A

bout ...Belize

Belize lies on the eastern or Caribbean coast of Central America, bounded on the north and part of the west by Mexico, and on the south and the remainder of the west by Guatemala. The inner coastal waters are shallow and are sheltered by a line of coral reefs, dotted with islets called 'cayes', extending almost the entire length of the country.  We especially enjoyed Caye Caulker, Placencia & Tobacco Caye.

CHECK IN-CHECK OUT PROCEDURES

The Belize Tourist Dept website says this about fees:  No entry fee for up to 30 days.  Departure by boat from Punta Gorda, Dangriga or San Pedro there is a conservation fee of $3.75 US.  This is supposedly the only fee.

02/07:  Checked into Belize at Big Creek (no fees, unless they decide to board you and then there is a $25 US boarding fee) and out of San Pedro (paid $3.50 US per person).

06/01/06 - Checked into Belize in San Pedro for 30 days.  No fees.  Visit Immigration first with your passports, zarpe from last port and crew list from last port.  Next door to Immigration is the Customs office.  They need your passports, zarpe from last port and crew list from last port.  They have you complete forms stating quantity of cigarettes, liquor, food on board, etc.  

06/19/06 - Checked out of Belize at Big Creek.  Did not have to take boat over.  Took the water taxi from Placencia to Big Creek.  Checked out at customs.   Then took a taxi into Mango to immigration where they charged us $7.50 BZ ($3.75 US) per person to check out. 

In San Pedro, Customs & Immigration are right next door to each other. 

There is a lot of talk about fees in all the parks now.  There is some info on the NW Caribbean website that discusses these fees.

CRUISER'S NET

If you have an SSB, 6209, with an alternate of 6212, at 1400z (8:00 am central time) is the NW Caribbean Net.  They keep track of cruisers under sail and share information about weather, conditions, etc.  There is no organized VHF net.

INFO ON CAYE CAULKER

The anchorage at Cay Caulker is very nice.  It's a grassy bottom, but we were able to find a sandy spot to set the anchor.  We went thru several blows and never had a problem.  There are dive boats, etc. that race by and kick up a wake now and then.  The dinghy dock is easy to spot.  It's a short walk up the dirt road into town.

Fuel & Water:  You can procure diesel & water from Pelican Point Marina.  They monitor channel 16.  Contacts are Liz Ross or Danny Wooldridge.  Phone #'s:  Marina phone 220-4210; Liz's cell:  670-4021; Danny's cell:  610-4021.

Groceries:  The main grocery is Chan's (just a short walk up the road from the dinghy dock).  There was no fresh meat, but several freezers with pork, chicken & beef.  The vegetable selection is limited.  Canned goods are pricey.   There is a fisherman's co-op right next to the dinghy dock.  There is a bakery just down the street from Chan's that makes wonderful bread.  There is a tortillaria in town if you want Mexican corn tortillas ... just ask a local for directions.

Restaurants:  We didn't eat out very much in Caye Caulker so our restaurant review is limited until we return in May 2006. 

• Herbal Tribe:  We ate grilled chicken here.  The food is mediocre and the service gives a new meaning to the word slow.
• Rasta Pasta:  Good lobster burrito, reasonably priced.  Service was good.  The burrito was large enough for two.
• Street vendors:  We were here during Lobster Fest and there were plenty of locals dishing up their specialties from booths.  We ate lobster, but found it to be a bit tough so we stuck with the chicken which was good.

Favorite Haunts:

• The Lazy Lizard Bar:  Bar located on the tip of the island by the cut.  Can swim, snorkel, eat & drink here.  We did everything but eat.  Fun place.
• Oceanside Bar:  The band wasn't really that good, but there's a dance floor & we enjoyed it.

Our favorite activity here was just walking around the streets of town.  There are lots of interesting people & sites.

INFO ON PLACENCIA

We anchored between Placencia and Placencia Cay.  A large portion of the anchorage is taken up by the charter company The Moorings .  The center of the anchorage is around 20' which is too deep for us.  We pulled in fairly close to Placencia Cay and found water around 8' which works for us.  The dinghy dock is easy to spot from the anchorage, just look for the gas pumps.

When a big west wind came thru we moved to the north end of the peninsula and we were quite comfortable.  After the winds turned back to the east we moved back to the anchorage.

