I have the feeling people either hate or love Caye Caulker, a Caribbean island smack right in the Caribbean sea in front of Belize. “So Kristel” you might think, “an island in the tropics with white sand, dotted with palm trees, a laid-back vibe, seafood all around, dolphins jumping right in front of you out of the ocean, great snorkelling, where people speak English, with colourful hammocks to chill out at… what’s not to love about that?” Well… yeah if you sum it all up it sounds nothing but awesome indeed, but still it it might not be the ‘pirates of the caribbean’ dream you envisioned.
So here it comes, all the downsides of the island according to moi in one breath:
The prices of food and accommodation are quite high in Caye Caulker (as everywhere in Belize), all of the shores are covered in quite a bit of plastic (together with seaweed), locals try to sell you (soft)drugs at night and if you’re a woman traveling on your own you will for sure get a little nauseous of all the comments you hear throughout the day. And night. Oeff two breaths.
But baby don’t worry, about a thing. Despite all of that I really thought Caye Caulker was worth the detour.
No one seems to think there’s a need for speed in life indeed.
If only for the sunshine and the utterly relaxed vibes. The slogan of the island (or is it the country?) is ‘go slow’ and no one seems to think there’s a need for speed in life indeed. Also a note to other female solo travellers; despite all of the comments I never felt really unsafe.
And that’s awesome. Also, having lived in the Caribbean of Costa Rica, being surrounded again with this ‘dreadlock rastaaa’ culture, Caye Caulker felt a little bit like home.
There’s little to do on the island, but that’s actually a good thing. After all, you mustn’t disturb the lazy vibes right? The sunshine is all you need. But let’s begin at the start.
Accommodation at Caye Caulker
Although Caye Caulker is expensive in general (compared to other Central American countries), it’s possible to visit the island on any type of budget. For the smaller pockets luckily there are a couple of guesthouses / hostels on the island!
As I heard negative stories about Bella’s Backpackers and mixed stories about the Go Slow Hostel, I booked a relatively new hostel: Yuma’s House. Run by a pretty strict German (inherent indeed) this hostel felt quite impeccable compared to the others. This is not a party place, but the location is very convenient (right on the beach, next to the main drop-off piers). It also has a kitchen, so it’s easy to make breakfast or lunch yourself, if only to stretch that budget a little further in Belize.
Tigger and Buddy – the two lovely hostel dogs – were another happy highlight for me at Yuma’s :).
Activities in Caye Caulker
Snorkelling or diving around the reefs
The main big activity on Caye Caulker is a snorkel or diving trip. Or even better, both 🙂 as the underwater world in Belize simply is outstanding.
The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest barrier reef in the world, only after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. There are a lot of famous diving and snorkelling destinations close to Caye Caulker and for many people this is the main reason to come to the island at all. If only to revive just one precious Jacques Cousteau-like moment.
There are many options to explore the reefs around Caye Caulker. The most famous ones are the Blue Hole (one of the top ten dive sites according to Cousteau) and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley (one of the highest concentrations of sharks and rays in the world).
Unfortunately on a day trip you can only see a small bit of the 300 km / 190 miles long barrier reef. It’s the main reason why I decided to go on a three-day sailing trip with Ragamuffin. The trip was really cool and had a high ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ feeling, even though we had absolutely dreadful weather. But no worries, I think it’s impossible you’ll have so much bad luck as we did, so I’d highly recommend going on a tour with them! Upcoming is a visual diary of the trip, so stay tuned if you like to know more (and you should!)!
Drink a Belikin beer at The Split
At the uttermost northern end of the island you’ll find The Split, a pretty relaxed spot to take a break of all that relaxing. The Lazy Lizard has a couple of awesome hangouts in the water, in case you just can’t decide whether you should hang in the water ór are in need of being hydrated on the shores.
Unfortunately I didn’t feel the need for both, as the weather upon my visit wasn’t that pretty ↓ But I can totally imagine that it’s difficult to leave this place whenever the sun’s out!
Go for a walk around the island
Basically you can see all of the streets within an hour, and though you might get so lazy in here that your walking reach will only be limited to a couple of streets, I feel that you would miss out if you wouldn’t do some exploration. Once you get off the main street you’ll see that things get a little more real and dilapidated.
The little airport basically marks the end of the town. There’s a nice little path along the shores as well, so you could walk that way back to the centre of the town again. Although unfortunately – as said – plastic is all around in here.
Buy some local souvenirs
Caye Caulker has a couple of cute little shops you don’t want to miss out on. Especially The Blue Little Gift Shop on the main street (near the Namaste Cafe) is worth the visit. Right across the street you find another gem: a chocolate shop!
But the best gifts are possibly to be found just next to the road. Many locals sell jewellery made out of the seeds, stones and shells of the island.
Eat!
Because all of that hammock rocking requires a bit of energy too :). Here’s where to go if you don’t want to slam that budget!
Chill out anywhere!
This doesn’t really need an explanation right? Hammocks and awesome little hangout are all around the island. All you need to do is to find your favourite spot 🙂
Here’s where to find that dreadlocks rastaaaa paradise in Belize:
