Caye Caulkier vs. Goff's Caye

[kkbryan]

We are going to be in Belize in May. I am trying to decide between these two places or am up for other suggestions. We would like to snorkel off the beach if possible. I am not a strong swimmer. My husband is a great swimmer and diver. All the reviews I hear about Goff's caye mentions choppy water. So I am unsure I can get back in the boat gracefully. He is used to seeing beautiful reefs. So I guess what I want to know is does either place have decent snorkeling off the shoreline? That way we can do it together and if he wants to snorkel more I can stay on shore.

[crewsweeper]

Hard to say in advance how the water will be. Depends on the recent weather conditions

 

If you take someone's Shark Ray Alley tour, the boats usually head for the best of the nearby reefs and stop at Caye Caulker for lunch. If you take the water taxi to Caye Caulker, you can snorkel out by the split, where the island splits in two, from shore. Not as good as out on the reef but good. And there are places to eat and use the restroom. There may be other cruisers or tourists out on the beach, or if the day isn't great maybe not.

 

If you go to Goff's Caye, it's a spit of sand with some stands set up that sell typical American style beach food. The boat will then go out to the nearby reef. The boat will not be the only boat there. Most ships have excursions to the caye. So the place could be crowded.

 

All tour operators require all snorkelers to were snorkel vests which help in floating. All tours offer snorkeling gear. Guides will stay will slower snorkelers. If you are DIY at Caye Caulker, you'll have to bring all your own snorkeling gear and are on your own in terms of safety..

[overthehillcruiser]

Perfect reply from Crewsweeper..When we were at the reef at Caulkner the current was strong, but it had been windy..

[blue_water]

Two very different experiences, GOff's is a beautiful little spit where we snorkeled from shore along the reef. We took the ship excursion to have a boat pick us up and drop us back right at the ship and we snorkeled right from shore and it wasn't that rough, at least that day. Nice beach to relax on as well.

 

The Spit offers snorkeling but no proper beach, and the water is moving through there very fast. We didn't do the shark alley but others have said it can be rough. But we enjoyed the food and drink at the Lazy Lizard.

[Sunsetters]

We currently have Goff's booked for our upcoming April cruise. I am leaning towards doing Caye Caulker. Trying to find information on how to do it on our own, without risking safety or return to the ship. If anyone has experiences on how to get the water taxi to Caye Caulker or any other info it would appreciated. I am finding Belize a hard port to find something that sounds good for us...Beach, Beers, food, music and some snorkelling at our own leisure.

[blue_water]

If you look at the first few pages of threads you'll find these answers. San Pedro Express is just outside the gate in the port and very easy. We (2 couples) really enjoyed our day at Lazy Lizard.

[Lily429]

If you look at the first few pages of threads you'll find these answers. San Pedro Express is just outside the gate in the port and very easy. We (2 couples) really enjoyed our day at Lazy Lizard.

 

we had Goff's scheduled but thinking we would rather do the water taxi to Caulker and find a lunch spot and shop….from the looks of it I am thinking it is much like the bahamas, which we love! I am thinking this is the port we really want to mix with locals and chill. Where is a good lunch spot? We have our 10 yr old with us, is there enough to see and do outside of lunch and a few beers? also, can you give me a little guidance to the whole taxi and timing, we are in port from 9-6.

[oreoandboots]

We just got back and we booked an excursion with Belize Exotic Adventure Tours. It was awesome! I would highly recommend them. We went snorkeling at the Coral Gardens & then on to Shark Ray Alley. After, We had about an 1 1/2 at Caye Caulker to explore and eat lunch. It was a quaint little beach town. We walked down to the split & there is a little beach bar with music playing & a lot of people hanging out & swimming. I would go back there again. It was actually the highlight of our trip.

[oreoandboots]

I will also mention there was 13 people in our group. One of our guides stayed with my mother in law during the snorkeling at the Coral Gardens, which was a little choppy for us. The Shark Ray area was fine. You can stand up in the waters there. I did ask our tour guide about Goff's Cay & he said it is very small & not much there.

[blue_water]

we had Goff's scheduled but thinking we would rather do the water taxi to Caulker and find a lunch spot and shop….from the looks of it I am thinking it is much like the bahamas, which we love! I am thinking this is the port we really want to mix with locals and chill. Where is a good lunch spot? We have our 10 yr old with us, is there enough to see and do outside of lunch and a few beers? also, can you give me a little guidance to the whole taxi and timing, we are in port from 9-6.

 

 

 

CC has sandy roads and small eateries and cabanas and is a funky little island. I remember reading a review from a couple who stayed at Colinda's Cabanas and that was very informative, look for that on tripadvisor dot com. Or just google Caye caulker, Colinda's...

Gocayecaulker is another site you may want to check. Not a beautiful, manicured island by any means. But we found the water views from the Lazy Lizard to be absolutely stunning.

We enjoyed an excellent lunch at LL, local beers were $2US, and the Lizard Juice was $5 and 2 can share that. Not a problem having kids there during the day, the restrooms are a short walk but they are visible from the bar.

 

We took the San Pedro Express taxi and the schedule is posted on their site. We arrived at 8AM ship time which was 7AM Belize time in Feb. so we had plenty of time to make the 9AM Belize-time taxi. Not sure if ship time will be 1 hour ahead for you or what.

 

cayecaulkerwatertaxi dot com has a 10:30AM Belize time departure and the prices are lower, I believe that's just a little farther down the street past San Pedro. But the San Pedro taxi worked great, and we enjoyed just walking the street and relaxing at LL, very low key day!

[Lily429]

CC has sandy roads and small eateries and cabanas and is a funky little island. I remember reading a review from a couple who stayed at Colinda's Cabanas and that was very informative, look for that on tripadvisor dot com. Or just google Caye caulker, Colinda's...

Gocayecaulker is another site you may want to check. Not a beautiful, manicured island by any means. But we found the water views from the Lazy Lizard to be absolutely stunning.

We enjoyed an excellent lunch at LL, local beers were $2US, and the Lizard Juice was $5 and 2 can share that. Not a problem having kids there during the day, the restrooms are a short walk but they are visible from the bar.

 

We took the San Pedro Express taxi and the schedule is posted on their site. We arrived at 8AM ship time which was 7AM Belize time in Feb. so we had plenty of time to make the 9AM Belize-time taxi. Not sure if ship time will be 1 hour ahead for you or what.

 

cayecaulkerwatertaxi dot com has a 10:30AM Belize time departure and the prices are lower, I believe that's just a little farther down the street past San Pedro. But the San Pedro taxi worked great, and we enjoyed just walking the street and relaxing at LL, very low key day!

 

color me stupid but for the life of me I can't figure out the San Pedro taxi schedule…..they all relate to chetumal mexico

[blue_water]

Try this link -

 

http://www.belizewatertaxi.com/