Explore Caye Caulker
Money - On Caye Caulker, most restaurants do not accept credit
cards. Those that do will typically charge a hefty 5% surcharge on
your bill. If you want to avoid these additional expenses, you may
want to carry some cash on you. With the exception of real estate
and the occasional hotel room, everything for sale in Belize should
be quoted in Belize $, inclusive of sales tax and GST. For example,
if the sticker says it's $10, you will pay $10 at the check out.
ShoppingMost of Caye Caulker's dozen grocery stores are located
along Front Street and Middle Street. As a general rule, stores
located on Front street tend to cater more to tourists and can be
more expensive than those located on Middle Street. Grocery stores
on the island can often "make mistakes" when adding up your bill.
For this reason, we recommend that you keep a running estimate in
your head and question any discrepancies.
Imported Goods Canned Goods and all imported Items tend to be very
expensive in Belize. If you simply 'must have' an important item, be
sure to check the expiry date first. Coffee Cream is usually not
available on Caye Caulker. But you can often find fresh milk.
However fresh milk is crazy expensive and almost always goes sour
long before the expiry date. You are far better off buying the
readily available milk in cartons and/or canned milk right off the
shelf.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually readily available on Caye
Caulker. However they can be 50% higher on Caye Caulker than in
Belize City. If you are on a budget and you happen to be arriving in
Belize City by bus, you will arrive at what is known as "Novelos Bus
Terminal". Right beside the terminal is a large market called
"Michael Finnigans" selling fresh fruit and vegetables.
Saturday is a best day for buying fresh fruit and vegetables on Caye
Caulker as the barge arrives on Fridays. Mosquito Repellent and sun
tan lotion can be crazy expensive in Belize = Bring it from your
home country. Also more than a few of our guests have been severely
burned by the sun after using sun tan lotion purchased on Caye
Caulker = Hmm ?
Beef is not that great in Belize. Although you might luck-out and
find a decent burger; you are practically guaranteed a tough steak
in almost every restaurant in the country = Eat like the locals =
eat fish and chicken and beans and rice and rice and beans and beans
and beans and beans....... There are many street vendors selling tacos
on the streets in the morning on Caye Caulker. These tacos are
either corn or flour and filled with a mixture of stewed chicken,
vegetables and onions (and hot sauce if you like). These tacos cost
50 cents Belize for Corn and one dollar for flour. Grab 3 or 4 and
you are good to go! This is a great time to impress your new friends
by buying them breakfast! Bottles of wine are very expensive in
Belize and usually not that great. If you like to imbibe, be sure to
bring a few bottles from your home country or pick up a few bottles
from the airports duty free shop. Or if you are traveling to Belize
via Mexico or Guatemala; you can usually pick up some good
reasonably priced bottles from stores like "Mega" or "Sam's Club:".
You can buy beer and pop by the case of 24 bottles at wholesale
prices on Caye Caulker by going to the Beer/Coca-Cola distributor
and picking it up yourself. The distributor is called "Bowen and
Bowen" and is located at the back of the island beside the
commercial pier. If you do not have heart or cholesterol problems,
another good choice for a cheap breakfast on Caye Caulker is a
"Errolynns house of Fry Jacks" which is located across from the
Atlantic Bank. These are like a fried dough stuffed with whatever
you want like chicken, beans, cheese, eggs etc etc. They cost around
$4 Belize. On Saturdays on Caye Caulker many individuals set up
bar-b-ques. One of our favorites is Alma's chicken and ribs who sets
up just down from China town grocery store on Middle Street.
There are about 70 restaurants on Caye Caulker. As a general rule
those run by Belizean's are usually far less expensive than those
run by foreigners. However again as a general rule the service in
Gringo run places is usually far superior. If you are in a Belizean
run restaurant; when the waitress finally comes to your table order
2 beers instead of one. If you come across a guy roasting a pig on a
spit or see a whole hog on the bar-b-Que keep walking. Chef Juan's
Kitchen which is located near a couple of hostels has excellent
desserts such as Cherry Cheesecake and Caye Lime Pie at a fair
price!
There are 2 water taxi operations serving Caye Caulker from Belize
City. One is called "Belize Express" and the other is called "Ocean
Ferry" . Taxi drivers will usually opt to take tourists to Belize
Express because it has more runs and it also has the latest
departure from the city. But remember the water taxi beside the
metal swing bridge which is called "Ocean Ferry" is significantly
less expensive! There are 2 airlines serving Caye Caulker. "Maya
Island Air" and "Tropic Air". Maya Island is usually a few dollars
less expensive. But sometimes Tropic Air runs seasonal specials. =
Check both airlines online booking calendars!
