Transport in Belize City - Lonely Planet Travel Information

Getting there & away

Contents

Land
Boat

Land

To flores, guatemala

Buses to Flores (five hours, 145 miles) leave from the Caye Caulker Water Taxi terminal. The Línea Dorada/Mundo Maya company has the most reliable reputation: you can get tickets for a bus to Tikal leaving at 9:30am (BZ$30, daily) or one to Flores (BZ$40) at Mundo Maya Deli (223-0457) or Khan Store (223-7611), both inside the water-taxi terminal.

Car & motorcycle

The main roads in and out of town are the Northern Hwy (to the international airport, Orange Walk and Corozal), which heads northwest from the Belcan Junction, and the Western Hwy (to Belmopan and San Ignacio), which is the westward continuation of Cemetery Rd. Cemetery Rd gets its name from the ramshackle Lord’s Ridge Cemetery, which it bisects west of Central American Blvd.

Auto rental firms in Belize City include the following:

Avis (225-2385; www.avis.com) Offices at Philip Goldson International Airport and in Ladyville.

Budget (223-2435/3986; www.budget-belize.com; Mile 2½ Northern Hwy) There is also an office at Philip Goldson International Airport.

Crystal Auto Rental (223-1600; www.crystal-belize.com; Mile 5 Northern Hwy) One of the best local firms; allows vehicles to be taken into Guatemala. There’s another branch at Philip Goldson International Airport.

Euphrates Auto Rental (227-5752, 614-6967; www.ears.bz; 143 Euphrates Ave, Southside) Local firm that offers some of the best deals in town.

Hertz (223-0886/5395; www.hertz.com; 11A Cork St, Fort George District) Hertz also has a branch at Philip Goldson International Airport.

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Boat

Caye Caulker Water Taxi (203-1969, 226-0992; www.cayecaulkerwatertaxi.com; Caye Caulker Water Taxi Terminal, 10 N Front St) provides the main service that connects Belize City with Caye Caulker and San Pedro (Ambergris Caye). Departures to Caye Caulker (one-way/return BZ$15/30, 50 minutes) and San Pedro (one-way/return BZ$20/40, 1½ hours) are at 8am, 9am, 10:30am, noon, 1:30pm, 3pm and 4:30pm.

If there are more than enough passengers for one boat, one will go direct to San Pedro. An extra boat, to Caye Caulker only, goes at 5:30pm. On request from passengers the boats will stop at Long Caye or Caye Chapel (both one-way BZ$15).

Triple J Express (207-7777, 223-3464; Court House Warf) has a similar service from Belize City to Caye Caulker and San Pedro leaving at 8am, 10:30am, 1:30pm and 4:30pm; their terminal is across the creek in front of the court house. Though their prices are exactly the same, Triple J occasionally offers discounts (of around BZ$5) to compete with the more well-known Caye Caulker Water Taxi.

You can actually get all the way to Corozal, Sarteneja and Cerros by transferring at San Pedro and continuing north on a Thunderbolt boat.

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