Belize is just below the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and shares the same long Caribbean coral reef. Once you get down to this point though, the water temperature doesn’t change much throughout the year and the “winter” here is quite pleasant: sunny and dry, without as much humidity as you get in the rainy season. Flying to Belize doesn’t take long and you’ll have plenty of sun and warmth.
This is the most popular time of the year to fly to Belize though, so options on how to get there are more numerous than you’ll find in the summer. With new hotels opening all the time and more people hearing about the country, the connectivity keeps getting better.
You’ll have a few more options for getting to Belize from the USA this year.
International Flights to Belize
Belize has 75 flights landing at the international airport each week in the high season, Philip Goldson International Airport, from 12 different airlines. Here are a few standard routes that you’ll find available year after year
From Seattle or Los Angeles on Alaska Air
From four hubs (including Charlotte) on American Airlines
From Atlanta and Minneapolis on Delta
From Baltimore and Houston on Southwest
From Minneapolis on Sun Country
From four hubs, including Newark and Chicago, on United Airlines
From Calgary and Toronto on Air Canada and Westjet
Flying to Belize gets a little easier this winter season too. First up, United is opening up a new non-stop route between San Francisco and Belize City which starts this month, Saturdays only, so stick around a while.
Copa Airlines added a second weekly flight from Panama City, which isn’t much of a backtrack for your hub flight change.
A year ago, JetBlue added non-stop flights from New York City to Belize.
Southwest has some especially good deals when they’re running a sale. Sign up for their credit card and you will get 40,000 rewards points after spending $1K. That may be enough points to get you to Belize for free!
And yes you can fly to Belize on Delta, United, and American—the latter even serving a London to Belize route via Miami.
You can also do a combo trip from a nearby country: Tropic Air has flights from Cancun and Roatan.
The only airline that has pulled out of the area is Aeromexico, though of course you can still get to Ambergris Caye by ferry from Chetumal and from there via internal flight to where you want to go. We’re surprised that Volaris hasn’t picked up this route, but the Maya Train will make it down to Chetumal eventually from Cancun and beyond.
If you want to get down to the best mainland beach area in the country, in Placencia, that’s getting easier as well. Tropic Air will get your there from multiple other points in Belize and from the main international airport, they have up to 14 flights a day on weekends. So between them and Maya Island Air, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting to Placencia no matter when your international flight lands.
January through April Vacations in Placencia
Besides lounging on the beach and nearby adventure activities, you will find special events going on in the beach town of Belize in the prime vacation months. Here are a few things you can plan around.
February: The Placencia Sidewalk Arts & Music Festival is the fastest-growing event in the Southern (Stann Creek) Region. Visual and performing artists from across Belize showcase their best along the village’s historic sidewalk. You can shop for Belizean art and explore the local music scene. February 9 & 10.
March: Taste of the Peninsula – You will be able to sample a wide range of cuisine contributed by participating Peninsula restaurants and home cooks, then dance the night away to live music and participate in fun raffles. Also, March 9 is National Heroes and Benefactors day in honor of Baron Bliss, a national holiday and an excuse for parties.
April: Up the coast in Hopkins there’s a Paranda Music Festival on April 1. Easter in Belize is a fun time to be around, with plenty of local activities that weekend. Spring Break Parties will be going on throughout the Peninsula and Village. Here’s why you should spend spring break in Placencia Village, Belize.
The closest luxury resort to the downtown action is beachfront Chabil Mar Villas Resort. See a video tour here of their vacation experience offerings. Think you might want to find a more permanent place in the sun where you can visit for longer? Check out our property round-up: Luxury Real Estate in Placencia.
An Easier Immigration Process for Belize Entry
Belize may be a laid-back country, but they’re getting into the modern age now with their airport immigration process. Instead of pulling out the reading glasses for the tiny type and getting into the overhead bin for a pen, you can now fill out all your immigration info in advance online and not have to hand over anything physical.
This should make the immigration lines move faster and it cuts down on waste for a country that does a better job than most at keeping garbage to a minimum. You can fill out everything on your phone, laptop, or tablet before arrival. See the details here.
Article by Timothy
Timothy Scott is the founder and editor of Luxury Latin America and has been covering the region as a travel journalist since the mid-2000s. He has visited each country we cover multiple times and is based in a UNESCO World Heritage city in central Mexico, where he owns a home. See contact information here.
