And suddenly, the final country of my Central America backpacking trip was upon us.
I had started this adventure my partner in Panama, the easternmost point of the trip, before traveling by bus across Costa Rica. We finished our portion together with three stops in Nicaragua from where he flew back to Germany for work and I flew on to Guatemala for the excitement to continue.
I quit my job last July and decided to take what I coined an "adult gap year", given I was taking it aged 28, instead of the typical gap year age of 18. I went back and forth for months on exactly when I would go, which countries I would visit, for how long I wanted to travel, with whom I wanted to go - if anyone...
My Central America trip would turn out to cover five countries in five weeks; the first three (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua) with my partner Tobi and the last two (Guatemala, Belize) with Ina, a friend from Salzburg.
Our whole time in Belize was spent with five days on the island of Caye Caulker, a welcome rest after a whirlwhind backpacking trip. Although it was a lot of work, I made daily vlogs on Instagram reels of every single day of my Central America trip which I branded "the backpacking series".
→ Check out an episode of the Backpacking Series of arriving on Caye Caulker!
By flight: There is a small domestic airport on Caye Caulker with short, direct flights from Belize City and some of the other islands such as Ambergris Caye. The closest international airport to Caye Caulker is the one in the capital of Belize City, an easy half-hour shuttle ride away from the ferry terminal.
By private shuttle: We traveled to the ferry terminal from Flores in neighbouring Guatemala. This is a popular route with a shuttle taking us from Flores to the border and another shuttle then picking us up once we had walked across. This second shuttle drove us all the way across Belize to the ferry terminal. We booked this shuttle via WhatsApp with BelizeGo.
By ferry: If you fly into Belize City or travel overland from Guatemala, you'll then need to take the one-hour ferry from the mainland out to Caye Caulker. These tickets were included in our shuttle price from Flores, but you can also purchase them at the ferry terminal or online in advance.
→ Buy ferry tickets and check out the schedule between the mainland and Caye Caulker.
Arriving to the ferry terminal
Ferry terminal
Ticket counter
Boarding
Mainland ferry terminal
The one-hour ferry to Caye Caulker
First sight of Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker ferry terminal
Flying out of Belize City
Somewhere over Mexico
Mexican coastline
As Caye Caulker is so small, there are no cars permitted on the island. Instead you'll mostly be walking around but you'll often see locals or resort-goers beeping around town in their little golf carts on the sandy streets.
A popular tourist activity is also to rent a bike to whiz through the sandy, palm-tree lined streets. It was totally unecessary as you can walk from one end of town to the other in 15 minutes, but it's fun for a day! There are loads of bike shops around where you can rent a bike for between USD $10-$20 for a day.
To reach the north island, you just need to grab the Split Ferry which crosses back and forth between the two islands all day. It's just a few minutes to make the crossing. There isn't much to do on the north island; it's still very undeveloped and you can skip it.
The sandy streets of Caye Caulker
Spot the golf car!
Most people will just be walking
Or biking!
The ferry between the south and north island across the Split
Bikes on the ferry
Biking the north island
There are plenty of different types of accommodation on Caye Caulker from the budget to the luxury. We spent four nights at Bella's Backpackers, the best hostel on the island. It was clean, well-serviced and the beds were comfortable. They also help arrange different activities on the island and the hammocks on the terrace are the best spot to hang out.
→ Book your stay at Bella's Backpackers.
→ Check out other places to stay to suit your budget and accommmodation type.
Caye Caulker might be small but since its primary income comes from tourism, you'll find plenty of restaurants on the island. I found Belize to be much more expensive than other countries I had visited in Central America (except Costa Rica) so the food prices will be reflective of that. It is also expensive to import food onto the island so you will be paying more simply for that reason. It also means that sometimes, things just aren't available!
A lot of places are cash only and the best place to get cash without any ATM fees is at the Atlantic Bank.
