Southern Belize Getting there & around

Getting there & around

Two roads connect southern Belize to the Belize District and Northern Belize: the Hummingbird Hwy (which runs from Belmopan to the start of the Southern Hwy near Dangriga) and the Coastal (Manatee) Hwy, an unpaved road that stretches from the Belize District just south of the zoo to the Hummingbird Hwy west of Dangriga, along the way stretching the very definition of the term ‘highway.’ Though shorter in terms of miles, unless you’re planning to visit Gales Point Manatee on your way down south, the Manatee isn’t worth the chiropractic trauma. The Southern Hwy meets the Hummingbird west of Dangriga then continues 100 miles south to Punta Gorda. Both the Hummingbird and Southern Hwys are well paved except for a 10-mile stretch of the Southern Hwy around Nim Li Punit.

Buses from Belize City and Belmopan head down the Hummingbird Hwy to Dangriga then on to the Southern Hwy to Independence and Punta Gorda. Other services run from Dangriga to Hopkins and Placencia, and from Punta Gorda to villages around the far south. Placencia can also be accessed by water-taxi service from Mango Creek, which adjoins Independence.

Daily flights head from Belize City to Dangriga, Placencia and Punta Gorda. Scheduled boat services link Dangriga and Placencia with Puerto Cortés in Honduras, and Punta Gorda with Puerto Barrios and Lívingston in Guatemala. Boats cross to Tobacco Caye from Dangriga daily; boats to the other islands can be organized through tour operators, dive shops, accommodations or boat owners.

Though there isn’t officially a land border crossing between southern Belize and Guatemala, unofficial crossings – generally of locals – occur just west of the village of Jalacte. If you cross this way you risk being stuck on the other side without an entry stamp in your visa.