When I say Caye Caulker is the coolest place in the world, I mean it, and in a BIG way. Everyone there walks cool (“go slooooow man”); talks cool “yo brutha, welcome to Caye Caulker – paradise on earth”); acts cool (“no shoes, no shirt… no problem,”); and are pretty much the most genuinely happy people I have ever met.

We started our journey to Caye Caulker (Belize) from Tulum (Mexico) on the 8am ADO bus, and about 4 hours later we arrived at the small Mexican seaside town of Chetumal, known for pretty much being the exit point for travellers leaving Mexico and heading to the coast of Belize.

Farewell Mexico! It’s been a blast!

We were to catch a fast-ferry from Chetumal to a relatively large island off the coast off Belize called San Pedro (Belize), and then another boat onwards to the smaller, more backpacker focused island of Caye Caulker, soon to become one of my favourite places on earth.

Dave and I had been expecting a full blown ferry and were quite surprised to find it was more of a jet-boat. Not to worry, the journey, although quite bumpy was also quite pleasant and the 90minute journey flew by.

Our fast ferry from Chetumal with all our backpacks

Upon arrival at San Pedro, the main entry point for entering Belize territory officially, we exited the boat and put our backpacks on (in stifling heat, mind you!) walked about 15 metres up the jetty to then stand in an orderly line in the blazing sun and wait 45 minutes before Belizean immigration decided they were ready to start processing us…. We would learn ‘Belizean island time’ is a real thing!

San Pedro immigration

Before too long, we had gone through immigration and customs, gotten the stamp on our passports and exited back out onto the same jetty at the exact same place we entered…. Only to be told the boat we would catch to Caye Caulker would be literally the exact same boat that had gotten us this far but we had to wait another hour before it would leave. So, why not order a cold Belikin beer from the small kiosk on the jetty… well, sure! Well played Belize!

Another short jetboat ride and we pulled up onto the Caye Caulker dock to be greeted by our lovely ‘taxi’ driver, organised by our even lovelier Airbnb host, who collected our backpacks, piled them on his GOLF CART (yes, you read that right, no cars on CC!), then proceeded to scoot us the couple of hundred metres or so to our accommodation for the next five days, giving us a running commentary of the island as we drove.

We booked the most amazing accommodation through Airbnb for our stay on Caye Caulker – it was a small, one bedroom standalone cabin above an ice cream parlour owned by Belizean local, Chila.

Chila’s Cabin behind Dave

View from out the front to the ocean

“Chila’s Cabin” was the most perfect aqua blue colour and I must admit, the balcony overlooking the main strip was perfect for the early morning sunrise and late afternoon people watching ( as well as trying to catch up on my blog) – a definite win on our behalf! Plus, the complimentary bicycles for island-cruising were a nice touch too.

View from the balcony just after sunrise

Dave jammin’ and me (tryin’ to!) bloggin’ on the balcony

We paid roughly $60 (AU) a night for the luxury of staying at Chila’s, relatively expensive compared to the dorm option on the island (but much cheaper than some guesthouses!), but in our view, fantastic value and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Despite the heat in Belize, we never found the need to use the air-con as the breeze at all times of the days was lovely and we slept with the balcony and front (back?) doors open which kept us perfectly cool.

Belize itself is a really small country – with a population of only about 300,000 or so, and Caye Caulker has about 2,500-3,000 residents. The island is basically a huge sand bar over a limestone shelf and underwater caves are apparently found in the limestone below the island itself. The island is skinny and runs about about 6.5kms long, but Caye Caulker town only occupies a thin strip of about a quarter of that – the rest is mostly vegetation.

The town strip

Caye Caulker was originally a fishing community; however nowadays its economy is predominantly tourism-based (and with the happy go-lucky people who live and work there, its no surprise!). It is a popular and backpacker (read: budget!) friendly destination with a focus on diving, snorkelling, fishing and other marine activities, although if you were after a place to just recharge the batteries whilst enjoying the sun and a few rum’n’cokes – this is also the place for you!

