On the dock at the Belize Marine Terminal, suitcases are lined up beside coolers and a bicycle or two, and the boats to the cayes are loading one after another. Belize’s water taxis are the ferries that link Belize City with Caye Caulker and San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, and a separate run crosses the border to Chetumal in Mexico.
How do the water taxis work?
A water taxi is a passenger boat on a set run between the mainland and the cayes, and you buy a seat for a specific crossing. San Pedro Belize Express offers multiple departures each day, so you can pick a boat that suits your morning rather than building your plans around a single sailing. Tickets can be booked online, and the company also accepts most major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) for walk-in purchases at its terminals.
The ticket office in Belize City is at #111 North Front Street, inside the Belize Marine Terminal. You can reach the company by phone at 011-501-223-2225 or by email at [email protected]. For travelers landing at the Philip Goldson International Airport, shared transportation to the Belize City water taxi terminal is offered, and it costs US$25.00 for the first person and US$10.00 for each additional person one way.
Luggage, bikes and pets
On ferries from Belize City, each passenger may bring one carry-on and two checked bags. Small to medium luggage is welcome, and passengers are asked to follow the company’s luggage policy.
Anything over 50 lbs or larger than 24x18x12 inches is treated as oversized on the company’s Belize routes. Sunscreen and insect repellent belong in your carry-on, not in the checked bags, since you will want them as soon as you step onto Caye Caulker or San Pedro.
Extras are priced separately, and the table lays them out. Pets must travel in a kennel, and live animals ride in a special section of the vessel.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Each extra checked bag | BZ$5.00 |
| Each oversized item | BZ$15.00 |
| Cargo such as a box or cooler, per item | BZ$10.00 |
| Bicycle, per bike | BZ$20.00 |
Children on board
Infants and toddlers under age 1 travel free as lap children on the company’s domestic routes.
The border run to Chetumal follows a different rule. There, passengers aged 1 and above pay the regular rate, so families crossing into Mexico should expect to pay a full fare for a toddler.
Which routes do they run?
The water taxis connect three points in Belize, Belize City, Caye Caulker and San Pedro, and one international line reaches Chetumal in Mexico.
Belize City to Caye Caulker
This is the shortest crossing from the mainland, about 45 minutes. Caye Caulker is a five-mile-long island of roughly 2,000 inhabitants, and it has no cars, only golf carts and pedestrians. Life runs along three main roads, Front Street, Middle Street and Back Street, and you step off the boat almost straight into that rhythm.
The island has about 40 hotels and hostels, with no chain hotels or all-inclusive resorts. One landmark you will hear about is the Split, the channel cut when Hurricane Hattie divided the island in two in 1961. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, which is the stretch of the calendar that matters when you plan boat days.
Belize City to San Pedro
The express run from Belize City to San Pedro takes approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. San Pedro sits on the southern coast of Ambergris Caye. Fishermen and their families settled it in the middle of the 19th century, after migrating during the Caste War of Yucatán, and it became an official township in 1984.
The company launched this run first, in August 2008, as an express service between the two points. Many travelers use the Belize City stop as the start of a caye stay, and the boat is the link the company built its name on.
Between Caye Caulker and San Pedro
The hop between the two islands takes about 30 minutes in either direction. Because the same operator serves Belize City, Caye Caulker and San Pedro, you can pair the two islands in one trip rather than returning to the mainland in between.
The official Caye Caulker service started in early 2009, a few months after the first Belize City to San Pedro boat. If you are comparing the three crossings, the mainland to Caye Caulker leg is the shortest, the island to island leg is shorter still, and the run to San Pedro is the longest.
San Pedro to Chetumal, Mexico
The international line was started in 2010, the first water taxi run between Chetumal and Belize. The trip from San Pedro to Chetumal takes 1 hour 30 minutes. In San Pedro Town, the Belize Border Management Agency operates the Saca Chispas Water Taxi Terminal, which handles cross-border passenger traffic with Chetumal, in Quintana Roo.
The company serves Chetumal from Belize City as well, and from Chetumal it offers transportation to Belize City, Caye Caulker and San Pedro. In Chetumal, the boat departs from the Terminal Maritima Internacional Filiberto Sabido Padilla. The company’s office there can be reached at [email protected].
If you have time in Chetumal, Boulevard Bahía is a place to spend time by the bay, walk a few miles and eat local food at its many restaurants. The Museum of Mayan Culture is divided into several sections, with hundreds of regional exhibits on Maya society, and the old district has dozens of colonial homes in beautiful condition on sand-ridden roads. Just outside town, Kohunlich is home to the Temple of the Masks.
Which operators are there?
Which operators are there? The company began as an adjunct to 3 Star Tour Ltd, a tender company that carries passengers from cruise lines to the mainland.
San Pedro Belize Express
The fleet holds 14 vessels, with capacities ranging from 45 passengers to 120 passengers. That spread means the boat you board may be one of the smaller craft or one of the larger ones. The first vessel was launched in August 2008, and the company now operates 37 daily runs between its three Belize stops.
Its headquarters are at #111 North Front Street, Belize City, at the Belize Marine Terminal. Travelers can phone 011-501-223-2225 or write to [email protected] with questions about a crossing.
The terminal in San Pedro Town
The Saca Chispas Water Taxi Terminal in San Pedro Town is run by the Belize Border Management Agency rather than by a ferry company. It has 6 berths for small water taxis, tour boats or marine tenders, and it supports the cross-border traffic with Chetumal. The terminal’s general manager can be reached at (501) 822-1061, and the email addresses are [email protected] and [email protected].
How water taxis are licensed
An applicant submits a completed form, a list of names and certificates of competency for each Master and Deckhand, a valid Certificate of Insurance and a Seaworthiness Certificate for each vessel, a list of fares for the requested route, a recommendation of fitness to hold a permit, and the application fee.
The permit application form can be downloaded from the Belize Port Authority website, and the Authority’s headquarters is the place to ask about requirements and fees. Complaints can also go to the Authority through the contact information on its website.
Good to know before you go
The U.S. State Department rates Belize Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, because of crime, and says the south side of Belize City has historically had the highest concentration of violent crime.
Bring a card for the walk-in counter, since the company accepts most major credit cards at its terminals, and keep sunscreen and insect repellent in your hand luggage. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so a trip in those months falls inside it. For a crossing into Mexico, the departure point in Chetumal is the international terminal, and in San Pedro it is the Saca Chispas terminal.
Sources
- San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, San Pedro (https://belizewatertaxi.com/destinations/san-pedro/), checked October 11, 2026
- San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, Caye Caulker (https://belizewatertaxi.com/destinations/caye-caulker/), checked October 11, 2026
- San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, Chetumal (https://belizewatertaxi.com/destinations/chetumal/), checked October 11, 2026
- San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, Schedule (https://belizewatertaxi.com/schedule/), checked October 11, 2026
- San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, FAQ (https://belizewatertaxi.com/information/faq/), checked October 11, 2026
- San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, Travel tips (https://belizewatertaxi.com/travel-tips/), checked October 11, 2026
- San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi, History (https://belizewatertaxi.com/information/history/), checked October 11, 2026
- Belize Port Authority, Water taxi permit (https://portauthority.bz/services/water-taxi-permit/), checked October 11, 2026
- Belize Port Authority, San Pedro terminal (https://portauthority.bz/belize-port-facilities/san-pedro-terminal/), checked October 11, 2026
- U.S. Department of State, Belize Travel Advisory, Level 2, March 11, 2026 (https://travel.state.gov/), checked October 11, 2026
- NOAA National Hurricane Center, Climatology (https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/), checked October 11, 2026