Travelling from Belize City to Caye Caulker or San Pedro by Water Taxi

In this short guide we’ll share how we travelled from Belize City to Caye Caulker and San Pedro via water taxi. If you’re currently planning your holiday to Belize, we hope this article shows you just how easy it is to get to these stunning islands in the Caribbean. It’ll also warn you about a few things, like why you might not want to sit on the top deck and why you may want to take some medication for motion sickness with you.

After spending a week going on crazy cave tours, driving along the country’s most scenic road and touring a few Maya ruins near San Ignacio, it was high time we visited the Cayes off the coast of Belize. ‘Go Slow’ is the motto on Caye Caulker, one of the most visited islands within the Cayes, and we definitely needed some of that after the week we’d had.

If you’d like to see what we got up to in Caye Caulker and San Pedro, make sure to watch our Belize Series on YouTube.

Belize City to Caye Caulker (or San Pedro) by Water Taxi

San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi is the company to use when traveling between mainland Belize and Caye Caulker or San Pedro.

Now, when you check the reviews on Google, you’ll see quite a few 1-star ratings. People like to express the negative experiences they’ve had with the company, including delays, forgotten or lost luggage, long wait times; the list goes on. Luckily, apart from some minor delays, we didn’t have any issues with San Pedro Belize Express. We’ll give you some of our top tips for having a better experience further down the article. Although, don’t forget that you’re travelling in Central America, where journey’s can always end up being more adventurous than you expect.

How to Get to the Ferry Terminal in Belize City

The ferry terminal is located here in Belize City.

From Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) just take a taxi to the ferry terminal, which should cost around $30USD. It takes a good 30 minutes to get there depending on the traffic.

From Belize City we also suggest getting a taxi to the ferry terminal from your hotel. Unless you’re within walkable distance. The taxi will be around $10-15USD depending on how far you have to travel.

We actually arrived to the ferry terminal from San Ignacio. We booked a tourist shuttle which took us directly to the ferry terminal. The shuttles usually cost around $20-25USD to Belize City. We also bought a one-way ferry ticket with the tour company, although in hindsight it would’ve been slightly cheaper to buy a return ticket than 2 one-way journey’s.

Taking the local bus from San Ignacio (Westline) might be slightly cheaper, but it’ll most certainly take longer. Plus, from the bus terminal in Belize City you’d still need to take a taxi to the ferry terminal.

Cost of the Water Taxi to Caye Caulker and San Pedro

The below table summarises the cost of the water taxi, depending on where you’re travelling to. Please see up-to-date prices on the official website.

Route	Cost (One-Way)	Cost (Return)
Belize City – Caye Caulker	$21 USD	$37 USD
Belize City – San Pedro	$31 USD	$57 USD
Caye Caulker – San Pedro	$21 USD	$37 USD

You can buy an open return ticket which should be valid for 3 months.

Once you’ve purchased your ticket you’ll need to check-in. They’ll tell you which gate the boat will leave from and what time they’ll start boarding.

Water Taxi Departure Times

Below we’ve summarised the departure times of the water-taxi depending on where you’re travelling from.

Belize City – Caye Caulker & San Pedro	Caye Caulker – San Pedro	San Pedro – Caye Caulker & Belize City	Caye Caulker – Belize City
08:00 AM	07:00 AM	06:00 AM	06:30 AM
09:00 AM	08:45 AM	07:00 AM	07:30 AM
10:30 AM	09:45 AM	08:30 AM	09:00 AM
12:00 PM	11:15 AM	10:00 AM	10:30 AM
01:30 PM	12:45 PM	11:30 AM	12:00 PM
03:00 PM	02:15 PM	01:00 PM	01:30 PM
04:30 PM	03:45 PM	03:00 PM	03:30 PM
05:30 PM	05:15 PM	04:30 PM	05:00 PM
	06:15 PM

Approximate Journey Time:

• From Belize City to Caye Caulker is around 45 minutes.
• From Belize City to San Pedro is around 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• From Caye Caulker to San Pedro is around 30 minutes.

Our Tips on Riding the Water Taxi from Belize City to Caye Caulker or San Pedro

We took the water taxi four times during our stay. So below we’ll give you some very useful tips to make your journey more comfortable. Trust us, you want to learn from our mistakes!

The Water Taxi Isn’t Just for Tourists

Even if you’ve booked an all-inclusive stay at a nice resort but have decided to get there with a water-taxi, you’ll be sharing it with locals and other travellers. The ferry is also used to take cargo to the islands. So, don’t be surprised when the boat is almost always full and most often delayed, as they have to load and unload cargo as well as people.

