palapas in sea at The Split – Caye Caulker
24 Tips for Keeping Costs Low in Belize
Last week I wrote about how much it costs to travel in Belize on a tight budget, showing that this Central American country is not nearly as expensive as most people would have you believe. In fact, I estimate that Belize is well within the means of all but the most shoe-string budget backpackers. So if you’re a budget traveler exploring Central America, go check out my post on Belize costs here.
As a follow-up to that article, in this post I offer 2 dozen tips for keeping costs low in Belize. There are probably more ideas floating around from other travelers’ experiences, so if you have any other advice or suggestions, feel free to add them to the comments section below.
To get started, following is the advice I can offer after exploring Belize for one full month in January, 2016:
1. Arriving in Belize from Guatemala, you can save a big chunk of money by crossing the border in northern Guatemala near Tikal over to San Ignacio, Belize vs. arriving from Livingston, Guatemala on the Caribbean coat. At the crossing near Tikal/San Ignacio, there’s no exit fee for leaving Guatemala and buses cost just a few dollars either side of the border.
In contrast, departing from Livingston, Guatemala on the Caribbean coast will set you back around $40 US! You must first obtain an exit stamp from Guatemalan immigration in Livingston for $80 BZ / $11 US. Then the boat to Punta Gorda, Belize costs 200-250 quetzals / $28-33 US.
2. Carry a tent. You can camp in many places in Belize for $10-20 BZ / $5-10 US if you have your own tent. You might find a few places here & there that have tents for travelers to use, but for the most part, you must have your own.
3. Skip tourist restaurants and those at hostels & hotels. They’re expensive and generally offer bland typical meals.
BBQ stall on Caye Caulker
4. Instead, eat at street stalls and small local restaurants. The local spots offer a huge variety of tasty foods including various BBQ meals, fry jacks, Chinese take-out and Latino dishes like tacos, tamales, ganaches, buritos, salbutes and others you’ve probably never heard of.
5. Eat fry jacks for breakfast and/or lunch.
6. Wherever you have a kitchen to use – like at most hostels and some guest houses – buy groceries and cook for yourself.
7. In Placencia and a few other places in Belize, it’s safe to drink the tap water. Ask at your hostel/guest house.
8. If you must buy drinking water, buy the 5-gallon water bottles if you stay in one place for one week or longer.
Belize highway near Hopkins – not a car or bus in sight!
9. You can hitch-hike in southern Belize around Hopkins – Dangriga – Hummingbird Highway. Although buses are cheap in Belize, they are not so frequent in southern/central Belize. Locals are in the habit of hitch-hiking in that region, which means local drivers are also accustomed to helping out hitchers.
I hitch-hiked twice in that area. I didn’t have to wait long either time. Once a local couple gave me a lift. Another time a young western missionary couple living in Belize picked me up. (no sermon included!)
10. Don’t drink alcohol at bars. Drinks at bars & restaurants are very expensive in Belize. Cocktails typically run $15-20 BZ. I’ve been told beer costs 2-3 times the price in US.
11. For drinking, buy beer or liquor at grocery stores and mix your own cocktails or mixers. Rum of all types is quite cheap in Belize. There’s golden rum, white rum, coconut rum and others.
bathers at The Split – Caye Caulker
13. To enjoy tropical island life and the stunning turquoise Caribbean Sea in Belize, visit Caye Caulker and/or Glover’s Reef.
14. Caye Caulker has at least 3 hostels with beds for $25 BZ and two or three places to camp. There’s lots of street stalls, vendors, BBQ stalls and cheap local restaurants. You can swim in stunning sea at The Split and take walks along the seaside and/or a beautiful nature trail.
15. Glover’ Reef offers one-week package deals with camping for $100 US. Other expenses involved, such as renting a cooler with ice, food, taxis to from the boat and snorkel gear bring the weekly cost up to over $250 US. But, heck, that’s still a cheap way to immerse yourself at a far-flung tropical island!
Talud TableroTemple – Tikal-Guatemala
16. Skip visiting Mayan ruins in Belize. It’s expensive. You can visit amazing Mayan ruins in Mexico, Gautemala or Honduras for a fraction of the price.
17. Skip diving and snorkel excursions in Belize. Prices for diving are some of the highest I’ve seen anywhere in the world. And I’m a dive instructor. You can dive much less expensively on the same Meso-American Barrier Reef in neighboring Mexico or Honduras.
waterfall near Hummingbird Guest House – Belize
18. In fact, you’ll probably have to skip all the adventure tours offered in Belize if you’re on a backpackers’ budget. Caving, zip-lining, visiting national parks, water adventures and just about everything else costs US prices in Belize. Most national parks are expensive to access as there’s no pubic transportation. Never mind, you can do most of those things in less expensive countries another time.
19. One national park that is very easy to access and inexpensive to enter is St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park on the Hummingbird Highway not far from Belmopan. Buses will drop you off at the entrance. The entry fee is $8 BZ / $4 US. In the park you can visit one or two caves on your own, hike on jungle trails and visit the ‘blue hole’ a cenote in the jungle.
20. A few miles south of the Blue Hole National Park, at mile 29.5, is Hummingbird Guest House, which offers dorms, camping and home-cooked Mayan food. You can also hike to a pretty waterfall and swim in a cool river.
21. Visit the highly-acclaimed Belize Zoo just outside Belize City to see a huge variety of native Belizean jungle animals. You can also camp nearby at the zoo’s partner Tropical Education Center for under $10 US. Take food or eat before you go as the only restaurant is very expensive.
pretty golden beach at Placencia – Belize
22. Visit Placnecia in southern Belize. There’s a great backpackers called Anda Da Hows that has dorm beds for $25 BZ, camping for $15, and a great kitchen for cooking your own meals. Food stalls and small shops are cheap and plentiful. There’s a long beautiful beach and some nightlife, including Garifuna drumming sessions.
23. Skip Punta Gorda town in southern Belize. Budget accommodations are of very poor value and there’s really nothing to see or do in the town.
24. Avoid staying in Belize City, Belmopan and Corozal if you’re on a tight budget. Budget rooms and dorms in these towns cost about double of everywhere else.
QUESTIONS:
If you’ve traveled around Belize, do you have any other tips to add? Go for it!
Based on these tips and my report of budget travel costs in Belize, does it sound affordable to you?
You might also like to read:
Budget Travel Costs for Belize
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
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