9 Awesome Things To Do In Caye Caulker, Belize!
Caye Caulker is a tiny little island off the coast of Belize in Central America. It’s less than 1 mile wide and 5 miles long. BUT the Northern part of Caye Caulker is a protected forest reserve, the South is mainly just an air strip, making Caye Caulker Village around 300m from East to West and just over 1 mile North to South!
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There are no cars on the island, everyone either walks, rides a bike or drives around in a golf cart (the beer delivery truck is a tractor…). With an island motto of “Go Slow’ you can expect a stay in Caye Caulker to be pretty laid back and relaxing!
🐢Things To Do | 🍔Caye Caulker Restaurants | 🛏️Where To Stay | 🚤How To Get from Belize City to Caye Caulker
Things To Do In Caye Caulker
The island may be small but here are 9 things to do on Caye Caulker!
🐠Snorkeling | 🛟Water Sports | 🌴Relax | 🏖️Beach | 🧘🏻♀️Yoga | 🚲Explore the Island | 🌿Caye Caulker Mini Reserve | 🌅Sunset | 🚤Excursions
Caye Caulker Snorkeling Tours
Belize first entered my radar when I found out it has the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world (after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia). There are a few different companies that have snorkelling tours departing from Caye Caulker. F
rom a fellow blogger recommendation, I went with Caveman Snorkeling Tours.
Sometimes the boats used for the tours are small with very little shade, there’s also not really anywhere to store bags.
Either take a dry bag, as little as possible or if you take a normal bag they’ll provide you with a dustbin bag to try and keep it dry. It then just sits on the floor where it’s wet from all the bodies and life jackets going in and out of the water!
The tour is amazing for seeing larger marine animals with regular appearances from sting rays, sea turtles, nurse sharks, moray eels (creepy and awful) and if you’re travelling to Belize in the low season, there’s a chance you may see Manatees too, as they add it into their regular all day tour as a bonus!
The snorkel tour has 7 stops with the 4 main stops at: Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Shark Ray Alley, a coral garden and a shipwrecked barge (I nearly puked at this stop…I don’t know if it was due to the current but loads of us felt rough at only this particular stop)!
Dinner and a snack of fresh fruit is included on the tour. On the way back to Caye Caulker we fed tarpon fish, visited a seahorse reserve (this can be seen from land too) and even saw dolphins!
Caye Caulker Water Sports
I spent a lot of time in the water! You can hire jet skis, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards etc. I was lucky, my accommodation had free kayaks so I took that out one afternoon.
There is a fairly strong current around Caye Caulker so keep this in mind that if you start paddling in one direction you’ll have to turn around at some point and paddle back!
Most of the island is surrounded by sea grass too, you’ll need to go out deep if you are after clear water! The Lazy Lizard Bar and Grill has a diving platform for those that are brave enough!
If you want a more relaxing way to enjoy the water, both the Sip N Dip and Northside Beach Club have inner tubes you can float in (including mini tubes so you can float a bucket of beer next to you)! Northside Beach Club also has a water volleyball court and swimming pool.
Hammocks and Swings
If you’re like me, you’re likely to spend most of your time testing out different hammocks and swings around the island! There are certainly loads to choose from both on land, as restaurant seating and in the water at some of Caye Caulker’s beach bars!
Some accommodation have their own private jetty with hammocks on the end of them. These are great places to hang out (excuse the pun), even in 40c/104f these seem to catch a breeze, I often ended up with goose bumps which made a change from sweating like a pig!
The Best Beach in Caye Caulker
Caye Caulker is mainly a limestone island and therefore it does lack beaches. There are places to access the water but not really anywhere to lay out a towel unless the sea wall is soft enough for you.
Northside Beach Club on the north part of the island and has a good sized beach complete with sun loungers and hammocks, if you’re after a beach, this is where you should head. A free shuttle leaves the south island every 30 minutes (but you are expected to buy at least one drink).
Alternatively, lots of people hang out at The Split. This is a popular public swimming area.
Rooftop Yoga
Rooftop yoga was one of my favourite things to do in Caye Caulker! Classes at Namastle Cafe & Yoga take place at 9am Monday to Saturday and is pay by donation, the idea being to make yoga accessible to all people.
Jessie is a great instructor! Just like the ‘hammock jetties’, there’s a nice breeze on the rooftop! The class had both a mixture of male and females, young and old and people of different levels. Mats are also included!
Since my visit, they have also opened up the cafe, serving drinks and healthy breakfast and lunch options!
Enjoy Caye Caulkers Colourfulness and Cute Street Signs
As you’ve probably guessed by now, Caye Caulker is ridiculously walkable, however cycling is also a fun way to get around. You can hire a bike or some accommodation have free bikes that you can use.
*TIP* The bikes are rusty and don’t have the traditional handle bar brakes…you have to PEDDLE BACKWARDS to get them to stop!
I enjoyed just wandering around taking pictures of all the colourful buildings and if you have eagle eyes, you’ll come across cute little hand written signs! I really liked the beach path route rather than the main road just because it was closer to the water!
One day I cycled to…
Caye Caulker Mini Reserve
Caye Caulker Mini Reserve is a tiny nature reserve right next to the airstrip. There are little walkways through the trees where you’re likely to see lots of lizards. *Big BIG TIP* Wear bug spray!!!
The are 5 million mosquitos in the reserve and man those ones seemed to hurt more than all the other ones put together!!
Catch A Sunset
One of the best places to watch the sunset in Caye Caulker is at the Lazy Lizard! Everyone gathers on the sea wall that borders the Split and enjoys happy hour as the sun sets! Apparently it’s one of the only places on the island where you can see both the sunrise and the sunset!
Alternatively, the Northside Beach Club has beach bonfires once it gets dark.
