Accomodations and getting around while fact finding

We're at the Copa Banana  right now---great location, nice hosts, pool, washing machine-line dry,--I do recommend it!
In Belize City--we stayed at D'Nest Inn, B&B, off the beaten path, great hosts, will need transportation to the city and airport--either taxi or walk several blocks to the Northern Highway and catch a bus. Stay in a place out of town--very noisy!!
Our last stay in the cayes was 7 years ago--sorry no recent info there!

Thanks for the info - everything I have read about Copa sounds to be true!

From Belize City, you can take local buses all over the country, as we have done.  They aren't luxurious (old US school buses) but are very cheap.  However, to get to Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, you'll have to take the ferry -- they are islands.

As for lodging, we can recommend Casa Blanca as a reasonably priced place to stay in San Ignacio right in the heart of it all (Burns Avenue), and on Ambergris Caye, look at Caribbean Villas and the Blue Tang Inn, among others. 

Tripadvisor is your friend, since so much depends upon your exact budget.  Also, if you wait until after Easter to travel, the rates will be much more favorable.  Christmas through Easter is high tourist season in Belize.

CaribeGal wrote:

From Belize City, you can take local buses all over the country, as we have done.  They aren't luxurious (old US school buses) but are very cheap.  However, to get to Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, you'll have to take the ferry -- they are islands.

As for lodging, we can recommend Casa Blanca as a reasonably priced place to stay in San Ignacio right in the heart of it all (Burns Avenue), and on Ambergris Caye, look at Caribbean Villas and the Blue Tang Inn, among others. 

Tripadvisor is your friend, since so much depends upon your exact budget.  Also, if you wait until after Easter to travel, the rates will be much more favorable.  Christmas through Easter is high tourist season in Belize.

Thanks for the advice to wait until high season is past.  Darn, I have to take a ferry?  I thought I might swim, LOL.  Will check out the locations you suggested.  Thanks again.

Cruisin Camper wrote:

Thanks for the advice to wait until high season is past.  Darn, I have to take a ferry?  I thought I might swim, LOL.  Will check out the locations you suggested.  Thanks again.

Oh sorry, you could fly to the islands as well (on Tropic Air or Maya Island, the two little island hopper airlines here).  The views are magnificent, but it's a bit pricier than the ferry.  Just meant you couldn't take a bus. 

Got it!  That was my somewhat poor attempt at humor.  This site has some great blogs - I have been reading like crazy... just trying to absorb as much as I can.

I really, really enjoy riding on the buses in Belize, though not for the faint of heart! It happens to be one of the things I look forward to every time before I go.

To me, it is one of the best ways to see the people and the countryside, and taste local street food. Last I was there, you can take the bus from Belize City north to Orange Walk and Corozal for around $3.00 US max. The big bus terminal is in Belmopan, so if you plan to go to San Ignacio, you will stop here and connect first. You can also take a bus from here to Mango Creek where you would take another water taxi over to Placencia if you wanted to check out that area. That's a long bus-ride/water taxi ride when it's all said and done, but one of the prettiest rides. All together costs around $7.00 US. It takes you through the orange orchards and mango orchards. There are a lot of ladies whose chosen profession is to make all sorts of tasty treats, get on the bus, ride it for about 2 miles and sell treats to passengers, and catch the bus coming back the other way.

To get to the cayes, I suggest water taxi. Get a Belikin in the terminal before the ride, and you should be set!

Caribe Gal,
Thanks for the heads up on the Blue Tang and Carribbean Villas - we can't stay in San Pedro for the five days so the one is out, but the other is a good option for us.  Thanks for the info, very helpful.

Winosaur,
If we ride the bus (the only bus we've ever been on in Belize is a tour bus, LOL!) can we drag our luggage along as well?  or perhaps a private shuttle would be better in that situation?  It will cost significantly more, so I'd like to know about that.

Recommendations for Caye Caulker anyone?

At this point I think we are gonna pass on the Placencia area for now until we get down there and start to look around.... that is for a future trip, I guess.

Laurie
The Cruisin Camper

Cruisin Camper:

I've taken my suitcase with me. You will be the one muscling it around however, so I wouldn't over-pack. If you have more than one piece of luggage per person, it's do-able, but certainly not as easy.

Also, the buses can get crowded, so if you have issues with personal space, I definitely wouldn't do it!

NewOrleansWinosaur wrote:

Cruisin Camper:

I've taken my suitcase with me. You will be the one muscling it around however, so I wouldn't over-pack. If you have more than one piece of luggage per person, it's do-able, but certainly not as easy.

Also, the buses can get crowded, so if you have issues with personal space, I definitely wouldn't do it!