Groceries:  There are several grocery stores in Placencia.  We shopped mainly at Wallens.  No fresh meat, but a freezer with chicken, pork & beef.  Vegetables are re-stocked once a week and you'd better be there on those days as they go fast.  Big restocking day is Saturday at 4:00 pm.  There is a new veggie store called Veronia's along the main road.  The fish co-op is very good here.  You can get lobster, fish, conch (in season) at reasonable prices (prices have gone up quite a bit in 2007).  You can buy fresh bread from John the Bakerman located along the sand path.

Restaurants:

• de Thatch:  Good lobster fritters, reasonably priced rum punch & try the fry jack for breakfast ... yum.  It's on the beach so there's a nice view too.
• Wendy's:  Okay breakfast.  Thane got pancakes for $6.00 BZ ... 3 pancakes and that's it ... that's $1 US per pancake!
• Purple Space Monkey:  It's back.  It burned to the ground in 2005, but was rebuilt when we came thru in 2007.

Favorite Haunts:

• Pickled Parrot:  They serve food here too, but we never ate, only had our afternoon cocktails.  Almost everyday around 3:00 we stopped by and had a rum drink or two while we watched people stroll by on the sand pathway. 
• Tipsy Tuna & Barefoot Bar:  Tipsy Tuna has the all important sports TV thing going.  The Barefoot Bar is in the same location just outside the Tipsy Tuna's door.  On Sunday night they have a band and most of the town can be found there dancing up a storm. 

PARK REGULATIONS

Here are some new rules and regulations for the Sapodillas.

General Park Rules

• To commercial fish you need a valid Belize Fisher Folk license from the Belize Fisheries Department.

• No use of long-lines, spear gun or gill net in the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve.

• No use of Scuba gear to fish.

• No casting or dragging of any anchor in the manner which may damage corals.

• All Scuba divers shall register with the Reserve manager prior to diving.

• All dive boats shall fly the “divers down flag” when divers are in the water.

• Only certified Scuba divers, or divers undergoing training course conducted by a recognized instructor shall be allowed to use Scuba equipment in the whole of the reserve.

• Dive guides shall be required to explain the rules of the Reserve to divers within the reserve.

• For Scuba tours a maximum of eight divers per licensed dive master will be permitted.

• For snorkel tours a maximum of eight snorkelers per licensed tour guide will be permitted.

• No harassing of any fauna shall occur within the Reserve.

• No person shall engage in water skiing orjet skiing in the Reserve.

• Any person who is desirous of conducting recreational fishing within the Reserve shall check with the Reserve manager.

• When recreational fishing, an individual shall be allowed a bag limit of three fishes only.

• All tour guides will need to have a valid tour guide license issued by the Belize Tourism Board and must be worn where visible while doing tour within the Reserve.

• Any person in an accident which involves personal injury or damage to property or the environment within the Reserve shall report such accident to the person in charge of the Reserve or to any officer of the Reserve or the Fisheries administrator as soon as possible or at least twelve (12) hours of the occurent of the accident.

• The Government shall not be liable for any personal injury or damage to property occurring within the Reserve.

• The Reserve office shall be open daily to the public between the hours of eight a.m. to five (5) p.m. However, there is always the presence of an officer at the base at all times.

• An admission fee of $10 U.S. per person per day or $25 U.S. per person for three (3) to ten (10) days shall be paid to the Reserve upon entering the Reserve. No fee shall be paid by children below eleven (11) years of age.

• No person shall remove or have in his possession any flora or fauna within the Reserve.

• No person shall deposit any material in or on the waters of the Reserve.

• No person shall deface or tamper with any signs, bouys or notices installed in the Reserve.

• All commercial, recreational, subsistence and sports fishermen shall render the weight of fish caught within the Reserve to the Fisheries officer upon request.

• No person shall have in his possession lobster during the lobster’s closed season which begins Feb. 14 of each year and ends June 14 of the same year.

• No person shall have in his possession conch during the conch’s closed season which begins June 30 of each year and ends on September 30 of the same year.

• No person shall have in his possession Nassau groupers during the Nassau grouper’s closed season which begins on December 1 of each year and ends March 31 of the following year.

• Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of the regulations commits an offence and shall be liable on summary convictions to a fine and/or confinement.

• Any person who damages corals will pay a fine not exceeding $25,000 Bze. And a penalty based on damage assessment not exceeding Twenty five million dollars.

Take a photo tour of Belize:  Heart of Gold's Belizian Adventure 

Visit our ship's logs:  We were in Belize in 2004, 2005 & 2007.

Back to top...