Drift back in time in Belize and you’ll see that boating was an original mode of transportation. Ancient Maya and other cultures ventured by boat – whether upriver, down the coast or between the islands.

Savor the same nautical experience, from dugouts to sailboats, in small skiffs with a single outboard engine to larger water taxis with a trio of 200-horsepower engines. Be one with Belize … and our history with the sea. Today, boats move you easily from experience to experience, from mystical Maya tours, intimate rainforest hikes and tropical island getaways.

Choose your vessel and your excursion, including 40-foot wooden “sand lighters” (previously used to transport sand from river mouths for construction sites), crewed catamarans or airboats (for wildlife trips in marshy areas).

Airboat

A fast-paced ride through a maze of mangrove forests aboard a large airboat delivers you an amazing vies and ample time to photograph the large variety of wildlife and plant life that reside in Belize’s four species of mangroves. See the red mangroves along the cayes and waterways, the black mangroves that help to facilitate gas exchange and the white and buttonwood mangroves found in deeper parts of the sea. Look for tours offshore near Belize City, as well as on the New River Lagoon in the Orange Walk District.

Catamaran

Experience the freedom of a catamaran, which delivers the flexibility to sail, swim and snorkel, dive and move at your own pace along the coast and inside the Belize Barrier Reef.

A novice sailor? No worries. Catamarans provide ease of handling – by yourself or with a crew. Find two fleets of catamaran based in Belize with several individual boats available for crewed charter inside the reef.