I read on at least 2 occasions that Belize City is not safe. Since I would arrive in the late afternoon, and I would need to go to either the bus station or the docks the next morning, I did not want to stay in the city.
I found a place on booking.com called River Bend Resort near the airport that would cost about $100 per night with breakfast. For US$ 10, I could request a taxi to pick me up at the airport. A taxi to the city the following morning would cost $30. I booked a cabin both for the evening of my arrival and the night before my departure.
I was glad to have a taxi driver waiting for me with my name on a board when I came out of the airport. I was surprised that it only took about 5 minutes to reach our destination. There was a boat waiting for me at the shore. It took about 3 minutes to cross the Belize River to the lodge. I was warned that there were crocodiles in the river.
There were 5 cabins. I was assigned one near the end. It was not luxurious, but it was large and clean with 2 beds, it had a refrigerator, a stove, a sink, dishes, and coffee.
I went to the lodge to get something to eat. My only choice was tiny and very expensive bags of snacks like pretzels, or to get the hotel to order out for me. A fish dinner would cost BZ$70 (US$ 35). I had a beer and decided to wait until the morning for breakfast to eat.
I asked about the availability of a bus to Placencia. The bartender said there were buses all day (he was wrong!).
The breakfast was mediocre, but it satisfied my hunger. The resort ordered a taxi for me and took me across the river where the taxi was waiting. The ride to the bus station took about 25 minutes. The driver told me that only some areas of Belize City were dangerous and only at night.
When I came back from Placencia, I asked the bus driver the best way to get to the area around the airport. I could see from Google maps that there was a nearby supermarket and that I should be able to walk from it to the river crossing. The driver told me to take the bus towards Ladyville and to get off in front of Skye market.
Instead of paying US$30 for a taxi, I paid less than $1.25 for the bus. Instead of paying US$ 35 for a fish dinner, I bought bread and cold cuts and something to drink at the market. It took about 15 or 20 minutes to walk from the market to the river crossing.
My cell phone carrier is T-Mobile. I highly recommend it for residents of the USA who do lots of international travel. I have been their customer for over 15 years. The only places it did not give me internet access were in Cuba and the first time I went to Vietnam.
I also recommend you install WhatsApp on your phone. Many, many worldwide businesses have a WhatsApp number. River Bend Resort was one of them.
Anyway, there was a sign on the shore listing the phone number of the resort. However, it did not show the country code. I needed it to call them on WhatsApp. I looked it up. FYI, it is +501. At this writing, the full phone number is +501 is 610-5584. I called and they immediately sent a boat to get me.
The next morning, 4 or 5 iguanas scattered when I opened the door to step outside from my cabin. The one in the video below was fearless.
If I go back to Belize, I will stay at River Bend Resort again. Knowing about the Ladyville bus from Belize City and the nearby supermarket makes all the difference.
I asked how far it was to the airport. They told me it was about the same distance as it was to the market … not true. I was probably 3 times as far. I started walking there with my suitcase. I walked for about 20 minutes. It would have taken me 30 or 35 minutes in total to get there, but a woman named Laura who owned an Airbnb that catered to birdwatchers saw me as she was leaving the airport, turned around and offered me a ride. I wish I had gotten her details so I could send business her way.