Take it as part of the experience! You get to see how a lot of the produce you’ll consume on the island actually gets there.

Don’t Forget to Check-in Before Boarding

Just like with a flight, even if you have a ticket, you’ll still need to check-in at one of the counters before boarding the ferry. One of the reasons for this is because you can buy an open return ticket, which is valid for 3 months after purchasing. So, you’ll have to validate it for the day and time of your travel before you can board. If you don’t do that, then they’ll send you to the office to do so and you’ll have to re-join boarding at the back of the queue. The ticket will be checked once again as you board.

If you travel with more than just hand-luggage you’ll need to check that in too. They usually do that in a separate area. Tell the staff your final destination and they’ll give you a ticket. Keep hold of this, as you’ll need to show it when you get off the boat to collect your luggage.

Don’t put anything fragile in your luggage and keep all your important things with you on the boat.

Start Queueing Early

Every time we travelled on the water taxi, it was packed! So, if you’re travelling in the high season, we suggest starting to queue early for two reasons. First, you want to actually get on the boat. Some reviews we read said that they weren’t allowed to board because the boat was already full. This thankfully didn’t happen to us, but it’s a good reason to be early in our opinion.

Secondly, you want to get a good seat for a few reasons.

You probably don’t want to end up sitting sideways close to the windows. On our way to San Pedro, we sat sideways next to the ‘door’ where people get on and off. Needless to say that the plastic shield doesn’t do a very good job at keeping the water out, which resulted in us getting a wee-bit wet from the spray.

Avoid Getting Seasick

We definitely underestimated just how choppy the water taxi between Belize City and Caye Caulker would be. It was a bigger boat, so we didn’t think that it would be as bumpy as the tiny lanchas we took to get around Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, where I thought that my tailbone would snap many times due to the waves. Plus, we had a smooth sailing when going between Cancun and Isla Mujeres in Mexico, just to the north of Belize.

Apparently, even though it is a bigger boat, the ride can still be choppy depending on the weather conditions. Although we don’t get motion or seasick very easily, being on a choppy boat for nearly 2 hours took its toll on us.

So, if you suffer from motion sickness or get seasick easily, take some medication before you set off. Try to also sit in the middle or back of the boat, where you usually feel the bumps less.

Avoid Sitting on the Top Deck (If You Can..)

Initially it seemed like a great idea to enjoy the sea-breeze whilst riding between Caye Caulker and San Pedro. In reality, it was one of the worst boat rides we’ve done. This includes getting absolutely drenched during a 45-minute downpour when riding in a canoe to reach our accommodation in the Amazon Jungle in Ecuador.

It should’ve been a sign when we couldn’t see the boat driver’s face as we sat down because it was completely bundled up in a balaclava and sunglasses. This is to protect them against the blasting wind once the boat gets up to full speed, which we unfortunately experienced for half an hour straight. At the end of the journey, my face was just as numb as it is after getting anesthesia at the dentist. We’re just happy that we didn’t sit up there during the Belize City to San Pedro journey!

So, avoid sitting up top altogether if you can. And if you must, have a hair-tie at least and take your hat off before the wind sweeps it away.

Expect Delays

I believe that expecting delays from your water taxi ride will save you some frustration. You may or may not leave the port on time, so you’ll potentially be delayed before you even start sailing.

Then of course you’ll have to wait after getting off the ferry in Caye Caulker to collect your checked-in luggage, which can take some time. If you’re riding the ferry all the way to San Pedro, you’ll have to wait for everyone to get off, new people to board, and luggage and cargo to be moved on and off the boat in Caye Caulker before you continue on.

It was kind of interesting to see how many of the products that you’ll buy in the shops and restaurants get to the island. Which is also the reason why everything will be much more expensive there than in mainland Belize.

Final Thoughts on Taking the Water Taxi in Belize

Overall, we had mixed experiences when traveling between Belize City and the Cayes via water taxi. Getting wet and being blasted by the wind wasn’t super fun, but the scenery and color of the water get more and more beautiful as you travel out to the Cayes. If you take our advice about where to sit and expect a few delays though, you should have a pretty pleasant experience.

Due to these potential delays, our main suggestion is to book a later ferry to travel to Caye Caulker if you’re arriving from further afield than Belize City. Also, try to be on an earlier water taxi on the way back if you’re catching an international flight from Belize City.