Renowned as the second largest barrier reef in the world (after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef), the Belize Barrier Reef is only a couple of kilometres from Caye Caulker – hence the plethora of snorkelling and diving daytrips offered.

Caveman Snorkelling Daytrip

Speaking of daytrips, we booked the full day snorkelling trip with one of the island’s most well reviewed outfits – Caveman Tours – and boy, were we in for a treat! Those that know me, know of my irrational fear of fish, so doing this tour was always going to be either a major success or a major failure. I will let you judge how it went…

Caveman’s meeting point

The owner, Caveman, did the introductory spiel before handing us over to our trusty guide, Ronnie, who fitted us each up with our own snorkels, mask and flippers. I was happy to see the gear looked to be in really good condition and according to Dave, it was higher quality gear so they weren’t scrimping – tick number 1!

Caveman doing the pre-trip briefing (see what I mean, he is just so cool!)

There were eight people on our tour, plus Ronnie, a born and bred Caye Caulker local. Our boat was smaller than I expected but it proved to be more than sufficient for what we needed.

Dave ready to hit the water!

Snorkelling Stop 1: Manatees!

After being on the water for what seemed less than 10 minutes, Ronnie told us that we were super fortunate and that right ahead in front of our boat were two manatees – or, as they’re often referred to, ‘sea cows’ – and we were able to jump in the water about 50 metres from where they were, and slowly and non-threateningly make our way over to within a couple of metres of these big, beautiful creatures.

I am not sure what I was expecting when I looked at these two big, floating lumps of mammal, but I was actually quite overwhelmed with awe at their size, and their gracefulness in the water! They were so big, and SO CLOSE to us, yet seemed completely unperturbed by the eight of us being right there with them.

It was a really special few minutes being in the water with then, and just gazing at them and thinking how fortunate we were to see them – A LOT of people go out on special manatee tours and never actually get to see them, so the fact we did, was pretty outstanding.

Snorkelling Stop 2: Sunken Barge

Our next snorkel stop was the wreck of a shipping barge that sunk in the middle of last century – so it has about 60 years of coral growth (which isn’t that much in the big scheme of things), and LOADS of fish that have now made its bones their home.

At this stop, my fish fear started to get stronger as there were a lot around, but they kept their distance, and I began to think the trip might be a success…

Snorkelling Stop 3: Hol Chan Guided Snorkelling Tour

The Hol Chan Marine Reserve is a protected marine park and one of the best places for snorkelling, probably in the world. At this stop, Ronnie took us on a guided snorkel tour, and pointed out all sorts of exotic fish (including the deadly lionfish!), beautiful coral and other marine life (including a moray eel).

*I actually got so many amazing photos of the fish that I thought rather than you having to scroll through them all, I would insert a photo gallery below instead of the most beautiful of the fish we saw… hopefully this works ok!

I don’t think these photos – as stunning as they are – show the vibrancy of the colours or the clarity of the water we were swimming in. The water was SO CLEAR and a spectacular azure, contrasted with a darker blue colour that represented the reef and corals. We were all blown away by the water visibility and by how bright and colourful the fish were, as well as the coral.

One of the highlights for me on this stop (in fact, the whole day!) was swimming through a 2 metre long underwater cavern that started about 4 metres below the surface of the water. Ronnie did the swim through, Dave did the swim through, and then one of the other guys on our tour did it… everyone was saying there were these huge fish in the tunnel that would just stare at them, and I knew I had to face my fear head on.

Dave leading the way out of the swim-through

So I took a deep breath and duck-dived down, kicking furiously with my fins to make sure I was deep enough to get through the entrance before I lost air (and my nerve!), then I swam through – eyeing off the 50cm and larger fish in the cavern – eeeeeeppp!!

And…. I did it!

