Caye Caulker, Belize- Go Slow

Caye Caulker is an absolute paradise. “Go Slow” is the motto of this island. The main mode of transportation consists of walking, bicycles, and golf carts. Those who own own golf carts generally seemed to be the business’ on the island or more of the well off residents. We arrived on the island on Tuesday at 9:00am after a 7 hour bus ride ($41 each)  from Cancun to Belize City($19 each) and then an hour boat ride to the island. We booked an apartment from Air bnb that contained a small kitchenette, bathroom, and bedroom for $30 US which was about a 12 minute bike ride from the main area of the island. Hilda is the owner of the apartment complex, Bay Breeze Apartments (consists of 4 apartments), and is the principal at the only school on the island. Everyone on the island seems to be related to her and/or knows her when her name is mentioned. It was a great feeling knowing that we were staying at a place owned by a person who has a great reputation and is so involved on the island.

We spent the first day biking around the island and found the split, which was originally a small channel, but was widened even more due to Hurricane Hattie in 1961. The split is now a common place to swim, drink, and soak up the rays. The Lazy Lizzard makes up most of the territory on the split and therefore for the most part in order to enjoy the split you will more than likely end up buying a drink or two. Most of the drinks at this location are 5BZ, but they will add up quickly (trust me the Rum punches are delicious!!!). Belize is cheaper than the US, but compared to the rest of Central America, it can be rather expensive.

Three out of the four days that we were on the island consisted of on and off daily showers on the island which we spent huddled in the apartment cooking, researching our next stops, or quite honestly watching Netflix (for reals). The month of October is one of the slowest months on the island for tourism, so a lot of shops were closed. Makes sense with all the rain 🙂

The fourth and final day that we stayed on the island we were able to snorkel with the company Anda Da Wata, who we highly recommend. We didn’t find out until later in the evening that one of our tour guides was Hilda’s brother- she was connected to everyone on the island! We booked a half day tour, which departed at 12:00pm and returned at 3:30pm and included stops at the South Channel, Sting Ray Alley, Coral Garden, and Tarpoon Pool. The tour guide was great and was very interactive with the group. On the first stop we were absolutely amazed as he was playing with the nurse sharks and holding the sting rays!

The second stop he did a guided tour around the corals and would point out certain fish and types of coral to explain to us what they were. The third stop was a “free time” per say where we had about an hour to swim on our own and explore the coral. This was an amazing experience as we were able to take our time and really explore as much as we wanted. At the end of the tour the guides took the boat around the other side of the island to see the Tarpoon fish and to feed the birds, which by the way the whole time I was one the island I swore they looked like pterodactyls (haha).

We left on Friday on the 8:00am boat ferry from the island (still raining) to make our way on to Flores, Guatemala. We both enjoyed our stay on the island, met some great people, and had some very memorable experiences. If you are looking for a place to relax, take the slow life in, and just be by the water then Caye Caulker is the way to go. Go Slow!