A Comprehensive Guide about Car Rental in Belize

Last updated: 25 June 2023

Are you an independent traveller? Perhaps you enjoy the thrill of making your own itinerary and exploring on your own terms. For your trip to Belize, you certainly want to make the most out of every second so car rental in Belize is really a no-brainer. But what do you really need to know before you rent a car in Belize?

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Do I Need to Rent a Car in Belize?

The answer to this question really depends on your preferred travel style. 

Our dominant travel style is independent. We love having the flexibility to change the schedule on a whim and stay longer if we find a destination we love.

Hiring a car in Belize gives you maximum flexibility and enables you to reach different off-the-main-road destinations and attractions which aren’t serviced by public transport. Having a car also means you don’t have to depend on tours and transfers which can quickly become rather costly.

Is It Safe to Drive in Belize?

When researching our trip there wasn’t a lot of information floating around online about Belize road trips which is one of the main reasons why I wanted to write this post. 

Let’s not be under any illusion of smooth 4-lane motorways with adequate signage, lines and lights both overhead and traffic signals. Ha no, you need to check those types of expectations on your way into the country. Afterall, Belize is still a developing nation and the standards of driving are very different from what you may be used to. Roads labelled highways are rarely anything more than a tarred two-lane country road. But hey, at least they’re paved! 

A word to the wise, driving in Belize is not for the faint of heart.  If you’re new to driving or inexperienced in driving and/or driving on the other side of the road do not make Belize your first time.  We would advise that only confident and experienced drivers tackle the Belizean roads!

Where Can I Hire a Car and How Much Does It Cost?

Who you rent from is really up to you. You may have loyalty/status with a particular international agency, a personal preference, or an inclination to go local.  There are a number of big name car hire companies operating in Belize. Names you would recognise including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, and Thrifty all have outlets at BZE. There’s also local companies such as AQ Auto Rentals and Crystal Auto Rental.

We like to use an amalgamation site to get an idea of what options are available.

• Start with RentalCars.com or HolidayAutos for availability

Looking to Rent From a Location Other Than the Airport?

There also are car rental locations in San Ignacio, Placencia, and Punta Gorda as well as offices in proximity to the express water taxi terminal in Belize City. It is possible to have a rental car dispatched to you as some companies will deliver a vehicle to other locations in Belize upon request.  Surcharge fees apply for this service however the cost would vary depending on destination.

We hired our car through Crystal Auto Rental who have a rental desk at the airport and a head office in Belize City. Our circular route around Belize meant that it was most convenient for us to pick it up at BZE Airport, and return it to Belize City where we received a transfer from the Crystal team to the water taxi terminal. 

Crystal offers a free esky/cooler as well as a local mobile phone to all their hires, though you do need to buy minutes for the phone.  We weren’t offered the phone and having already picked up a local SIM card we didn’t think we needed to ask for it.  

The esky however was FANTASTIC! Keeping water cool throughout the long drives, and preventing lunches and snacks from going warm in the tropical climate of Belize. If you’ve got the option of taking an esky, take it! 

Things to Check Before Signing the Contract

We recommend anyone hiring a car thoroughly checks the vehicle before committing to hiring one. Belizean rental cars are usually older models and may or may not have all the functions you’re used to. GPS, a functioning radio, air-conditioning, even the display on the dashboard may be different to what you’re used to.

• Review the mileage of the vehicle before you sign the contract.  Some cars in Belize have really high mileage which may bother you. 
• Check the integrity of the tyres. Ensure you know exactly where the jack and spare tyre are housed, and remember to check the quality of the tread on the spare.  If you’re not sure how the jack works, ask for a demonstration. 
• Inspect features you want (i.e air conditioning) 
• Is the dashboard in Mi or KM or both? – Signposts in Belize are posted in miles. 

If you’re unhappy with the vehicle, ask for another.

How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Car in Belize?

A number of factors dictate the price of a rental car in Belize.  Factors such as Season (high/low/shoulder), the type of car you want, and how long you want to hire it for are all relevant.  

Prepare yourself.  Prices for car rentals in Belize do vary, but they are all eye-wateringly expensive by European standards.  It’s worth noting that hiring on a weekly rate is usually more value-for-money than taking a day rate, with you paying for 6 days, the 7th is often free.  

Most companies will advertise their rates in US Dollars (US/USD) which is a widely accepted alternate currency from the Belize Dollar (BZ). Confirm the currency being displayed prior to paying as it’s not always specified.  

As previously mentioned, we suggest you shop around online as many of the agencies run specials online. At the time of writing, Crystal Auto was advertising an internet special of US$65.43 per day for a 2014-16 Chevy Equinox (4WD), with a total fee of US$736.09 for a ten day hire, including taxes.

