Alternative option for Belize

[Court's DH]

If you're not so hot on cave tubing, here's an alternative you may want to consider for Belize - a trip to Caye Caulker.

 

You go there on a 12 seater plane from the airstrip (NOT the international airport - your cab driver will know the difference.) First, the puddle jumper taking off and landing on what must be a half mile runway at best, is an adventure in its own right. The view from the plane is absolutely amazing - you can see tiny islands, boats, coral reefs - it just blew me away.

 

Caye Caulker itself kinda makes you feel like Alice in Wonderland - except instead of dropping into a place of weirdos, you will find yourself in a postcard! White sand, coconut trees, colorfully painted houses. No cars (only a few golf carts standing in as cabs, but you might as well walk). I guess that's to give the two cops on the island a competitive edge if they ever have to chase anyone on their bicycles. :) With no traffic noise, it's really very peaceful and quiet. The best is the beach at the tip of the island - stingrays and barracudas literally 10 feet away from the shore. You walk into the water, and they're right there!

 

So if you're just a teeeeeensy bit adventurous - skip the port shops in Belize, catch a cab to the airstrip and buy yourself a round trip to Caye Caulker with Maya Island Air (US$60 if you charge it to your credit card, $30 if you pay cash). Planes leave every hour, so you won't have any trouble getting there and make it back on time.

 

This may turn out the best excursion of your entire vacation - it sure was for me.

 

Later,

G.

[jsaadat]

G,

 

I booked online before I saw your note. Are you saying that its $30 round trip if you pay cash ??

 

 

Jeff

[Court's DH]

G,

 

I booked online before I saw your note. Are you saying that its $30 round trip if you pay cash ??

 

 

Jeff

 

Hi Jeff,

 

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. At the front door of Maya Island Air, they had a letter size piece of paper which advertised a "50% cash discount special". No idea how "temporary" this "special" was, though. Might be worth emailing them.

 

Anyway, don't get too worked up over it. Caye Caulker is so special, I would have considered US$100 good value for my money. Have fun on the island, and enjoy a Belikin beer at the "Wet Lizard" at the tip of the island - beats Sam Adams any ol' day! :)

 

Best,

G.

[jsaadat]

Thanks again G,

 

If you have any Digital pics of the Cay I would appreciate it.

 

Jsaadat@msn.com

 

Jeff

[Court's DH]

Hi Jeff,

 

I will hopefully have a few nice pictures developed on Wednesday and will email them then. I took a whole roll on the island, but I made the most stupid mistake on the way back. I was very excited to shoot more photos on the plane to Belize City, so I opened my camera case before rewinding the film. First time ever, after thousands of rolls I must have gone through in my life. I was so embarassed!

 

Then again, they say that everything happens for a reason. So I guess a higher spiritual being wants me to go back to Caye Caulker. Yeah, that must be it.

 

I closed the lid pretty fast, so I hope some pictures were saved. I'll definitely have some shots from the air which I took on the way to Caye Caulker. However, I'll email you one digital right away which my stepson took from the plane. Gives you a good idea.

 

Later,

G.

[jsaadat]

Thanks G,

 

Got the wonderful pic from the plane and any others will are appreciated.

 

Its been a long year............. ready to get on a ship and get out of town.

 

Jeff

[KenMo]

CourtsDH: We don't have many baraccudas here in Missouri.....so this may be a dumb question!

 

Do baraccudas attack?? Should we stay away from them? Not saying I would try to pet one.....just want to know what to expect!

 

Sounds like you had a great time. I think this is something I'd like to do!

[LizaMM]

Oh wow! This sounds like a WONDERFUL day!!

 

I am first starting to look into what to do in Belize during my upcoming cruise and I am sure glad that you posted this!

 

Any more details that you can share would be greatly appreciated.....where did you eat, did you snokel/get equipment???

 

I would also love to see photos! If you don't mind please email them to me at ItswithaZ@aol.com

 

 

Thanks!

[LizaMM]

G,

 

I booked online before I saw your note. Are you saying that its $30 round trip if you pay cash ??

 

 

Jeff

 

Would love to know where you got the info to book ??

