Is there good bus service in Belize?
Giancarlo Vega
There are buses here in Belize, but the buses that they use here are buses that they used for school transportation in the US twenty years ago, so those are like really old buses. They are not comfortable and they are hot.
If you don’t have a car in Belize, you can take the bus or you can take a water taxi, which takes you from Placencia to Independence, or from Belize City to San Pedro and Caye Caulker. After the water taxi,...
There are buses here in Belize, but the buses that they use here are buses that they used for school transportation in the US twenty years ago, so those are like really old buses. They are not comfortable and they are hot.
If you don’t have a car in Belize, you can take the bus or you can take a water taxi, which takes you from Placencia to Independence, or from Belize City to San Pedro and Caye Caulker. After the water taxi, you can take a cab to your destination.
Most people take water taxis. That is what you would take when you are going to the other Cayes, which are San Pedro, Caye Caulker, etc. People often go on water taxis from Placencia to Independence. Independence is a community and that is where the Immigration Department is. So if you are in Belize on a visa, in order to stay in Belize, you have to go over to Independence to get your passport stamped if you want to stay over 30 days. Overall, the major modes of transportation in Belize are driving your car, taking bus or a taxi, and taking a water taxi.
Posted December 1, 2014
Wendy Miller - RE/MAX Property Center South
System-wide the bus service in Belize needs a lot of improvements. Many bus operators are allowed on roads with busses that are only marginally road worthy. There are some efforts to regulate busses, particularly in terms of making sure divers don't overload. A strict no standee policy is enforced but this has meant that on particularly busy days and at peak hours there is often not enough busses to move people. One can wait up to two hours for a bus sometimes during peak hours from...System-wide the bus service in Belize needs a lot of improvements. Many bus operators are allowed on roads with busses that are only marginally road worthy. There are some efforts to regulate busses, particularly in terms of making sure divers don't overload. A strict no standee policy is enforced but this has meant that on particularly busy days and at peak hours there is often not enough busses to move people. One can wait up to two hours for a bus sometimes during peak hours from Belmopan to Belize city. That said, there are some excellent bus operators such as James Bus Line. A major issue is that there is no ticketing system and no first come first served policy so people just rush the busses with the unfortunate result that less aggressive passengers could end up not boarding a bus they've been waiting for an hour when a more aggressive person comes who waited just five minutes.
City busses are more regular and reliable but not during the week days.
(James Bus Line, Belize, pictured.)
Posted October 13, 2015
Irma Quiroz-Yuque - Belize Vacation Homes
Belize has a very good transportation system; they’re all buses. The only thing is they’re school buses because they don’t have like the Greyhounds and there is no train system here. For example, to go from way up north, Corozal, where we are, all the way down to Belize City, which is roughly in the middle of the country, we would only pay BZ $5 (US $2.50) per person and it stops anywhere you want. So if I wanted to stop at a friend’s house...
Belize has a very good transportation system; they’re all buses. The only thing is they’re school buses because they don’t have like the Greyhounds and there is no train system here. For example, to go from way up north, Corozal, where we are, all the way down to Belize City, which is roughly in the middle of the country, we would only pay BZ $5 (US $2.50) per person and it stops anywhere you want. So if I wanted to stop at a friend’s house on off the main highway, then they would stop right there and let me off and I don’t have to walk anywhere else.
They do have very nice buses if you were to go to specific areas, like if I wanted to go to Guatemala or to Mexico, then I would pay a little bit more and I can go to those other places. A lot of people here Belize travel to Cancun first to get to Belize as their final destination point. So if you’re coming from the States, you go to Cancun and you come here. For this trip, there’s a very good bus system that we can use for very minimal prices but the buses go through all the villages.
There are only the two main highways in Belize. There’s the Northern Highway and the Western Highway, and so you just kind of go on these roads. Then you have to take another bus if you go down into the villages. Basically, almost everywhere you go, even if you were stranded somewhere and there’s a car passing by, they will stop and pick you up and take you to your destination. I have never had a problem with any of the transportation here in Belize; I can get anywhere without a car.
(Palm drive way, Corozal Belize, pictured.)
Posted October 30, 2015
Leon Hooker
The bus system in Belize is very heavily used by Belizeans and has a huge variety of companies providing buses. Many companies schedule routes on the main highways and usually a few routes to the villages off the highways near their headquarters. On the highways the total numbers of buses mean that the buses run at least every hour during the day and sometimes more often. Many foreigners and tourists use the buses and are welcome. The buses are...
The bus system in Belize is very heavily used by Belizeans and has a huge variety of companies providing buses. Many companies schedule routes on the main highways and usually a few routes to the villages off the highways near their headquarters. On the highways the total numbers of buses mean that the buses run at least every hour during the day and sometimes more often. Many foreigners and tourists use the buses and are welcome. The buses are old school buses from the US and are often very hot and very crowded although the government has ruled that there should be no standing the companies try to skirt that rule if the think they may not be stopped by police. The buses also have uncomfortable seats and windows which often won't close or seal. Often they have very poor tires and questionable engines.
There is an overnight bus from Cancun, Cancun Airport, Playa del Carmen and Tulum provided by ADO, a Mexican company. It is air conditioned to frigidity, has a bathroom and arrives in Belize City early in the morning. It returns to Cancun leaving in the late afternoon. Get there early. It's schedule has been adjusted a few times in the last few years so inquire as to exact times. Many budget travelers use these buses as it is often cheaper to fly to Cancun than to Belize. Be advised that traveling to outlying villages may be on very bad roads and even buses will have a rough time and a sparse schedule and may not be reliable.
(Pictured: Bus in Belize.)
Posted November 29, 2015
John Acott
For many Belizeans, buses are the only means of getting around the country. Yes, the buses may be a little old and lacking a/c, etc. but they do the job and they are cheap. Foreigners should not hesitate to use them as an inexpensive means of seeing the whole country. (Famous for its fishing and ship building, Sarteneja, Belize, pictured.)
For many Belizeans, buses are the only means of getting around the country. Yes, the buses may be a little old and lacking a/c, etc. but they do the job and they are cheap. Foreigners should not hesitate to use them as an inexpensive means of seeing the whole country. (Famous for its fishing and ship building, Sarteneja, Belize, pictured.)
Posted November 29, 2015