San Ignacio to Caye Caulker and San Pedro: Shuttle, Water Taxi and the Door-to-Door Cost

Verified on 24 September 2026, on three San Ignacio transfer operators’ own rate cards and both water-taxi companies’ booking systems, for boat travel on Wednesday 14 October 2026.

San Ignacio to Caye Caulker or San Pedro is two legs: a road transfer to the water-taxi terminals in Belize City, then a boat. For two people, one way, the published figures add up to US$201.63–247.38 door to door to Caye Caulker and US$211.63–258.48 to San Pedro. There is no flight from San Ignacio: San Ignacio Shuttle Service, which sells this transfer, says “There are no direct flights between these destinations”, and Tropic Air’s own network list has no San Ignacio airport. The last boat out of Belize City leaves at 5:30 PM (San Pedro Belize Express) or 5:40 PM (Caribbean Sprinter), which puts the latest San Ignacio pickup between about 1:45 and 3:00 PM, depending on whose drive time you use — the arithmetic is below.

The road transfer is the larger part of every total we computed, at every party size from one to four, and which transfer is cheapest changes as the party grows.

What the whole trip costs, one way

Door-to-door totals from a San Ignacio hotel to the island, on three transfer operators’ published rates and both boats’ 14 October 2026 fares. All totals are our arithmetic; the parts are broken out in the next two sections.

Low end: the lowest-priced transfer at that party size plus Caribbean Sprinter’s lowest fare that day. High end: the dearest of the three transfers at that party size (Cayo Inland’s two-person minimum of US$150 for a solo traveller — our reading of its “Minimum of 2 ppl.” column — Pacz Tours’ at two, Cahal Pech’s at four) plus San Pedro Belize Express with its checkout fees. Cahal Pech figures use its plain “Transfers” row, not its dearer “Private” row. The Cahal Pech figures include the 12.5% sales tax its card says transfer prices are “taxable at”, which we have added on top; if that tax is not charged, its totals fall by US$15.63 at one or two people and US$25.63 at four. No total includes tips, park fees for optional stops or anything bought on the way.

The cheapest transfer changes with party size, so we checked every size from one to four rather than the endpoints: Cahal Pech is cheapest at one and two people (US$140.63 with tax), Cayo Inland at three (US$180.00) and four (US$200.00). At three people Cahal Pech is US$185.63 and Pacz Tours US$200.00; at four, Pacz Tours (US$220.00) also undercuts Cahal Pech (US$230.63).

Leg 1: San Ignacio to the Belize City water taxi

Every one of these is quoted between San Ignacio and the Belize City water-taxi terminals, and each operator charges the same for the airports. Cayo Inland’s and Cahal Pech’s cards cover both directions; Pacz Tours prices the Belize City → San Ignacio direction and lists San Ignacio to the cayes “via water taxi from Belize City” among its routes. The four-person totals are our arithmetic on each operator’s own tiers. Cahal Pech also states “Kids below the age of 10 yrs - Free” and that “All shuttles and transfers must be paid before arrival”.

Two other operators on this road publish no rate card for it. San Ignacio Shuttle Service’s rates page reads “Contact for exact quote based on group size” against its “San Ignacio to Belize City Intl Airpot or Water taxi” row; the only figures it gives are typical ones — its home page says its Belize City–San Ignacio shuttle “typically costs $140 USD for two people”, and its rates page lists “Belize Airport to San Ignacio: from ~$135 USD (private, 1–2 people)” — so we leave them out of the totals above. BZ Shuttle Service sells a “Shuttle from Belize Water Taxi to San Ignacio”, but its online store lists that product, like every shuttle it sells, at a price of 0.

Drive time is where the operators disagree. San Ignacio Shuttles gives San Ignacio to Belize City as “2 hours”, with stops such as the Belize Zoo on request. Pacz Tours says about 2 hours. BZ Shuttle Service says “approximately 2.5-3 hours one way”, via Belmopan on the George Price Highway. We print all three and do not choose between them; use the figure of the operator you book. The same leg by airport shuttle, with more operators, is on our Belize City to San Ignacio page.

Leg 2: the boat

Both water-taxi companies’ Belize City boats call at Caye Caulker and continue to San Pedro. One-way totals as each operator’s booking system showed them on 24 September 2026, for 14 October 2026:

San Pedro Belize Express advertises USD 29.00 to Caye Caulker and USD 34.00 to San Pedro; its checkout then displayed an Internet Processing Fee of 11% of the ticket subtotal and a Port Authority Fee of US$1.50 per passenger — $3.19 and $1.50 on one adult to Caye Caulker, $6.38 and $3.00 on two. The one- and two-person totals are those displayed figures added up; the four-person totals are our arithmetic applying the same 11% and US$1.50 per passenger. Caribbean Sprinter prices each departure separately and states its rates are “the total trip cost per passenger, including all ancillary fees, charges and applicable government fees & taxes”; its multi-person totals are our arithmetic on the one-person fares. Coming back, San Pedro Belize Express charged the same fare and fees; Caribbean Sprinter charged US$32.00 on every Caye Caulker departure and US$35.50–37.00 from San Pedro. Full timetables, luggage rules and the fee breakdown are on our Belize City to Caye Caulker ferry and Belize City to San Pedro water taxi pages.