There are several professional "touts" on the island that collect
money for "Kids Sports Clubs" and other nice warm and fuzzy sounding
charities. Several other "touts" will pitch snorkel or fishing tours
at "unbelievable prices" and ask for advance reservation deposits.
Most of these are scams and you will lose your money......Remember this
important rule = If he acts like a weasel, and he looks like a
weasel, and he sounds like a weasel, and he talks like a
weasel.........Keep Walking! If you do want to help the local community;
there are several excellent ways to help. Here are a couple of
suggestions : Donations of cash to the local high school "Ocean
Academy" or to the village chairperson "Enelda Rosado" tohelp
support the elementary schools kids lunch program. Another amazing
organization always in need of funding is the Caye Caulker Humane
Society........Taking a local bus somewhere in Belize ? - Most of the
time you will just line up and when the bus comes in there will be a
"Mad Rush" to get on board. If it is a 72 passenger bus and you are
# 73 - you get kicked off the bus. If you are a couple, one person
stands in line and quickly gets on the bus and grabs 2 seats, while
the other person goes to the back of the bus and loads the luggage.
Once underway the drivers assistant will make his way down the aisle
and collects the fare.
Before going to bed at night, lock your bicycles and remove any
valuables from your porch and LOCK YOUR DOOR!
If you arrive on Caye Caulker with no reservation, there are dozens
of small family run hotels and places to stay that are not listed
anywhere on-line. You can almost always (except for New Years Eve
and Easter weekend) find a suitable place to stay. There are local
"Touts" that meet the incoming boats and ask the disembarking
passengers if they need a room. These touts will usually take
tourists to the closest place that offers the tout the biggest
commission. These touts are very good at what they do and will say
or do anything to make money. If you have already have place in
mind; they will often lie and say the place is dirty or has no
vacancy in order to steer the tourist to alternate inferior places
offering commissions. The operator of the accommodation will also
quote the tourist a higher price because he has to pay the "tout" a
commission. Do not follow the tout or allow the tout to follow you.
On the other hand, if it is late, you are tired, and just want to
get a room; these touts can provide an invaluable service... ..."Caveat
Emptor"
Do not throw your bones or lobster shells in your garbage can =
After cleaning and/or eating your fish walk to the end of the pier
at night and throw the bones and shells off the end. This is a great
food source for the crabs and small fish = and you won't be
wondering what that weird smell is at 2:00 a.m. Tightly seal any
snacks such as cookies and chips and remove garbage and empty
bottles from your cabana at night and be sure to clean up any spilt
pop = or you are going to have a bug-party in your cabana and it
ain't pretty! Sometimes at dawn and at dusk; and especially on
dead-calm days with no wind, sand flies can be a problem on the
Caye's. Who invited the sand flies to our party ? = Sand flea's,
sand flies, sand gnats or no-see-ms are all the same thing. They
live in the sand and are attracted to white and light and therefore
anybody with pale skin and particularly those who are new to these
parts like tourists = beware!. The only prevention for sand flies
that is 100% effective and environmentally friendly is baby oil or a
product from Avon that we supply to our guests called "skin so
soft". If you think you might be a "Bug Magnet" bring some "skin so
soft" from home as it is not available in Belize. = If you are
feeling your ankles getting chewed = move locations quick! Marijuana
is readily available on Caye Caulker. You may see locals smoking it
and may even be offered some for sale. However please note
thatMarijuana in larger quantities is still illegal in Belize.If the
police catch you with some significant amount of weed you may
suddenly find yourself in jail.... or broke.... or both.
There are 2 ATM machines on Caye Caulker. These machines dispense
Belize $ only. They often malfunction and/or run out of cash. Some
European debit cards do not work in Belize = check with your bank in
your home country before leaving. = carry some emergency $ If you
are staying in a cabana that has a kitchen and want to buy some
fish, walk to the end of the pier and look up and down the coast.
Watch for a flock of Frigate birds circling a near or faraway pier.
This will mean a fisherman is cleaning his catch (and may have some
for sale). You can usually expect to pay around $6.00 per pound for
whole fish and around $12.00 per pound for fresh snapper or
Barracuda fillets. "Rambo" the fish monger comes through Colinda
Cabanas on a regular basis selling his "brothers" catch of fish
fillets or lobster and conch in season. Talk to Juan or Emelita at
Colindas and tell him " Me need some fish Mon ". Another good place
to buy fish is beside the fisherman's co-op at the back of the
island beside the beer distributor. The fishing boats usually come
in around 3:00 p.m. = Don't be afraid to ask!
To be continued...
