I was walking down a side road in Caye Caulker when we heard it: “Hey. Hey, buddy. You!” We turned around, only to see no one nearby. We kept walking.
Thirty seconds later, again: “Hey, buddy! How’s it going.”
We turn again to see a
n energetic guy and his less-than-energetic girlfriend walking towards us, passing neon pink and yellow homes to cover the block distance between us.
After exchanging basic pleasantries, we learned his name, and that he’s a local to the island. Fortunately for us, he had goods news: “Pharmacy is open, guys,” he said with a smile. When we declined, he was still all smiles. “No problem! If you change your mind, i’ll be around – just ask for me. Have fun on Caye Caulker!” We later ran into his girlfriend at the bar, and she gave us free mystery shots that had to be taken without using our hands off a swinging bar.
And that is how I best describe Caye Caulker: friendly, a little unexpected, and a lot of fun.
The Island
We choose Caye Caulker because it’s accessible from the mainland, but more laid back than it’s bigger and more well-know brother, Ambergris Caye. There are no cars allowed on the island, only golf carts. It’s also the closest island to the Blue Hole, our ultimate reason for going there.
We arrived via speedboat from Belize City – it’s a cheap ride, but it’s a little cramped. Fortunately, it’s only about 35 mins. We stayed in a beachfront AirBnB with its own pool – though the beach is only ever a 3 minute walk from where you are on the island, so a pool isn’t necessary.
The island had just been hit a few weeks prior by a hurricane, so there were lots of destroyed piers and uprooted trees. However, the island’s beautiful colored homes, sea shell stands, beachfront bars and – of course – tropical paradise setting still made it a jaw-dropping location. We stayed in the north part of the island, usually referred to as “the split,” and marked by the “Lazy Lizard” bar and grill. This was a great location and was within walking distance of literally everything on the island.
The Food
I have three words for you: seafood, pupusas and fryjacks. Not necessarily in that order.
The specialty they seem known for is their jerk and spicy grilled meats skewers, but shrimp and seafood are always available, too. A lot of the best restaurants are more or less the downstairs of someone’s house, with a limited and nightly menu. Usually, these places have very specific hours and 
are cash only. They’re reasonably priced and delicious, and the best way to find them is just by walking around. Sometimes they’ll have a sign propped up pointing you their direction during business hours. Our favorite was Kareem’s BBQ (literally just a dude set up on the beach a few days a week,) followed closely by Maggie’s Sunset Kitchen.
A fryjack is, basically, fantastic. It’s a lightly fried dough in the shape of a triangle, filled with anything from fluffy bread to eggs and cheese. Think of it as a lightly fried omelette. It’s cheap, tasty, and perfect if you’re in a hurry. This seems to be a staple everywhere in Belize so you’ll have plenty of chances to try them.
Finally, you’ll do yourself a disservice if you skip out on a pupusa – a homemade grilled tortilla cake with anything from beans to meat and cheese on the inside. Don’t dick around with wanna be fryjacks and go straight to the best one on the island: from the Pupusa lady! This isn’t a restaurant, per cae, but it’s a very talented local woman who makes delicious pupusas to order on her grill just south of the police station. The island is really small and you’ll be able to find her. You’ll see what I mean when you get there.
The Diving
A 
major reason we choose Caye Caulker was because it’s the closest island to the Great Blue Hole, a sub-ocean sinkhole about 40 miles, or three hours by very bumpy boat ride, off the coast. Leaving from Ambergris Caye adds another hour of travel to it. The Great Blue Hole was discovered in 1971 by famed ocean explorer (the most famed ever, actually) Jaques Cousteau. It measures 400 feet deep, though most dive operators will only let you dive to about 70 feet, or 140 feet if you have more advanced certifications.
“It was the deepest, deep blue hole imaginable; A chasm that fell away deep into the deep, dark blue. It had been forged out of solid rock as caverns, hundreds of thousands of years ago during the last ice age.” – Glyn Collinson, Astronaut –
The blue hole dive way amazing, especially swimming through the stalagmites at 140′ with sharks swimming near us. The following two dives after that, at lighthouse reef, were equally amazing dives. We dove with Belize Diving Services, who provided a midday lunch ON Lighthouse Caye of tasty chicken, salad, plantains and drinks, and also gave us a free guided bird tour, where we found some blue footed boobys!
A tiring, but amazing day. A trip to the Blue Hole isn’t cheap, but there’s a reason it’s rated one of the top 10 dive sites in the world. We also did a few other wonderful dives with Belize Diving Services, including the Barrier Beef, the second-biggest in the world.
Oh, and there’s no way you won’t see sea turtles.
Public Domain photo: the Blue Hole is waaay too big to photograph from a boat!
Caye Caulker (pronounced KEY Caulker, BTW) is one of the most laid-back, beautiful, and surprisingly easy-to-get-to places I’ve ever visited. Better yet, everyone on the island speaks English, so if you aren’t a Spanish speaker, it does make getting around a lot easier.
There aren’t a lot of ATMs on the island, so make sure to bring enough cash. All you need are flip flops and t-shirts – we saw girls trying to get dressed up to “go out” and they look out of place. The island is full of friendly dogs (most of whom live at the Humane Society and are available to take for walks,) friendly people, great food, and a comfortable pace of life that’s really, really nice to find.
-Suzie
