Unparalleled scuba diving. Over 200 sandy isles. Coral-speckled sandy beaches. The second longest barrier reef on earth. No, it’s not Australia, the Maldives, or even Hawaii.
Belize, a small Central American gem found in the far-western Caribbean, is a natural playground home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Belize Barrier Reef, the visible-from-space and world’s largest marine sinkhole Great Blue Hole, and more than 500 species of fish. But checking off snorkeling and scuba diving at the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere shouldn’t be the only thing on your bucket list while in Belize. Rather, hone in on finding the beauty in between thanks to island hopping!
Speedboats are the transportation of choice to zoom from one sandy paradise to the other, where schools of rays, majestic giant turtles, and frolicking dolphins effortlessly keep up on either stern or port-side. Whether it’s just for the day or staying at a luxury bolthole resort, Belize has a plethora of magical remote islands that are just the thing for your personal version of Cast Away.
For those looking to soak up this luscious Caribbean coast, here are eight Belize islands to add to your bucket list vacation itinerary for paradise on the horizon!
Location: Southeast Coast
Travel time: 40 minutes from Placencia Village
Palm-fringed Moho Caye promises hours of salt-tinged laze, complete with hammocks, picnic tables, serenity, and just about nothing else. Found on the heels of a marine reserve, the Laughing Bird Caye National Park, guests can fly-fish off its shallow beaches, throw some things on the grill for an authentic Belizean BBQ, or moor offshore for those sailing in by catamaran! Though overnight camping is available on request (bathroom facilities are onsite), it’s most known for being a daytripper’s paradise.
Photo courtesy of… Nautical Adventures Belize
Location: Southeast Coast
Travel time: ~60 minutes from Placencia Village
A private island, the namesake Ray Caye Island Resort is also the sister site of Moho Caye! And with a tagline, “Imagine the Caribbean before it got crowded,” this luxury 20-room resort hosts no more than 50 guests at any given time. Patch reefs hug the 7-acre kidney-shaped island just a stone's throw from the Gladden Split and Silk Cayes Marine Reserves, with two pools, a full-service restaurant, and gorgeous all-glass plunge pools take center stage of their Honeymoon Suites. Undoubtedly, Ray Caye ranks as one of the top Island resorts in Belize.
Photo courtesy of.. Ray Caye Private Island Resort
Location: Southeast Coast
Travel time: 35 minutes from Placencia Village
Tiny but mighty, this sandy spit of land was recently fortified with a seawall to conserve the historic Silk Cayes Marine Reserve! Silk Caye is a popular day trip from Placencia Village in Southern Belize as a jumping-off point for scuba divers, snorkelers, or sun loungers. You can count the number of palm trees on one hand and beyond it’s blindingly-white beaches, its true beauty lies beneath its sloping surface. Snorkel the island for a 45-minute circular tour of docile nurse sharks, flashy parrotfish, and even the strange tubular trumpetfish.
Fun fact: A legislated protected zone since 2003, Silk Caye makes up only part of the attraction of this region known as Silk Caye and Gladden Spit Marine Reserve.
Photo courtesy of… Laru Beya Resort
Location: Southeast Coast
Travel time: Inside Glover’s Reef Atoll
Rustic and remote, choose any island inside Glover’s Reef Atoll for some of the most pristine reefs in Belize! Long Caye, which houses the namesake Glover’s Reef resort, draws eco-tourists interested in a secluded beach getaway where they can dive, snorkel, and play all day. At close to two hours offshore from the Southeast Coast like Dangriga Town or Placencia Village, it’s a trek to get here, so an overnight is in your best interest. No phone service, no problem: Glover’s Reef Atoll is where to go island hopping when you’re ready to leave the modern world (and its stressors) behind.
Photo courtesy of… Itza Resort
Location: Northeast Coast
Travel time: 90 minutes from Belize City
Beyond being Belize’s largest island, it’s also the most visited destination in the country: Ambergris Caye and its sole town of San Pedro are synonymous with proximity to the Belize Barrier Reef, a rich food scene, zipping golf carts, and burgeoning nightlife. Affectionately known as La Isla Bonita, beachgoers looking to tick off this Belize island from their bucket list can either take a 15-minute puddle jumper flight from the mainland, or a 90-minute public boat ferry to find accommodations within any [and every] budget. Activities center on the cornerstones of the landscape, like snorkeling, reef fishing, parasailing, and lounging at the not-so-secret Secret Beach. At just 25 miles long from north to south, San Pedro packs a punch into a small Belize island that’ll keep you busy.
Photo courtesy of… Matachica Resort and Spa
Location: Central Coast
Travel time: 60 minutes from Belize City
Much more relaxed than its San Pedro counterpart, the official motto on Caye Caulker is simply to “Go slow.” Sandy streets, no cars (except for a few taxis), and less than a mile in width from east to west, this small limestone coral island is just within the Belize Barrier Reef for sun-splashed, lazy days at The Split. Grab a bicycle, dine on the beach for charred seafood fresh from street vendors’ grills, or snap a pic of the island’s signature colorful houses. Whether you spent the day doing nothing but getting brain-freeze from lime-green slushy Lizard Juice cocktails or snorkeling at Hol Chan Marine Reserve, end your day with an out-of-this-world sunset on the of Caye Caulker; pelicans swoop low, curious stingrays beach themselves, and the fire fades behind moored sailboats for a more than memorable ending to your day.
Photo courtesy of… Lazy Lizard Bar & Grill
Location: Central Coast
Travel time: 90 minutes from Belize City
This isn’t a stand-alone private island, but the resort is worthy of mention on our list of Belize islands for your bucket list. Snuggled atop the coral island of Little Caye Bokel, saltwater anglers are giddy over the prime chance at landing a grand slam at this southern elbow of one of the world's unspoken wonders, the Turneffe Reef Atoll. Belize’s three atolls of the Western Hemisphere’s four total mean bonefish, tarpon, and permit are never far away, though fishing doesn’t need to be your thing to enjoy its marine biodiversity. The full-service Turneff Island Resort boasts 1 restaurant, 12 hammocks, 11 palapas, 1 outdoor pool, and 0 limit on the island stories to be made.
Photo courtesy of… Turneffe island Resort
Location: Southeast Coast
Travel time: 20 minutes from Placencia
Unlike the others, Harvest Caye is a Belize island that’s not entirely private, but not openly accessible to the public either. That's because the 75-acre island is a non-tendering cruise port! The private island for Norwegian Cruise Line hosts cruise guests of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, or Regent Seven Seas Cruises for as close to an authentic Belizean vacation experience as you’ll find for a cruise island. All the restaurants, amenities, and shopping stores are locally owned, which is where you can find several Duty & Tax Free Ltd. stores on site, including a rum testing center. A long, shaded pier leads you to a 1300-foot-long zip line, a 15,000 square-foot swimming pool (with a swim-up bar and splash pools), and a beautiful 7-acre white sandy beach.
Photo courtesy of… Cruise Critic
With 185 miles of coastline and hundreds of islands—locally called cayes—dotted in between, the possibilities for Belize island hopping are endless. Tobacco Caye, Ranguana Caye, South Water Caye, Laughing Bird Caye, and even the historic St. George’s Caye, where will your Belize island bucket list take you?
Grab a Belize islands map and get planning today!
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