Belize Water Taxi Rules: Luggage Allowance, Check-In Cut-Off, Children, Pets and Refunds
Verified on 25 September 2026, on San Pedro Belize Express’s luggage, terms and FAQ pages and on Caribbean Sprinter’s Contract of Carriage (effective 1 January 2026), On-Board, Check-In and booking pages.
San Pedro Belize Express allows one checked bag up to 23 kg / 50 lbs and one small carry-on that fits under the seat, and the bag must be checked in at least 15 minutes before departure. Caribbean Sprinter charges nothing for luggage “limited to what a person can reasonably carry or drag by himself or herself in a single trip”, sets no weight or size limit on any of its pages we read, and requires you at the terminal by its Final Boarding Call, “10 minutes prior to departure”. Large backpacks cannot go on Sprinter as carry-on: “Large backpacks, including backpacker-style packs, must be checked as luggage and will not be permitted as carry-on items.”
The two contracts differ most where it costs money: San Pedro Belize Express keeps 25% of a fare cancelled more than 48 hours out and all of it inside 48 hours, while Caribbean Sprinter refunds in full up to 24 hours before — but warns that its sailings “may be oversold”.
This page is the rules. Fares and timetables are on the route pages: Belize City to Caye Caulker, Belize City to San Pedro, Caye Caulker to San Pedro and from the airport to Caye Caulker.
Luggage, side by side
| San Pedro Belize Express | Caribbean Sprinter | |
|---|---|---|
| Checked allowance | “One (1) checked luggage up to 23 kg / 50 lbs” | no fee, “limited to what a person can reasonably carry or drag by himself or herself in a single trip”; no weight or size figure |
| Carry-on | “One (1) small carry-on that fits under the seat” | “small personal items that can remain on the passenger’s lap”; “There is no overhead luggage storage on our vessels” |
| Large backpack | counts as luggage (“hard-case or soft cloth suitcases, duffel bags, and backpacks”) | must be checked; “will not be permitted as carry-on items” |
| Over the allowance | “charged at standard cargo rates” (cargo page); “fined according to weight and size at the luggage department” (terms) — no price on either | no charge or procedure stated for exceeding the carry-or-drag limit; boxes, cartons, barrels, sacks, garbage bags and loose goods “may be refused or treated as cargo, subject to separate rules and charges” |
| Bag deadline | checked in at least 15 minutes prior to departure “with a uniformed San Pedro Belize Express employee” | bags are tagged at check-in; you must be at the terminal by the Final Boarding Call, 10 minutes before departure |
| Tags | colour-coded: Belize City yellow, San Pedro pink, Caye Caulker orange; “Passengers must use their tag to claim their luggage” | tagged, stored in the hold; round-trip passengers may reuse the tag if the luggage is unchanged |
| Lost bag | “limited to the actual value of the item(s), not to exceed $50 USD per passenger” | “up to $200 USD per passenger” if the bag “cannot be recovered in 48 hours” |
| Damaged bag | the same $50 USD cap covers “lost or damaged checked baggage”; “not responsible for minor damage” such as cuts, nicks and scratches; items marked “D” at check-in (pre-existing damage) carry “NO LIABILITY ASSUMED” | “not responsible for damaged items”, but “if passenger acts in good faith and a respectable manner, the company will remedy damages” |
| Do not pack in checked bags | “cash, camera equipment, jewelry, medication, eyeglasses, legal documents, antiques, computers, electronics” | “Fragile items, valuables, and electronic devices” |
| Left behind | “a $5 BZD overnight storage fee” | — |
| Cargo | “small/light weight freight of items not exceeding 150lbs”, checked in 30 minutes before; “Does NOT transport Cash” | subject to “separate rules and charges”, which it does not list |
Sprinter’s lost-bag figure is four times San Pedro Belize Express’s cap (our arithmetic on the two published figures). San Pedro Belize Express also says “Luggage that is not checked in will not be the responsibility of San Pedro Belize Express”, and its terms add that there is “no liability for unchecked baggage such as carry and other personal belonging”.
Sprinter’s On-Board page words its allowance slightly differently — “what a person can practically carry or drag down a street by him or herself at one time” — and adds nothing more precise.
When to be there, and what happens when the boat is full
San Pedro Belize Express publishes four times, for four different things:
| What | How early | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Checking a bag | at least 15 minutes before departure | luggage page |
| Being at the gate | “at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time” | terms, “last posted on 13 September 2018” |
| Arriving at the Belize City terminal | “at least 30–45 minutes early” | its Belize City page |
| Checking cargo | 30 minutes before departure | luggage page |
Its terms also say: “Once the vessel has reached its maximum capacity, the boarding gate will be closed. (Our service is based on first come first serve)”. Before the gate, every passenger must “check in at the cashier booth to exchange their reservation for a boarding pass”.
