at one of these ports as soon as possible after entering Belizean territory. No special advance permits are required. You'll need to present the documents of the vessel, a clearance from the last port of call, three copies of the crew and passenger manifest, and three copies of a list of stores or cargo.

Philip Goldson International Airport at Belize City is the only authorized entry point for private planes. Permission to land must be obtained if arriving from Colombia. Belizean airspace is open during daylight hours only. Landing fees are about $5 plus $1.60 per ton of aircraft weight above three tons.

Radio frequencies are: airport control tower: 121 MHz; aerodrome, 118 MHz; VOR-DME, 114.3 MHz.

BY AIR

Scheduled flights in small planes provide the most convenient way to get around coastal and offshore Belize. Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel, and Corozal, in the north, and Dangriga, Big Creek (Independence) and Punta Gorda, in the south, are served several times daily by Maya Airways and Tropic Air from Belize City. A virtual air bridge connects Belize City to San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye. Charter service to all points is available from both the municipal airstrip and the international airport. The frequency of service makes it easy to connect with international flights and avoid having to spend a night in Belize City.

Fares are quite reasonable. It currently costs about $20 to fly from Belize City to Ambergris Caye. To Punta Gorda, otherwise an all-day trip by road, the fare is $50.

Small planes afford an unsurpassable sightseeing opportunity. The sparkling tranquility of Caribbean waters, the scattered dots and irregular masses of land that are the cayes, the barrier reef evidenced by a long line of breaking waves and a sudden change from deep to pale-blue waters, can be no better appreciated than from a plane flying at low altitude.

Details of air service are given in the sections of this book covering Belize City and the towns.

BUSES

Buses run hourly between Belize City and the major towns to the north and west, as well as to Chetumal, in Mexico. Service to Dangriga, south of Belize City, is limited to four runs in each direction daily, and on most days, there are only two buses all the way to Punta Gorda. Service is curtailed on Sundays on most routes. Fares are low: the longest bus trip, from Belize City to Punta Gorda, costs about $10.

Belizean buses bear a strong resemblance to American school buses, which is what some of them once were. With adults crowded into kiddie-sized seats, assorted poultry on overhead racks, and leg room so ungenerous that knees are bruised against the back of the next seat at every pothole, the buses are somewhat less than comfortable. They are, however, a significant improvement on the mixed passenger- and-cargo trucks that provided much rougher service only a few years back. And now that roads in the north and west are well surfaced, and distances are short, you need not dread relying on buses to get around. A few of the buses on the northern route are Greyhound-type units. Catch one of these if you're large or fussy.

All bus companies sell reserved seats in advance. It's not a bad idea to show up early and try to get a seat toward the front, which is generally more comfortable. Recent bus schedules are given for most towns mentioned in this book.

BOATS

Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel and Ambergris Caye are served by scheduled passenger boats from Belize City. The fare is about $10 per person or less. Boat operators can drop passengers at other islands on the way, such as Long Caye and St. George's Caye, but pickup will be chancy. There is also fairly reliable daily service between Dangriga and Tobacco Caye, and weekly to Glover's Reef.

Otherwise, getting to an island offshore will be arranged as part of a fishing and diving package; or you'll have to charter a boat to fit your own schedule. Figure $100 as a bare minimum from a coastal town to a nearby caye by the barrier reef, more to distant cayes, up to several hundred dollars to one of the atolls, such as the Turneffe Islands or Lighthouse Reef.

Boat service between Belize City and coastal towns has all but disappeared in favor of road transport.

DRIVING

There are two driving experiences in Belize, the Northern and Western highways, along with improved sections of the Hummingbird and Southern highways, and everywhere else.

The main roads running from Belize City to the Mexican and Guatemalan borders are two lanes wide, and paved in their entirety. The Northern Highway is almost totally flat, while the Western Highway has some gentle grades and ascents in the rolling countryside past Belmopan. If you stick to these roads—which will get you to or near much of what there is to see in Belize—you need have no worries about driving down in the family car.

Elsewhere, roads in Belize are generally narrow, bumpy, and a challenge to vehicle and driver. Unpaved roads become seas of mud after heavy rains; and are dusty, choking and rock-strewn at other times. A number of forest and swamp tracks are passable only in the driest of times. Absolutely the worst roads in Belize are those that received a narrow strip of asphalt in the center many years ago, and have seen little repair. The potholes are permanent, and wise drivers stay to the side, off the asphalt altogether. The old loop of the Northern Highway via Maskall is a prime example.

It will be apparent that the family sedan is not the best vehicle for travel off the main roads, unless you are indifferent to its return in one piece. In the right vehicle, however, a motoring trip to Belize can be a safe adventure. Drive what the Belizeans drive: a four-wheel-traction Jeep or Land Rover, a minibus with a high clearance, or a sturdy pickup truck. These vehicles are suitable, too, if you're planning to continue to Guatemala, where there are also long stretches of poorly maintained dirt roads.

Some additional pointers:

• Watch out for the other guy. With the improvement in roads over the past few years, car ownership has increased, but driving skills have not kept pace. Drivers pass on curves, park in the right of way, and drink while at the wheel.
• Be prepared to disconnect your catalytic converter, since unleaded gasoline is not available in Belize.
• Make sure your vehicle is in good condition. If you have mechanical problems, you might not find spare parts, and your trip will be in ruins.
• Take along a couple of spare tires, extra gasoline, water for you and the radiator, points, plugs, electrical tape, belts, and whatever else might bust or foul up on bumpy, dusty, or muddy roads.
• Regular gasoline currently costs as much as double the U.S. price (or a third to a half less than European prices).

Maps of Central America that include Belize are available from your local auto club, and from travel bookstores. A map of Belize is available from the Belize Tourist Board, and a detailed topographical map from the Ministry of Natural Resources (see Belize City chapter).

Automobile Rental

Four-wheel-drive Land Rovers, Suzukis and Jeeps are available for rent (see Belize City listings), and are highly recommended for visits to some of the Mayan ruins, or the Mountain Pine Ridge forest reserve.

The prices, however, can be astounding. National Car Rental quotes a rate of $95 daily for a Jeep Cherokee plus 55 cents a mile after the first 75 miles. For that price, you don't get insurance or a drop of gas, or even a firm reservation. Avis quotes a weekly rate of $600 for a small, four-wheel drive Suzuki Samurai, $750 per week for an Isuzu Trooper.

These prices, hard as it is to believe, are lower than they were a couple of years ago, and with increasing competition, there is every chance that they will approach the affordable at some future date.

You can sometimes find older vehicles for rent at reduced, though the mechanical condition will be chancy.

You will be substantially responsible for any damage to a rented vehicle.

It's also possible to rent a car in Mexico and drive it into Belize, if you don't tell the agency where you're going. But don't blame me if you have a breakdown or accident, and the car has to be towed back to Mexico for lack of parts. Pay the high cost of a Belizean car rental, or take a taxi, or use public transport.

The travel agencies listed at the beginning of this chapter offer packages which include air travel, and accommodations in Belize City, on one of the cayes, or in the Cayo area. Most will arrange for tours that take in archaeological sites and natural points of interest. Otherwise, any Belize City travel agency can make arrangements. See Belize City chapter for more information.
 
 
 
 

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