A small caye with sand streets, wooden docks and no hurry at all.
Caulker is the caye people mean when they say Belize slowed them down. The island is small enough to walk end to end, the streets are sand, and the island's own motto tells you to go slow. The Split, a channel cut through the island by a hurricane, is where everyone swims at the end of the day.
Hotels are mostly small and simple, with a handful of good ones. We use Caulker for travellers who'd rather have a hammock and a fish fry than a resort, and for families who want the reef close and the evenings easy.
The Split
The swimming channel at the north end, and the obvious place to watch the sun go down.
Snorkelling the reef
Hol Chan, Shark Ray Alley and the coral gardens are a short boat ride away.Check before you travel
Manatees
Some snorkel trips stop at Swallow Caye, where manatees feed. Sightings are never certain.Check before you travel
Lobster on the grill
In open season, lobster is grilled on oil-drum barbecues along Front Street.Check before you travel
The mangrove side
Kayak the back of the island for herons, and look for the conch-shell fences.
A day to Turneffe
On calm days, Turneffe's wall is within reach for divers and confident snorkellers.
Boat and flight times are ranges and depend on the weather and the operator. How we get around
We choose places to stay for the setting, the people running them, and how they fit your plans.
Caulker has little beach in the postcard sense: the shore is mostly seawall and docks, and you swim off a dock or at the Split. If a long sandy beach matters, look at Ambergris north of the river or the outer cayes.
It's lively at night around the Split and the bars on Front Street. Ask us which end to stay at.
The biggest caye: restaurants, a golf-cart town, and the reef a few minutes offshore.
The biggest of the three atolls: mangrove cayes, walls and flats, and very few people.