enjoying a meal in Placencia – Belize

Costs of Budget Travel in Belize in 2016

Belize is considered an expensive travel destination. In fact, it’s said to be one of the most expensive countries in Central America.

As a result, most budget travelers pass through Belize very quickly en route to Mexico to the north or Guatemala to the south. Some backpackers fit in a week to stop briefly at one or two of the country’s most famous places. Other travelers literally just bus through Belize between Mexico and Guatemala or skip the country altogether.

Even several well-seasoned travel bloggers who have visited Belize briefly in recent years attest to the high costs and chose to spend only a few days or one short week in the country.

palapas in sea at The Split – Caye Caulker

There certainly is some justification for Belize’s expensive reputation. The country’s tourism board promotes Belize primarily to Americans and Canadians as a luxury travel destination full of 5-star resorts and jungle lodges, costly dive trips, deep-sea fishing expeditions and expensive tours to Mayan ruins, large cave systems and outdoor jungle adventures.

Huge cruise ships also call on Belize City to disgorge massive groups of passengers off to said tours.

And it is true that all those outdoor adventure options, day tours and dive/snorkeling trips are very costly in Belize. Prices are on par with costs in the US. Luxury travel and tours are a huge part of the Belize tourist scene.

Despite all that it’s still also quite easy to explore Belize on a backpacker’s budget. While Belize is certainly more expensive than neighboring Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, it’s not nearly as expensive as most sources would have budget travelers believe.

Sittee River near Hopkins – Belize

I know because I’ve been exploring Belize for one whole month. During that time I’ve seen half the country and visited several of the most famous/best destinations. I’ve lounged on gorgeous beaches in three major destinations, stayed on Belize’s most famous island for three weeks (Caye Caulker), camped and hiked in interior jungles and visited towns close to the Guatemalan border.

I’ve slept in hostels, private rooms at small guest houses and in a tent. I’ve eaten a great variety of tasty local foods. I’ve taken many local buses, hitch-hiked, ridden bicycles and caught the ferry to/from Caye Caulker.

In short, I’ve been traveling the same way in Belize that I do in other countries. Yes, it’s a bit more expensive. But it’s still much cheaper than the US, Europe, UK, Australia or New Zealand. It’s also much less expensive than Singapore, SE Asia’s most expensive country.

pretty golden beach at Hopkins – Belize

So how much does Belize cost on a tight budget?

In short, traveling in Belize has cost me an average of just under $30 US per day. To be exact, $29.63 US / $59.27 BZ per day, inclusive. That means all my rooms, food, transportation, entertainment and miscellaneous expenses. That’s not so expensive, right?

Quite happily, that’s exactly what I had estimated my costs would be after researching Belize online and in LP guidebook. When I first started researching I was under the impression, like everyone else, that it’s an expensive country. I wondered if I could even manage to explore for one week en route between Guatemala and Mexico.

So I was quite surprised to find rather low rates for hostel beds at most major places in Belize. I’m talking $10=12 US a night. That’s not so bad! A dorm bed in Singapore costs $25 US or more, and I’ve done that several times. I also found many places in Belize offer camping for just $10-20 BZ / $5-10 US.

Belize public bus

I further discovered that buses in Belize are extremely inexpensive. Distances are also very short since Belize is a tiny country. Even prices for ferries to/from the major islands are on par with ferry prices in Thailand.

Food seemed to be on the expensive side, but I could only find prices for tourist restaurants, which are expensive in every country. I figured Belize must have street stalls and small local restaurants with much lower prices.

Based on my research, I budgeted $30 US per day and hoped for the best. As already noted, my estimate was spot on.

colorful seaside wooden cabins at Caye Caulker – Belize

My research experience just goes to show that anyone can easily find cheap budget accommodation in Belize online as well as information about buses, ferries, meals, destinations and activities. That’s exactly how I discovered that Belize is not so awfully expensive after all, despite all the hype.

You might have already noted that $30 US per day works out to $900 US per month. That’s well under the benchmark $1000 US per month that often distinguishes budget travel countries. And I suspect it’s well within the means of all but the most shoe-string budget travelers. Those who do consider that a bit pricey could always visit Belize for 1-2 weeks rather than a full month.

After all, Belize has great seaside beach destinations, tropical islands surrounded by stunning aquamarine Caribbean Seas, jungles, caves, rivers and waterfalls, small quaint towns, mangrove forests and estuaries and fantastic weather.

pier at sunrise – Caye Caulker

The national language is English, which makes Belize an easy and comfortable country for English speakers and most Europeans to get around. It’s relatively clean and safe. People are friendly without being over bearing. In short, Belize is a great place to visit.

I highly recommend Belize to any budget travelers who love the great outdoors, particularly the tropics.

So, to help all you budget travelers out there, I’m now going to dig into the costs in more detail.

Following is the breakdown of costs for accommodation, meals, transportation and other miscellaneous expenses. I’ve detailed exactly what I paid for everything and tell you what you should expect to pay/budget for.

