Tips for travel in Belize

Just got back and here are a few general tips that I would have appreciated knowing beforehand: Take American cash, and plenty of it. Everyone accepts USD, and there are not many ATMs. The rate is 2 Belize $ per USD. Many places don't accept credit cards.

Everything is very expensive! If you're staying in one place for a few days, bring ground coffee from home. Also, bring snacks such as tuna, etc. Chips and dips are prohibitively expensive, but local specialities are reasonable, such as tortillas and the local cheeses made by the Mennonites.

If travelling from the border to Flores for purposes of seeing Tikal, DON'T accept the taxi fees proposed by the swarms at the border. Instead, either walk the 100 meters to the center of town and take a "collectivo" (you can't miss it) for about $10.00, or propose $30.00 - $40.00 for a taxi ride all the way. Believe me, the touts WILL accept this price.

If taking a day trip to Tikal from Flores, DON'T buy from a guy named Enrique who works for SAN JUAN TOURS. He adds on an extra 50 Qzl for himself, and doesn't inform those who are going for the sunrise tour that there is an extra 100 Qzl fee! This has caused many people to miss the park. Buy your day excursion by going into one of the many tourist offices in Flores.

Thanks for your tips.

Do they take USA$ cash for the Belize exit tax, as well?

They ONLY take US$$ or credit card from non-residents for the exit fee.

Any tips are good tips, but anyone who doesn't know that US$ are accepted in Belize hasn't done their research well enough.

I think when departing Belize from the international airport, the taxes must be paid in US$, but aren't the taxes always included in the ticket price now??

At a land border, the departure fee can be paid in BZ$ or US$.

We've had to pay the exit tax in the past but not this last August with a different airline; other visits I've known that it was included by some airlines and not by others but it's possible they all include it now.

Yes but don't the chips get smashed in ones backpack? Also don't forget peanut butter...ha!!

I will just be in Belize for less than two days--going in and out by land border--so if it is acceptable to not use local currency, that is a bit easier.

So I am kinda curious--for those that leave Belize to visit Tikal and come back a day or two later, do they still have to pay that onerous exit tax? I am crossing Belize from Guatemala to Mexico and am a bit surprised at how high the prices are in Belize.

So I am kinda curious--for those that leave Belize to visit Tikal and come back a day or two later, do they still have to pay that onerous exit tax?

For tourists, yes.
Citizens & permanent residents of Belize are exempt.
Children under 12 years of age are exempt.
There are some other exemptions.

Yes, if you leave to Tikal you do have to pay the tax.

Thanks Misterbee and Bakbouk for satisfying my curiousity.

We also just got back from Belize. I would have to disagree with about half of what you said. Everywhere we went, credit cards were accepted, and we found pretty much everything to be extremely inexpensive.

#10, I am wondering where you went in Belize that was inexpensive? Probably this term is all relative, I find a lot of people compare meal prices in Mexico vacation spots to downtown NYC and then say things like "the prices were really good".

What I found, and I haven't been yet, is that you cross the border into Belize from Guatemala and the prices for accommodation double instantly. At those prices they should be accepting Credit cards, but don't know if they do, and I certainly wouldn't count on it.

We traveled to the Cayo District and stayed at the Parrot Nest. I think it was roughly $50 US a night, which had a bathroom attached. We ate almost all of our meals there, which if I remember correctly, were about $10 US for dinner and about $5 for breakfast. Our total bill was a little high, but it was only because we drank almost $200 US worth of beer. We stayed there for four nights, and I loved it. The day trips were about $90 each, which I felt was pretty normal. Every trip we did, and even when we stopped at local stores/gas stations, they all took credit cards.

We then traveled to Caye Caulker. We didn't make a reservation ahead of time, so we ended up staying at the end of the island at Gloria's. It was also $50 US a night. I know that we could have stayed much cheaper, but I really wasn't interested in staying somewhere gross. We stayed at Gloria's for the first three nights, then switched over to Island Magic for the last night. Island Magic was a little more expensive at $100 US, but we felt like spoiling ourselves for one night. Compared to the other places we stayed, Island Magic was like being at a 5 star resort.

As far as meals in Caye Caulker goes, no meal we got cost more than $15 US, and it was for more food than we could possibly eat.