Road trips can certainly be fun. It’s definitely a good way to see a destination. But when you’ve got limited time, practical decisions must be made. Does it make sense to drive or fly? On a recent 5-day trip to Belize, we had to be smart about how we used our time.
Instead of driving from Belize City to Placencia, we opted to fly Tropic Air, the airline of Belize. Tropic Air flies to nine domestic locations. The drive to Placencia (PLJ) would have taken about three hours whereas the flight was just 30 minutes.
What to know about flying Tropic Air:
Two Airports in Belize City
Pay attention to which Belize City airport your connecting flight departs from. Tropic Air flies in/out of Belize International Airport (BZE) and, the much smaller, Belize City Municipal Airport (TZA). TZA is located approximately one mile from Belize City, whereas BZE is ten miles away from the city center.
Check-In Rules
Tropic Air flies to several destinations in Central America. You must check-in an hour prior to an international flight. Check-in at least 20 minutes prior to a domestic flight.
When traveling through BZE, you’ll go through the standard security screening process. The smaller airports don’t require security screenings.
Free Bags
Your luggage flies free. Anything larger than a backpack or purse must to be checked, as there’s nowhere to stow luggage inside the passenger area of the Tropic Air planes. There’s no fee for your first two checked bags.
After each flight, our bags were quickly unloaded and placed underneath a baggage claim sign, outside of the airport.
Small Planes
Tropic Air operates a fleet of fifteen Cessnas. The planes hold anywhere from three to 14 passengers.
During both legs of our roundtrip flight from Belize City to Placencia, we were the only passengers on the plane. My teenage daughter was thoroughly impressed as we’d never had an entire plane to ourselves.
[Related: Mother-Daughter Getaway: 6 Fun Things We Did in Belize]
Small Airports
Philip Godson International Airport is the only international airport in Belize. The airport is small with limited dining options. While we didn’t encounter any issues, I’m told the airport can be very busy on weekends so be sure to give yourself ample time just in case.
Tropic Air’s terminals at the local municipal airports are small, too. But inside, you’ll find an air-conditioned seating area, with restrooms and free WiFi.
Connections
When booking a domestic connection through BZE, Tropic Air requests a minimum of a one-hour connection to allow time for customs and immigration. If your international arrival is delayed, Tropic Air will automatically rebook you on the next available flight.
We were very happy with our decision to fly Tropic Air instead of drive. It allowed us to spend more time relaxing at our destination
The views from the plane also gave us a better sense of the area. Belize has a wide variety of ecosystems. From the air we could see everything from jungles to farmlands; and from mountains to beaches.
KidTripster Tip: We recommend staying at the gorgeous Naia Resort and Spa. Naia Resort and Spa is located in Placencia on the southern coast of Belize. Placencia is a 16-mile long peninsula, home to beautiful beaches, quaint seaside fishing villages and luxury resorts like Naia. Placencia is a great launching point for diving and jungle excursions. We booked a fun zip line and river tubing excursion. The resort made the arrangements for us and even dropped us off at the location. Naia Resort offers a free round-trip shuttle from the airport, as well as rides into the village. Accommodations at Naia range from beachfront studios to a 7,000-square foot home that has a private pool and sleeps 15 people.
[Related: Naia Resort and Spa Review]
KidTripster Tip: Car rentals are available from Philip Godson International. English is the native language. In fact, Belize is the only English language-speaking country in Central America. So if you decide to drive, street signs will be in English. Also, you’ll drive on the right side of the road, just like in the U.S. However, road conditions vary throughout the country. For additional information about what to expect when driving in Belize, check out this article from TripSavvy which contains lots of useful information.
The writer was provided a complimentary flight for purposes of this review. All opinions are her own.
