We are so pleased we decided to add on a couple of days in Caye Caulker to our Explore tour of Belize.
Caye Caulker is a compact Caribbean island in Belize, 20 miles from Belize City. It is just 5 miles long and less than a mile wide. A narrow waterway called The Split separates the island into two sections. Most of the island’s 4,000 residents and visiting tourists are based in Caye Caulker Village, which extends for roughly 1.5 miles along the southern end of the island.
We arrived in Caye Caulker by ferry from Belize City after a 10-day guided tour of Belize’s Maya sites and wildlife, but you could catch the ferry from San Pedro (in northern Belize) or fly to the small island’s airport from Belize City.
Getting to Belize (and therefore Caye Caulker) can be a bit of a hassle from the UK as you have to spend a night in the US (due to flight timings). However, we spoke to a few people who were including Caye Caulker as an add-on to a tour of Mexico, so do consider it if you are in this part of Central America – it is well worth a visit.
Travelling to/from Caye Caulker
As part of our tour, we got the ferry from Belize City to Caye Caulker – about a 45-minute crossing. When we did it, the sea was calm, but I have read that it can be rough – if you suffer from sea-sickness like me, I would recommend taking tablets.
You swap your suitcase for a numbered ticket when you ‘check in’ for the ferry, and the suitcases get loaded into the hull, so make sure you keep whatever you need for the ferry with you. The pick-up process at the other end can feel a little chaotic, as it largely depends on whether your suitcase ends up at the top or bottom of the pile. Despite this, it seems to work reasonably well.
Notes about returning home
Be aware that collecting your luggage can take some time, so factor this in if you’re heading straight to the airport for a flight home. We were also advised that ferries do not always run to schedule (and can occasionally be cancelled), so it was recommended that we take an earlier ferry than strictly necessary to ensure we arrived at the airport on time.
Our hotel, Coral View Hotel & Resort, was a short three-minute walk from the ferry terminal and was very nice. Clean and spacious, with very friendly staff.
Once unpacked, we went for a stroll to explore the area. From our hotel, the main road to ‘The Split’ is lined by restaurants, bars and tourist shops. From the main road, there are a few turnings leading down to the sea with additional bars and restaurants. We felt very safe walking around and really enjoyed the atmosphere.
What to do on Caye Caulker
During the 4 days we were there, we enjoyed many of the activities available in Caye Caulker, including:
- Snorkelling (and/or diving) – possibly the most popular activity and something we did on two of our days.
- Cycling around the island – which we did for a day
- Seeing tarpons, stingrays and seahorses
- Eating and drinking in the local bars and restaurants
- Watching the sunset
Of course, many people also come to relax on the beach and swim in the clear waters.
We also heard good things about scuba diving the Blue Hole to see the stalactites and rock formations. You can also fly over the Blue Hole.
Snorkelling
Snorkelling is one of the main activities in Caye Caulker. The Belize Barrier Reef is listed among the top 20 best snorkelling destinations in the world.
As part of our Explore tour, we had opted for a full day of snorkelling for the second day of our time in Caye Caulker. Our tour guide had booked it with Carlos Snorkelling Tours, a family business that operates a very comfortable catamaran holding up to 25 people. It cost $110 US pp, cash only.
Notes about cash
On a separate note, we made sure we had cash (US or Belizean dollars) before arriving on the island – there are ATMs available, but they are not always reliable. Many of the activities on offer (and some restaurants) were cash only.
I’ve detailed our first day snorkelling in my post about our two-week adventure in Belize. We enjoyed the day out with Carlos Tours so much we decided to join them again on day 4 of our time in Caye Caulker.
We did look around the other snorkelling trips available (and there were quite a few).
The main choices were between a half-day tour (visiting Coral Gardens, Stingray Alley and the South Channel) and a full-day tour (which also goes out to Hol Chan Channel) as Carlos Tours did. Some of the full-day tours also include a couple of other stops, including tarpon feeding (which you could see on land) and snorkelling a sunken shipwreck.
The other choice to consider is the type and size of boat. We felt a catamaran would be better for my potential seasickness than a speedboat, and we liked the shade it would offer. The speedboats looked rather exposed to the sun.
Even though we went with the same tour operator, we experienced and saw different things.
At the first stop, Coral Gardens, we saw a wide variety of coral and fish as well as urchins and nurse sharks during our 45-minute guided snorkel.
Our next stop was at Shark Ray Alley, and as we approached our anchor, the nurse sharks immediately swam up to the back of the boat.
Getting into the water, we got really close to nurse sharks and rays – both amazing creatures.
After a tasty chicken-and-rice lunch, we arrived at Hol Chan Channel, where we saw a variety of fish and coral as well as some eagle rays, turtles and a nurse shark.
If you are in Caye Caulker, I’d highly recommend doing one of the snorkelling trips on offer.
Notes about snorkelling
We were in the water for about 100 minutes in total. So, to prevent sunburn, I wore a rash vest over my swimming costume. Others wore a standard T-shirt. I also wore swim leggings, which were perhaps a bit over the top, but actually worked well at preventing sunburn when sitting in sunny spots on the catamaran.
We used an AKASO EK700 underwater camera to capture the videos in this post. We bought it as a cheaper alternative to a GoPro to see what it was like. I’m amazed at how well the videos came out.
