PGIA Airport in Belize; credit pgbk87
Belize Transportation
Airport
Philip Goldson International Airport (PGIA) anchors Belize Transportation. Located in Ladyville District, it is open daily from 6 am to 6 pm. This 2-terminal international airport received a 60 million upgrade for longer runways to handle bigger jets. The airport now has better passenger amenities, more service staff, and upgraded airport access roads. PGIA Airport handles flights by Avianca, American, Copa, Delta, Air Canada, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country, Tropic Air, WestJet, and United airlines. Over 75 direct flights travel each day from Cancun, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Houston, Denver, Charlotte, Miami, Chicago, Toronto, Minneapolis, Newark, NY JFK, and Los Angeles.
PGIA Airport is in Ladyville, 10 miles northwest of Belize City. Many visitors choose hopper planes for the fastest transport to popular Belizean resort islands such as Ambergris Caye, San Pedro, and Caye Caulker.
Departing passengers are encouraged to arrive 2 hours before scheduled flights.
Ground Transport
Located at the exit to the PGIA International Arrival Hall, the Airport Taxi Counter is where tickets can be purchased from Ladyville Airport Taxi Association. The airport is only a 10-minute drive from downtown Belize City. You can speak English to taxi drivers. Service to other destinations throughout Belize and can be arranged at the airport or by calling 225-2125 or 610-4450. You may want to purchase wine or rum duty-free at the airport, but smoking is not permitted inside the terminals.
Car Rental is highly recommended because many enticing sites are spread around Belize, a country the size of Massachusetts. From PGIA Airport you can rent National, Avis, Hertz/Safari, JMA Budget, and Crystal cars, some also have 4-wheel drive vehicles. Hummingbird Highway is mostly paved and a gorgeous must-see between sites. Purchase a large Belize Map before you venture on the highways of this small country. We don’t recommend driving at night due to roadway speed bumps, which can’t be seen in advance.
Taxi in Belize City
Though attractions are spread out on the mainland, Belize has commuter buses to popular destinations. Local bus schedules, however, are not as dependable as you would like. Hence, most visitors use taxis to get around Belize City, rental cars, and tour buses to other parts of the mainland. After your first golf cart ride on smaller cays, consider a bike rental for maximum flexibility in your vacation time.
If dropping off a rental car at PGIA Airport’s Car Park A section, expect to pay a $2 Exit Fee on top of your rental fee.
Cruise Port
Most visitors headed to Caulker Caye, Ambergris Caye or San Pedro Islands take a taxi to Belize City Cruise Port at 111 North Front Street in downtown Belize City. There are lots of gift shops, cafes, lounges, and hair braiding. Visitors to the resort islands should wait on the San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi area for their 1.6 hours to 3-hour ferry ride, with San Pedro being the longest ride. Those ferries leave hourly. Water taxis are the best mode of transportation to other cays as well.
Belize is a port-of-call for many Carnival Western Caribbean cruises
Belize City is a growing Western Caribbean port-of-call for Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, and Celebrity cruise lines. Due to the shallow waters of Belize City harbor, most cruise ships anchor a few miles away and tender guests to the cruise port. The exception is Norwegian Cruise Lines, which built a private island resort at Harbour Caye for its passengers, just south of Belize City.
Belize recently built the cruise port to eliminate the long tender ride from ships to Belize Tourism Village by providing berths for expedited tour dispatch, a crafts market, retail, and dining, with over-water bungalows and beaches nearby. The cruise port is located only 5 minutes from downtown Belize City.
