How to Spend a Couple of Days on Caye Caulker

Do you want to add some snorkeling and island time to your Belize jungle adventure trip? With a one-week vacation packed full of jungle adventures, you may only be left with two days at another location. I am writing this to tell you that is perfect for a visit to the quaint little island of Caye Caulker! The island is so small and “chill” that this is all the time you need. Quite honestly, an active family may be bored with a third day unless you book a second snorkeling tour or maybe go scuba diving or fishing. Itinerary: One Week Belize Itinerary with Jungle and Island Adventures.

CAYE CAULKER OR AMBERGRIS CAYE? With more time, or if you are looking for resort amenities and activities, an island town, and more terrain to explore you will likely prefer the larger Ambergris Caye for your beach time.

These are my honest opinions and recommendations — I do not receive any compensation or discounts during our travel. This story does include some affiliate links for which I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please click the links to support my blog.

How to get to Caye Caulker

We were coming to Caye Caulker from Black Rock Lodge in the western part of Belize. So, we booked a Tropic Air hopper fight into Caye Caulker and departed via the ferry back to Belize City. This plan ultimately saved time (saved 4-5 hours) on the way to the island, and money (saved $285) on the way back.

You can also take a two-hour bus ride from San Ignacio to the Belize City ferry dock. Gosh, you could even book one of the many adventure tours in Belmopan and have them drop you off at the Belize City ferry dock. Alternatively, there are also hopper flights back to Belize City. Options!

Ferry from Belize City

It is an easy 45-minute ferry ride. You will have to take a taxi to or from the Belize Airport as the ferry dock is about twenty minutes away. Buy your return ferry ticket at the Caye Caulker ferry dock the day before.

Hopper Flight

You can fly to Caye Caulker from Belize City or one of the smaller airports sprinkled throughout Belize. Tropic Air only flew from Maya Flats Airport, San Ignacio on certain days — this may affect your itinerary. Maya Air had several flights into Caye Caulker, but not from San Ignacio.

Golf cart taxis greet incoming flights at the airport. They cost $2.50 USD per person. It is not a long walk to town, but if you have a roller suitcase you should take the taxi because the roads are all sand. Save a couple of dollars by having one or two of you jump in the taxi with the luggage while the others walk. Our driver pointed out some sights, like the fruit stand and ferry dock, along the way which was nice.

Belize Currency

The US dollar is widely accepted in Belize. The Belize dollar is pegged to the US dollar at 2 BZD to 1 USD. You can even ask for change in USD. Just double-check that the prices you are seeing are USD or BZD.

If you pay with a credit card, make sure you have one that does not have an international transaction fee. And, call any debit or credit cards ahead of time to let them know you are traveling to Belize. We like the Capital One credit card and Charles Schwab debit card.

Where to stay on Caye Caulker

I can’t really recommend our Airbnb because we had some issues. However, the best location will be between the soccer field and The Split. Book your accommodations early because being a very small island, the inventory is limited. A place south of the soccer field would not be a deal-breaker though.

Caye Caulker Activities

1 | Book a full-day snorkeling tour

This is a MUST-DO! It is why we came to Caye Caulker. There are many operators to choose from with varying sizes and types of boats and lengths of tours. We were happy with the family-friendly Caveman Snorkeling Tours. There were five snorkeling stops on our full-day tour including the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Shark and Ray Alley, and Coral Gardens. Snorkel with stingrays, turtles, manatees (seasonal), and nurse sharks. Explore a shipwreck, coral, and more. Then, feed giant tarpon fish from the boat and view seahorses under a pier. We paid $65 per person (plus tip). What a great day!

There are also longer snorkeling tours that make all the same stops. The difference is a sailboat versus a motorized boat, so basically more travel time between areas. A five-hour tour was plenty for an outing with kids and we had time to hang out at the Split before heading to the Iguana Reef Hotel for the sunset.