I did take a seasickness tablet on each of our snorkelling days, but the sea was very calm. I think it helps that the reef acts as a barrier to the waves.
Cycling
Keen to explore more of the island, we hired bikes, which proved to be the ideal way to get around. With very few cars on the island, the main traffic consists of golf carts transporting passengers and supplies as well as fellow cyclists and walkers.
We asked our hotel to recommend a good place for bike hire and were directed to Mario’s (around the corner) – primarily a snorkelling company, but with mountain bikes available.
Just be aware the bikes (like all the bikes we saw) don’t have brake levers – you need to pedal backwards to brake, which took a bit of getting used to.
They cost $25 US for 24 hours for the two, with a £25 US deposit. It was cash only, US or Belizean.
Mario adjusted the saddles for us and off we went.
We first went South around the small airport, checking out the pelicans on the coast.
We then cycled north to The Split, where water taxis take people across the channel to the North Island. It cost $5 US return per person/bike and took 5 minutes. People, bikes and golf carts use the water taxis, and they seem to leave when they are full.
The North Island felt far more remote and tranquil, although there is quite a lot of development underway, which makes me wonder how long it will retain its unspoilt charm. Cycling along the main road for about 30 minutes, we discovered Bliss Beach. A beautiful ‘club’ with a large sandy beach, crystal-clear waters, comfortable loungers and hammocks and a bar selling food and cocktails. You can spend time at Bliss Beach if you buy something at the bar. There weren’t any loungers free when we were there, so I guess you’d need to arrive early. You can take a water taxi from The Split to Bliss Beach, saving yourself the hour-long walk or cycle in the heat. It was certainly a more relaxing place to hang out than fighting for space on The Split. I believe there are smaller private beaches on the South Island too.
After a well-earned drink and some time to admire the view at Bliss Beach, we set off back to Caye Caulker. We had originally planned to explore the Forest Reserve highlighted on Google Maps in the north of the island (just beyond Bliss Beach). However, many of the reviews mentioned aggressive dogs, and we noticed the walkways looked poorly maintained, so we decided to give it a miss.
After taking the water taxi back across The Split, we decided 3 hours of cycling was enough for us and took the bikes back to Mario.
A highly recommended way to see more of the island.
Feeding Tarpons
Another well-advertised thing to do on Caye Caulker is to feed Tarpons – large fish that can grow to 1.2–2.4 m long and weigh 27–127 kg. They are famous for their leaping ability. You can take a tour (or have it included in a snorkelling tour) and feed them from the water, or you can go to the Tarpon Feeding Dock at the end of Calle La Posa to feed them from land.
At the feeding dock, you can buy a cup of small fish for $5 Belizean. You hold the small fish over the water by the tail, and Tarpon will leap up to grab them.
Personally, I didn’t feel the need to feed the Tarpon, but it was interesting watching others and fascinating seeing the numbers of large fish both in the water and leaping out. Certainly worth checking out if you have time.
Stingrays and Seahorses
The other well-advertised tourist attraction is to visit Stingray Beach in front of Iguana Reef Inn.
At any time of the day, you will see stingrays in the shallow waters close to the beach. Although many people paddle with them, I was happy to just watch from the beach.
From 4 pm each day, the stingrays are fed from the beach. We didn’t go to see this – I’m not sure how ethical it is, but it is an advertised attraction.
On the left of the stingray area, it looked like there was a load of rope in the water. This, in fact, was a seahorse reserve. Looking very closely, we could see what looked like pieces of rope move – tiny seahorses!
Eating and Drinking
There are lots of places to eat in Caye Caulker. These are some of the places we enjoyed.
Breakfast at Amor y Cafe – I particularly liked the Peanut and Banana Bagel.
We also went to Jenny’s Grab and Go for a tasty takeout breakfast of burritos and fry jacks. This appeared to be a popular place with locals, judging by the number of people stopping by to collect takeaway orders while we were there.
We had drinks at Sip N’ Dip near The Split, watching people enjoy drinking at tables in the sea.
We also drank at our hotel rooftop bar. Not only were the sunsets spectacular, but the bar staff were very friendly.
We had a delicious seafood lunch at Esters Crusted Crab – a barbecue spot on the main road.
We ate a great dinner of pasta at Pasa Per Caso. They have a range of starters and then two ‘pastas of the day’ – one meat and one vegetarian. The meat pasta was a delicious, rich bolognese. It really tasted like it had been cooking for many hours to develop deep, complex flavours. Just be aware it takes cash only, and you will probably need to book.
We also had a good dinner at The Pelican Sunset bar, overlooking the sea. We didn’t go for sunset, but still needed to book ahead.
Sunset
Unsurprisingly, Caye Caulker’s location in the Caribbean Sea makes it an ideal place to enjoy breathtaking sunsets.
The Pelican Sunset Bar, mentioned above, is considered to be one of the best places to see the sunset. However, I think it would be difficult to beat the rooftop of our hotel, which was our location of choice for three of the nights we were there.
Sunset on day 1
Day 2 Sunset
Day 3 Sunset
All in all, I really enjoyed our time in Caye Caulker. The island had a great vibe; there was a decent amount to do and see, with tasty, casual food and drink. I’d highly recommend a visit if you can fit it in.