Budget Rent a Car advertised three 4X4 cars across three different groups (car categories C, J & L) for prices ranging between US$941-$1,105 for the same period.

If it’s quiet or low season, you may be able to negotiate on the advertised rates.

Adding Additional Drivers

To add an additional driver to your booking, Crystal Auto waives this fee for the spouse of the main driver.  This can be a costly add-on so ensure you know the charges before signing the contract.

What Do I Need to Rent a Car in Belize?

Renting a car in Belize is a relatively simple process. You will need the following items:

• Valid credit card (Not a debit card. Visa, Mastercard, American Express are all widely accepted.)
• Valid driver’s license in your home country
• Passport
• Meet the minimum age requirement. (This varies between hire providers, so if you’re under 25 you may need to hunt for the best deal)

Crystal Auto: drivers must be 25 years or older. Drivers between the ages of 21 – 24 may be allowed to drive but only with double the standard security deposit.

Barefoot Services Belize: the minimum age for car rental is 23. 

AQ Belize Car Rental: 23 and under is considered under-age and additional ID and insurance is needed as well as a deposit left in cash.

Do I Need a 4WD?

If you’re not going off-road do you really need a 4WD?  

In my opinion, the short answer to this question is unequivocally yes

While most of the main thoroughfares are paved, you could be fooled for thinking you didn’t have a need for a 4WD.  If you’re used to driving in Europe or in the urban areas of the United States, then you will be used to a certain quality of road, which will be a rare find in Belize.  

Undercarriage clearance is important, and a 4WD will give you peace of mind in case you hit a stretch of sand, quagmires or an unexpected river crossing due to heavy rains.

It will cost you more, but it is an investment.  I winced at the additional fee for the 4WD, but not once did I regret the expense.  It’s something I mentioned at least once every two days on our trip I am so pleased we got the 4WD…

Some car hire companies may provide a list of places where they deem a 4WD Vehicle is required. Below is the list of places identified by Crystal Auto: 

• Caracol Mayan Site (Mountain Pineridge, Cayo Disctrict)
• Mystic River Resort (Mountain Pineridge, Cayo Disctrict)
• Monkey River Resort (Toledo District)
• Better in Belize (Benque Viejo del Carmen, Cayo District)
• Toucan House (Cayo District)
• Martz Farm (Cayo District)
• HideAway Camp (Cayo District)
• Casa Santa Maria (Cayo District)
• Going to any destination on the Hydro Road (Cayo District)

Despite not visiting any of these destinations, if I had my time over again, I would still hire a 4WD in Belize.  

Gas/Petrol Stations

Three words you must hear. FILL. IT. UP.  Petrol stations are far and few between, especially if you’re heading out into the more remote areas of Orange Walk, Cayo, and Toledo districts.  If you see a petrol station, ensure you fill up your tank. – You never know when the next one’s going to show up!

The cost of fuel is higher than I anticipated. In Belize; regular unleaded runs close to $6 a gallon. Confusingly fuel is charged by the gallon, so converting volume and currency made this experience little more challenging so we’ve outlined it below in simpler terms.  

• Gas/petrol/fuel costs roughly between BZ$5-6 per gallon.  
• For our metric readers that equates to BZ$5-6 per 3.78L, or BZ$1.32-1.58 per litre.  

Remembering that the Belizean dollar is pegged to the US Dollar at 2:1 so simply halve the BZ$ amounts listed above to get the value in USD.

It’s worth knowing that all the service stations we visited, an attendant would come out and pump fuel for us. Every single time, they didn’t close the fuel cap. So check yours before you get back into your car.  Apparently there’s no need to tip but we did. – Keep some small BZ$ for this purpose.  

What to Expect – A Guide to Belize’s Roads:

Belize has a handful of main paved roads traversing across the country.  

Click on this    symbol to expand the map legend 

Northern Highway (aka Phillip Goldson Highway)

As the name implies, this highway runs north from Belize City, through Orange Walk up into Mexico. 

It’s a relatively good two-lane road. Keep an eye out for speed bumps known as “sleeping policemen” which are frequently found in villages. 

We took this road as far as Carmelita just south of Orange Walk before turning off to head West. If you’re wanting to visit the Maya Ruins at Altun Ha then you’ll need to take this road until it forks at Sand Hill and take the Old Northern Highway the rest of the way. 

Western Highway (aka George Price Highway)

This 77-mile road starts in Belize City and heads West all the way to the Guatemalan border at Melchor de Mencos. 

