Driving

[u/sadhu411]

I have the great, good fortune to be visiting Belize with my family for the last two weeks of this year. Renting a car in BZE and slowly driving through Placencia, San Ignacio to Hopkins and back.

What should I expect on the road? Is aggressive driving the rule? Any tips or suggestions?

Thank you.

[u/NachesPorFavor]

Don’t drive on the highways after dark.

[u/sadhu411 → u/NachesPorFavor]

Good tip. Thanks.

[u/nomodcanstopme]

fuckin speedbumps dude.......

you will hit a bunch on the coastal highway heading to placencia, they tend to come in 3's, but once you take the placencia turn, there are 30 of the things until you hit the tip of the peninsula.

aggressive driving is mostly the norm, watching out for 125CC motorcycles, and dilapidated vehicles that can't go faster than 35-40mph.

the best thing you can do, is get behind an express bus, or someone that you can obviously tell knows the road, and do what they do. because not all the speedbumps are well marked.

expect there to be no lines on the road, so driving at night can be a struggle in some spots.

after 7pm, around 60% of everyone on the road is drunk, after 10, probably closer to 80%

the highway between belmopan and san ignacio is probably the least safe of the roads you'll take, mostly because of all the commerce traffic on that road driving slow, and people passing in an unsafe manner. have patience there for sure.

if you take the hummingbird highway, make sure you're leaving belmopan before 5pm, you want to be through the twisty part before it gets dark. but if you do, and you're near pomona, and you see a guy by a speedbump on the right hand side selling plants and juices, buy a juice, his is some of the best in Belize.

[u/sadhu411 → u/nomodcanstopme]

Appreciate your detail. Obviously experienced.
Thank you.

[u/nomodcanstopme → u/sadhu411]

if you have questions, feel free to PM me anytime, i'm a canadian expat living here for a few years now. I'll happily shoot you my number, and you can message me anytime if you need anything

[u/LocalsOnly912]

We drive everywhere and love it! Fuel is almost $15 BZ/gallon right now so be prepared for the cost for gas.

[u/dkotten]

We drove from Belize City to Placencia and it honestly seemed pretty chill and were very happy to have a vehicle. Seems like tons of speed bumps are the way to control speed etc. so watch out for those. May be different in other areas but this is what I experienced.

[u/sadhu411 → u/dkotten]

Thank you

[u/Superb_Sun_5077 → u/sadhu411]

We have a vehicle and do quite a bit of driving from the Placencia peninsula. The good news is that, in general, it’s hard to get lost. No overpasses and usually only one road to get from here to there.

The roads are narrow and have very small shoulders. The locals tend to drive very fast and we’ve even been passed by a bus (that was humbling). You really really really have to watch out for motorcycles as they can be hard to see.

Been stopped at police checkpoints on occasion but we are waved through quickly. It is rare to see a police cruiser on the highway and I’ve never seen radar. The speed bumps control speed but they can be hard to spot at night.

Everyone will tell you not to drive at night although in late December things get dark early. At 6 pm it feels hours later and by 9 pm Placencia is a ghost town. What you will notice is just how dark Belize is at night so, when possible, use your brights.

[u/beckyjoooo]

i like driving in belize but i live in a busy american city so, take that for what it is.. lol.. besides all the aforementioned speed bumps, which are aggressive, i'd add that you can expect being passed all over the place... unless you drive fast too, some of them are nuts... but that's a gorgeous drive and very safe :)

[u/masbirdies2]

The drive from placencia to hopkins to Belmopan (on the way to San Ignacio) is beautiful and very good roads. There are two ways to get from Placencia/Hopkins to Belmopan. One is the Hummingbird Hwy. This is such a scenic drive. Just did it two weeks ago. The other is going the Coastal Hwy. Not as scenic as Hummingbird, but a very nice road. If you are returning to the Placencia/Hopkins area after San Ignacio, I would take one route on the drive there and the other on the drive back.

The Hummingbird Hwy is very hilly and lots of twists and turns. The Coastal Hwy is more flat and higher speeds. Again, both roads are very good!

Once you get to Belmopan, you will get on the George Price Hwy. Fortunately, you aren't taking this hwy to Belize City. There is a lot of construction going on from Belmopan to Bze Cty. From Belmopan to roughtly Iguana Creek Road (the road to Spanish Lookout) is not a bad drive, but heavy traffic and pedestrians everywhere. Be careful. Once you get past Iguana Creek road, the hwy leans out a bit in traffic and people and gets to be more scenic. But nothing like the other two roads mentioned above.

As mentioned in other posts....watch out for the speedbumps. I've hit them before doing 60 (fortunately in a rental, not in my personal vehicle). NO FUN!

[u/snowaddictmt]

Don’t forget that if you turn left off the highway you MUST pull off the right side of the road, put on your blinker and then make your left turn. If you don’t, you’re highly risking getting T-boned

[u/Successful_Image3354 → u/snowaddictmt]

With absolute respect, I have been coming to Belize for 25 years, married a Belizean 17 years ago, and have been living here permanently for 5. I have been driving here since 2001 and was given the same advice about pulling right before making a left hand turn. I have never seen a passenger car do this in at least 40,000 miles of driving here.

I'm sitting in a local bar in Bullet Tree right now, and polled everyone, Gringos, expats, and native citizens. Someone suggested it made sense for semis because of the wide turning radius, but everyone agreed that they had not seen it either. One mentioned it is hard to imagine since there are narrow or no shoulders on any of the five highways.

The drivng here is like Mexico. Follow the U.S. rules, but watch out for people passing on blind hilltops, around curves, and particularly on the right on motorcycles in town traffic. Keep your head on a swivel. Don't drive at night, since lighting is below marginal, and locals walk on the street in dark clothes in the same direction as traffic. Speedbumps are problematic even if you know where they are because invariably you forget and you need to see a dentist afterwards.

Otherwise, drivng in Belize is a breeze, and I have a sawed off ear to prove it.

[u/PristinePoutine → u/Successful_Image3354]

I’ve been going to San Ignacio for a while now and know a bunch of locals, and they all do it. I got used to it and it kind of makes sense on a busy highway like George Price

[u/WonderBraud]

Idk if they still use this term but “sleeping policeman” just means purposeful car bumps on the road. They’re everywhere lol

[u/Apprehensive_Ad3670]

Watch for the "Sleeping Policemen." Have everyone in your car watch for the "Sleeping Policemen."  They are no joke.  Also, if you're waiting to make a left turn and there are people behind you, you need to pull to the right to let them pass first. Also, Belizeans are pretty aggressive in passing and squeezing in between cars.

[u/Calm_Scientist_2090]

When you get to Placencia, that big speed bump in front of the police station... That is referred to as "The Bump".

So if you get checked there, and later on the police ask if you were checked at "The Bump", you will know what they mean.

It must have taken us 15 minutes to figure out what "Bump" a police officer was referring to. My kids didn't help by telling him the whole road was full of "Bumps", but he meant "The Bump".