Kicking up towards the surface after swimming through the cave was an exhilarating feeling, and I was so proud of myself for doing it – although I was so caught up in making it through the tunnel alive and not running out of air, I may have forgotten the fish were there 😉

We were watching a turtle coasting through the water below us, when Ronnie started gesturing a few metres behind us… and there was Mr Nurse Shark, slowly swishing his way along the ocean floor, minding his own business as he cruised along before coming to a stop and lying in the sand to chill.

I cannot lie – my heart was in my throat at this point, and if hadn’t been for the fact that the shark was about 5 metres below us, and clearly not interested, I may have had my first panic attack! However, seeing this dude early in the trip was actually a blessing as it made me realise nurse sharks are really not interested in humans…

I think it was after our third stop that we had a quick picnic lunch of friend chicken, salad and fruit on board, then we made our way to the next stop, were some other creatures would soon be enjoying their lunch…

Snorkelling Stop 4: Sharks and Stingrays

One of the other highlights of this trip was the oft-advertised swimming with sharks stop. I must admit, I was not that excited about this stop unlike most of the other people on the tour. We arrived in popular Shark Alley with a few other boats there, but just look at the colour of that water!

Apparently the nurse sharks in this particular area have gotten so used to the tour boats coming, that they actually swim around the back of the boats when they hear the engines, waiting for the sardines that will no doubt follow.

When questioned as to the environmental impact this has on the sharks who have grown dependent on this form of feeding, we were assured that it is actually having a positive impact on the shark population as it has given marine biologists a fantastic opportunity to study them in what is still a natural environment, as well as raise awareness of these magnificent creatures.

So Ronnie gave us clear instructions as were arriving – he would feed the sharks off the back right hand side of the boat, and we were to enter the water from the back left hand side of the boat then swim underwater to the front right to watch up close the feeding frenzy that would happen.

UM EXCUSE ME?!! Our boat was about ONE METRE wide – back left side versus back right side is KIND of irrelevant in this situation! I was super freaking out, but didn’t really have time to think about it as Ronnie said they only hang around for as long as the sardines last (then they’re off to find the next tour boat), which is about 5 minutes so if I didn’t want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity, I had to just jump in, cross my fingers they wouldn’t chomp on me by mistake, and trust Ronnie!

And boy, am I glad I did. Not only were there about 50 sharks down there, there were hundreds of fish, as well as stingrays all around us, literally enveloping us as they swarmed all around the boat fighting for the sardines…There were loads of nurse sharks but also loads of all the other fish come in for the feast!

Just before we jumped in…

and the view from below…

There were a few times I had to grab Dave’s hand as my heart was racing, but after a short while I realised (again), that they’re really not interested in humans, we are literally just an obstacle for them to manoeuvre around! I really enjoyed this stop in the end – who woulda thunk it?!

Snorkelling Stop 5: Coral Gardens

Our final snorkelling stop was the Coral Gardens, which to be honest, after the amazing snorkelling at Hol Chan Marine Reserve, was a bit of a let down so I didn’t take many pics.

We had about 45 minutes to explore this area, and there was certainly lots of coral formations around, but I personally would have preferred to spend longer at Hol Chan, and forgo this stop. But hey, 4 out of 5 stops were definite winners!

Bonus Stops: Seahorses and Tarpon

Our final two stops were ‘bonus stops’ which basically meant they were added extras that other tours don’t do, but we would not be in the water. The first one involved going round the back of Caye Caulker to the mangroves where Ronnie found some perfect little seahorses in their wild habitat, and we could all take a closer look. They were pretty cute, locking tails together!

The second bonus stop was not far from the seahorses, and Ronnie firstly said to just wave our hands about 30 centimetres above the water and see what happens. Being the scaredy cat I am, I waited to see what happened! And thank goodness I did, before we knew it, these HUGE fish, called tarpons, were jumping out of the water trying to touch people’s outstretched palms! Luckily for us, tarpons mouths’ are actually positioned in a funny upside down ‘u’ on the top of the heads so they cannot actually bite a hand if its being held flat – but still, way to scare the living daylights out of all of us!

