Belize City from the United States: Flights, the Airport Transfer and Water Taxis to the Cayes

Arrive in Belize City from the air and the first thing you see is the Caribbean coast, a flat green shoreline cut by creeks, with the city spread along the mouth of Haulover Creek. The trip starts at a U.S. departure gate, usually at an hour when the terminal is still quiet. It ends at a small, low-slung airport in Ladyville, where the road splits toward the city, the water taxis and the islands.

How do you get to Belize City from the United States?

You get there by air, landing at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Ladyville, the only international airport in Belize. It sits about ten miles outside the city, and a half-hour drive brings you to the center. Nothing else in the country takes international passenger flights, so every route from the United States comes down to a seat on a plane that ends at this one airfield.

What decides your route is where you start. American Airlines serves the airport with flights from Charlotte, Dallas, Miami and Los Angeles, and the Miami service runs year-round. Delta flies from Atlanta year-round. Alaska Air flies from Seattle on a seasonal schedule, from November through April, so travelers from the Pacific Northwest find that link only in the cooler months. Which of these cities is closest to you usually settles the airline.

The second question is where you sleep on the first night. Belize City is the largest city in the country and a former capital, built on a small peninsula that pushes into the Caribbean.

Many travelers treat it as a gateway, because Belize District also holds the offshore islands, among them Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, St. George’s Caye and Caye Chapel. Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker are considered two of the country’s primary tourism areas. If your plans start on one of them, the next leg is a boat or a small plane.

The last thing to plan for is the road in front of the terminal. Roadwork and dredging are underway on the airport access road, 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. Give any ground connection a little extra time on both arrival and departure.

Ways to get to Belize City from the United States

Flying into Philip Goldson

This is the way in. The airport covers a good stretch of land in Ladyville with a single asphalt runway, and check-in counters for all airlines are in Terminals 1 and 2. International service here comes from the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. Air Canada flies from Toronto seasonally, and Copa Airlines flies from Panama year-round, which is useful if your itinerary runs through Central America.

On the way home, passengers are expected to arrive at least three hours before departure. The airport’s daily hours run from early morning to early evening, with services beyond those hours available on request, so a late-evening departure is something to confirm with your airline.

Renting a car at the airport

Two rental companies have desks at Philip Goldson. Hertz, operating as Safari Belize, can be reached at +(501) 225-3300. Crystal Auto Rental can be reached at +(501) 223-1600. Both are the way to have your own wheels waiting the moment you clear the terminal, which suits travelers whose first night is in Belize City or elsewhere on the mainland.

Leaving the airport by car means joining the access road, where the roadwork is the thing to plan around. Follow the flaggers, slow down in the work zone, and expect uneven surfaces. Parking at the airport is also an option when you are the one dropping off a car before a flight.

Water taxi to the cayes

Boats leave from the Belize Marine Terminal on North Front Street, where San Pedro Belize Express keeps its ticket office. The company runs multiple daily trips between Belize City, San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, and Caye Caulker. It also serves Chetumal, Mexico, from Belize City. At its terminals, walk-in purchases can be paid with Visa, Mastercard or Discover.

Because the boats leave from the city rather than the airport, this route suits a traveler who lands, reaches Belize City and then heads straight out to the water. Keep in mind that the half-hour drive from Ladyville comes first, then the crossing itself.

Small planes onward from the airport

Maya Island Air offers connecting flights from the same airport to Corozal, Caye Caulker, Dangriga (for Hopkins), Kanantik, San Pedro, Savannah, Placencia and Punta Gorda. Tropic Air also flies from the Belize International Airport, with scheduled international flights to San Salvador, San Pedro Sula, Roatán and Cancún.

This is the option for travelers whose real destination is far down the coast or out on an island, and who would rather connect in the air than cross by road or boat. It also keeps the whole trip inside the airport you arrived at.

Options compared

The drive to the city is the same for everyone, while the choice of boat or small plane depends on which part of Belize you came for.

Cayes lead naturally to the boats, and the south or north of the country leads to the small planes. A rental car fits the traveler who wants to see the mainland at their own pace.

Making a day of it

If your flight lands with time to spare, Belize City is a place to walk before you move on. It sits where Haulover Creek meets the Caribbean, and the creek is the thread that ties the city together. The Swing Bridge across it is a well-known landmark, and the waterfront around it shows you the working side of the city, with boats, vendors and traffic all moving at once.

The Fort Street Tourism Village stands on the northern bank of the creek, on about two acres, and it is one of the places to stop if you have a few hours. Combining the two means you can see something of the city and still be on the right side of town for a boat out to the islands.

Belize City was the capital of what was then British Honduras until the government moved to Belmopan, and that history is visible in the older streets and buildings near the water. It is also the largest city in the country, with a population of 63,999 in the most recent census, so it is busier and louder than the cayes you may be heading to. Treat it as a first taste of the country’s pace.

When to leave depends on your onward plans. If you are going straight to Caye Caulker or San Pedro, the sensible shape of the day is a morning arrival, the drive in from Ladyville, and an early boat.

If you plan to explore the city first, give yourself the afternoon and take a late boat or stay the night. For a few hours on foot, bring a hat, water and a light layer for a sudden shower.

If you have time to spend in Belize District itself, the barrier islands and the wildlife sanctuaries just inland are the two sides of it. The islands include Caye Chapel and St. George’s Caye, and the sanctuaries give you something very different from the sand. Either one can be a stop on its own before you head south or west.

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.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs through the end of November, so a trip in these months can fall inside it. Departing passengers pay fees at the airport, and parking is charged by the day.