[Chalker Guy]

This sounds really good. Went to Caye Caulker on a snorkel tour last year, didn't have enough time. We are going again in Jan.

 

Airfare posted on the Maya Island Air shows fare of $30 each way, but does not specify if this is US dollars or Belize dollars. $2 Belize = $1 US. Is it possible that the standard fare is $30 Belize each way?

 

Court's DH,

Where exactly did you snorkel from shore? If at the north tip, is there a safe spot that avoids all the boats that go throught the cut? Did you find snorkel tour operators that you could book on the spot with no advance reservations?

 

Ken Mo,

We don't have barracudas in Nebraska either, but the ones we saw in Florida Keys and Isla Mujeras tended to hover in the shadows just barely in sight

[Court's DH]

Wow - thanks for giving my thread so much attention!

 

KenMo: I'm not much of a diver and know little about barracudas in general - the ones I saw were just sitting there, though, like ChalkerGuy said. I wasn't worried a bit.

 

LizaMM: Will email you pictures as soon as I have them - which will hopefully be tomorrow night. I actually didn't eat since I figured I'd get more "quality time" out of strolling the island and being at the beach. So I only grabbed a beer at the "Wet Lizard" and got my chow later on the ship. I did snorkel a little - my stepson had brought a mask and fins. Anyway, there was a shop that sold snorkels (which he had forgotten), and they also rented gear.

 

As for booking flights, I actually don't remember where I got the info - probably in Frommer's "Port of Call" book. But you can either google for "Maya Island Air" and book online, or just walk up to the counter at the airstrip with no prior reservation at all and ask for a seat on the next flight (which is what we did). I guess the online reservation gives you a safer bet to make the flight you want, though - we had to miss one and waited for an hour. (Like I said, it's a guy thing - hanging around at a small airfield makes us feel like National Geo journalists in the wilderness, and it's part of the adventure for us. :) )

 

ChalkerGuy: We did snorkel on the North tip, and I don't recall any boats going through the cut at all. So I don't know if it would have bothered me otherwise. Like I said to LizaMM, there's a snorkel shop that'll rent you stuff. I didn't specifically look for snorkel tour operators, but there were some on the island. Depending on the time of the year you'll be there (we travelled during Thanksgiving week, and it was still very quiet on the island!), I'd reckon it's easy to just ask one to take you out.

 

Later,

G.

[Court's DH]

Airfare posted on the Maya Island Air shows fare of $30 each way, but does not specify if this is US dollars or Belize dollars. $2 Belize = $1 US. Is it possible that the standard fare is $30 Belize each way?

 

Oops - forgot to answer this one. Looks like I'm not very good at explaining this: I bought my ticket at the counter at the airstrip. A round trip, charged to my credit card, would have been US$ 60. Paying cash, it set me back by US$30. So yes, you could say that US $30 buy you a round trip, and Belize $30 buy you a one way. If you pay cash. :)

 

Later,

G.

[jsaadat]

May Air is at http://www.mayaairways.com/

 

Yes Barracudas can get a little frisky around shiny jewelery and if your feeding them.......... but as scary as they look......... its very very rare for them to bite a human.

 

Cant wait......... little over a week and we are floating.

[capncarp]

May Air is at http://www.mayaairways.com/

 

Yes Barracudas can get a little frisky around shiny jewelery and if your feeding them.......... but as scary as they look......... its very very rare for them to bite a human.

 

Cant wait......... little over a week and we are floating.

 

As a side note, I enjoyed an interaction with barracuda in Belize City on the dockside--I bit _it_! It was one of the ingredients in a local dish called "boil-up" which has a chunk of fish, green and ripe plantain, cassava, potato, a hard-boiled egg, a chunk of pig tail, and cabbage in a tomato sauce. It was, my wife said, a British boiled dinner gone Caribbean.

 

How was the barracuda? It had a close-grained texture with very few bones, and was quite tasty--"tastes like chicken" :rolleyes: !

 

Have a grand time and watch out for the REAL predatory creatures--the ones in the Diamonds International shops et al.

