I chose Belize because it's the only English-speaking country in Central America and I was tired of embarrassing myself with my high-school Spanish. Seven days, three locations, one very sunburned nose.
Landed at BZE airport, immediately took the water taxi ($10 one way) to Caye Caulker. The boat ride was 45 minutes of bouncing over waves while gripping my backpack like it contained state secrets.
Caye Caulker's motto is "Go Slow" and it's painted on walls, fences, and at least three dogs. The island has no cars — people walk, bike, or ride golf carts at speeds that would embarrass a turtle.
Found a hostel ($18/night) two blocks from the water. Room was clean. Fan worked. WiFi was aspirational.
Dinner: fish tacos from a stand near the Split — $4 for three fat ones with mango salsa. Ate them on the dock watching pelicans crash into the water like they were trying to hurt themselves.
Spent: $67
Booked a snorkel trip at a shop on the main drag — $50 including mask, fins, and boat. We motored out to Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and within five minutes of jumping in, a nurse shark the length of my body glided beneath me.
At Shark Ray Alley, it was chaos in the best way. Nurse sharks and stingrays swarming around the boat, the guide throwing chum, rays brushing my legs. A stingray parked itself on my fins and refused to leave. The guide laughed. I did not laugh. I stood very still.
The coral at Hol Chan was in good shape — brain coral, elkhorn, massive barrel sponges. Spotted a moray eel head poking out of a crevice, looking deeply unimpressed with everything.
Evening: walked to the Split for sunset. $5 rum punch at Lazy Lizard bar. Talked to a German couple who'd been in Belize for three weeks and had "no plans to leave." I understood the impulse.
Spent: $22
Rented a bike ($8/day) and circled the island in about 40 minutes. The north side is mangrove and birds — saw a osprey catch a fish from 20 meters up, which was the most impressive athletic feat I witnessed all week.
Swam at the Split for two hours. The water is clear, warm, and shallow enough to stand in most places. A manatee surfaced about 50 meters out — just a dark gray back and a snort of breath, then gone.
Lunch: lobster burrito ($7) from a lady with a cart near the cemetery. The lobster was fresh. The burrito was enormous. The combination was life-affirming.
I read a book on the dock until the sun went down. This is the correct way to spend a day on Caye Caulker.
Spent: $48
Water taxi back to Belize City ($10), then immediately caught a bus to San Ignacio ($8 USD, 2.5 hours). The bus was a converted American school bus with a reggae sound system and no air conditioning. Windows open, breeze flowing, countryside rolling past — green hills, orange groves, the occasional horse on the road.
San Ignacio is a small town in the Cayo District, inland near the Guatemala border. It's the jumping-off point for caves, ruins, and jungle. The vibe is backpacker-friendly — cheap hostels, good restaurants, and tour operators on every corner.
Hostel: $15/night. Cold beer in the common area. A hammock. These are the things that matter.
Dinner: grilled chicken with rice and beans ($6) at a place called Ko-Ox Han Na. The beans were cooked with coconut milk — a Belizean staple — and I immediately adopted it as my new favorite food preparation method.
Spent: $108
The Actun Tunichil Muknal tour started at 7:30AM with a 45-minute drive, then a 45-minute jungle hike to the cave entrance. The entrance is a pool of water — you swim through it into the cave mouth.
For the next three hours, we waded through underground rivers, squeezed through rock passages, and climbed slippery limestone formations to reach the upper chambers. No cameras allowed, which forced me to actually look at things instead of photographing them.
The upper chamber was the payoff — a massive space filled with Maya pottery, grinding stones, and the Crystal Maiden: a full human skeleton (likely a young woman, likely a sacrifice) that has been calcified into sparkling crystal over 1,100 years. The guide shone his light across the bones and they glittered.
I've been in caves in Vietnam, Slovenia, and New Zealand. ATM Cave was the most profound underground experience I've had. Not the biggest, not the prettiest — the most profound. The Maya used this space for something sacred, and standing there in wet clothes with a headlamp, you can feel why.
Cost: $100 for the tour, $8 for lunch afterward (I was starving).
Spent: $72
Morning: took a colectivo ($2) to Xunantunich ruins. The hand-crank ferry across the Mopan River felt like stepping back 50 years. The El Castillo pyramid stands 40 meters tall, and from the top, you can see into Guatemala. Parrots flew past at eye level. Entry: $5.
Afternoon: cave tubing at Caves Branch ($60 with transport from San Ignacio). Floated on an inner tube through three cave systems, headlamp picking out stalactites and cave formations while the river carried me gently through the darkness. It was peaceful in a way that surprises you — the silence of the cave, the cool water, the slow drift.
Evening: treated myself to a steak dinner at Guava Limb Cafe in San Ignacio — $15, cooked perfectly, which I didn't expect in a town where most meals cost $6.
Spent: $32
Early bus back to Belize City ($8). Transit time in Belize City — the part of the trip everyone warns you about. Stuck to the Fort George area, walked the waterfront, ate a garnache (fried tortilla with beans and cheese, $1) from a street vendor.
The city isn't as scary as the reputation suggests, at least in the tourist zone during daylight. But I wouldn't wander the south side, and I wouldn't stay after dark.
Taxi to the airport ($25). Departure tax was included in my ticket — always verify this.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Accommodation (6 nights) | $99 |
| Food | $78 |
| Activities (snorkel, ATM, tubing, ruins) | $175 |
| Transport (boats, buses, taxis) | $59 |
| Total | $411 |
| Per Day | $59 |
In a heartbeat. But I'd do three things differently.
First, I'd add Hopkins on the southern coast — a Garifuna village with a completely different cultural vibe and access to the southern barrier reef and Cockscomb jaguar preserve.
Second, I'd stay two nights on Ambergris Caye for better dining options and the chance to do a night snorkel at Hol Chan.
Third, I'd bring reef shoes. My feet took a beating on rocky beach entries and the cave tubing hike. Water shoes are the single most useful item you can pack for Belize.
If you're exploring more of the region, Cancun offers a complementary experience worth considering.
If you're exploring more of the region, Costa Rica offers a complementary experience worth considering.
Belize is the Central American country that doesn't feel like Central America — English everywhere, USD accepted, Caribbean culture blended with Maya history and jungle adventure. At $59 a day including activities, it's also one of the best values in the Caribbean region.
Go slow. But go.
