American Airlines (www.aa.com) flies from Miami and Dallas to Belize City. Continental Airlines (www.continental.com) flies from Houston. Delta Air (www.delta.com) flies from Atlanta only on Saturday and US Airways (www.usairways.com) flies from Charlottesville, North Carolina. There are no direct flights from London to Belize; passengers can fly non-stop to Atlanta, Miami or Houston and join a connecting flight.

From Miami to Belize City is 2 hours and from Houston is 2 hours 40 minutes.

The Philip S W Goldson International Airport (BZE) is 16km (10 miles) northwest of Belize City. To/from the airport: Taxis are available to the city (journey time – 20 minutes); prices should be agreed with the driver beforehand. Taxi drivers are not tipped. There is an airport bus to the city centre, but it runs infrequently and should not be relied upon (journey time – 30 minutes). Facilities: Duty-free shops, bank, shops, restaurant and bar.

Note: Belmopan, the capital, is 84km (52 miles) from Belize City by road.

There is a US$36 departure tax when leaving by air. Check that this tax was included in the price of your airline ticket.

Main ports: Belize City, Corozal, Dangriga, Punta Gorda and San Pedro. 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.

There are regular water taxi services between Punta Gorda and Puerto Barrios, Guatemala and a direct twice-weekly service from Livingston. There is also regular water taxi services between Punta Gorda and Puerto Cortes, Honduras. There is an US$3.75/BZ$7.50 departure tax for passengers leaving by sea, payable in US or BZ Dollars.

There are road links with Chetumal on the Mexican border and Melchor de Mencos in Guatemala.

Regular scheduled buses serve these routes, leaving every half hour or hour for Belize City. It is easy to enter Belize by bus from US border cities via Cancun, Mexico City and Chetumal.

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.

Visitors leaving Belize by road must pay a US$18.75/BZ$37.50 land departure tax, payable in either currency.