Ice'n'Beans
The absolute best cafe on the island. I went here every single day, if not twice a day. They have the best coffee on the island (get the frappe iced coffee mocha flavoured!) and I also loved their smoothie and yogurt bowls for breakfast.
They're right on the coast so you can swing in a hammock while you eat. I also spent time hanging out here just reading books and sipping my frappe coffees and it was heavenly.
Caye Caulker Bakery
The kind of place that when they're sold out, they're gone for the day! Try the cinnamon rolls - they're just USD $1.50 and SO good.
Errolyn's House Of Fryjacks
A Caye Caulker staple, this little place serves up fryjacks by the hundreds. It's essentially a big piece of deepfried dough stuffed with whatever you like - my favourite was a simple bean and cheese.
Pelican Sunset Bar
A classic dinner spot with an excellent sunset view (as the name says) serving up yummy Belizean food. You can also spot stingrays swimming underneath! I reccomend the fried parmesan potatoes, the veggie ceviche and the quesadillas!
Namaste
A cute cafe offering yoga classes upstairs. I didn't really like their coffee or food, but their smoothies were good!
Amor Y Cafe
A wonderful little cafe for smoothies and iced frappe coffees, especially when I wanted to switch things up from Ice'N'Beans!
Paradiso Cafe
A nice dinner spot with yummy curry overlooking the ocean and the moonrise, if you time it right.
Chef Juan's
A cute little family-run curry spot near our hostel where we stopped for lunch on our first day on the island.
Amigo Pizza
Forget the pizza - this might have been one of the best quesadillas I've ever had!
The main thing to do on Caye Caulker is "go slow" and you really have to adjust to just not doing much. Caye Caulker is tiny and there aren't a whole lot of things to do. The toursity portion of the island is where most people hang out - be wary of locals cat-calling all the foreign girls in their bikinis - and the rest of the island is quite undeveloped. I had mixed feelings about the whole experience but still made the most of it.
A note before I jump into the acitivites: I really had wanted to do a snorkeling trip while on Caye Caulker given how gorgeous the water is around here. We ended up choosing not to go, because we couldn't find a single ethical tour operator that doesn't feed the wildlife, and that's just something I couldn't support. Feel free to make your own choice here and do your own research!
Walk around town
Honestly, the main thing to do is simply to explore. You can wander the cute streets of the island and cross the entire town on foot in about 15-20 minutes.
Hang out at Stingray Beach
One of just two beaches to hang out on, this beach actually belongs to the Iguana Reef Inn. You'll be able to spot plenty of stingrays hanging out in the waters - sadly, it's because they do get fed.
Feeding time 🙁
Sunset over Stingray Beach
Go swimming from The Split
The other beach to hang out on, The Split is the piece of water between the south and north islands and has absolutely gorgeous water to jump into.
Looking to the north island
Go biking around the north island
If you've got an extra day, you can take the little Split Ferry across to the north island and explore the undeveloped sandy trails by bike. It wasn't my favourite thing we did so you won't miss out, but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon when we had rented bikes.
The empty north island
Take a yoga class at Namaste
The Namaste Cafe offers daily yoga classes upstairs on the outdoor yoga terrace and it's a really lovely way to start the day. The classes are designed for all levels so they are definitely quite easy, but it's still nice to flow.
Watch the sunset every night
The absolute best thing to do every single day on Caye Caulker is to watch the sunset. You can watch from Stingray Beach or the floating dock next door or while you're dining at Pelican Sunset Bar and I guarantee you they will all be amazing.
Then watch the moonrise on the other side of the island
Once the sun has set, cross over to the other side of the island and catch the glow of the moon rising overhead.
I quit my job last July and decided to take what I coined an "adult gap year", given I was taking it aged 28, instead of the typical gap year age of 18. I went back and forth for months on exactly when I would go, which countries I would visit, for how long I wanted to travel, with whom I wanted to go - if anyone...
My Central America trip would turn out to cover five countries in five weeks; click the photos below for all my guides!
Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Guatemala
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