Other Belize Excursions
You may have seen photos of the Great Blue Hole, a giant round sink hole in the middle of the sea that’s 124m deep and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can arrange tours to scuba dive into the hole or take a scenic flight over the top of it!
Of course there are tour operators on the island that can also arrange tours for things to do on the Mainland such as Altun Ha Mayan Ruins or Cave Tubing but these involve catching the water taxi back to Belize City and then taking land transportation.
Related Reading: “Butts Up! Nuts Up!” | What To Expect Cave Tubing in Belize
Caye Caulker Restaurants and Cheap Eats
I did a LOT of eating while in Caye Caulker! I mainly tried to stick to a cheap budget and shock horror I don’t actually like seafood which make up the majority of Caye Caulker restaurant food guides. Here are a few different options!
For the full guide, check out: 12 Caye Caulker Restaurants & Cheap Eats | Belize
Breakfast
- Jenny’s To Go Food
- Errolyn’s House of Fry Jacks
Sweet Treats/Snacks/Lunch
- Ice N Beans
- The Creamery
- Gelato Italiano Anna & Armando
- Scoop D’s
- Caye Caulker Bakery
- Sea Choice Juice Bar
Dinner
- Chef Juan’s
Where To Stay In Caye Caulker
Colinda Cabanas
I stayed at Colinda Cabanas which is located in a quieter area of Caye Caulker Village. I was sold on the private hammock that each room had on their deck (although I actually spent more time in the hammocks on the jetty)!
I loved all the little additions that you received as a guest of Colinda Cabanas. Each guest had free usage of:
- Their own personal bike
- Kayaks (first come first served), snorkel gear and floats that you could use in the sea
- A communal shelf of left over products (the aftersun someone left was a LIFESAVER)
- Wifi
- A filtered water dispenser
- A mini library in each room
- Tea and Coffee maker (plus kettle)
*Note* SOME of the cabanas do not have air con! I opted for the cheaper room without the air con because I always end up turning it off anyway because I hate being cold. There are fans in these rooms instead!
How To Get to Caye Caulker from Belize City
I wrote a whole step by step guide taking you from the door of the airplane in Belize City, to the boat dock in Caye Caulker! There are 2 different water taxi companies that serve the island, the San Pedro Express and Ocean Ferry.
You can find the schedules and information about the two companies in this post:
How To Get to Caye Caulker From Belize International Airport
More Information on Belize Travel
My MUST pack travel item for Caye Caulker would be a Rash Guard
They don’t bubble up like a t-shirt in water, they are lightweight and roll up really small for those that like to pack light!
Best Rash Guard For Snorkeling & Travel | A Must Have Travel Accessory!
I visited during low season (June), here are my Tips For Visiting Belize, including information about which currency to use, how safe I felt as a solo female traveller and more. Or here is a 7 day itinerary which you may find helpful! Belize Itinerary: Belize 7 Day Itinerary For Caye Caulker & Belize City
These were some of my favourite things Caye Caulker things to do and I hope you enjoy them too! Any questions? Let me know!
About the Author – Kylie
My travels have taken me to over 40 countries worldwide (& I lived in USA for 4yrs). I hold a BTEC National Diploma in Travel & Tourism (triple distinction) and have been writing on Between England & Everywhere since 2015.
Expert in: Adventure travel🎢, beach destinations🏖️, and packing light (mid-budget backpacker)🎒
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Last Updated on March 28, 2024
Love it! And I love all the sweets recommendations! I’m heading over there from my home island of Ambergris Caye next week – thanks for all the tips.
Haha I’m terrible, I have such a sweet tooth!! Hope you have a great trip!
This is the first time I am hearing about Caye Caulker and I’ve been obviously missing a lot, Kylie. Excellent recommendations and ideas, especially the snorkeling part. How many days would be enough to explore this island?
Thanks! I was there for 4 nights but you could probably do it in less! If you have a day for the snorkelling tour, you could probably have another full day just walking around the island as it is very small! I purposely left a couple of days to relax and do nothing as I wanted to switch off a bit! I then had one full day on the mainland where I done a tour there too but you can go on that same tour from the island too 🙂
Wow it looks amazing! And that dinner looks delicious! I really need to visit this place, thanks for sharing 🙂
I ate so much good food in Caye Caulker!!!
I like the idea of rooftop yoga!
I loved it! Being up high it was a quite space from the streets below!
This place has been on my radar for a bit, but seeing those cute little turtles definitely makes me want to go!!
It was the marine life that drew me to Belize too! It’s definitely a place that seems to be stepping up to cater for the tourists! Lots of improvements and new bars etc!
I want a “just say the word” cake guy! He sounds awesome. This sounds like a place my husband and I would love to visit.
Haha! Everywhere should have cake delivery guys!
I want to go sometime!! That snorkeling looks amazing – the water is so clear! Loved your sweets recommendations, -‘d now I am craving a sweet treat hehe
Haha I’m terrible, I’ll skip dinner and have ice cream instead 😂 The water visibility was AMAZING!
The food looks delicious, those waffles omg!! Must visit!
You could have loads of different toppings and flavours too! Amazing!!
Oh, man, the food! Everything looks delish!
It was! I literally find myself craving fry jacks at least once a week haha
I’ve been to Caye Caulker twice and just love the laid-back vibe. When we were there, the only place to swim was at the Split. Interesting tips on where to spend the night and have drinks! Great guide!
Thanks! Yeah Koko King was a great beach area and there was a 2nd smaller beach area just round the corner from the Split but I think that was more for a hotel’s use!
I just love the way that you have explained every part of your trip in detail. Specially the ideas for cafes and drinks is a great directory list for everyone to refer.
Thanks! I had went to a couple more places too!