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Belize charter

3K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Tomasailing 
#1 ·
We are chartering a Cat from Moorings in Belize in May. We are looking for all and any information on provisioning, wine and drinks, restaurants while on the water, fuel, itinerary and anything else anyone can provide in terms of fairly recent experience.


thanks,
 
#2 ·
We are chartering a Cat from Moorings in Belize in May. We are looking for all and any information on provisioning, wine and drinks, restaurants while on the water, fuel, itinerary and anything else anyone can provide in terms of fairly recent experience.

thanks,
I would hope your charter company would have all the info you need on those topics.
 
#3 ·
Belize Charter

Chuck,
Well they do, charter with us, provision with us, fuel with us, etc. I am looking for info from people who found they could go beyond (around?) what Moorings has to offer. Their offers come with a price, I guess we would just like to know what are the alternatives. The current economy of Belize and the remoteness of the charter location make it hard to find out what is still currently available and where. But you are right, I am not sure we have asked those hard questions we only asked what they recommended we do.

thanks,
 
#8 ·
My wife and I regularly sail in Belize. Provisioning in Placentia or San Pedro is possible, but difficult, and will usually require visiting several different stores. Although we regularly provision ourselves in the BVI, we never do that in Belize. I strongly suggest you let Moorings provision for you. With very little effort you would be able to buy fish from the fishermen every single night, and if lobster season is open, (and it should be) live lobster most nights. Liquor in Belize is heavily taxed, and therefore pricey, except for the local rum. It is not possible to get onto the boat without spending the night before in Belize. Therefore I suggest you eat dinner at a decent restaurant, and everybody order a different rum. Choose what you want on board on the basis of your "taste test". We enjoy Barrel One. There are several pleasant restaurants in Placentia. Last month we had a lobster dinner in one, and then two nights later had the same dinner on one of the islands. The price was exactly double. The restaurant in Cucumber Marina is very pleasant. Good place to refill with water and fuel. The showers have hot water, but are in a most run down, mouldy, musty building imaginable, and on the far side of the marina. Head facilities are on this side of the marina, and are clean and pleasant. Service in the marina is excellent and very pleasant. Don't think about going into Belize City.
A word about Tropic Aire from Belize City down to Placentia. They do a good job. They are efficient. As soon as you clear into the country, immediately check in, and go to the departure lounge. When all the seats on a plane are full, they may leave. I have seen planes leave as much as an hour early. By the same token, I have seen them when they over sold a plane, and too many people show up. No problem, they just put another plane in service, and get the passengers there. Have Moorings make your reservations on Tropic Aire. They also take care of passengers when the inbound flights are horribly late. We have NEVER had lost or delayed baggage going down to Belize from Houston or Dallas.
Make sure you know how your depth meter is calibrated before you leave the dock. Have the crew set it for depth under the keel. Then dive and measure the distance yourself before leaving. You will spend a lot of time in very thin water.
I think the most beautiful water in Belize is that between middle Long Cay and the reef. Freya says there is only one channel there, but there are at least two.
Hope this helps. Don
 
#9 ·
Don,
this is very helpful thanks.

Paul,
We will also take you up on your offer. Some of us are coming a day early (we arrive in Belize on Monday the charter leaves Wed.) We will spend Tuesday night on the boat, but Monday night in a local resort. So we should have time to do some shopping around and will have a fridge to store food. Most of us are not rum drinkers, are there any options to buy bottles of wine in Placencia, we can only bring in a liter each. And how is the local beer or are there other brands available (Mexican?). We will try to bring in some beef and ham, with the proper permits, thru customs. So we will be shopping for chicken locally, can you get it frozen locally or is it all fresh? We are just putting together our food lists and itinerary so I will get back to you here (or PM you) once we identify specific needs (desires!).

thanks so much to both of you.

Ron
 
#11 ·
Hi Ron, no problem, there are a couple of wine places, ham and good ground beef, the steaks are pretty tuff unless making soup or stew or heavy marinade grass fed good flavor .. Belikin beer is not bad if cold and some others OK Beer is $25 US per 24 pack wine $15 to 50 US depending on you likes. Good brown bread available if you remind me couple days in advance only one source! .. Paul
 
#12 ·
One of the best ways to provision foreign liquor is to buy it duty free at airport in Belize. When you arrive, they have a duty free store and you are able to bring in 4 liters if you buy it there. (It is their own little way of making money.)
 
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