Home › Travel Guides › North America Travel Guide › Belize › Travel to Belize
Image gallery

Nature is one of Belize's main attractions

© CTO – Demian Solano, Belize Tourist Board

Travel to Belize

Flying to Belize

American Airlines (AA) (www.aa.com) flies from Miami and Dallas to Belize City. Continental Airlines (CO) (www.continental.com) flies from Houston. Belize has only two national airlines, the biggest of which is Tropic Air (PM) (www.tropicair.com). There are no direct flights to Belize from London; passengers can fly non-stop to Atlanta, Miami or Houston and join a connecting flight. Flights are cheaper during the rainy season (mid-May to November) and slightly more expensive over major holidays.

Air notes:

Hurricane season (June to November) in Belize can disrupt flights in and out of the country.

Flight times:

From London to Belize City is up to 24 hours (including an overnight stop in the USA); from Miami is 2 hours and from Houston is 2 hours 40 minutes.

Air passes:

There are no air passes covering Belize.

Departure tax:

US$39.25 when leaving by air, payable in US Dollars, though sometimes this is included in the airfare.

Travel by rail

There are currently no trains in Belize.

Driving to Belize

Travellers entering Belize by car from Mexico or Guatemala must obtain a temporary importation permit at the border, valid for one month; drivers need to show all travel documents, insurance papers and proof of car ownership or rental documents.

There are some small bus companies that run into Belize from neighbouring countries. Linea Dorada (tel: +502 7768 1538, in Guatemala; http://lineadorada.info) runs buses from Mexico to Guatemala via Belize, and Mexican bus company ADO (tel: +52 5133 2424, in Mexico; www.ado.com.mx) has announced plans to run a bus route into Belize, which is hoped to be in place by the end of 2011. When crossing borders by bus, passengers must alight and walk through with their luggage, and get back on at the other side. The border procedures are generally very straightforward. It is also very simple to get a bus to the border and find another on the other side.

By road note:

Departure tax for travellers staying more than 24 hours in Belize and leaving by land is US$18.75/BZ$37.50.

Getting to Belize by boat

Main ports: Belize City, Corozal, Dangriga, Punta Gorda and San Pedro (www.portauthority.bz).

There are regular water taxi services between Punta Gorda and Puerto Barrios, Guatemala and a direct twice-weekly service from Livingston. D-Express (tel: (501) 624 6509; www.belizeferry.com) runs a weekly water taxi services from Placencia and Big Creek to Puerto Cortes, Honduras. There is a US$3.75/BZ$7.50 departure tax for passengers leaving by sea, payable in US or BZ Dollars.

Cruise ships:

Belize City is the primary port of call for most cruise ship lines. Regular scheduled boats carry passengers ashore to taste a bit of Belize at the Fort Street Tourism Village.

Ferry operators:

Requena’s Charter Services (tel: (501) 722 2070; www.belizenet.com/requena) runs a daily service from Puerto Barrios in Guatemala to Punta Gorda. Other companies are available on this and different routes in and out of the country by sea.

River routes:

There are no river routes into Belize.

Recommended Sites:

Protect yourself from malaria
Before you travel, find out if your holiday destination is in a malaria zone.
(An educational initiative organised and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health. UK/MARK/0173/10 September 2010)
Travel insurance
For residents of over 150 countries. High levels of medical, evacuation, emergency & most adventure activities covered.