 

Yours,

CapnCarp, proud member of the NCL Dawn Good Samaritan cruise (11/05)

[GarageTwoThree]

My girlfriend and I are going to Caye Caulker in a few days. If the plane is too expensive you can take a water taxi for around 18.00 round trip. It arrives more in the center of this island than the airport, but then again the island is only 5 miles long I think..lol. We are going to do a Scuba Discovery trip there and will post ics and reviews afterwards.

[kmsolo]

We are going to do a Scuba Discovery trip there and will post ics and reviews afterwards.

 

Garage Two Three: Is your dive set up thru the ships excursions? or is there an outfitting company that you booked this thru?

The reason I ask, is because I want my parents to dive Belize and also spend time on the amazing Caye Caulker Island, but I don't know where they can book a trip like this. I have done snorkeling trips that end up at CC Island, but not diving...

Thanks!

[billeelou]

if they are certified, have em book with SEASPORTSBELIZE- the searles, off the pier to the right as you dock...save lots of $$$ but unless you got lotsa time, you cant do both.....Believe me I tried to book em both

[kmsolo]

Billeelou, thanks for the info. I will past it along. They are getting so excited. Last night they tried on all their gear and sat in the front room practicing their hand signals... It was quite a sight to see!

[jsaadat]

WE LOVED IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What a relaxing day, wonderful people, and an interesting plane ride. If we were to do it again, I think we would take the water taxi over from the cruise ship dock instead of the plane. Dont get me wrong, the plane was fantastic, but becasue we got the the airport early and the flight left a little late, I think it would have actually been faster with the boat.

 

My kids latched on to some local kids that grew up on the island and they all had a great time swimming, snorkling at the "Split" (the end of the island that sits near the tip of the island that was washed away but the hurricane) actually created a water channel that was never there before.

 

Great local beer and even better food !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Cant thank you enough for the tip G.

 

Any wants any pics drop me an e-mail jsaadat@msn.com

[jsaadat]

Just FYI maya air was having a special for all locals. 1/2 off all airfaire for the holidays

[kbmocruiser]

Caye Caulker sounds great. We've been to Belize twice, did the cave tubing and a snorkel excursion and both were great, but we'd like something different this time and definitely away from the trinket shops and Diamonds International! We will be there from 7 am to 5 pm, Royal LOS. My question is this -- can we get off the ship, find the water taxi, get to CC, have time to explore or whatever, and still be assured we will get back to the ship on time??? For those of you who have gone here, you must have been pretty certain you wouldn't get left behind or else, obviously, you wouldn't have gone. Are the water taxi's pretty reliable? I've got five others I'm going to pitch this idea at and I know they're going to have questions. So... no problems playing tourist on CC and no hassles from shady characters? We're just out to have a good time, find a cold beer, ride around in a golf cart and relax! And exactly where will we find the water taxis? Thanks for the info!

[Court's DH]

So glad to hear you liked it, Jeff - sounds like you had a great time!

 

kbmocruiser: You will definitely have enough time to explore Caye Caulker within 5 or 6 hours - the island is beautiful, but tiny. Jeff might know where the water taxis leave, but I wouldn't worry about their reliability and/or punctuality.

 

Just in case the unthinkable happens, I do bring my credit card when I take an excursion on my own (which I usually do). Should I really miss the ship, I'll just have to buy my way to the next port and catch up there. But so far, I've never had to go for that scenario. :)

 

Happy New Year to everybody!

 

G.

[kimmimom]

if we take the water taxi (where do you find the water taxi?), we can just go the island and sit on a beach for a couple hours and return?

[BeachBumMama]

Not sure about the water taxi, we did the excursion with coral Breeze, went snorkeling first then to Caye Caulker so caught their boat right at the dock. But yes to your other question, you can just go sit on beach, ride a golf cart around for a couple hours and return. It's a wonderful little place and I'd love to go back one day for much longer. Very, very, very laid back.

[greeba]

We'll be in Belize in a few weeks and I was wondering if there are bike rentals on Caye Caulker and if the island is small enough where you can pretty much find whatever it is you're looking for. Was the beach crowded at all?

 

What should we bring other than credit card (in case we get left behind!), bathing suits, towels, sunscreen, sunglasses? Do they rent beach umbrellas or anything?

 

Thanks,

 

Greta