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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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CAYE CAULKER, BELIZE
Caye Caulker is one mile west of the Belize Barrier Reef and 21 miles northeast of Belize City. It's 4 miles long and various widths between .15 and 1.2 miles - though the inhabited part of the island is a little less than 1 mile long. Caye Caulker is cut into two pieces - with 'The Split' (formed by a hurricane) separating both parts. There are approximately 800 Mestizo, Garifuna, and Creole residents. There are 33 hotels on Caye Caulker. There is one street sign in Caye Caulker - which says "SLOW." That pretty much sums up the caye. I think I saw 2 cars - the preferred mode of transportation is golf carts. There is a 'Front Street' and a 'Back Street' that run North to South and there is a 'beach path' along the East shore. All are dirt or sand streets. We walked 2 minutes from the airport to the beach path in search of lodging. We passed Tom's and Treetops and decided on Tropical Paradise Hotel. I don't remember exactly why we decided to stop at this hotel - though the fact that we didn't want to lug our backpacks much longer and that fact that they had lots of lounge chairs on their 'beach' had something to do with it. Anyway, all of their rooms with fans were booked so we had to settle on a more expensive room with AC. We got the front cabin with ocean view, air conditioning, cable TV, and a refrigerator. Whew! It was above my usual budget lodging but Mom liked it so we stayed. It was cool being right next door to the cemetary. Mom said that she had never stayed next to a cemetary and that night I had a dream about Caye Caulker ghosts (talk about the power of perception!).
The hotel also books snorkeling and diving tours through Star Tours. We went on a half-day snorkeling tour which made 3 stops along barrier reef - including sharks and rays. They pick you up on the hotel pier and then take you into town to get fins and mask (no charge) - then you are on your way. Though you should ask how many people have booked the tour first - before you agree to go on the tour. We had about 13 people packed into a small boat - which wasn't the ideal condition. The water was fairly ruff that day - not exactly like the smooth snorkeling in Hawaii. There were lots of good restaurants along the beach path. I think Popeye's was my favorite but that may be because their banana daquiris were delicious. They also had three dogs that kept going from table to table begging for food. I had their special of the night - which was grilled fish, rice and beans, garlic bread, and salad. It was very good. Mom had chicken and rice (without beans - she hates beans!) and a miniature Heineken.
Caye Caulker was beautiful, the people were cool, the restaurants were good, and the diving and snorkeling opportunities were unmatched. Next time, I will get certified and take advantage of the diving! |
COSTS Flight from Belize City Municipal to Caye Caulker was $23.50 US each on Tropic Air Tropical Paradise Hotel room with AC, cable TV, refridgerator, ocean view was $45 US per night (they do have cheaper rooms) Half day snorkeling trip with 3 reef stops was $45 BZE for two through Star Tours Water taxi to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye was $12.50 US round trip. Banana Daquiri was $4 BZ during Popeye's Happy Hour Belizean Machete was $35 BZ Special of the day dinner (fish, rice, beans, garlic bread, salad) at Popeye's was $18 BZ Super shot glass was $15 BZ 'We Be Drinkin' t-shirts were $20 BZ Belizean jewelry boxes were $5 BZ each Guatemalan dolls were $4 BZ each Cookies at Yahoo Deli were $2.50 BZ for pack of 3 Sarongs were $10 BZ each
Try to do a little research before you select a tour operator for reef trips (try asking for good tours on the Belize Forums - people who post there give great advice). Really good tour operators will limit the amount of snorkelers/divers per trip. Also, some tour operators mishandle the sharks and rays - taking them out of the water or holding them so tourists can take pictures. |
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