No worries about the personal space - I love meeting new folks!  Thanks for the information.

Below are some bus info sites. I like riding the buses here but it is not for everyone. The school bus seats are not super roomy so someone with longer legs may find it a bit tight a long ride.

http://belizebus.wordpress.com/http://www.belmopancityonline.com/beliz … edule.aspxhttp://www.guidetobelize.info/en/travel … uide.shtmlhttp://www.pgbelize.com/jamesbusline

Laurie,

I am in the same boat as you. I wanted to go for a couple of months, my wife is not sure she wants to go at all. We have settled on a month beginning the last week in October and returning the day before Thanksgiving.

We will be staying 8 nights in Corozal, 5 nights in San Pedro, 7 nights in San Ignacio and 10 nights in Placencia. I have rented houses in all 4 of those places. My big concern is how to get around the Country. Rental cars are outrageously expensive and it looks like the puddle jumpers are also. We will take the water taxi from Corozal to San Pedro and back but getting from there to San Ignacio and then to Placencia and back to the airport and exploring on a day to day basis still has me stumped.

I have read that the bus service is iffy at best. Also am told we might be able to find real estate agents who will get us around to look at different properties.

If you come up with a good solution I sure would like to know about it.

Thanks,

Dan Russell
Boiling Springs, PA

danrpa wrote:

I have read that the bus service is iffy at best.

Hi Dan -- the bus service isn't "iffy".  It's not fancy, but it runs consistently and on a schedule.  My husband and I have been all over Belize on the local buses, including San Ignacio, Hopkins, Placencia, and Punta Gorda.  We live in San Pedro, so we typically take the ferry over to Belize City, then a quick taxi ride to the bus station there.  It's very basic transportation but incredibly cheap.  You are right that the puddle jumpers and rental cars are expensive here, so if you want to travel inexpensively, the local buses are the way to go. 

Enjoy your time in Belize!

In San Ignocio I would definitely recommend the Cahal Pech resort. It isn't the cheapest but it's worth the extra money. It has a pool, incredible views and the service is great. I would definitely recommend a rum punch. Best I had in the country.

msteiss wrote:

In San Ignocio I would definitely recommend the Cahal Pech resort. It isn't the cheapest but it's worth the extra money. It has a pool, incredible views and the service is great. I would definitely recommend a rum punch. Best I had in the country.

Thanks very much for the recommendation - however we want to try and view the country of what it may be like to actually live there.  That being said, we are looking for a much simpler existance.... so we may just rent a house for the week so we can shop, cook, etc.

Thanks Again!

Laurie and JP
The Cruisin Camper

tacogirl wrote:

Below are some bus info sites. I like riding the buses here but it is not for everyone. The school bus seats are not super roomy so someone with longer legs may find it a bit tight a long ride.

http://belizebus.wordpress.com/http://www.belmopancityonline.com/beliz … edule.aspxhttp://www.guidetobelize.info/en/travel … uide.shtmlhttp://www.pgbelize.com/jamesbusline

Great Links!

danrpa wrote:

Laurie,

I am in the same boat as you. I wanted to go for a couple of months, my wife is not sure she wants to go at all. We have settled on a month beginning the last week in October and returning the day before Thanksgiving.

We will be staying 8 nights in Corozal, 5 nights in San Pedro, 7 nights in San Ignacio and 10 nights in Placencia. I have rented houses in all 4 of those places. My big concern is how to get around the Country. Rental cars are outrageously expensive and it looks like the puddle jumpers are also. We will take the water taxi from Corozal to San Pedro and back but getting from there to San Ignacio and then to Placencia and back to the airport and exploring on a day to day basis still has me stumped.

I have read that the bus service is iffy at best. Also am told we might be able to find real estate agents who will get us around to look at different properties.

If you come up with a good solution I sure would like to know about it.

Thanks,

Dan Russell
Boiling Springs, PA

Dan,
JP is just as anxious to get there and explore as I am, but a bit more fiscally conservative (plus he only has so much time off) which is a good thing, somebody has to keep me in check, that's for sure.  Depending on flight arrival, we may or may not have to stay in BC overnight and catch a bus in the morning.  I look at this as an adventure - no rose colored specs for this gal.  We have been to Belize twice before, both only for a day as we were on Cruise Ships.... but enjoyed the locals we met outside of the "tourist area" in BC which made us think this may be the place to retire to.  Only one way to find out, get out there a experience it like you live there.  Sure, I want to do the touristy things a little - I want to see more ruins and a cave or two.  But I want to see how folks really live, go shopping at the market, check out the hardware store, etc. mayvbe meet up  with some Ex Pats there to get the good, the bad and the ugly about relocating.

