Expert: Jamie Rivers - 3/9/2009

Question
...sorry forgot to tell you that i will be leaving the
group in flores, guatemala so that transport to belize
would have to start from there.

thankz  

Answer
Hi Michelle,

You can get from Flores to Belize by either bus or air. The airport that serves Tikal is in Flores-if I remember correctly you can almost see the lake from the airport it's so close. Tropic Air has a couple of flights per day for around $100 one way. If you Google Tropic Air you should be able to book a flight-or just do it at the airport or any travel agency once you are in Guatemala (there are agencies on every corner it seems).

The bus is another option, I felt extremely safe traveling by bus in Belize and enjoy it more than flying because the scenery is amazing. Linea Dorada is a luxury service that goes from Flores to Belize. The roads going inland from West to East in Belize are not the greatest and are quite rural so I'm not sure how long the bus trip would take-I would guess it would be the greater part of a day. They buses depart Flores at 5 and 7:30 a.m. every morning and it costs $17 one way. The website is in Spanish (tikalmayanworld.com)-if you don't speak Spanish it's not too helpful, but click on Horarios y Diarios for times and prices. You should be able to buy bus tickets at the airport or any agency as well. They can also tell you where to catch the bus.

Both land and air trips will take you to Belize City. This is probably the best starting point for a going dive trip as well. The domestic airport is right outside of the city, maybe a mile. The bus stop is right in the heart of the city.

I'm not sure where you want to dive-Blue Hole possibly? A believe most outfits operate off of Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker rather than Belize City. You can take a water taxi to either caye from Belize City-there are 2 water taxi choices right across the inlet from each other and it's a cheap 30-45 minute boat trip to the cayes. Ambergris is larger and more commercial with more options for dive trips, Caulker is much smaller and laid back- dirt roads and small dive outfits-but both have plenty of hotels or rooms for rent. You can dive to most places in northern Belize from these cayes. There are many, many other smaller cayes with closer access to dive sites, but most are luxury resort islands and quite expensive-I'm not sure what kind of money you are trying to spend, but that's an option as well. Also, if you don't want to take a water taxi most islands, including Ambergris and Caulker, have their own runways and you can fly to the island from the city  instead.

As far as your return trip, you would not need to go back to Guatemala to fly home. Belize City also has an international airport about 20 minutes outside of the city. This should be about a $20 taxi ride. You can get anywhere from here.

Hope this helps, have a great trip and let me know if I can help with anything else!

Jamie