Following that I’ve made lists of:

1. great places and activities that budget travelers can enjoy in Belize, even on a tight budget

2. activities/destinations that budget travelers will probably have to skip in Belize

In my next post on Belize I give a dozen or so tips for keeping costs low while traveling there.

Without further ado, here are the costs for budget travel in Belize as of 2016:

colorful beach cabins in Placencia

Accommodation:

You should budget for:

$25 BZ / $12.50 US per night for a dorm bed

$50-60 BZ / $25-30 US for a double room for two people

$10-20 BZ / $5-10 US per night per person for camping with your own tent

My costs:

Usually I paid $25 BZ / $12.50 US per night for a dorm bed.

Several nights I paid $15 BZ / $7.50 per night to sleep in a tent supplied for me.

Two nights I paid $33 BZ / $17.50 US for a private room.

Two nights I paid $25 BZ for a small private room.

My daily avg: $21.72 BZ / $10.86 US

Notes:

You can find at least one hostel offering $25 BZ beds and $50 BZ private doubles in most places around the country. The only exceptions I found were in Belize City, Belmopan and Corozal Town, where rates are higher.

Fry Jack

Food:

You should budget $20-30 BZ per day for food if you eat exclusively at street stalls, local restaurants and/or do some cooking.

My costs:

Generally I spent $20 BZ / $10 US per day on food. Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less.

For breakfast, I usually spent $4 BZ / $2 US, whether I bought out or cooked for myself.

For lunches and dinners I usually paid $5-10 BZ / $2.50-5 US per meal.

Within this budget I also regularly bought juice, fruit, bakery items, snacks and coke.

My daily avg: $23.50 BZ / $11.75 US

Sample prices:

Fry jack: $2-4 BZ

Large chicken or meat burrito: $5-8 BZ

Small taco, ganache, salbute, etc: $1 BZ each – 5-10 makes a full meal

Large chicken tamale from vendor: $3 BZ – 2 makes a filling meal

Chicken/pork meal with rice and vegetable/salad: $8-10 BZ

Satay of shrimp/conch/chicken with rice and salad: $10-15 BZ

Quarter fried/baked chicken only: $5 BZ

Bananas: $0.25 BZ / 4 for $1 BZ

Bottle of coke at groceries: $1.25 BZ – return the bottle for .25 cent refund

Gallon of water: $4 BZ / $2 US

Bakery items like large roll, cookie, cinnamon bun: $1 BZ

Transportation:

You should budget for: Count on about $3 BZ / $1.50 US per hour bus trip between most destinations.

As I mentioned above, buses in Belize are really cheap. The most I paid on a single bus journey was $10 BZ / $5 US to travel 2.5 hours. All the buses I took cost $2-10 BZ, depending on distance.

My total transportation: $98 BZ / $49 US

That’s a bit much for one month of land transportation in my opinion. But I did travel the entire country from south to north, with side trips west to St. Ignacio and east to Caye Caulker island.

Miscellaneous Expenses:

My miscellaneous expenses included espressos, shoe repair, laundry and a few minor toiletries.

My total: $60 BZ / $30 US

bathers at The Split – Caye Caulker

Things you can do inexpensively in Belize, even on a tight budget:

Visit Belize Museum in Belize City

See colonial architecture in Belize City and/or Corozal

See native Belize jungle animals at Belize Zoo – famous for its humane settings

Come across Mennonites in central Belize, complete with horse & buggies

Visit caves, waterfalls and a cenote at Blue Hole National Park on Hummingbird Highway

Enjoy gorgeous beaches and Caribbean waters at Placencia, Hopkins and Caye Caulker

Watch beautiful sunrises and sunsets

Drink cocktails- if you buy liquor and mixer stuff at grocery stores

Eat lots of delicious foods, including conch & shrimp satays, Latino foods, fry jacks

Take long walks at beach and jungle destinations

Listen to Garifuna drumming at Placencia, Hopkins, Dangriga

Hang out with locals and/or other travelers

Swim and snorkel in the amazing Caribbean Sea

Suntan

white swing chairs – Caye Caulker

Things you probably wont’ be able to do in Belize on a tight budget:

Diving trips

Snorkeling trips

Fishing trips

Caving or cave tubing

Visiting main Mayan ruins

Visiting most national parks

Drink at bars

Summary:

Exploring Belize on a backpacker’s budget probably means you have to skip joining in on the country’s most exciting & spectacular trips like diving, caving and visiting Mayan ruins. That’s all very expensive in Belize.

However, you will still be able to enjoy pleasant towns, beautiful beaches, at least one gorgeous island (Caye Caulker), jungles and see most of the country on inexpensive local buses. You can stay at many of the country’s best destinations, eat lots of tasty foods, swim in the sparkling Caribbean Sea and have a thoroughly great time.

Coming up next: 12+ Tips for Keeping Costs Low in Belize

You might also enjoy:

14 Things I Love About Belize

Introduction to Belize

——————————————————————————————