Belize Airport to Belize City Hotels: Rental Cars, the Airport Road, Terminals and Fees

You walk out of arrivals in Ladyville, the village that gives the airport its address, and the road to Belize City starts almost at the curb. The city waits on the Caribbean coast, built around Haulover Creek, with its wooden houses, its harbor and its swing bridge. Before you reach any of that, there is a choice about how to cover the stretch from the terminal to your hotel, and the airport lists a few clear answers.

How do you get from the airport to Belize City?

The way the airport itself points to is a rental car, picked up from Hertz/Safari Belize or Crystal Auto Rental, both of which operate at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport. A travel agency, All in One Travel Service, also has an office there and can be reached by phone or email. From the terminal, the drive to downtown is about 30 minutes.

What decides is mostly how you want the first day to feel. If you are heading straight to a hotel in the city and want your own pace, a rental car puts you behind the wheel from the first minute.

If you prefer to have someone else sort out the arrangements, the agency at the airport is the contact the airport lists. Luggage and group size matter here too, since a car holds what a group brings and keeps everyone together.

Timing matters as well. The airport opens at 6:00 a.m. and closes at 6:00 p.m., with services beyond those hours available on request, so a late arrival is worth thinking through before you settle on how you will reach town. Roadwork on the airport access road also affects every trip into the city, whatever the vehicle.

Belize City is the largest city in the country, home to 63,999 people in the 2022 census, and it was once the capital before the government moved inland to Belmopan. That history shows in the streets you reach at the end of the ride: old wooden buildings, a working waterfront and the creek that splits the center in two.

Your options from the airport

Rental car from Hertz/Safari Belize or Crystal Auto Rental

Two rental companies operate at the airport. Hertz/Safari Belize takes calls on +(501) 225 – 3300, and Crystal Auto Rental on +(501) 223 – 1600, with reservations also handled at [email protected]. Either one gets you a car without leaving the airport, and from there the city is about 30 minutes by road, northwest of the center.

A car suits travelers who want to head to their hotel, drop the bags and keep going, whether that means a first walk along the creek or a later outing elsewhere in the Belize District. It also suits groups that would rather stay together with their luggage. Parking at the airport is priced by the day, which matters if you return the car there or leave your own.

A travel agency at the airport: All in One Travel Service

All in One Travel Service is a travel agency based at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport. You can reach it on +(501) 225 – 2016 or +(501) 620 – 2267, and by email at [email protected] or [email protected].

An agency is the natural contact for anyone who would rather talk to a person than sort out each leg alone. It is worth a message before you land, so the question of how you reach your hotel is answered by the time you walk through the doors.

The airport access road and the roadwork

Whichever way you travel, you share one road. Roadwork and dredging are underway on the access road to the airport, which means slower traffic and uneven surfaces. Drivers are asked to reduce speed, follow the flaggers in the work zone and watch for dredging equipment and workers near the roadway.

In practice, it means leaving extra time for any trip that touches the airport, in either direction. On arrival, that simply means the ride to your hotel may feel less brisk than the distance suggests. On departure, it is one more reason to heed the airport’s advice on arriving early.

Airport transfer options compared

The two rental companies sit side by side in what they offer: a car at the airport and the same road into the city. The difference comes down to which one you prefer to deal with, and whether you would rather phone or write. Crystal Auto Rental lists an email address for reservations, while Hertz/Safari Belize lists a phone number.

The trade-off with any car is the road itself. Roadwork on the access route slows traffic, so the 30 minutes is a starting point, not a promise.

Parking in town and returning the car are part of the plan too, whereas an arrangement made through the travel agency at the airport leaves the driving to someone else. All in One Travel Service can be reached by phone or email to talk through what you need.

Arriving at the airport

Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport is in Ladyville, in the Belize District, and the city center lies 10 miles from it. The airport has two terminals. Check-in counters for all airlines are in Terminals 1 and 2, and which one you use depends on your carrier.

Terminal 1 handles COPA, Sun Country, Transportes Aereos Guatemaltecos (TAG), Maya Island Air and Tropic Air. Terminal 2 is the home of Air Canada, Alaska Air, American, Delta, Southwest, United and Westjet. If you are connecting to a domestic hop on Maya Island Air or Tropic Air, you will find those carriers in Terminal 1.

On the way out, the airport expects passengers to arrive at least 3 hours before departure, and it encourages 4 hours as a cushion. TSA PreCheck is not available here.

Anything left or found in the terminal building goes to the Security Office in Terminal 1, where it is held for 60 days before being donated or destroyed. The runway itself is 9,900 feet long, which tells you the airport is built for large jets.

Outside, the city you are heading to sits at the mouth of Haulover Creek, a distributary of the Belize River, on the Caribbean coast. Belize District also takes in offshore islands such as Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, two of the country’s main tourism areas, so many travelers pass through the airport and Belize City on the way to somewhere else.

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.

Prices at the airport are quoted in U.S. dollars, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs through November 30, so an October arrival falls inside it. Departing travelers and drivers who park at the airport will meet the fees below.