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Belize.com is proud to welcome noted travel writer Lan Sluder as one of our
contributers. His driving tips for Belize:
The roads in Belize are getting better and better. Sure, there still are sections of washboarded dirt that will shake your fillings out, but more roads are now paved and even the gravel or limestone byways seem to be scraped more frequently. A few roads, such as the Southern Highway and Hummingbird Highway and resurfaced sections of the Western Highway, are very good indeed, among the best in all of Central America and the equal of any rural road in the U.S. or Canada. Not too many years ago the Western Highway was unpaved, the Hummingbird was a nightmare of potholes, the Old Northern Highway was a jungle of tire- stabbing asphalt chunks, the Southern Highway was a mud trap, and not even Belize City had stop lights.
Below, the scenic Hummingbird Highway on the way south. Photo by Manolo Romero.
Signage, is improving, being better than in most of Mexico or the rest of Central America. Most critical turns and junctions are marked. Many roads have mile markers — though road work on the Southern Highway and elsewhere means many markers are missing. Around Belize City, San Ignacio and elsewhere, new signage helps visitors navigate to key destinations such as the international airport or the Mountain Pine Ridge.
Main Roads:
NORTHERN HIGHWAY This 85-mile route is a very good two-lane black-
topped from Belize City to Corozal Town and then a few miles to the border with
Mexico at Chetumal. The only thing that will slow you down are a few “sleeping
policemen” in villages and slow-moving trucks when the sugar cane harvest is
going on in late winter through late spring, and a toll-booth at the bridge over
New River (BZE 75 cents or US 37 1/2 cents). There is now a by-pass around
Orange Walk Town. Your first glimpse of the azure waters of Corozal Bay is a
highlight of this route. Overall Road Condition: Very Good Paved Section: 100%
Gas Availability: Excellent — there are many gas stations including a few new
ones open 24 hours
OLD NORTHERN HIGHWAY If you want to see Altun Ha ruins, you’ll have to drive at least part of this 41-mile arc to the east of the New Northern Highway. The section south of Maskall village is better than the section north. Most sections are narrow and some are heavily pot-holed. The 2-mile access road to Altun Ha is not paved. Overall Road Condition: Fair Paved Section: 75% Gas Availability: None
WESTERN HIGHWAY The 78-mile road takes you from Belize City quickly past
Hattieville, the Belize Zoo, the capital of Belmopan, the “twin towns” of San
Ignacio and Santa Elena and then on the Benque Viejo road to the Guatemala
border. Just past San Ignacio, you hit “cottage country,” where a number of
excellent lodges offer cold beer and a soft bed under quiet Central American
skies. The Western Highway is still in pretty good condition, and some sections
have been resurfaced. More topes are popping up as the road passes villages.
Overall Road Condition: Very Good to Excellent Paved Section: 100% Gas
Availability: Good
Below: The Caves' Branch River is one of many along Belize's highways where weary drivers can stop to take a break and cool off.
HUMMINGBIRD HIGHWAY This 56-mile highway stretches from the Western Highway at
Belmopan to Dangriga. The Hummingbird dips and swoops through some of the most beautiful territory in Belize. This was once a very bad road. Now it is in very
condition, with only a couple of bridges that are still one-lane. Take a break
at the Blue Hole, where a swim in the truly blue water is refreshing (a guard
will watch your car, so don’t worry) or at Five Blues National Park.
Technically, the road is called the Hummingbird for only about 33 miles from the
Western Highway to the village of Middlesex, and then it is known as the Stann
Creek Valley Road. The section into Dangriga town is fully paved. Overall Road
Condition: Excellent Paved Section: 100% Gas Availability: Poor — gas up at
Belmopan or near Dangriga
COASTAL HIGHWAY This 36-mile gravel road, connecting Democracia near Mile 30 of Western Highway with the Stann Creek Valley Road near Melinda, is also known as the Manatee Highway or the “Shortcut.” It does save time on trips to Dangriga or Placencia from Belize City. However, the road is washboarded in places and is dusty in dry weather. During heavy rains, bridges occasionally wash out. It is far less scenic than the Hummingbird. Overall Road Condition: Fair Paved Section: 0% Gas Availability: Poor — gas up in Dangriga or on the Western Highway
SOUTHERN HIGHWAY The Southern Highway, long known as the worst major road in Belize, is now the best road in Belize. It is all paved except for a 9-mile section near Golden Stream. The scenery, save for views of the Maya Mountains at about the halfway point, is unexceptional. Overall Road Condition: Good to Excellent Paved Section: 91% Gas Availability: Fair — best to gas up in Dangriga or near PG; in a pinch, there’s gas in Independence and on the Placencia peninsula.