If you’re headed to the Belize Zoo, towns of San Ignacio, and Belizean capital of Belmopan, or Maya ruins of Xunantunich or the ATM cave then chances are you will spend some time on this road.

The Western Highway is still in fairly decent condition east of Belmopan.  West of Belmopan it’s not as good, although some sections appear to have been resurfaced. 

 It’s an interesting drive through many villages, with scenery of pastures and rolling hills, but don’t get too comfortable. This highway apparently has the largest concentration of traffic bumps in Belize so keep an eye out for them as not all of them are marked. 

If you need fuel, aim to fill up on the outskirts of Belmopan otherwise you may just need to wait until San Ignacio. 

Hummingbird Highway 

Note 1: During our visit in late 2019, there was extensive work underway to replace many one-lane bridges alone this stretch of road.

Note 2: Google Maps labels the whole road from Belmopan to Dangriga the Hummingbird Highway. However it’s worth noting that technically, the highway only runs until the village of Middlesex. After that it’s known as Stann Creek Valley Road.   

Intersecting with the Western Highway at Belmopan and running East to Dangriga, this highway feels equal of any rural or village road in Europe or North America. It’s tarred and well-marked by Belizean standards, it’s certainly the most scenic road in the country with sweeping views of the Maya Mountains as it passes through tiny villages, jungle, and orchards.

If you have time: Stop in at the Blue Hole National Park, where you can swim, zipline through the jungle, or rappel down Angel Falls.  You can also explore St Herman’s Cave which you can visit without a guide. 

Coastal Highway (aka Manatee Highway)

If you’re driving between the mostly-coastal Stann Creek District with towns including Hopkins, Dangaria and Placencia, and headed north towards Belize City or west towards San Ignacio, and Belmopan, there’s a good chance GPS will tell you to take the Coastal Highway.

Appearing as a yellow highway on Google Maps, to the uninformed this road looks the same on the map as the Hummingbird Highway. It is anything but the same.  

This 36-mile gravel road, connecting the village of La Democracia with the Stann Creek Valley Road near Melinda. It’s sometimes referred to as the Manatee Highway or the “Shortcut.” 

Between Dangriga or Placencia from Belize City this route will save you time. However, the road is wash boarded in places and is dusty in dry weather. During heavy rains, bridges occasionally wash out. Aside from the teeth rattling experience, it’s far less scenic than the Hummingbird and this part of Belize is sparsely populated. If you get into trouble or get a highly likely flat tyre, you could be on your own for hours.  It’s advisable to NOT TAKE THIS ROUTE. Instead, take the longer but far more striking Hummingbird Highway which passes through Armenia. 

Driving to Gallon Jug for Chan Chich Lodge

Chan Chich Lodge is set in a private reserve of over 250,000 acres on an unexcavated lower plaza of the ancient Maya city. 

You can fly here from Belize City via a charter flight, get a transfer arranged by the Lodge, or do as we did and drive yourself. 

The drive to Gallon Jug from Belize City is long and the trip is arduous. The first 50 mi (~87 km) via Northern Hwy to Orange Walk is manageable on paved roads.  After that it becomes quite the Belizean experience on a road described as fair condition. In essence, it’s a slow drive for the uninitiated of driving on dirt rural roads. 

The route will pass through a number of villages, farms, and the Mennonite settlement at Blue Creek after which you can expect jungle, and plenty of it.  Allow more time than you think you will need for this journey as you’re venturing into private land and need to pass through two guard houses and need the right permits to do so. 

Jaguar, puma, and 370 species of tropical birds all call this part of the country home. You can expect to encounter wildlife in these parts. To minimise the risk of accident and injury to you and to the wildlife, plan to arrive well before dark. 

Roads in/near San Ignacio 

San Ignacio is a town certainly geared to travellers who pass through or use the town as a base ahead of touring Maya ruins of Caracol, Xuanantunich, the ATM Cave, and other popular activities in the Cayo district like caving, hiking and ziplining.  

Caracol

It is a rough two-hour drive to Caracol from San Ignacio. There are plans for this road to be paved however for now it’s a graded road. 

You’re likely to visit Caracol on a tour. If you’re travelling independently, double check that you can take your hire car on this road, some hire car companies don’t allow it.  From what we’ve read and heard, this road should be attempted only with a 4WD, although some advice says a 2WD is possible depending on recent weather. Given our experience driving to the ATM Cave, I would err on the side of caution and get a 4WD. All groups travel in a convoy with park rangers for protection and safety. 

We didn’t make it to Caracol, but our friend Karl did. He made a travel documentary video about the experience which you can watch on YouTube.

