Where to go
About us
Caye Coast plans private trips to Belize for well-travelled couples and families who'd rather go by boat than by coach. We tell you which caye is quiet in February, which atoll is worth the long crossing, and whether a September trip is brave or simply cheaper.
Every trip is built from scratch by a specialist who answers plainly, including the awkward questions about weather, safety and sandflies. Our story
Twelve places we plan around, from the cayes inside the reef to a river lodge in Cayo. Choose a tab, then a place.
All placesThe biggest caye: restaurants, a golf-cart town, and the reef a few minutes offshore.
A small caye with sand streets, wooden docks and no hurry at all.
The biggest of the three atolls: mangrove cayes, walls and flats, and very few people.
The outermost atoll: the Blue Hole, a booby colony, and the longest boat ride.
The southern atoll and a small caye on the reef itself, reached from the Garifuna coast.
Drums in the evening, hudut for supper, and the boat to the outer cayes in the morning.
A long, thin peninsula with a lagoon on one side, the sea on the other, and whale sharks in spring.
The far south: rivers, cacao farms, villages, and the most remote cayes in Belize.
River lodges on the Macal and Mopan, the ATM cave, pine ridge waterfalls and Caracol.
A jaguar reserve with forest trails and a waterfall, half an hour from the sea.
Lagoons full of birds, the New River to Lamanai, and the dory-builders of Sarteneja.
Across the border from Cayo for a night inside the national park, with entry rules to plan around.
No prices on the site and no booking engine. A specialist plans the whole trip with you, then trusted partners in Belize run it.
Step
Tell us when and who
The planner takes five minutes.
Step
We call, if you'd like
Twenty minutes is usually enough.
Step
We draft the trip
Nights, boats and lodges, trade-offs written down.
Step
You go
With a local contact on call throughout.
The map
Belize is small. Almost everywhere we plan is a short flight, a boat ride or a couple of hours by road from the international airport. Check before you travel
Positions approximate. Not for navigation.
Not awards. Four things we do on every trip.
By boat
We plan transfers by water where water is the better road.
By season
We plan around the reef's calendar, the rains and the moon.
With the coast
Garifuna and Kriol hosts, paid fairly and asked first.
For the reef
Reef-safe, catch and release, reserve fees paid.
When to go
A quick read of the year. The bars show how good each month usually is for the reef; the full calendar has rain, seas, storms, whale sharks and festivals. Check before you travel
The atolls by private boatTurneffe Atoll
Garifuna HopkinsHopkins & Dangriga
Whale sharks at Gladden SpitPlacencia
Experiences
Honest about the famous ones
The Blue Hole and the whale sharks get a straight answer, not a sales pitch.
Every one is private
Your boat, your guide, your timetable. We fit the experience to the people, not the other way round.
Ambergris, Caulker, or one of the three atolls. The right answer depends on who's coming, how you like your evenings, and how you feel about boats.
Every spring, snapper gather to spawn off Placencia, and whale sharks come to eat. Here's how the calendar works, and how we plan around a sighting that's never guaranteed.
From fry jacks in San Pedro to hudut in Hopkins, a short, hungry guide to the food of the Belizean coast, and where we'd send you to eat it.
Questions
The dry season runs roughly from December to April or May, and that's when most people go. The reef water is usually clearest from about February to May.
The rains come from June to November, with September and October the wettest. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November, with the highest risk from August into October. The south is wetter than the north all year. See the reef and season calendar for month by month.
Check before you travelIt depends on who's coming and how you like your evenings. Ambergris has the most choice; Caye Caulker is small and slow; the atolls are remote and best for divers. Caulker is about 45 minutes by water taxi from Belize City and Ambergris about 75 to 90; both are also short flights.
Our caye chooser asks five questions and gives you three honest suggestions.
Check before you travelRead the official advice before you book: the US State Department and the UK Foreign Office. At the time of writing the US advisory is Level 3, Reconsider Travel, mainly because of crime in parts of Belize City.
We plan routes that don't linger in Belize City, use licensed drivers and boat captains, and will answer specific questions plainly. We won't reassure you beyond what the official advice says.
Check before you travelVery. It's English-speaking, transfers are short, and there's something every day: caves, canoes, rays and turtles. Carry children's birth certificates or proof of relationship, as US advice suggests. See the First Belize with Children route.
Check before you travelYou tell us when you can travel, who's coming and what you'd like. A specialist replies with questions and honest advice, then a first draft: nights, boats and lodges, with the trade-offs written down. We don't publish prices; every trip is quoted privately once we know what you want. Start with the trip planner.
