Travel Goals

1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
4. Visit every continent.
5. See the Galapagos Islands.
6. Sail down the Amazon River.
7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
8. Ride the Trans-Siberian.
9. Go into space.
10. Go wild at La Tomintina.
11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
12. Gaze at Borobudor.
13. Visit the Pyramids
14. Safari in East Africa.
15. Go to the World Cup!
16. See Machu Picchu.
17. Join the Century Club.
18. Visit Antarctica.
19. Do development work.
20. See Petra Jordan.
21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
22. See the Northern Lights.
23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
24. Greek Island hop.
25. Cycle Tuscany.
26. Visit India.
27. Lounge in the Seychelles.
28. See Morocco.
29. Oktoberfest!
30. Caravan across the Sahara.
31. Visit Tibet.
32. Fly first class.
33. Go to Israel.
34. Carnival!!!!
35. Mardi Gras!
36. Cannes Film Festival.
37. Sundance Film Festival.
38. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
39. Pacific Island hop.
40. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel.
41. See Glacier National Park.

Learn a Foreign Language

Are you planning to travel around Europe? Why not learn Italian or French before you go to maximize your experience.

Book Your Travel Here!!

OK, so it’s more of an island than a city but it’s still worth talking about. It’s a hammock lovers paradise. Set off the coast of Belize, Caye Caulker is paradise. It’s small, it’s beautiful, it’s youthful. Everyone here is friendly and no one moves quickly. There’s no cars only little golf carts and the island’s motto is “Go Slow.” The tempo will have you running on island time before you know it.

Years ago, the island was a lot bigger but a hurricane ripped through it, splitting it in two, and destroying a lot of the dock area. The island has rebuilt itself and is still one of the major destinations for travelers to Belize.

However, the disaster created the island’s best feature- The Split. The Split is a deep trench that provides excellent snorkeling right off the island. You can jump right in and see stingrays, sharks, and a huge variety of fish. It’s better than any tour you’ll pay for.

The Split is also where all the action his. Though the island has a great eastward facing beach, everyone walks down to the split. There’s a small beach there and the old dock provides an excellent place to sprawl your towel out. The young and the pale come out here to sun and snorkel all day, with a bar serving ice cold drinks and music.

The main street is lined with fabulous seafood restaurants ranging from budget to very posh. A few of the houses around the island turn themselves into little barbeque’s, with Wish Willy’s the most famous. Set out right in front of his house (though I think he has since moved), this place is a Caye Caulker landmark serving amazing food delivered by a cool Rasta chef. There’s no menu- they serve whatever they have that day but you can’t go wrong with whatever you get and a free drink is included. For a more expensive meal, head to Don Corleone’s for some pretty good Italian food.

This is a young spirited island and a good portion of the tourists are young, party minded folk. You’ll see them all night long partying at the local bars and the incredibly sketchy but amazingly fun after hours club. Usually the locals out number the tourists but it’s a great chance to interact them and they are all pretty friendly.

With great beaches, atmosphere, a kicking nightlife, great seafood, and The Split, no trip to Belize is complete without a visit there. A lot of people head to the more upscale Ambergris Caye but Caye Caulker is the better pick of the two. Despite having traveled to dozens of islands, this place remains one of my favorite destinations.

4 Responses to “The Saturday City: Caye Caulker”

1. Quickroute on May 31st, 2008 2:32 pm

   Nice Photos! - I don’t think the peeps from Belize couldbe more laid back if they tried!

2. Anonymous on May 31st, 2008 6:43 pm

   Awesome pics matt!

3. Anonymous on June 1st, 2008 6:08 pm

   Interesting to read your info about Caye Caulker… but it would be a whole lot better if you use apostrophes correctly…please!

4. Nomadic Matt on June 1st, 2008 9:26 pm

   @Anon #2- Could you point out where I used the apostrophes incorrectly? I will gladly change them.

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