Cay Caulker

A friend of mine has suggested in Belize that we consider this trip. I'm only finding limited information on the destination, or how to get there, etc.

Has anyone been? How do you go? Did you like it? Tips/tricks. . .

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

You have to ferry over. It is not hard to do though. There is some great info on the Ports Of Call boards or check out TripAdvisor. My kids spent their honeymoon on Caye Caulker and loved every minute. It is relaxed and much less touristy than other spots.

Not many "beaches ", but the snorkeling is suppose to be good.

Belize is amazing....you'll love it. We booked our own excursion via Happy and Grumpy tours -- took a small plane to Ambergris Caye and went out with them onto the reef for snorkeling...AMAZING. Got back to port in time to enjoy a couple of cold beers before getting back on the boat...

A friend of mine has suggested in Belize that we consider this trip. I'm only finding limited information on the destination, or how to get there, etc.

 

Has anyone been? How do you go? Did you like it? Tips/tricks. . .

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you!

We did this on our own. I had booked a snorkeling tour online and took a water taxi to the island. Met with the guide on the island. It started getting bad from there. Our guide had mechanical problems with our outboard. It would run a hundred yards and die. We finally made it to the reef and the snorkeling was pretty good. Then he took us to a shallow sand bar and we swam with some stingrays. We had been out over an hour and when I asked him for the time he said he didn't have a watch.:eek:

We had time to eat at a local joint before the water taxi. Everything had smoothed out and things were good. WRONG! We got in line for the water taxi and were about to board when we were told that it was the wrong taxi. Ours was pulling in at another dock about 150 yards down the beach. We took off at a run and barely made it onboard. 6 or 8 people didn't make it. We barely made it back in time for the last tender to the ship. Learned a lot on that trip.

Would we do it again? Oh yes, but probably thru a good local company like Coral Breeze. The snorkeling was good. We saw good coral, fish, 2 kinds of rays, had a barracuda at arms reach and saw a pod of dolphins. The food was good and the people friendly. Just watch the time.

Slash Wave do not use

We had originally booked Goff Island and when we arrived the "manager" talked us I no Hol Chan. She said it was the best snorkel and not crowded. We paid more money than originally told and was loaded on a boat with all others waiting. Before stepping into boat I once again said this is going to Hol Chan and she said yes and told the captain these 4 are the ones. When we arrived at Cay Caulker we inquired about Hol Can and were told we were not going. We were got back to Belize City we saw the 'manager" and told her we were not happy . She said we paid for Cay Caulker. We told her paid what she told us to pay and she knew we wanted to go to Hol Chan. What we believe happen is she only had the 4 of us to go to Goff so she talked us into Hol Chan and then the others that were suppose to go didn't show up she put us on the boat to Cay Caulker.

A few years ago, my wife and I went to Cay Caulker and would go again. We did on our own without any issues. Went into town and hopped a water taxi and spent the day snorkeling. Island was virtually void of tourists. Relaxing time. ( bring you own towels)

We went to Caye Caulker on our own last year and highly recommend it. We are boarding the Norwegian Dawn two weeks from today and can't wait to do it again! It is a beautiful place and if you're looking to relax, you won't regret it.

We do a lot of ports where we do not do ship sponsored excursions. Aside from the long mainland trips in Cozumel, this is probably the one we are most cautious about. Not safety concerns, but taking care to get back to the port in time. It is almost an hour each way on the water taxi.

We went on Belize Water Taxi which is basically right next door to the cruise port. My mistake last time was that I didn't really pay attention to the departure times. We ended up arriving shortly after their 9am departure. Meaning we had to wait until 10:30. We missed an hour and a half we could have spent on that beautiful island.

I guess I would suggest the following if on your own:

Know the location and schedule the water taxi in Belize City AND on Caye Caulker

Do not plan on the latest returning water taxi, leave yourself a back-up

Rent a golf cart once you get to the island. I think ours was like $25 for the day, they were right there as soon as we came off the dock

I'm a little bit paranoid and will always get back to the ship early. But with a little planning and research, even a short visit to this place is totally worth it. We didn't really have any specific plans laid out for what to do on the island and really didn't need any. We are planning the same strategy this time. Just arrive and wander around.

Good Luck and have fun!!

CC is a very easy and safe day trip, just use common sense as usual and allow time to get back. We were just looking for aday to explore the island with our friends and we enjoyed a very relaxing day at the Lazy Lizard. If you want to hit the snorkel spots it's very easy to get a charter. Very laid back vibe, many of the restaurants and bars will be closed earlier in the day, but would recommend the LL for good food and cheap drinks with an amazing view. You can take a golf cart taxi unless you want to see the entire island then rent a cart. A nice return option is via air if the times work for you.