Belize’s Chicken buses retain all the usual characteristics you would expect from a Central American mode of transport, they are painted a cheery local color, they run on a robust diesel mix, and they speed along like Indy 500 drivers.
The bus system in Belize is very easy to understand considering most cities are 25-50 miles apart from one another. Belmopan, the capital, acts like the hub of this network and once you go here can get usually anywhere in the country. Prices are extremely reasonable and usually won’t run you more than $6 ($3USD) Belize between any major cities. Common north-south routes are: Belize City-Belmopan-Dangriga-Punta Gorda.
While they do give you a dose of Belizean culture, don’t count on these buses for making expeditious trips. They hardly ever arrive on time. Even if your destination is 23 miles away, a Belizian bus can still take over an hour with the onboarding and exiting of patrons and the many slow downs for speed bumps. Good news, express buses do exist for a smidgen more, but when they leave seems to be a bit of a mystery for me.
A couple other points to make, the buses offer some great local fare and venders routinely hop on and off selling fresh bread, tortillas, or yummy lemon tarts. You never know what edibles the ride holds! Music can also present a problem as the latin cultures must have a higher threshold for decibels than their Northern neighbors and depending where you sit, the reggae hip hop can blast away your ear drums for several long hours- be prepared!
Inside luxury and Winnie the Pooh
