Belize on a Budget: Exactly What Our Belize Trip Cost

Oh, Belize: you were beautiful, you were home to one of our favorite tours to date, and you were very expensive for your region. One thing is for sure: traveling Belize on a budget is not as simple as it is in neighboring countries!

During our 6-month trip backpacking Latin America, we intentionally planned a shorter stay in Belize than in nearby Mexico and Guatemala, because we knew that the cost of a trip to Belize would stretch our spending goals.

Even with forewarning, however, the high prices in Belize came as a bit of a shock after a little over 6 weeks in Mexico.

The result? We severely limited our excursions there, and while we made wonderful memories, we left satisfied and ready to move on.

Here’s the exact cost of our trip to Belize as backpackers!

The Basics of Our Trip to Belize on Budget

The Belize trip costs outlined here represent our time spent backpacking Belize on what we would consider a flashpacker budget in 2017.

Basically, we said no to dorm rooms, usually yes to air conditioning (we regretted skipping it when we did!), and no to major luxuries.

We spent 12 full days in the country, averaging a total Belize travel budget of $90.44/day for two people, or $45.22 per person, per day.

This added up to a total cost of $1085.29 for our nearly 2-week trip.

Our time spent backpacking Belize took us to Placencia and San Ignacio.

All prices for our trip to Belize costs are listed in USD unless otherwise noted.

As usual for our travel budget roundups, we don’t include the costs of entering or leaving the country here, as those expenses can vary so dramatically depending on your starting point.

Our Lodging Costs in Belize

Total: $534.48 for 12 nights, an average of $44.54/night.

We stayed in a private room in a hostel in Placencia for $54.50/night, and a room at a budget hotel with air conditioning and an en-suite bathroom in San Ignacio for $34.58/night.

As I update this post in 2026, neither the Sailfish Resort in Placencia or the Acropolis Maya Hotel in San Ignacio is still operating.

From an online review, it looks like prices in San Ignacio have remained fairly stable, with several options available at a similar rate to what we paid.

In Placencia, prices seem to have increased more–I think we’d need to pay $75-90 USD or so per night for an equivalent place to stay.

Here are a couple of well-reviewed properties that offer amenities similar to where we stayed on our Belize backpacking trip:

• Alan’s Paradise Hotel, Placencia (budget rooms in an excellent location)
• Don Santiago Guesthouse, San Ignacio (close to the action with communal kitchen access)

Our Transporation Costs in Belize

Total: $37.00

We only used two rounds of transportation while in Belize: a bus from Belize City (where we arrived from Mexico) to Placencia, and one from Placencia to San Ignacio.

We were able to walk everywhere that we needed to go in both destinations, which was both relaxing and a bit of a relief for our Belize travel budget.

Our Restaurant Travel Budget for Belize

Total: $197.08

Food was very pricey in both Placencia and San Ignacio when compared to other places in the region, though slightly more so in Placencia.

We usually spent about $15-20 for the two of us to eat a meal.

We did find some delicious street food near the outdoor market in San Ignacio, which offered much better value than traditional restaurants.

Since Belize has to import much of its food, the high prices aren’t much of a surprise in the grand scheme of things.

For backpackers traveling Belize on a budget like we were, though, food prices mark an immediate and obvious difference from traveling in Mexico and Guatemala!

Our Grocery Expenses in Belize

Total: $69.68

Our grocery costs were mostly confined to Placencia, where the sticker shock drove us to try to avoid the restaurants.

Food was much more expensive than in the USA–think 2-3x the price for many items.

Including restaurant meals, $11.12/person/day of our Belize travel budget went to food.

Our Tour + Excursion Expenses in Belize

Total: $205.55

Due to watching our travel budget for Belize carefully, we limited how many activities we took part in while there, and sadly, didn’t sample any of the incredible dive sites in Belize (we quickly made up ground once we got to Honduras, though, and we completed our Advanced Diver Certifications on Utila!).

We took exactly three tours/excursions: $10 to visit Cahal Pech, $18 to tour the Green Iguana Sanctuary in San Ignacio, and a whopping $177.55 for touring the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave.

The ATM cave tour was incredible and worth the price tag, but it also ranks as the most expensive single-day excursion we’ve done since starting our long-term backpacking trip more than 8 months ago.

San Ignacio, the jumping-off point to the ATM Cave, though, was absolutely our favorite stop in Belize.

Miscellaneous Belize Travel Budget Costs

Total: $41.50

Luckily, a 12-day trip didn’t lead to many miscellaneous expenses.

$1.50 on Krazy Glue to repair my cell phone case and $40 on Belize exit taxes are all that fell into this category.

The Value of Traveling Belize on a Budget

One of the things we try to keep in mind while planning our various travel budgets is not only numbers but value.

I wrote recently that one of my favorite things about our recent 6-week trip to Mexico was that it was not only affordable but that we left feeling like we received so much value for our money.

On a similar note, cities like Paris may be more expensive than places like Bangkok, but the value Paris provides still makes it worth visiting to us (which is not to say Bangkok doesn’t also offer incredible value of its own!).

At this point in our lives, Belize didn’t strike the right balance of cost and value for us.

On a long-term trip like what we are on, we couldn’t bring ourselves to, for example, experience Belize’s diving, when Honduras’ much more affordable diving is just ahead in our future and our incredible experiences diving on Koh Tao are not very far in our past.

Outside of the diving (which is admittedly supposed to be legendary), we couldn’t find much that made Belize distinct enough to warrant budget backpackers spending oodles of time in one of Central America’s most expensive countries.

Based on what we’ve seen tour companies advertising and the experiences of people we have met on the road, it seems popular to visit Tikal in Guatemala as a 1-2 day trip from Belize–but I feel like the opposite offers better value.

For a long-term traveler or someone who is on a budget, I’d argue that it’s better to focus your travels on Guatemala and take a 1-2 day trip to Belize to see the ATM Cave!

Read More About Backpacking Belize + Latin America

Are you a budget traveler hopping around Latin America like we were on this trip?

If so, you might also enjoy these blog posts:

• 19 Bucket List Worthy Things to Do in Belize
• Our Volcano Acatenango Hike: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
• The Perfect 2 Weeks in Nicaragua Itinerary (+ Tips!)
• The Absolute Best Things to Do in Salento, Colombia
• The Ultimate Mexico + Central America Packing List