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

Laurie and JP
The Cruisin Camper

For "darnpa"
Read your thread on Expat.forum "Accommodations and getting around while fact finding in Belize." My wife and I also are planning a trip to look over the country, maybe this summer, and am possibly considering retiring in Belize.  We're from Oklahoma and have two adopted grand daughters.  We were interested in how you planned your upcoming trip by renting houses in each of the planned cities in advance.  We would like to try and do the same and, as we are in the research and thinking stage at the moment, if you would not mind offering us some suggestions in how you made your arrangements and with whom, we would appreciate it.  Hope we are not asking too much, just trying to do this the right way with as much advance planning as possible.  Thanks, Mike

although rental cars are exsesive its a much better way to explore belize.you can go where you want when you want.the buses in belize are very crowded,the seats will all be full as well as people standing on every square inch of space on the bus.they are also hot and take alot of time out of your trip.a nice place to stay in santa elena which is right next to san ignacio is the aguada hotel,nice rooms with a/c and a nice pool.rooms start at around $45us.google them.

Everyone is ignoring a real jewel in Belize. Hopkins. It's a small village but special. Friendly people both local and expat, good restaurants and a range of accommadations. Everything from a backpackers hostel to 5 star resorts. Right now I'm sitting at Thongs Cafe, a great place for breakfast or lunch. This is my second trip to Belize and Hopkins and I'll be sad when I move on although I am eager to explore new places. I always have the knowledge that I will be back. There is only one real drawback to Hopkins and that is the lack of a bank machine. They put one in but it got damaged and they are not rushing to fix it. For banking you need to go to Dangriga.
For shorter trips such as Hopkins to Dangriga the buses are fine. They can be a bit challenging for longer distances. I would recommend travelling earlier in the day. I chose to use the puddle jumpers this year from Corozal to Dangriga and enjoyed it, particularly from Corazol to San Pedro where I was on a little 4 seater. I've heard renting a car is expensive. Not an option for me since I don't have a licence. Another option is motorbikes. For intown many ride bicycles. Not quite the mountain bikes back home but they get you around.
Belize is a wonderful country and I hope to buy a place here one day. I'm not quite at that stage yet. Too much to do on my Canadian home, which for sentemental reasons I do not want to give up. Also to much of the rest of the world left to explore before settling down.

msteiss wrote:

Everyone is ignoring a real jewel in Belize. Hopkins.

Hopkins is indeed a special place!  We spent 3 days there last summer and enjoyed it thoroughly.  I could not live there as it's very, very quiet, but as a place to rest and recharge, I found it perfect.

Hi Dan,
Re your wife not certain she wants to go at all...my husband had his mind set on retiring to Belize and I was not sure that was a good idea, either. After a day in Belize, I was hooked! I am sure your wife will absolutely love it there.

Regarding car rentals - they are expensive, but we found that Crystal is considerably less expensive that the others (we paid only $1600US for 23 days, whereas Budget was going to cost over $3000US). We have been renting cars when we go, as we like going out of the way places where the busses don't go. On our first trip, we took the bus everywhere, except for one day, when we rented a car and took our time exploring.

Have fun, both of you!!

MariLynne

For MPerry1946

Just wanted to touch base with fellow Okies!  We plan on spending 6mo/yr in Belize starting next Jan. No more Okla winters for me!  We are going down in June for a two week fact finding trip to narrow down our choices for our first winter. 
Will spend some time in Corozal ( top choice right now) and some on the cayes, prob Caye Caulker.  Let us know your plans! Would love to have some fellow Okies down there!

Christy and Paul

We were in Belize for 18 days last year and now checking out properties.  We flew down to Placencia, bus back up, ferry to Ambergris and rented a car to go to San Ignaciao.  We took the bus from Placencia to Belize City and it really was a fantastic drive.  So beautiful and diverse.  It was an old Blue Bird school bus and the driver had regae "Silvia's mother" blaring over and over again and everyone was signing.  Picked up anyone standing on the side of the road all the way to Belmopan.  We had 4 suitcases with us.  I got us on the wrong bus heading out of Belmopan and our suitcases were on another bus!  But no problem in Belize, our driver just laughed and said we were not the first ones, said our luggage would be on our original bus which was behind us and let us off on the next stop and flagged down the other bus for us.  Where else could that happen??  Nowhere I have been.  If you want to see our pics of our travels I can friend you on facebook and share.

  How wonderful....love the details.  You are so right, where else but Belize.  I cannot wait till I am there next month.  I appreciate you Ex-Pat's sharing and hope to one day return the favor. 

Geri