Before entering Belize, it was not even sure where to go, or what to do, just going for it. After making it to the border and getting the entry stamp, hitchhiking in Belize was starting.
Where is Belize located?
Belize is a country in Central America on the east coast. Belize has only access to the Caribbean Sea and shares borders with Guatemala and Mexico .
The official language is English, but the English, which the locals speak, sounds like a combination of English and some other language. Also Spanish is very common to hear, because the surrounding countries are Spanish speaking.
The capital city is Belmopan and not Belize City, which I personally always thought was the other way around.
What to expect?
Belize has a lot of nature and also a rainy season. When you are going to visit the country during the rainy season, you basically can guess what is possible to expect.
The people seem to be really friendly, but also don’t seem to be annoyed by foreigners, which is good for travelers.
It is for sure not the cheapest country, but the currency is easy to learn, two Belizean Dollars is $1, so it will be easy to have it in your mind.
You also need to pay a fee when leaving the country. By land border it is cheaper compared to the airport cheaper, it will be a fee of $20 at the land border.
When you are planning to go to the highlights of the country, then you need to get away from the main cities. Belize is famous for being a diving paradise, it is on the top lists for that in the whole world!
How is hitchhiking in Belize?
While trying to hitchhike, you can tell that it is not common, most people don’t seem to know what that is. One local even wanted to call the police, because she thought that help was needed.
There is from the Mexican border in Chetumal to Belize City, basically one highway. When wanting to go to Belize City, it should be no problem, because most people are going in that direction.
When being outside of Belize City, it should be also quite easy to hitchhike to Belmopan and then to Guatemala. Those seem to be easy routes, due to the direct roads, which you are finding there.
What could help?
I wasn’t trying it out, but probably a sign should help, for example a sign with “Belmopan”. Then people should know it is for distances. In Belize, there are many people on the street, who try to stop cars, for getting donations, for some causes, like helping to pay for a doctor.
With the sign it will probably also happen, that mini buses and people who want money are stopping. This will also happen, when not having a sign, so it doesn’t make a difference anyway.
In general by hitchhiking, it is helping, to ask people directly, for example at gas stations. The good thing in Belize is that people seem to be quite open, towards talking to strangers and also that they understand English in most cases, going to help you, when your Spanish is not the best. Like in other surrounding countries, when speaking no Spanish, it is more of a hustle.
How was the experience?
The experience in Belize was comparing to the other countries, I was hitchhiking, it was okay, so for sure not easy.
After the border, the first car was already offering a ride, where it would have been possible to make it all the way to Belize City. Because of not knowing what the plan for sleeping would have been, it just went to Corozal.
Being stranded in big cities is something not good, when more wanting to be in nature, to camp or something like that. Also when deciding then, to leave the city, it is never easy, when hitchhiking is the form of transportation you were choosing.
At the end of the city of Corozal, it was not easy, hours passed by on a actual really good position. Sadly at the position there was no shade, but getting more tanned is never bad.
It took more than an hour, until a woman stopped and we got along really well. At the end, she was living in the countryside and allowing, to come with her, to put the tent up in the garden.
When wanting to hitchhike back from the spot, to the border, the same struggle happened again, so a long wait, until someone was stopping. The spot was great as well, but still nobody wanted to stop, just mini buses. When someone was actually stopping, it was really helpful, because they drove to the border.
Local living
When being at the house of the woman, she was living in a really peaceful village out in nowhere. In her house she had a dog and a big garden.
She was cooking food and introduced many people from her family and also her friends. It was such a lovely experience and also the feeling of being really welcome at her place, which was great.
It was possible to rest and put up the tent as well. She was trying to give a feeling of being home and it was good to learn about the culture of the country as well.
Of course from one local experience it is not easy to say what the country might be like, but all people, who crossed the path, were really happy and friendly, which gave me a positive feeling about the country.
Summary
The waiting time is quite high in comparison to other countries, but the quality of the rides were high. All rides were a big help, but basically it was just four rides in total, so not really a high amount, just important to know, it is possible.
Belize seems to be a beautiful country, which is worth visiting and that is just from the city and that from the countryside. It was not even at places where tourists would usually go, so I can only imagine how beautiful the rest of the country will be!
Sadly it was not possible to spend a lot of time there, due to a stay at another person’s house back in Mexico. In the future, there will be more time to explore Belize.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
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[…] When entering Belize many people want to overcharge you a lot, so hitchhiking was the only good option. Even from the border on it was easily working out. Click on the text to read the article: Hitchhiking in Belize […]