What is it like to drive in Belize?
Giancarlo Vega
Driving in Belize is fairly basic, just like in any other country. I came to Belize when I was twelve, and I got my driver’s license when I was sixteen.
I have driven in Guatemala, in Mexico, and last year I went to Costa Rica. I do not want to drive in Costa Rica it again, because there is too much traffic in Costa Rica. In Belize, there is not a lot of traffic congestion. There are some good drivers, and there are some drivers that, like in other...
Driving in Belize is fairly basic, just like in any other country. I came to Belize when I was twelve, and I got my driver’s license when I was sixteen.
I have driven in Guatemala, in Mexico, and last year I went to Costa Rica. I do not want to drive in Costa Rica it again, because there is too much traffic in Costa Rica. In Belize, there is not a lot of traffic congestion. There are some good drivers, and there are some drivers that, like in other countries, drive too aggressively.
Posted December 1, 2014
Christian Burn
Driving a car on the mainland of Belize is exactly the same as anywhere else. Traffic is not nearly as bad as driving in Panama. The traffic congestion in Panama is just terrible and they are very aggressive drivers. In Belize, they are not as aggressive. Belize just doesn’t have the same population density as Panama or other places. We only have 300,000 people in the entire country; not millions and millions.
Driving a car on the mainland of Belize is exactly the same as anywhere else. Traffic is not nearly as bad as driving in Panama. The traffic congestion in Panama is just terrible and they are very aggressive drivers. In Belize, they are not as aggressive. Belize just doesn’t have the same population density as Panama or other places. We only have 300,000 people in the entire country; not millions and millions.
Posted December 2, 2014
Larry France - Chabil Mar
I've been told all along from the very beginning that it's very safe and friendly in Belize. So I took people's word for it. I was told from the very beginning, as I was researching and spoke on the phone with US citizens who lived in Belize, "Oh, it's just wonderful! The Belizean people are very friendly." So I took their word for it, because they were Americans who relocated there. And then of course I have my own experience, and now that I am the marketing manager of...I've been told all along from the very beginning that it's very safe and friendly in Belize. So I took people's word for it. I was told from the very beginning, as I was researching and spoke on the phone with US citizens who lived in Belize, "Oh, it's just wonderful! The Belizean people are very friendly." So I took their word for it, because they were Americans who relocated there. And then of course I have my own experience, and now that I am the marketing manager of Chabil Mar, I am traveling around the country on a regular basis.Everywhere I go, everybody is really, really friendly and welcoming--- they smile a lot. The roads there, though they're not of the quality that we have in the US, they're very easy to manage. There's only about 5 paved roads in the entire country. They just crisscross the country and then once you get off that road, you go into these little dirt pathways to get up to some little villages and some of the tourist attractions that are most always on a dirt road at that point.
Travel is easy; it's all very close. You can go from the far east of the country where my place is in Placencia to the western border of Guatemala and be there in right around 3 hours. That's the farthest west of Belize City you can travel. Placencia is probably about 75% to 80% south along the coast from Belize City and you can make trip in 3 to 3.5 hours because it’s all paved roads. I feel very comfortable just driving around now especially since I've done it many times, just renting a car. If you're going to live in Belize full time, you're going to own a car and getting around the country is quite simple.
(Popular alternate way of sightseeing in Belize is by traveling the rivers by inner tubes, pictured.)
Posted August 7, 2015
Wendy Miller - RE/MAX Property Center South
Like the U.S.,Belize's roads are given in miles, and gas is sold by the gallon. The gas stations were re-branded in 2012 in our country as Puma and Uno. Unlike other countries in our region where shaking down a tourist in a rental car is a small industry, in Belize you will usually not be pulled over for phony traffic offenses, and if you are stopped at a checkpoint, which often happens, it is rare but not unheard that you will be asked for a bribe. The...
Like the U.S.,Belize's roads are given in miles, and gas is sold by the gallon. The gas stations were re-branded in 2012 in our country as Puma and Uno. Unlike other countries in our region where shaking down a tourist in a rental car is a small industry, in Belize you will usually not be pulled over for phony traffic offenses, and if you are stopped at a checkpoint, which often happens, it is rare but not unheard that you will be asked for a bribe. The police will invariable ask for your driver's license and check your windshield to see the license sticker. This is more pre-text to strike up a conversation to determined if you are transporting drugs or doing something illegal.
Driving at night is not recommended by me because there are a few people on the roads still after dark going home on bicycles and some are walking, it is very hard to see them because the streets are not marked fully and its hard to see the potholes and topes- that is Spanish for sleeping policemen.
The vehicle I would recommend for you to drive in Belize are the large four wheel drive, such as an Isuzu Trooper, Toyota 4runner, Jeep Cherokee or Ford Explorer. The reason for that is that they offer a smoother ride on the roads and the large tanks helps so that you don't always have to stop to put in gas.
(Toyota 4x4 off-road in the Flowers Bank area of Belize District, Belize, pictured.)
Posted September 1, 2015