Actun Tunichil Muknal “ATM” Cave

One of the must-do things in Belize is the Actun Tunichil Muknal, aka the ATM Cave. It’s so significant that National Geographic has labelled it one of the world’s ten most spiritual destinations.

To help preserve this historic site, the Belizean Government imposed restrictions requiring visitors to have a licensed guide that is specifically authorised to tour the ATM cave. There’s only a handful of guides and companies with permits and each guide is restricted to max 8 people per group.

For this reason, MOST people visiting the ATM Cave won’t self drive. Tours depart from San Ignacio early in the morning with groups clambering into buses for the journey to the cave. Lunch is provided by most tour operators before returning to San Ignacio in the mid to late afternoon.

Visiting the ATM Cave from Placencia

The drive from San Ignacio is east along the Western Highway to the turnoff for the ATM Cave, at Teakettle is about 18mi/30km and takes about an hour.  

If you’re coming from Placencia to visit the ATM cave, it makes no sense to drive an extra hour to San Ignacio only to get on a bus to return exactly where you came from, so some tour operators will pick you up at the turnoff outside one of the stores in Teakettle if you ask.

Visiting the ATM Cave from San Ignacio – Self Drive

If you’re self driving, perhaps doing what we did, driving from San Ignacio and on your way to Placencia and visiting the ATM cave along the way, the same thought-pattern exists.  Why double-back to San Ignacio, and add 2 hours to your driving day? It’s illogical. 

We drove to the ATM Cave from San Ignacio.

The first hour along the Western Highway was pretty much as we had expected. Mostly paved road with plenty of hidden bumps as we passed through towns.  Following the giant bus containing the other explorers ready to discover the ATM cave made it a really easy beacon to follow.

We stopped at a grocery store to pick up a couple of people and then we made the turn off.  That’s where it got a bit … interesting.

The road from the turn off is probably one of the worst roads we encountered in our 10 days in Belize.  With potholes large enough to engulf a sofa, unexpected river crossings, the 7km was gruelling. 

Debating the likelihood that we might pop a tyre on the sharp rocks, severely scrape the undercarriage on the treacherous road or flood the engine at the river crossing and somehow end up stranded or worse, needing to pay thousands for the damage. 

As you can imagine, we took the road slow and steady. At times it felt like we were driving at a glacial pace, yet we were still both white-knuckled as we gripped onto every handle during the suspension-rattling back-jerking experience.

By the time we made it to the assembly site ahead of our ATM Cave tour, we were both disheveled. And slightly devastated in the knowledge that we would have to drive all over again on the way out. 

If you can jump in the tour bus at the turn off to the ATM Cave rather than navigate that road, DO IT! 

Tips for Driving in Belize 

Belizean’s drive on the right. However if you are making a left hand turn, you’re actually expected to pull over to the shoulder on the right hand side of the road, wait for both directions of traffic to clear before proceeding with your turn. 

If you know little to nothing about cars, it might be wise to brush up on your car know-how before setting off.  With every town having a roadside tyre shop, there’s got to be a reason for it! Knowing how to change a tyre and basic mechanics could come in handy if you’re stranded on a back road! There’s no AA/NRMA/AAA in Belize and you will have to wait for a local, or your hire car company, to come and rescue you. 

For the majority of the time, there seems to be a level of standard to driving in Belize with most people following the basic rules. However, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the sweeping curves for the brazen approach to overtaking which is quite common in Belize. 

Driving at Night

Do not drive at night if you can avoid it.

Hazards are all around you. From the invisible axle-breaking speed bumps (aka topes, sleeping policemen) which can sneak up on you. Along with this, there is the fact that people dart out from behind buses, or cross across roads without a care for their own safety, nocturnal wildlife finding their way onto the roads and free-roaming dogs that seem awfully close to the road in the day, seem even closer at night. Don’t even get me started on the potholes! 

Any and all of these can pose a hazard on the roads during the day.  At night the risk is magnified so much that even many locals limit the driving they do after dark. Do you absolute best to get to your destination before nightfall. 

Humps, Bumps and Sleeping Policemen

We know them as speed bumps, but in Belize, sleeping policemen is the name for bumps deployed to slow down the traffic especially in built up areas.

If you hate speed bumps, then you’re going to hate driving in Belize, because bumps are EVERYWHERE. 

The Belizeans are very lax about signage for their road bumps, and to make matters worse, bumps are often unmarked and the same colour as the road making it impossible to see, until you’re right on top of it.  Often, the only indication that there is a bump is from the locals stand on them at the side of the road as an elevated makeshift bus stop.

If you’re lucky, there will be handmade signage indicating a bump is ahead, or you might encounter locally made artificial bump which are made from blue rope laid it out on the road to slow down drivers. I say lucky because of all the bumps, these are the easiest to see. 