Tarpons are apparently one of the best ‘game fish’ in the world for keen fishers and anglers as they put up one hell of a fight if they’re hooked, and to actually reel one in is something for even the most hardened of fisherman to be proud of. I could totally believe it – these fish could MOVE – and they were huge! The largest we saw was just over 1.2 metres but Ronnie said they easily get to over 2metres…. Eeeeep!

After a full on day of snorkelling, salt water and fresh air, we were all exhausted by the time we disembarked. Caveman Tours did a great job, and our guide Ronnie was top notch – this was a day I will definitely remember!

Some of the locals enjoying the water as well!

So after all the excitement of our snorkelling, what else are a couple of backpackers to do, except hit up the Lazy Lizard bar at the “Split” – the only real ‘swimming’ spot on Caye Caulker – for sunset drinks!

The Split and the Lazy Lizard

The Split is famous for being the only real place to ‘swim’ on Caye Caulker, and people congregate there quite happily during the heat of the day to swim, read, paddle, snorkel and basically just enjoy the view!

But once the sun starts making its way closer to the ocean, the crowds get busier and the Split really comes alive for the few hours before and the hour or so after sunset. People chilling in bathers with rums or cold beers and everyone gathers to hang out, play hacky throws, swim and enjoy the sunset – its magical!

And man, does Caye Caulker know how to put on a sunset!

Caye Caulker Food

Caye Caulker is very much about the traditional Belizean style of food with an island focus – lots of beautiful, freshly caught seafood including conch, snapper, prawns and (to my delight!) ceviche is widely available. I was rapt to find seafood in such abundance and pretty much every meal involved more seafood, unless it was breakfast!

Seafood BBQ on the beach

If it wasn’t breakfast, chances are you were eating a Belizean speciality called a ‘fry jack” – a deliciously greasy morsel consisting of fried dough, stuffed with your choice of additions – I went for chicken and cheese while Dave went for ham, scrambled eggs and cheese. Going for about $1 each, these were a cheap and easy breakfast, although the old saying “a minute on the lips, but a lifetime on the hips” certainly applies!

Fryjacks!

We had heard from some of the locals that we had to try Glenda’s (a local woman) cinnamon scrolls and breakfast sandwiches, so of course we made sure we did! Glenda doesn’t open her kitchen (which is literally inside her house!) on the weekends so on Monday, our last full day on the island, we were at her front door about 8am, and we ordered the last cinnamon scroll from her to share and a breakfast sandwich each.

Turns out Glenda sells out every day and we saw about 15 people (mostly locals) rock up for their daily fix, but go away empty handed – early bird gets the worm! I didn’t manage a photo of the cinnamon scroll (we ate that while it was hot – and it was AMAZING!!) but here’s Dave in Glenda’s little makeshift café with the breakfast sandwich.

On one of our nights we ate dinner at another local hotspot – Wish Willy’s. Run by Willy, a cool Belizean islander with long dreadlocks, and his wife (we think), this is a barbeque grill joint with a solid reputation as THE place to go for a good feed. And it is literally in Willy’s yard…

We rocked up to Willy’s house around 7:30pm, and by 8:15pm, both Willy and his missus had clocked off and were sitting with us having a chat and a smoke (of the green stuff… an island favourite!).

Us with Willy and his missus

As an example of how chilled out these people are, Dave asked for another beer, and Willy said “sure, go help yourself man, just grab a beer from the esky over there. And while you’re up, grab me one too brutha!” – we were laughing about it for days after. The food was great – I got the mixed seafood plate which came with fish, prawns and conch, and Dave got the mixed meat grill with lamb, steak and chops. I think I did better with the seafood 😉

So turns out this is a pretty epic post, and if you have gotten this far, congratulations! I was going to write a bit more about Caye Caulker and how cool and funky a spot it is, but I think I will let these last few colourful photos of the island speak for me instead!

Love the colours and the vibe of this place!

Caye Caulker was all about two things for us – taking advantage of the amazing marine life on our doorstep, and chillaxing in the island sun. And I am absolutely stoked to say that we rocked at both!