BELIZE CITY The roads and streets of Belize City confuse many visitors. Many streets are not signed, and some are little more than narrow, one-way alleys. Streets abruptly terminate at Haulover Creek, and you have to find a bridge to get from one side to the other. Taxis, bicycles and pedestrians dart in and out of traffic. However, things are getting better. New roundabouts on the Northern Highway have improved traffic flow, and new signage has popped up on main routes. Most streets are paved. Belize City is so up-to-date these days it even has a rush hour and traffic jams. Overall Road Condition: Fair to Excellent Paved Section: 95% Gas Availability: Excellent — modern gas stations have everything that U.S. stations have including convenience stores, except that you don’t have to pump your own gas.
AMBERGRIS CAYE You can’t rent a car on the island, although residents seem to be
stocking up on pick-ups and cars, crowding out golf carts, bikes and pedestrians
on the caye’s sandy roads. Sections of Coconut Drive, one at the airstrip and
the other at Island Supermarket, are paved with cobblestones. You can rent a
golf cart and putt south to near the tip of the island, and north (if the rental
company allows its carts to go over the river on the hand-pulled ferry) to
around Belizean Shores. After rains, these cart paths are rough and muddy, and
away from the water the mozzies will swarm you if you slow down. Overall Road
Condition: Fair to Poor Paved Section: 2% Gas Availability: Fair (gas is
available, but most golf carts run on batteries)
Above: The Hawksworth Bridge links San Ignacio and Santa Elena in the Cayo district.
Maps. The best general road map to Belize is from ITMB. A new 7th edition was
released in 2007. The color, 1:350,000-scale map retails for US$8.95. Even more
useful for most travelers is the mile-by-mile Driver’s Guide to Beautiful
Belize, published annually by the famous Emory King. Although the maps are
rough, this 8 1/2 x 11" guide is reliable and easy-to-use.
Gas Stations. Belize has Texaco, Shell and Esso service stations, with a total
of around 50 stations in the country. Shell stations recently were sold but will continue the Shell brand. Unleaded gas is widely available in Belize, at about
US$4.15 a gallon. Leaded is a few cents less, and diesel about a third less
(though in some areas such as PG it is more expensive.) Skilled mechanics are
few and far between, although you can get a tire changed almost anywhere.
Someone will come out and pump gas for you, and there’s no need to tip. Belize
gas stations accept Belize or U.S. dollars, and sometimes credit cards.
Miles or Kilometers? Like the U.S., Belize has been slow to accept the metric system. Distances are given in miles, and gas is sold by the U.S. gallon. However, some Japanese-made rental cars have speed and distance shown in kilometers only, a source of confusion on Belize’s mile-denominated roads.
Speed Limits. You occasionally see a speed limit sign in Belize, but there is little if any traffic law enforcement. Belize drivers, end to be charitable, but are not always the best in the world.
Sleeping Policemen. Speed-breaker bumps are used to slow traffic coming into residential areas. In many cases, you’ll get no advance warning about the bumps, but expect them as you enter any town or village.
Check Points. Unlike in some other countries in the region where shaking down
gringos in rental cars is a small industry, in Belize you will not be pulled
over for phony traffic offenses, and if you are stopped at a checkpoint, which
often happens, no one will promote a bribe. Just answer the questions, if any,
show your license or passport and visitor entry card, and you’ll be on your way,
with a friendly smile and wave from the police.
Safety. Traffic accidents are now the number one cause of death in Belize.
Belize drivers are often not well-trained, and driving after drinking is
unfortunately common. Watch carefully when passing stopped buses — kids may
suddenly dart around the bus to cross the road. Outside of settled areas, you
may drive for an hour or more and never see another car. Be prepared: Bring
water, a flash-light and other basic supplies, and maybe a cell phone, just in
case. In a poor country like Belize, anyone driving a car is, ipso facto,
wealthy. Don’t leave valuables in your car, locked or unlocked. In Belize City,
it’s best to park in a secured lot, or at least in a well-lit area. Do not pick
up hitchhikers. Driving at night in developing countries is seldom a good
idea, but in Belize night driving is easier than elsewhere because there are so
few people on the roads after dark. Jaguars and snakes, yes; people, no. Still,
after dark it’s hard to see potholes and topes.
Unusual Driving Practices. Belizeans basically drive like Americans or
Europeans, only worse. There are a few practices that may be unfamiliar to
foreign drivers. One is the left turn. Belizeans usually (not always) signal
right and pull to the right when turning left across traffic, waiting for
vehicles behind them to pass.
Best Vehicles for Belize. Do you really need four-wheel drive in Belize? On the
main thoroughfares such as the Western and Northern Highways, no. In the dry
season, even back roads generally are passable without four-wheel drive if you
have sufficient road clearance. But four-wheel drive is good insurance, just in
case you hit a stretch of soft muck or sand.
