Boat / Ferry, Belize

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When it was time to leave Caye Caulker, heading for San Pedro on Ambergris Cay, I walked across the beach from our hotel to buy our water taxi tickets (US$10 each, credit cards accepted) for the 10 AM departure, giving us plenty of time to pack our backpacks for the short ride. It was not long before our departure time that we were standing at the end of the wharf with the other passengers waiting for the incoming craft. Upon boarding, the crew stowed the various backpacks under the seats and down a hatch inside the cabin while we grabbed a couple of seats just at the edge of the cabin in case it was a rough crossing. They have life-jackets aboard (check out the front window!) but none were required to be worn.

We were soon underway on what turned out to be a choppy sea, with the 3x200 HP outboard engines powering us along quite nicely. The 35 minute run to San Pedro stayed on the leeward-side of the coastal barrier reef to shelter us from the worst of the waves of the Caribbean Sea, so the ride was quite comfortable. As always on this vacation, the crossing time passed quickly as we compared notes with the other travellers and their adventures. The second photo shows a view from inside a second water taxi, three days later as we made another run all the way to Belize City - our island hopping days were over! The final photo shows the busy Water Taxi Terminal beside the yellow Swing Bridge in Belize City.

If you get the chance, be sure to take a water taxi ride at least once - they are fun, fast and cheap!

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Our Trek Stop accommodations, just outside the hamlet of San Jose de Succotz, was very conveniently located for visiting the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich - a short 15 minute walk along the main highway toward Guatemala brought us to this scenic ferry crossing. This hand-cranked affair crosses back and forth over the Mopan River, providing the only access to Xunantunich since this site was opened to the public in 1954. The single operator winches the the ferry back and forth for both cars and pedestrians as they turn up on one side of the river or the other (second photo).

I had a good talk with him as we crossed on our 8:30 AM walk to the ruins, and he pointed out a very large Green Iguana (they can reach 7-feet in length) to me, as it lay out over the river on a tree branch, warming up in the morning sunshine. Tourists taking kayak tours on the Mopan (and ourselves as well on our tubing ride) have to keep an eye out here as they pass the ferry but it is not difficult since the aerial cable used to winch the ferry is plenty high above the water level. I gave the ferry operator $BZ2 (US$1) for his efforts on our short crossings here.

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The water taxi from Belize City to Caye Caulker and San Pedro is quick and convenient. The fare is B$17 one way and B$34 return. The small power boats depart from the Marine Terminal in Belize City. The trip from Belize City to Caye Caulker takes 45 mins and to San Pedro it takes 1½ hours. Not all the seats are covered so you will need sun block.

Schedule:

Belize City - Caye Caulker & San Pedro 8 am -- 10:30 am -- 12 pm -- 1:30 pm -- 4.30 pm

San Pedro - Caye Caulker & Belize City 7 am -- 10:30 am -- 1 pm -- 2:30 pm -- 3:30 pm

From Placencia, there is a ferry directly to Honduras. The boat leaves Placencia, Belize every Friday at 9:30am, and returns from Honduras to Placencia, Belize on Monday. That is a direct connection across the Bay of Honduras, bypassing Puerto Barrios in Guatemala. It is about a 2-hour boat ride, give or take.

The fare is $50 US per person.

The Puerto Cortez (Honduras) ferry leaves every Saturday morning around 9, though probably later, from the docks at Dangriga. The ferry operators make smooth work of the passport control, for which you need to arive a tad early, though after the three hour ferry you are on your own to find the customs office in Puerto Cortez. Barter before making a deal with the money changers, they will offer bad rates at first. Also barter with the cabs that offer to take you to the customs house. It is not close to the port, so a cab is necessary, though you shouldn't pay more than 2 USD. The bus station is just around the corner from customs and there is an hourly service to San Pedro Sula, Ceiba, and other North Coast destinations.

Using ferries on the macal river is an experience, only because you seem to expect something diffirent, not the hand cranked ferry that they use.

Cars load themselves upon the unstable ferry as it moves from left to right as well as people jumping onto it trying to miss the large gap from road to ferry.

It is all still and quiet, apart from two men who hand crank the ferry across to the other side. From what I remember, there is no charge for this service and it is used all day every day.

Pour se rendre aux Cayes soit l'avion (20mn) soit le bateau. C'est un bateau rapide, ouvert où gens, bagages, et matieres premieres sont entassés et le tout à 35 noeuds sur une mer plate...Tres drole.Arret sur 2 iles, L'embarquement est plus que folklo...
Notre bateau s'appelait"Tsunami"...Brrrr

Two ways for going to the Cayes: the speedboat or th plane. We try both and it's so fine.
The boat sails between the islands , very quickly and stop in Caye Caulker before SanPedro. Getting on the boat is amazing, and funny...but it was called "Tsunami"...

If you ever plan to travel to Belize, and you are on a cruise ship, something you may not expect will happen. Evidently, the water from the Caribbean Sea and the shore of Belize is very shallow, so your ship will dock out in the middle of the sea, on the outskirts. Several tenders (boats) will pick passengers up from the ship and take them to shore. The tenders are very fast, so seasickness should not be a problem. Just be sure you make it back to the tender on time before the ship leaves........!