This year we wanted to stay on Caye Caulker for a few days to really get a feel for the place. We’d day tripped to the tiny island from Ambergris Caye last year and loved it but wondered if it was too small to entertain us for an extended time (we’re looking for potential places to live after all). Would we get bored? Is there enough to do on such a small swath of land? We were going to find out but first we had to get there from the mainland.
Obviously, time is your most valuable commodity when you only have about 10 days to explore a country so we once again splurged on Tropic Air flights to the island instead of traveling back to Belize City and getting a water taxi. Tropic Air and Maya Island Air are the two small carriers in the country and will get you pretty much anywhere you want to go in the country or even to Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras. Their flights are easy and frequent albeit a bit expensive. A short 17 minute flight from Caulker to San Pedro runs around 50 USD per person one way. Our flight from Dangriga to Caulker was just over 90 USD per person one way. This was for a 30 minute flight, a brief layover at the Municipal airport and then a 10 minute flight to our final destination, Caulker. A quick Google search can net you a 10% discount on your Tropic Air flights if you can find that month’s promotional code. I went to San Pedro blogger Tacogirl’s site.
But first we had to get to the airport from Hopkins Village.
So from Hopkins we took a cab to the Dangriga Airport; and we highly recommend Elwin for this short trip. Our host Rita at Hopkins Inn made the arrangement for us.
His van is nice (we came into Hopkins in a junker with a severely busted windshield and that sat so low to the ground we bottomed out in nearly every pothole) and he’s a lovely Garifuna man that will tell you about his family and how much he loves his beautiful Mayan wife (they were celebrating their 25 wedding anniversary the day we met). Elvin is a character and will make you smile, he might also make a pit stop at the bridge were the fishing boats come in and make you wait while he negotiates for a good price on Kingfish. But he still got us to the airport on time.
Once at the airport you’ll check in and get a cardboard boarding pass for your 30 minute flight to the cayes.
Probably the best part of flying via Tropic Air is the amazing view you’re treated to while flying.
Once we arrived in Caulker we got a $7bzd golf cart taxi ride to our lodging at Costa Maya Beach Cabanas.
We chose Costa Maya mostly because it’s one of the only places on the island that has a website and this being our first time staying in Caulker, we wanted firm lodging reservations ahead on time. We realize now that this is completely unnecessary and you can probably find much better deals just walking around town and inquiring at places; and there are PLENTY of places to stay on the island from hostels to boutique hotels to yoga resorts to guest houses.
But for 90 USD a night, were plenty happy with our choice.
It’s on the main road (Playa Asuncion?) but down near the end of town, two blocks from the Split.
I also liked that our room at Costa Maya had a private balcony with a great view and a decent kitchen with a full sized refrigerator.
Bring some coffee and filters from home and pick up some water (and beer or ingredients for cocktails)and snacks at a grocery to make your own sunrise and sunset refreshments to save money.
Costa Maya also has bicycles for guests to borrow for free- a great little perk since we would have paid to rent them. The last thing I’ll mention loving about Costa Maya is their rooftop deck; it’s the tallest on the island and is the best spot for a birds-eye view of the Split or sunset drinks in a hammock. We took so many pictures from up there.
Have a wonderful time…love the pictures.
Thanks for reading! We had great time all throughout Belize!