Caribbean Sprinter’s contract works differently. “A ticket, booking confirmation, or purchase receipt is not a Boarding Pass and does not guarantee boarding,” and “Sailings may be oversold.” Boarding passes and seats go first come, first served at check-in, which opens 24 hours before each sailing, on its website, by WhatsApp, on Facebook Messenger or in person. Then, quoting the contract: “Passengers holding a Boarding Pass must be present at the terminal and ready to board no later than the Final Boarding Call, which occurs 10 minutes prior to departure.” Miss it and the boarding pass “may be cancelled, and the associated travel leg may be forfeited without refund or compensation”. “Standby Boarding Passes do not guarantee a seat.”
In practice: on San Pedro Belize Express the fixed deadline is your bag’s, 15 minutes out, and the gate closes once the vessel is full; on Sprinter, checking in early is what secures a seat on a sailing that can be oversold.
Cancelling, changing, and weather
| San Pedro Belize Express | Caribbean Sprinter (direct bookings only) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel more than 48 hours out | “a 25% cancellation fee”; the “Internet processing fee is non-refundable” | “Cancellations made 24 hours before scheduled departure are 100% refundable, provided the itinerary is unused” |
| Cancel 24–48 hours out | “forfeit of your payment and subjected to no refund whatsoever” | 100% refundable, the same rule |
| Cancel inside 24 hours | no refund | the contract states no rule for this window |
| No-show | “Non Refundable” | “No-shows will result in a 100% fee” |
| Once travel has started | — | “no refunds will be provided” |
| Change of date or time | at least 48 hours ahead, “for a fee of 25%”; exchanges “must be processed at a terminal location”; “Peak and holiday travel blackouts may apply” | “can be made prior to the scheduled sailing time”; a delayed flight gets “the next available sailing, subject to availability” |
| Weather | may cancel runs “if demanded or recommended by local authorities (NEMO)”; the terms we read state no refund rule | full refund “if no portion of the itinerary has been used”; if the return leg is cancelled and you do not reschedule, “a 50% refund … for the total cost of the itinerary”; the captain on duty decides |
Cancel three days out and San Pedro Belize Express keeps 25% plus its processing fee, while Sprinter refunds everything if nothing has been used — our reading of the two terms pages. Sprinter’s cancellation rules apply only to tickets bought from it; “Reservations made through travel agents, hotels, online travel agencies, or any other third-party seller are subject to the cancellation, change, refund, and fee policies of that third party.” San Pedro Belize Express’s fares are “valid ONLY for the schedule, date and time listed”.
Children
- San Pedro Belize Express: “Infants and toddlers under age 1 year are considered ’lapchild’ and travel for FREE.” On the domestic routes, “Children ages 4 years to 10 years pay a children’s rate; any age above 10 years pays the regular rate.” Its booking engine’s ticket labels are “OW Adult (11+)” and “OW Child (4 to 10)”.
- The gap inside that rule: neither the FAQ nor the engine labels say what a child aged 1, 2 or 3 pays. Ask before you book.
- Caribbean Sprinter: its booking page says “discounts may apply for youth passesngers” (its spelling), and no page of its site we read on 25 September 2026 gives a youth age band or a youth price. Its passenger step asks each passenger’s date of birth.
The child fares themselves are on the route pages linked above.
Pets and service animals
San Pedro Belize Express requires pets to “be in a proper carrying bag or kennel” and to “weigh under 90 Ibs” (its spelling). It rents kennels, “available at each port upon advance request”:
| Route, either direction | Kennel rental |
|---|---|
| Belize City – Caye Caulker | $7.50 USD |
| Belize City – San Pedro | $10.00 USD |
| San Pedro – Caye Caulker | $7.50 USD |
“Receive a $2.50 USD discount when your pet travels with its own kennel.” Service dogs “must check-in with cargo and show certifications”, may then travel without a kennel, and pay no kennel fee.
Caribbean Sprinter allows pets but asks you to contact customer service before sailing, which “may locate a sailing with fewer passengers”; its On-Board page says those are “typically the early morning sailings from the islands, and mid-afternoon sailings from Belize City”. “Doggy life vests and soft muzzles are available”, and it “does not restrict the passage of service animals”. It publishes no pet price on the pages we read.
ID, tickets and on-board rules
- San Pedro Belize Express: “To receive boarding passes, the purchaser must present a valid photo ID. Additionally, each passenger must present their own ID when boarding.” Tickets are “nontransferable”; presented by anyone else, “the ticket will be void and may be confiscated.”
- Caribbean Sprinter: passengers must “produce government issued photo identification upon request that includes one’s full name and birthday”, which it attributes to the Belize Port Authority Harbour and Merchant Shipping Act, Cap. 234, and staff may refuse service without it.
