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Central & Southern: 7-Night Belize Itinerary

Belize City to Belize City

South along the barrier reef to the quietest water in Belize: hidden mangrove islands, a Smithsonian research station, a private twelve-acre island and a solar-powered bar you would sail past if you blinked.

7 Nights Aboard a Crewed Catamaran

The route

From Cucumber Beach Marina (Old Belize) this route turns south almost immediately, working down the inside of the barrier reef through Tobacco Caye, the Pelican Cayes and South Water Caye before returning north to Rendezvous and Goff’s. It is the route for people who want reef, snorkelling and empty anchorages rather than towns.

Departs: Old Belize marina, Belize City · Crew: captain and chef · Transfers: included from Belize International Airport

Day	Anchorage	What the day is for
Day 1: Bluefield Range	Bluefield Range	Orientation, then the mangrove channels
Day 2: Tobacco Caye	Tobacco Caye	Snorkel straight off the beach
Day 3: North Long Cocoa Caye	North Long Cocoa Caye	Sandbars, channels and al-fresco lunch
Day 4: Pelican Cayes	Pelican Cayes	Coral heads, paddleboards, a hidden bar
Day 5: Carrie Bow and South Water Caye	South Water Caye	The Aquarium, then a private island
Day 6: Rendezvous Caye	Rendezvous Caye	A private island and the deep-water wall
Day 7: Goff’s Caye and Bannister	Goff’s Caye	Two acres of sandbar, then the manatees
Day 8: Back to the marina	Old Belize	A leisurely sail home

A sample week. Your captain adjusts the route daily for wind, sea state and what the group wants to do.

Bluefield Range

Day 1: Bluefield Range

After a welcome orientation and safety briefing you sail to the Bluefield Range, a mangrove cluster teeming with wildlife and a fantastic first kayaking destination. Paddle the tiny channels, watch for manatees, and take a line and some bait — dinner is occasionally caught rather than brought.

Tobacco Caye

Day 2: Tobacco Caye

As the sun comes up over the barrier reef you sail south to Tobacco Caye, a five-acre palm-fringed coral island perched on the reef. You can snorkel or dive from the shore, and the caye’s central position puts some of the best snorkel sites in Belize within ten minutes by boat. Two small laid-back resorts, one tiny beach bar with coconut water and icy rum cocktails, hammocks, and thirty-nine islanders who live here year-round.

North Long Cocoa Caye

Day 3: North Long Cocoa Caye

A fisherman’s and snorkeller’s mecca: a maze of sandbars, coral reefs and deep channels running between them. There are palapa structures built out over the water that make a perfect spot for an al-fresco lunch, and nine times out of ten there is not another soul in sight for miles.

Pelican Cayes

Day 4: Pelican Cayes

A hidden-away collection of mangrove islands surrounded by some of the most impressive coral heads in the country, teeming with marine life — this is a full snorkelling day. It is also calm and protected enough for paddleboarding, kayaking or dinghy fishing. Tucked in among the islands is a tiny bar running on solar panels and a generator, called Hideaway Caye, and not without reason: blink and you would miss it.

South Water Caye

Day 5: Carrie Bow and South Water Caye

A short journey to snorkel at Carrie Bow Caye — we call it The Aquarium — and, time permitting, a visit to the Smithsonian Institution field station there, where researchers work on the biology, ecology and geology of coral reef ecosystems (donations welcome). Then on to South Water Caye, a pristine twelve-acre private island and one of the most beautiful in Belize. It sits on the reef at the north side of South Water Cut, a quarter-mile gap in the barrier reef where grunts, black groupers, snappers and moray eels hide in the overhangs. The Blue Marlin Lodge bar is a favourite of ours for a cold Belikin and a game of billiards, or you can simply watch the pelicans gather as the fishermen come in and clean their catch.

Rendezvous Caye

Day 6: Rendezvous Caye

Rendezvous Caye is a tiny private island sitting right on the barrier reef, with palapa shades, beach loungers and hammocks — the place for a beach picnic or an afternoon of doing nothing at all. You can snorkel the deep-water wall straight from the shore and swim between the drop-off and the shallow coral. Watch for the spotted eagle rays; several of them come round the boats to check whether anything is left over from the day’s catch.

Goff’s Caye

Day 7: Goff’s Caye and Bannister

Sail to Goff’s Caye, a two-acre island right on the barrier reef that reminds you why postcards were invented — snorkel off the shore or stand in the shallows with a cold Belikin. Then up to Bannister Bogue, mangrove islands home to manatees, dolphins and a great many birds. Manatees are gentle plant-eating herbivores whose closest living relatives are elephants and aardvarks; they grow over 13 feet and up to 3,500 pounds. Swimming with them is not permitted and sightings are never guaranteed.

Old Belize

Day 8: Back to the marina

A leisurely sail back to the marina at Cucumber Beach, with transfers waiting for the airport or Belize City.

What’s Included

One rate, almost everything in it

One weekly rate covers the catamaran and a dedicated crew of captain and chef / first mate, all meals from breakfast through canapés to dinner and dessert, an open ship’s bar with beer, rum cocktails and wine at dinner, air-conditioned queen cabins with private bathrooms, and the full kit for snorkelling, kayaking, paddleboarding and fishing. Transfers from Belize International Airport or Belize City are included. Outside the rate sit crew gratuity, scuba diving, specialty fishing and anything off the boat — spa treatments and restaurant dinners ashore.

Before You Book

How fixed is the route?

This route is a sample. The sailing is shaped by the weather, the sea state, what your group feels like doing and the judgement of your captain, who knows which anchorage will be comfortable on any given night. Charters are planned around a midday arrival in Belize City; a later flight shortens the first day.

FAQ

Very quiet. At North Long Cocoa Caye there is not another soul in sight nine times out of ten, and even at the popular cayes you will typically see only a handful of boats. Guests who have sailed the British Virgin Islands often say Belize feels like the BVIs forty years ago.

Four nights is the minimum outside the festive season; between 19 December and 5 January the minimum is seven. Charters are planned around a midday arrival and a midday departure, so a late flight shortens the first day.

No. Every charter is tailored — the pre-arrival preference form shapes the week, and the sailing is then adjusted day by day for weather, sea state and what your group feels like doing. Your captain knows which anchorage will be comfortable on any given night.

Yachts for this itinerary

Belize Sample Itineraries

Yacht Charter Itinerary (Belize)