How much does a trip to Belize cost?
A week-long trip to Belize for two costs approximately $3,400, including accommodation, flights, and daily expenses for food, activities, and transportation. This makes Belize an accessible and budget-friendly destination for a tropical adventure.
When I lived in Belize, I remember thinking how lucky I was not to have to travel there to see all the amazing things I saw every day.
From iguanas traveling slowly down the sidewalk (and sometimes falling out of a tree right in front of you – yikes!) to the azure ocean waves to the ruins of Mayan Xunantunich, there was something glorious to see around every corner.
It is, overall, one of my favorite places in the world. The food is really fun, the coffee is great, the weather is usually enjoyable – at most rainy but still warm – and the people are laid-back and kind.
If you’re looking to travel there, you can do so for very affordable prices, as long as you know where to look. Ready to learn more about one of the world’s prettiest tropical adventures? Let’s dive in!
Average Trip to Belize Cost in 2024
An average one-week trip to Belize for two people will cost around $5,100:
- Average Accommodation Cost: $100 per night
- Average Flight Cost: $500 per person
- Food, Drink & Activities: $100 per person, per day
- Transportation: $300 total
- Total Cost: $3,400
The best way to think about the expenses of your trip to Belize cost is as an average. The costs can go up or down depending on the level of luxury you desire for your trip.
If you’re a foodie, set aside extra money to visit all the nice restaurants in the area. If tours are your thing, eat at grocery stores and set aside your extra cash to see ruins, seascapes, and jungle rivers. It’s all up to you!
Belize Trip Cost: Average by Item
CAYE CAULKER BELIZE – DEC 18 2015: Playa Asuncion street at Caye Caulker island on Dec 18. 2015 , Belize, Central America/Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock
As with anything, the cost of a trip to Belize can range greatly depending on how you want to spend your money. There are resorts that go for $600 a night or more, like the gorgeous Turtle Inn outside Placencia Village, rejuvenated in 2001 by Francis and Eleanor Coppola.
I’ve put that one on the bucket list without much hope of ever checking it off. Overall, you can visit Belize quite affordably, as long as you know how to save.
Accommodation Costs
Hotels in Belize range widely. It’s a nice combination of cheap tropical country and glitzy getaway, depending on how much you have to spend.
The resorts range from $200 on up, while the charming little guesthouses can go for $30 a night – though they never have AC, so don’t rent them in summer. There are enough hotels that range right in the middle that you can set $100 as an average with no trouble.
Either you can split it up between a few nights at a resort and a few at a guesthouse, or you can choose middle-of-the-road accommodations the entire time.
Pro tip: some of the big resorts will let you hang out there during the day for free, so long as you purchase food and drinks from their bars and restaurants, you can enjoy some seriously great R&R without paying the exorbitant room rates.
Flight Costs
Flying to and within Belize is quite affordable. To get from a city in the US to Belize City is, on average, only $300 to $400 round trip.
You can fly between cities in Belize for about $125 round trip or $70 for one way. Together, if you fly into Belize City and then onto your destination, you’ll pay about $500 per person.
Food, Drink & Activity Costs
THP Creative/Shutterstock
Snorkelers and SCUBA divers should absolutely check out the barrier reefs and seas off the coast of Belize. There exists a stunning array of life, from coral to starfish to jellies and fish.
Note: the jellies do sting, but they’re mostly moon jellies, which fade harmlessly in 10-20 minutes. More on that in the FAQs. You should also avoid the fire coral.
Belize is known for its incredible snorkeling and SCUBA tours. Given the considerably lower intensity of snorkeling, tours are about $100 per person. If you want to go on a real SCUBA adventure, plan to spend more like $150 to $200, though you can find deals if you look ahead of time or book a large group of people.
Touring the ruins is accordingly reasonable. You shouldn’t have to pay more than about $75 per person for a half-day tour of some of the country’s most impressive Mayan ruins, and bartering is encouraged even at the tour outlets.
Food and drink are not necessarily the cheapest items in Belize. Restaurants largely cater to tourists in the major travel spots, where you will pay around $10 to $15 for a nice big plate of local food and $5 for fresh-squeezed juice.
If you go off the beaten path and visit the restaurants the locals favor, you will encounter less familiar fare (think oxtail soup) but the prices will be better.
Grocery stores are even cheaper and are usually quite well stocked. Belize is famous for its open-aired roadside market feel. You’ll find plenty of small huts along its streets hawking everything from tostadas to smoothies to plantain chips (one of my favorite things on Earth).
Just remember that Belize has no recycling system, so try to be aware of that when you buy goods. On a final note, be sure when you’re visiting Belize to try the fry jacks. They are a national specialty and absolutely delicious smothered in butter and jam!
Overall, assuming two tours and one big restaurant meal a day, plus groceries and food from the inexpensive roadside stalls, you can easily enjoy yourself in Belize for $100 a day. If you’re careful, eat at grocery stores, and only take one tour, you can get by on $50 to $75 for the budget traveler.
Transportation Costs
Transportation in Belize is quite affordable. You can get a cab from one side of Placencia Village (where I lived, and a popular tourist destination) to the other for between $5 and $10 for six people, as most cabbies drive vans.
You can hire a car to drive you around all day for between $100 and $150.
Bus tickets are extremely inexpensive, ranging in the tens of dollars American. Overall, you can get by for a week in Belize on about $300 total, assuming you take one flight between cities and use cabs the rest of the time.
Note you can cut the costs of a tour and of flying between cities dramatically by renting a car, but you’ll more than make up for that cost with the price of the car itself. It’s a question of how much freedom you want and whether it’s worth paying for.
Things to Consider
Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock
Here are a few other things to consider when planning your trip to Belize:
- The dollar is widely accepted in Belize. While the Belizean dollar is easy to procure, everyone loves the American dollar. It is happily accepted by shop owners, service providers, drivers, and institutions. The exchange rate is extremely easy to calculate at a steady 2:1 ratio of Belize to American dollars. Just remember that most of the change you get for using American dollars will come in Belize dollars, so keep that in mind toward the end of your trip and make sure to use up your leftover currency …
- Except whatever you keep as a souvenir! Belizean money is colorful and fun, with beautiful pictures on its rainbow-hued bills. I suggest keeping some for your scrapbook or treasure box, as it’s a fun reminder of your adventure in the tropics.
- Belizeans drive on the right side of the road. American tourists find it no trouble at all to drive there, and you can rent a car easily in most of the tourist towns. Just make sure to bring your license and passport to the rental office with you. Also note that Belizeans aren’t great about following the traffic laws, so keep your head on a swivel.
So, What Is the Average Cost of a Trip to Belize?
The average cost of a one-week trip to Belize is around $3,400 for two people. This wonderful tropical adventure comes highly recommended by someone who has both traveled and lived there, so what are you waiting for?