Introduction to the Belize City International Airport
Getting into town
Getting from Town Without Paying a Lot
The airport itself is small. It has the distinction of have a restaurant that not only serves reasonably good Belizean food, but it is also at reasonably good prices. If you are awaiting a departure, it is a good place to go and eat and sip a dark Belikin. No one seems to mind if you linger over your drink and read for a good while.
Getting out of the Airport
Taxi fares at airports are always notoriously high, but Belize City's seem even more so. Last I knew and well before the gasoline price spikes, they were $20 US to or from there. If you are traveling alone or as a duo, you might ask others on your flight if they would like to share a cab. It would be less painful shared among more. However, do not wait until you are out there in front of the cabbies to gather a group. They will not stand for it.
I thought of this after my most recent visit and this option is new to me, so I don't know, but a person could ask the last cabbie in line how much to get a ride to the highway. If you are like me and have no checked baggage, he would not be losing much of a place in line and would have time to do it and get a fare into town. Also, if you see someone getting out of a taxi there, that cabbie would be fair game.
Getting from Belize City to the Airport
Go to the city bus station, of which there is now just one. Tell the cashier that you want to get on a bus to the airport crossroad. This will most likely be a ticket with Ladyville Transport, but if another bus is going before their next one, it won't cost much more. The Ladyville buses are blue-green and white and as of 2004 cost just $1.50 Belizean to go to anywhere in Ladyville from Belize City. Tell the driver that you want off at the airport junction. There is a large sign, so you would not be likely to miss it.
In February of 2004, I had planned to hike it in, but when I got off the bus, there were two cabbies staking out the place and charging $6 BZ to take people the two miles in. Thus, a person can get there for $3.75 US instead of $20. Even if you pay for a cab to the bus station to begin with, you are still way ahead.