Caye Caulker, a tropical island paradise in Belize is a must visit on a trip across Central America. This ultimate guide will explore what to do, where to stay and more top tips.
Where to stay in Caye Caulker
There are a number of hotels in Caye Caulker but if you’re backpacking your best bet is to stay at Bella’s Backpackers Hostel. As per usual, I booked through Booking.com
The island is small and you can walk around the whole place easily.
Where to eat in Caye Caulker
Ice and Beans is a great spot for a morning coffee and bagel.
Pelican’s Sunset Bar has a great happy hour and also serves excellent lobster at a fair price with sunset views being the cherry on top
Errolyn’s House of Fryjacks was a great find on my last morning. Tasty fried crispy bread with bacon and cheese was the perfect cheap breakfast and oh so delicious.
What to do in Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker is the gateway to the Belize Barrier Reef, the second largest reef in the world (first is Australia).
There are lots of tours to this reef that include the Hot Chan Reserve where you can swim with sharks and manatees.
The Belize Barrier Reef is famous for its blue hole. If you want to scuba dive, you will need to be advanced certified. If you want the best view, you can book a scenic flight with Fly Maya or Tropic Air both with similar prices and reputations.
Now, I didn’t do the flight or the snorkelling as there was a horrendous storm the 4 days I visited meaning all tours were cancelled. This is the risk you take visiting anywhere tropical.
If this happens to you, I advise getting a bottle from the liquor store and spending the day on a hammock (which I did on day 1). By day 2 when there were a few hours of respite from the rain we all headed down to The Split. Which is a bar and a great swim spot (you don’t have to go to the bar to visit the bar which is called the Lazy Lizard).
But if you do go to the bar, I recommend a Lazy Lizard alcoholic slushy and the nachos!
You can also go to the Iguana Reef Inn at 4pm and feed sting rays for free which was amazing.
So overall, my trip was a wash-out but I’m still glad I went and all the more reason to go back.