San Pedro Belize Express puts Belize City to Caye Caulker at about 45 minutes and to San Pedro at about 1 hr 30 mins in its FAQ. Caribbean Sprinter publishes 0h 45m ± 5 min and 1h 15m ± 10 min for the same two runs.

The last boat, and the latest pickup that makes it

Sprinter’s arrivals are the approximate times its booking engine printed. San Pedro Belize Express’s are our arithmetic on its FAQ crossing times, and the 6:15 PM matches the last Caye Caulker → San Pedro departure on its printed schedule.

San Pedro Belize Express’s booking flow warns that it “will not be held liable for clients running late due to flight, immigration, or customs delays (The last vessel leaves at 5:30 pm sharp)”, asks passengers to “Arrive at the SPBE Belize City terminal at least 30–45 minutes early”, and requires luggage to be checked in at least 15 minutes before departure.

Working back from that 5:30 PM boat and its 30–45 minute arrival advice — our arithmetic, not an operator’s instruction:

The earlier end of each row allows 45 minutes at the terminal (and, for BZ Shuttle Service, the 3-hour drive); the later end, 30 minutes (and 2.5 hours). None of the transfer operators we read publishes a latest-pickup time for this connection. San Ignacio Shuttles says that “For the time-sensitive traveller, we offer a direct transfer from the water-taxi terminal”.

Coming back from the islands, the first boats of the day leave San Pedro at 6:00 AM and Caye Caulker at 6:30 AM on both lines, reaching Belize City between 7:15 and 7:30 AM on the operators’ own times. Add the 2 to 3 hours the transfer operators quote for the drive and that is San Ignacio between about 9:15 and 10:30 AM — our arithmetic. The last boats off the islands are San Pedro Belize Express’s 4:30 PM from San Pedro and 5:00 PM from Caye Caulker, and Caribbean Sprinter’s 4:00 PM from San Pedro and 4:30 PM from Caye Caulker.

By bus instead

The bus uses the Belize City bus terminal, not the water-taxi terminals, and its newest timetable is from 2019.

• Timetable: the newest one we could find is a Department of Transport western-zone schedule dated April 2019, hosted by the Belmopan directory belmopanonline.com, which itself says it does not provide bus-schedule information. On it, Westline’s express leaves San Ignacio at 5:45 am and reaches Belize City at 8:00 am; the regular 5:45 am arrives 8:30 am; a BBOC regular leaves 9:00 am and arrives 11:45 am. That is about 2 h 15 min express and 2 h 45 min regular on the 2019 sheet.
• Fare: an independent route guide, the Belize Bus and Travel Guide, gave San Ignacio as “about 2 hours & BZ$9.00” from Belize City in a post dated 16 January 2020, with express fares BZ$1 more. The same post says westbound buses leave Belize City “about every half hour beginning at 5am; last departure at 9:30 pm”.
• The gap: none of the sources we read gives the distance, or a current taxi fare, between the Belize City bus terminal and the water-taxi terminals. The 2020 guide says a taxi between two points within Belize City is “BZ$5 to $10 depending on distance”.

On those dated figures the bus is BZ$9.00 a person against US$140.63 or more for a transfer for two on the three rate cards above, but it adds a cross-town connection in Belize City that no current source prices.

Flying: only from Belize City

Tropic Air’s network list — Belize City’s municipal airstrip (TZA) and international airport (BZE), Caye Caulker, Dangriga/Hopkins, Placencia, Punta Gorda and San Pedro among its Belize stops — has no San Ignacio airport, and Maya Island Air’s home page names no San Ignacio destination either. Flying to the cayes therefore starts with the same road transfer to Belize City; Cayo Inland and Pacz Tours charge the same for the airport as for the water taxi.

On 24 September 2026 Tropic Air’s route pages displayed only cached round-trip prices: “From USD $ 67” BZE to San Pedro, for a same-day out-and-back on 10 October 2026, and “From USD $ 210” BZE to Caye Caulker, for 20–25 October 2026. Each carries the airline’s note that “Fares displayed have been collected within the last 48hrs and may no longer be available at time of booking”. Neither is a one-way fare for a date you choose; its booking engine served a CAPTCHA page that day and we did not use it. Tropic Air requires check-in at least 30 minutes before a domestic flight. Maya Island Air’s timetable graphics, served with a Last-Modified date of 8 February 2023, show departures from the international airport to San Pedro hourly from 10:40 AM to 5:40 PM and to Caye Caulker at 12:40, 2:40 and 4:40 PM. Both airlines’ route networks are compared on our Belize domestic flights page.

