The official motto of Caye Caulker, Belize, is “Go Slow” and that motto certainly is fitting. With bikes and golf carts being the only means of transportation, going fast really isn’t an option. But more than that, the relaxed vibe of Caye Caulker really earns this name. With laid back beach bars, outdoor kitchens, and small hotels the hometown vibe of Caye Caulker is a great vacation destination for backpackers, expats and people just looking to “Go Slow”. However, if going slow isn’t in your wheelhouse, here is a list of fun things to do in Caye Caulker (“key corker”) to fill your time.
Snorkle Hol Chan Reserve and Shark Ray Alley
Time: 5 hours | Cost: $90/person
There are plenty of tour operators that will take you from Caye Caulker to the nearby Hol Chan Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. It is one of the best things to do on Caye Caulker and in Belize! On a tour you’ll see nurse sharks, barracuda, eels, rays, parrotfish and more!
We used Reef Friendly Tours guided by Amado. We were wildly impressed with Amado and his reef conscious behavior. Some tour operators feed the nurse sharks in Shark Ray Alley, which teaches them unnatural feeding habits. However, ecologically friendly tours do not participate in this antiquated practice.
Whatever tour you choose, you’ll most likely start at Shark Ray Alley. Because of years of tour companies feeding sharks here, nurse sharks with swam your boat when you arrive. Don’t worry, they generally don’t bite. Once the swarm dissipates, you’ll be able to hop into the water with your snorkel gear. At the Shark Ray Alley stop, you’ll see plenty of nurse sharks and several types of rays.
Next, your tour will likely visit the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. This is a protected area and admission is required. Make sure that your snorkel tour includes the price of admission into the reserve. At Hol Chan, you’ll get to snorkel at a shallow spot of the barrier reef that runs along the coast of Belize. Here you’ll see plenty of reef life, including fish and coral.
Additionally, some tours will take you to other snorkel sites like shipwrecks and other shallow reef sections. Some tours, like ours, may also be on the lookout for manatees and make extra stops to allow you to swim with manatees.
A majority of these tours, including ours, will have you back on land for a late lunch.
Scuba Dive the Second Largest Barrier Reef
Time: 5-8 hours | Cost: $130+/person
Belize is one of the top destinations in the world for scuba diving. This is because along the edge of the country runs the second largest Barrier Reef in the world (second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia). And Caye Caulker is right next to this reef making it a popular vacation destination for scuba divers.
Tour companies on Caye Caulker will take you to one of many nearby dive sites, including the Blue Hole. We dove the Esmerelda Reef with Scuba Sensations. They took us on a great underwater tour and Walter was a really safe dive master.
Visit the Blue Hole
Time: varies | Cost: varies
Whether you do a flyover or scuba dive, experiencing The Blue Hole is something that you can only do in Caye Caulker.
The Blue Hole is a giant circular formation 1,000 feet across and 400 feet deep. It is massive. The formation was likely a cave that was created on land before the ocean eventually overtook it.
Scuba dive tours depart from Caye Caulker every few days so make sure to book your tours ahead of time to ensure a spot. Only a few scuba outfitters take full-day tours to the Blue Hole. Flyover tours depart daily out of the Caye Caulker airport and last about 30 minutes.
Eat Grilled Lobster
Time: 1 hour | Cost: $15-25 USD
Lobster season runs from June through February and if you visit during this time, you NEED to try some. You’ll see grills running along the main road with delicious smoky smells wafting your way. They drew us in on our first night and of course we went back for more lobster on our second night. They grill the lobster up, generally with garlic and butter. It’s simple but, wow, is it good.
Also, it’s so cheap! A medium sized lobster costs $15 USD with sides. (PS: you order your lobster based on size, small, medium and large) Lobster is commonly served with coconut rice and veggies or slaw. However, you may be a little thrown off by the fact that a majority of restaurants serving this fancy fare actually have dirt floors. And since the restaurants are all open air and don’t have doors, occasionally dogs wander in for floor scraps.
Visit The Split
Time: 30 minutes | Cost: FREE
Caye Caulker was once was one island. Now it is two. A hurricane blew right through the island creating a small channel in the middle of the island called The Split. Some say locals helped to dredge the channel out so boats could drive through it. There are two very popular beach bars here along with other fun shops and snack shacks. It’s also a very popular spot to go swimming as it’s one of the few spots on the island with a sandy beach area.
Drink At A Beach Bar
Time: As long as you want | Cost: $3-7 for most drinks
You’d be hard pressed to visit Caye Caulker and not visit a beach bar. A majority of restaurants are also bars. And a majority of these are on the beach. However, there are two very popular beach bars on the north side of the main island that are something special. The Lazy Lizard and Sip N’ Dip are very close to the Split and are known for their happy hour specials and their amazing in-water seating. Drinks during happy hour are generally under $5 USD.
After happy hour, the majority of the island seems to have dinner before making their way to The Sports Bar for after dinner drink specials and activities like karaoke and trivia. If you’re looking for a hopping night scene, you probably won’t find it on Caye Caulker, it’s more of a day drinking island.
See the Sunrise and Set
Time: 15 minutes | Cost: FREE
Caye Caulker is a very small island with very large east and west facing edges. This makes it the perfect place to watch the sun rise and set all in one day. There are some great small beaches and docks on the east side for watching the sunrise. At night, consider checking out one of the restaurants on the west side of the island or just walk along the western road as the sun sets.
Visit The North Island
Time: 1.5 hours | Cost: $2.50 USD/person
Ride you bike around the northern island. First, you’ll have to take the ferry across the split. This ferry costs $2.50 USD for a one way ticket which allows you to bring your bike. Once there, you can ride around on your bike and explore the wilder island. There also is the Koko King resort on the north island which is a popular resort and a great place to grab a drink after your done exploring the island.
