This is my original post, pre-trip to give some idea of what I was looking for.
I just got back from 5 nights on Caye Caulker. I flew Tropic Air (easily booked online) from Belize City for $120 RT; they moved me onto an earlier flight than I'd booked after clearing immigration & customs took no time at all. Very quick and easy flight. Golf cart taxi ride from the airport on Caulker was $5Bze/$3US. The exchange rate was 2:1 and everywhere took US$, no questions asked.
I stayed at Treetops in a room with a shared bath and was unimpressed, frankly. I did want to book ahead of time to avoid all of the hassle of trying to find a place on arrival, but really don't see what all the online and guidebook raves about this place were based on. Everything was very clean, but for $60US, including the extra $5 for AC, I expected a little more. Rooms 1-4 are ground level and while 1-3 are, in fact, sea-facing, there's now a house on the property between Treetops and the ocean. They've built a 5-foot tall fence of corrugated steel along the entire property line, so there's not actually much of a view. The owner, Doris, was never outright rude, but seemed to be bothered to be disturbed during the day for things she clearly offered: internet, refilling water bottles, etc. She did have a lot of recommendations/opinions about restaurants, tours, etc. The best I can say about the place is that overall, it was fine. But I'd stay someplace else if I were to go back.
Snorkeling was fantastic. Doris recommended Carlos Ayala, who goes to Hol Chan and two other sites on a whole-day trip. Definitely the highlight and he'll take photos with a digital camera with underwater housing that he'll burn for you (for an extra payment). We saw sea turtles, rays, a green moray, nurse sharks. Worth every penny - $90Bze for the trip. I also did a half-day snorkeling trip for $40Bze through EZ Boy tours, which actually turned out to be combined with Anwar Tours. Still good, but didn't compare to the trip with Carlos.
Through Tsunami Adventures, I did a day-trip to Lamanai. $190Bze, which included an hour-long drive from the Belize City water taxi dock, an hour-long boat ride up the river to Lamanai, a guided tour, lunch, and the return boat and drive. $35Bze extra for the water taxi. It was a nice day and we saw a ton of birds (only two almost-tame spider monkeys and a handful of sleeping howler monkeys otherwise), but if you've been to Tikal or other larger Mayan sites, Lamanai can't compare.
Amor y Cafe is great for breakfast; good coffee and friendly staff. The ham and cheese roll from the bakery was outstanding. Dinner at Rose's was the best, where for about $20Bze they grill your choice of fresh seafood right out front. Habaneros was good but a pricey splurge; their key lime pie was awesome and I don't even particularly like key lime pie. Agave was ok, as was Tropical Paradise. I heard very good things about Fran's but never ate there. The pizza at Joe Habaneros was pretty bad, but the place was always packed.
I was on my own and always felt safe. No one cat-called or did anything to make me uncomfortable. But I was usually back in my room by 8pm, so the same might not be true later on at night! Overall, it was a great trip.