What the operators don’t publish

• A combined price. Pacz Tours says it can arrange San Pedro Belize Express tickets, and Cahal Pech resells them, but neither publishes one total for transfer plus boat.
• San Ignacio Shuttle Service’s price for the water-taxi transfer: quote only, beyond the typical US$140-for-two figure on its home page.
• Any BZ Shuttle Service price: its store lists every shuttle at 0.
• A current bus timetable or fare. We found none from any bus operator on the San Ignacio–Belize City road; the newest timetable we found is the 2019 government sheet, the newest fare a 2020 guide.
• Cahal Pech’s resale prices match neither of San Pedro Belize Express’s own figures. Its transfer page lists Belize City–Caye Caulker at $28 and Belize City–San Pedro at $40, with Belize City departures at 7:45, 9:00, 10:45 am, 12:00, 1:15, 3:00, 4:15 and 5:30 pm. The operator’s own booking system showed $29.00 and $34.00 plus fees, and its schedule graphic 8:00, 9:00, 10:30 am, 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 5:30 pm. Use the operator’s.

How we researched this

On 24 September 2026 we read the transfer rate cards on Cayo Inland Expeditions’ shuttles page (in a web browser; a plain page request was refused with HTTP 406), Cahal Pech Village Resort’s transfer page and Pacz Tours’ transfer page, plus San Ignacio Shuttle Service’s San Ignacio–Caye Caulker page, rates page and home page and BZ Shuttle Service’s water taxi–San Ignacio page and store listing. San Pedro Belize Express’s fares and fees are from its own ticketing system at the passenger step, displayed in a web browser for one and two adults to each island on 14 October 2026; the return fares from the same system’s passenger step. We did not continue to payment. Its timetable is its schedule graphic, served with a Last-Modified date of 22 July 2025; the crossing times and early-arrival advice are from its FAQ and Belize City page, the luggage deadline from its luggage page. Caribbean Sprinter’s fares and arrival times come from one-person searches on its own booking engine for the same date, its durations from its sailings page. Tropic Air’s prices were read off its public route pages, not its booking engine. The bus timetable is the 2019 PDF itself, and the bus fare the 2020 guide post. Every total, per-party figure, tax addition and pickup time on this page is our arithmetic on those sourced inputs, and is labelled as such where it appears.

Sources

• San Ignacio Shuttle Service — San Ignacio to Caye Caulker — “There are no direct flights between these destinations”, the 2-hour drive to Belize City and the direct-transfer offer; its rates page — quote only for this run, and the “from ~$135” airport figure; its home page — “typically costs $140 USD for two people”
• Cayo Inland Expeditions & Tours — Shuttles — the per-person tiers from two people, “Private”, and the GST-included statement
• Cahal Pech Village Resort — Shuttles & Private Charters — the $125 and $175 water-taxi transfers and per-person add-ons, the 12.5% tax note, the under-10 and pay-before-arrival rules, and its resale water-taxi fares and times
• Pacz Tours — transfers — US$180 for two guests, +US$20 per extra person, about 2 hours, and the offer to arrange water-taxi tickets
• BZ Shuttle Service — Belize Water Taxi to San Ignacio — 2.5–3 hours via Belmopan; its store listing at price 0
• San Pedro Belize Express — ticketing — fares, both checkout fees for one and two adults, return fares, and the 5:30 pm last-vessel warning
• San Pedro Belize Express — schedule — the graphic at https://belizewatertaxi.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-SCHEDULE.jpg, Last-Modified 22 July 2025: all departure times, including the 6:15 PM last Caye Caulker → San Pedro sailing
• San Pedro Belize Express — FAQ — crossing times; Belize City page — “at least 30-45 minutes early”; Luggage, Cargo & Travel Information — 15-minute luggage check-in
• Caribbean Sprinter — booking — per-departure all-in fares and approximate arrivals, and the all-fees-included statement; sailings — departures and published durations
• Tropic Air — the “Where We Fly” network list; route page BZE–San Pedro and its BZE–Caye Caulker counterpart — the cached round-trip “From” prices; check-in policy — 30 minutes
• Maya Island Air — flight schedule — international airport to San Pedro and Caye Caulker times, on graphics dated 8 February 2023
• Western Zone bus schedule, Department of Transport (2019) — the San Ignacio–Belize City departure and arrival times
• Belize Bus and Travel Guide, 16 January 2020 — BZ$9.00 and about 2 hours, the express surcharge, westbound frequency and the in-city taxi range

Last verified: 24 September 2026. Fares, fees and timetables change without notice.

Written by Estuardo Enriquez, a Guatemala-based researcher. This site is independent, carries no affiliate relationship with any operator named here, and is not connected to any previous owner of this domain.