This is one of the many reasons you should not drive at night.  Take one of these at high speed and you could derail your entire holiday.  

Miles or Kilometres?

This former British colony rejected the metric system after its independence in 1981, so distances are now given in miles and fuel is sold by the gallon. 

If you’re like me and already struggling with the Imperial system, it can get worse.  Some rental cars have speed and distance shown in KM only! To combat this, we ensured we got a car that had both Mi and KM displayed so it’s worth checking if you can’t quickly convert Mi to KM. 

Speed limits are either 25 or 40 mph in villages, with 55mph on open roads/highways. Speed limit signs are displayed infrequently, it seemed as though there is little abidance of the law and little to none enforcement of them.  

Road Signs

More like what signs?! 

Many road signs in Belize are vandalized, used for target practice or removed entirely making it very easy for visitors to take a wrong turn, miss a turn off or encounter an unmarked speed bump at short notice. 

We thought acquiring a physical map might be useful.  The locally acquired map was hilarious as we were handed what can best be described as a map you’d give to a child, filled with pictures of animals and wildlife that can be found in Belize. It contained little information about roads, turn offs and a helpful points of interest.

If you can acquire a decent road map before landing in Belize, do it. – Stanfords in London might be a good place to start, with its range of maps, globes, and maritime charts is considered the world’s largest collection.

Navigating with GPS/Offline Maps

Even with the assistance of a local SIM card, GPS is a little hit and miss in Belize.  

You can try Maps.me but we suggest downloading digital maps from Google before your trip so it’s all offline on your phone. You do not need data roaming turned on to use GPS, meaning if the map is offline and stored locally, you can use (free) satellites to locate your position on the map. This was more reliable than the aforementioned inadequate paper map that we had, but not 100% successful. 

Insurance for Rental Cars

Hiring a car can be a costly affair if something goes wrong.

If you don’t have additional coverage with a credit card or an annual policy, then you should consider getting one ahead of your trip to Belize, or be prepared to pay for the additional coverage of the collision or loss-damage waiver (CDW or LDW) from the rental company, which eliminates some, or all, of your responsibility for any damage to the vehicle.

Breakdown Cover

Before signing on the dotted line of your rental, ensure you understand what the process is if your car breaks down in a remote area. Some agencies have a customer service line you can phone and a driver with a replacement vehicle will be dispatched to you. Others may send a mechanic to fix the car, others may not offer this service at all or have black spots where you will not be rescued.  Know what’s covered before you need to know it. 

Police Checkpoints/Road Blocks

Police checkpoints are common in some parts of Belize. Denoted mostly by orange traffic cones in the middle of the road, should you be stopped there’s no need for concern, it’s a simple process and not a shakedown although it’s not unheard of for this to happen. 

If you’re stopped, simply have your passport, vehicle registration, rental agreement and insurance papers on hand for the police officer who will invariably check this against a sticker on your vehicle’s windscreen.

Checkpoints were noticeably more frequent the closer we got to the Guatemalan border. Somewhat surprisingly to us, we weren’t stopped during our time in Belize, however seeing police checkpoints was not an unusual sight.

We did observe that it was certain types of cars that were targeted at checkpoints and pulled over. From this we assumed that late model cars were hired by tourists and frequently waved through. 

Can I Take My Rental Car to Guatemala?

Barely 100km over the western border of Belize lies Tikal, an ancient Mayan citadel in the rainforests of northern Guatemala and a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Given the proximity, it’s not surprising that many visitors to Western Belize want to cross the border to visit Tikal.  However, most car rental companies in Belize will not permit you to take your vehicle over the border, though there are a couple that do.  Crystal Auto Rental is one, as the largest car rental company in Belize they can arrange permits for vehicles to be taken into Guatemala. Though it’s worth noting that they require at least 2 days’ advance notice to prepare paperwork.

To get a permit for Guatemala, you’ll also need to fork out $25 for a permit and accept liability.  Crystal Auto’s CDW Insurance does not cover you outside Belize, and there is no insurance that can be purchased at the border.  Should you choose to drive over the border, you’ll need to accept full responsibility and liability for any accidents and damages.  – If you do have third party coverage or your own travel insurance, it’s wise to confirm prior to travelling if they will/won’t cover you in Guatemala.

You will also need to pay additional fees at the borders such as Belize departure tax, car fumigation, Guatemalan toll and car fees as well as the entrance fee into Tikal which at the time of writing of US$22 pp. 

Final Thoughts

I hope this comprehensive guide to renting a car in Belize is useful to you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment below and we’ll get back to you.