The vehicle of choice in Belize is a larger four-wheel drive, such as an Isuzu Trooper, Jeep Cherokee or Ford Explorer. These offer a smoother ride on washboard roads, and the large petrol tank cuts down on the need to stop for gas so frequently. However, rental rates on these large vehicles are high — US$80 to $110 day or more in most cases — and they drink gas.
Having a rental car is a real plus in Belize. You can go places not easily visited by bus, and while rental prices are not cheap, you may more than pay for the cost of the rental by avoiding high-priced tours.
ROAD TO CONSEJO This level 8-mile stretch takes you from Corozal Town to the Chetumal Bay, where there is a Belize customs station. Overall Road Condition: Fair Paved Section: 0% Gas Availability: None
ROAD TO SHIPSTERN Once past the paved section near Orange Walk Town, this road
just goes on and on, over rough, washboarded limestone. It’s about 40 miles to
Sarteneja village and Shipstern, but it will seem like twice that. A redeeming
feature of this road is Progresso Lagoon, the quintessential tropical lagoon. If you want to go to Cerros instead of Shipstern, you start the same way, but about
12 1/2 miles from Orange Walk Town, and 6 1/2 miles past the village of San
Estevan, you go straight instead of turning right; this takes you to Progresso,
Copper Bank and Cerros. The road can be tricky after heavy rains. From Corozal
Town, take the new hand-pulled ferry across the New River, saving you several
hours of driving time. Overall Road Condition: Fair to Poor Paved Section: 15%
Gas Availability: Fair
ROAD TO CHAN CHICH AND GALLON JUG From Orange Walk Town, it’s about a three-
hour, 68-mile drive to Chan Chich, the stupendous Barry Bowen lodge. As
you cross the Programme for Belize preserve and Bowen land (you’ll have to stop
at two guard houses), you’ll almost certainly see a variety of wildlife,
including Belize’s two species of deer and the oscellated turkey. At San Felipe
village, about 23 miles from Orange Walk Town, you can turn on a dirt road to
the Lamanai ruins and Lamanai Outpost Lodge, about 13 miles from San Felipe.
This road is now passable year-round. Overall Road Condition: Mostly Fair to
Poor, with some Good to Very Good sections Paved Section: 15% Gas Availability:
Fair (gas up at the Linda Vista “shopping center” at Blue Creek, run by
Mennonites; closed Sunday)
BURRELL BOOM You have two choices to get to Burrell Boom, Bermudian Landing and the Baboon (Black Howler Monkey) Sanctuary: Either turn off the New Northern Highway at about Mile 13, or off the Western Highway at Mile 15.5. The road to the Boom also functions as a short-cut if going between points on the Northern and Western highways, eliminating the need to drive through Belize City. The road from the Western Highway past the prison is now beautifully paved. Overall Road Condition: Good to Excellent Paved Section: 100% Gas Availability: Fair
ROAD TO SPANISH LOOKOUT AREA This part of Cayo will remind you a bit of the
Midwest, with spiffy Mennonite farms. The roads are mostly gravel and better-
maintained than average. (Note: In theory it is possible to get to Chan Chich
from Cayo via this route, a much shorter route. But access involves crossing
private lands, not presently open to the public.) Overall Road Condition: Fair
Paved Section: 10% GasAvailability: Fair to Good
MOUNTAIN PINE RIDGE ROAD TO CARACOL By the route from Georgeville, it is about
46 miles from the Western Highway to the ruins of Caracol. From San Ignacio, the
trip is a few miles longer — this route connects with the Mountain Pine Ridge
Road near the village of San Antonio. Even in good weather in a good vehicle,
don’t expect to average more than 25 to 30 mph on this road — it’s a three-hour
rough ride to Caraco. A reward: I have never seen so many butterflies
in Belize as I’ve seen on this road, and the scenery in many spots is lovely.
After a heavy rain, the limestone dirt can be very slick and dangerous, and clay
areas even more so.
Overall Road Condition: Good to Poor Paved Section: 0%
Gas Availability: None
ROAD TO PLACENCIA This 25-mile mostly dirt and gravel road runs from the
Southern Highway to the tip of the Placencia peninsula, passing Maya Beach and
Seine Bight. In wet weather, this road can be dicey. Small sections near Placencia and
Seine Bight villages are paved. Overall Road Condition: Fair Paved Section: 3% Gas
Availability: Fair (one station in Placencia village and one at Riverdale)
ROAD TO MAYA VILLAGES IN TOLEDO A series of connected roads take you from the
Southern Highway near PG to the Mayan villages of San Antonio, Santa Cruz and
Pueblo Viejo villages, or in other direction, to San Pedro Columbia village,
Lubaantun ruins, San Miguel village, and then back to the Southern Highway near
the Nim Li Punit ruins. This area was badly hit by Hurrican Iris. Overall Road Condition: Fair to Poor Paved Section: 0% Gas Availability: Poor (gas up at the
junction to the road to San Antonio)