- Alcohol and smoking: San Pedro Belize Express: “Passengers are not permitted to consume alcoholic beverages on board”, and smoking, including e-cigarettes, is “STRICTLY PROHIBITED”. Sprinter: “Eating meals, consuming large amounts of alcohol, or smoking combustion cigarettes is not allowed onboard”; vapers are asked to “sit on the upper deck in the open air”.
- Accessibility and groups (San Pedro Belize Express): “Wheelchairs are available if necessary” — notify a supervisor or captain before boarding; travellers in wheeled mobility devices are asked to book early through [email protected]. “Groups over 12 persons are qualified for one (1) free ticket.”
Other boats
We could read the terms of these two operators only. On 25 September 2026 the Hokey Pokey water taxi’s domains (Placencia–Independence) and Thunderbolt’s (San Pedro–Corozal) did not resolve, and Hokey Pokey’s Google Sites page redirected to a Google sign-in, so their rules are not on this page.
What the operators don’t publish
On the pages named in the sources below, read on 25 September 2026:
- What San Pedro Belize Express charges for an extra or overweight bag. “Standard cargo rates” are not priced on its luggage, FAQ or terms pages.
- Any Caribbean Sprinter weight or size limit — on its contract, On-Board, check-in, booking, shuttle, rewards, pre-registration or tracking pages.
- What San Pedro Belize Express charges a child aged 1, 2 or 3.
- Any Caribbean Sprinter youth age band or youth price.
- A rule for bicycles, surfboards or kayaks, from either operator; San Pedro Belize Express’s 150 lb cargo cap is the only limit that could apply.
- A San Pedro Belize Express refund rule for a weather-cancelled sailing. Its terms give it the right to cancel, and stop there.
- A cargo price list from either operator; Sprinter has a shipment-tracking page and no rates.
- What Sprinter refunds on a cancellation inside 24 hours, other than a no-show.
How we researched this
Scope: this page reports source research, not a crossing. San Pedro Belize Express’s luggage, tag, liability, pet, storage and cargo rules come from its Luggage, Cargo & Travel Information page; its boarding-pass, ID, gate, cancellation, weather, alcohol and wheelchair-booking rules from its Terms & Conditions page, which says it was “last posted on 13 September 2018”; its child, group and wheelchair statements from its FAQ; the 30–45 minute advice from its Belize City page; and its engine’s ticket labels from our 24 September 2026 booking run. Caribbean Sprinter’s luggage, check-in, oversold, standby, weather, cancellation, pet, ID and lost-bag rules come from its Contract of Carriage, effective 1 January 2026; its pet and on-board details from its On-Board page; and the youth-discount statement and date-of-birth field from its booking page and passenger step, opened in an ordinary browser and not submitted. The Hokey Pokey and Thunderbolt results are DNS lookups and page requests made on 25 September 2026.
Figures labelled our arithmetic or our reading are ours, from the two operators’ published terms. Every other figure and rule is reproduced as its operator published it.
Sources
- San Pedro Belize Express — Luggage, Cargo & Travel Information — the 23 kg / 50 lbs allowance, the carry-on, the definition of luggage, the 15-minute check-in, the tag colours, the “standard cargo rates” line, the items not to check, the $50 USD cap and “D” marking, the $5 BZD storage fee, the pet and kennel rules and prices, and the 150 lb cargo limit
- San Pedro Belize Express — Terms & Conditions — the 13 September 2018 posting date, the boarding-pass exchange, the photo-ID and non-transferable rules, the 30-minute gate time and full-vessel rule, the “fined according to weight and size” line, the cancellation, no-show, processing-fee and rescheduling rules, the NEMO weather clause, the alcohol and smoking ban and the wheeled-mobility contact
- San Pedro Belize Express — FAQ — the under-1 lapchild rule, the 4-to-10 children’s rate, the group ticket and the wheelchair statement
- San Pedro Belize Express — Belize City — the 30–45 minutes early advice
- Caribbean Sprinter — Contract of Carriage — the effective date, the luggage, carry-on and backpack rules, cargo treatment and tag reuse, check-in and boarding passes, overselling, the 10-minute Final Boarding Call, standby, weather refunds, the alcohol and meals rule, ID, pets, cancellations and changes, and the $200 USD lost-bag figure
- Caribbean Sprinter — On-Board Experience — the alternative luggage wording, the pet policy, quieter sailings, service animals and the vaping note
- Caribbean Sprinter — Online Check-In — check-in available 24 hours before sailing
- Caribbean Sprinter — Book — the youth-discount statement and the date-of-birth passenger step
Last verified: 25 September 2026. Operators’ terms change without notice.
Written by Estuardo Enriquez. This site is independent, carries no affiliate relationship with any operator named here, and is not connected to any previous owner of this domain.