Central America - Belize City to San Pedro

I just booked my first trip to Belize last night. We're staying at the Coco Beach Resort in San Pedro. I'm normally pretty astute when it comes to booking my travel, but somehow I missed the fact (until today) that our flight arrives in Belize City but then we apparently have to find our own way to our resort in San Pedro.

Just looking for the easiest and fastest way to get there given our arrival at 4:00 pm on a Sunday afternoon. If I would have been thinking better, I would have just booked our first night in Belize City, but now it's too late and I certainly don't want to burn a night at Coco Beach sitting on the mainland. My cursory research seems to say that flying to San Pedro is the way to go and that taking a boat is too time consuming and crowded. Does this hold true?

I thought the boat ride was cheap and fast, not overly crowded. If the timing works out, and you don't have a ton of stuff to haul from the airport to the dock, it's an ok option.
If there's a flight scheduled that works for you, it's more expensive, but still much more convenient.

I'd recommend flying - Once you land in BZE - The Tropic Air terminal is right there. Speed through customs - and jump on a flight to San Pedro - There are plenty leaving (but do book your ticket online in advance).

If for some reason you are delayed (flight into BZE or Customs), your flight time on Tropic Air is flexible...however - they do not fly after dark.

Your other option is taking a land taxi to the port - then jumping on a water taxi. This is by far the cheaper route - but the trip to San Pedro takes over an hour. You'll want to check timing on these as well - not sure the schedule into the night. Note: In addition to the water taxi fare, you'll pay about $25 US in land taxi as well.

Third choice is to swim =- however - it's a long swim, and is really difficult with luggage.

My vote goes for flying - Truely an island experience - seeing the islands from a few thousand feet - a beautiful way of arriving in Belize.

I believe the last ferry from Belize City to San Pedro is 5:30 pm. The taxi ride to the ferry dock is about 25-30 minutes.

A more convenient, and costly, option is to fly from BZE. Both Tropic and Maya Island airlines fly from there to San Pedro and their desks are just a short walk from international customs. The flight takes about 10 minutes. The minimum connection time is listed at 45 minutes (for Tropic). Much depends on whether your inbound international flight is on time, how fast bags are delivered, and where you are in passport and customs lines.

I heard anecdotal accounts when i visited in January of Tropic holding its last departures from BZE to accommodate late inbound international passengers, but I wouldn't depend on that.

I believe the last ferry from Belize City to San Pedro is 5:30 pm. The taxi ride to the ferry dock is about 25-30 minutes.

A more convenient, and costly, option is to fly from BZE. Both Tropic and Maya Island airlines fly from there to San Pedro and their desks are just a short walk from international customs. The flight takes about 10 minutes. The minimum connection time is listed at 45 minutes (for Tropic). Much depends on whether your inbound international flight is on time, how fast bags are delivered, and where you are in passport and customs lines.

I heard anecdotal accounts when i visited in January of Tropic holding its last departures from BZE to accommodate late inbound international passengers, but I wouldn't depend on that.

Tropic will and does on a regular occasion add flights and hold last flights to accommodate late international arrivals. That's why they are a great airline!

HP