Get On the Water
Time: A few hours-A full day | Cost: varies
Explore the waters around Caye Caulker via boat or kayak.
You’ll find kayak rentals around the island near the beaches or some may be included in your accommodations. You can take yourself out and explore the beautiful blue waters.
If you’d like a guided tour, Ragamuffin runs sailing tours daily. The sunset cruise is their most popular option. Tours last two hours or more and generally include snacks and drinks.
When to Visit Caye Caulker
The best time to visit Caye Caulker is from January through March. November through May is still very pleasant. This is generally the dry season and the weather is pleasant and the skies are clear. This is the tourist season and the prices will be raised to reflect that. However, Caye Caulker is an island that takes time and money to get to. This combined with the limited number of places to stay and Caye Caulker is one of the few places that never really gets “busy”, even during peak tourism season.
You can visit year round, but if you visit during the offseason, you’ll be visiting during the wet season. And don’t be deterred by the wet season. While it rains pretty much every day, the rain generally only lasts for a few hours. So if you don’t mind getting wet, visiting in the off season can help you save money.
Getting To Caye Caulker and Around
The “Go Slow” motto of Caye Caulker is everywhere, it’s on signs, shirts, backs of golf carts and in the mouth of the people. And it really applies to transportation.
The only international airport in Belize is just outside of Belize City, so you’ll most likely land there and then have to make your journey to Caye Caulker.
You can fly or boat there. You can take a small plane from the international airport. However, this is pricy at around $135/person. This flight is about 20 minutes long. Alternatively, you can take the ferry from Belize City. The ferry costs $37 USD/person for a round trip ticket. The ferry ride takes about 45 minutes. However, we really enjoyed the ferry ride. It gave us a chance to see the islands and enjoy the sea breeze.
Once you’re on the island, there are no cars. So you’ll have to use your feet, bicycles, or golf carts to get around. You can rent bikes or golf carts in town. You can also take taxi golf carts around the island. They cost $2.50 USD/person for a ride anywhere on the island.
Where To Stay On Caye Caulker
If you are looking for a luxury resort, you should probably visit Ambergris Caye instead of Caye Caulker. Ambergris Caye is much more commercialized and westernized.
Caye Caulker has that laid-back, relaxed vibe in its accommodations. There are backpacker hotels, small inns, boutique hotels and cottages. All of which are small and local. And since Caye Caulker is small, location doesn’t really matter. So pick a place to stay based on your budget and everything else should work out.
Additional perks may be something that will help you choose a place to stay. You may want to keep an eye out for a bike or golf cart included in your accommodations. Lots of places to rent come with free bikes or golf carts that will help you to get around the island. Other rentals may include things like kayaks or paddle boards, especially if they are on the waterfront.
What to Budget
So Belize is, generally speaking, super cheap. Food and hotels are amazingly inexpensive for what you get. However, Caye Caulker’s motto is go slow. And going slow really isn’t in our vacation vocabulary. So we ended up paying to do lots of things on this list. And all of the adventurous things on this list cost money. So our two days and two nights on Caye Caulker did end up costing us $1260 USD for two people.
First, our cottage that we rented cost $170/night USD. Of all of the places in Belize we stayed, Caye Caulker was the most expensive because there just weren’t as many options to choose from, it being an island and all. However, we think $170 was a steal for the island cottage with swimming pool that we got! This was a mid-range level accommodation.
Our food cost around $200 for two lunches and two dinners. We packed oatmeal and cereal for breakfast and ate in our cottage. I also feel necessary to point out that we ate 2 lobster dinners. So $200 is way more than you need to budget. But also, $25 giant lobster dinners are something you may want to splurge for as it’s cheaper and tastier lobster than you’re likely to get elsewhere. We definitely ate on the expensive side #noregerts.
Our activities are what really broke the bank in Caye Caulker. We spent $500 USD to go scuba diving and $180 USD to go snorkeling. If your idea of fun is just sitting by the water and relaxing, you could eliminate this from your budget. However, don’t think you’ll find a cheaper option for these tours. Most tours are price fixed throughout the island; all of the tour guides have gotten together and decided upon a price to charge for similar services. So while you may find variations of $10 USD or so, you won’t find a super discount with any reliable tour guide.
What to Pack
As you’ll likely take a dip in the water, make sure to pack a quick dry towel. We love our camping towels as they dry really quickly so you can use them multiple times a day.
You’ll also need some reef-safe sunscreen to lather up in daily. If you do a snorkeling tour, make sure to add sunscreen mid-way through as the combination of sun and water will give you a good burn.
Water on Caye Caulker is undrinkable. All water has to be purchased and shipped in. To save money on water, make sure to bring a water bottle or a hydration pack. Most accommodations will provide you with drinking water so fill up at your hotel and then you won’t have to purchase water throughout the day.
If you do plan to do a snorkeling or scuba diving adventure, make sure to pack you GoPro, with special diving case if you’re scuba diving. We got some amazing picture of our underwater adventures in the crystal clear waters.
Safety On Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker feels like a super safe place. Partly because it’s an island so where could someone run to if they did commit a crime? And partly because it’s a close knit community, where everyone seems to know everyone. Within a day we had made friends and people recognized us. Having a tight community like that really makes a feel safe and welcome.
However, poverty does seem to cause some petty theft. And we were also offered drugs so presumably drug use is common. But we will say that the nice entrepreneurial man who offered us drugs wasn’t pushy and didn’t make us feel unsafe – friendliest drug dealer we’ve ever met.
Overall, Caye Caulker was the ideal beachside vacation destination. There was plenty to do but nothing that needed to be done. It was the perfect place. We hope you enjoy your time there as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
