Taking it Easy in Tobacco Caye

The next part of our trip had been in discussion for a long time. We’d initially looked at a 3 day sailing trip from Caye Caulker to Dangriga, but when we watched some videos about the trip it looked like a bit of a fishing frenzy, where they catch the food for the days on the snorkels and everyone has a go at fishing. Since we are vegan (or at the very least on this trip, vegetarian) and don’t want to kill any fish for our own pleasure, we decided instead to opt for a more tranquil and “off the beaten path” Caye to escape the crowds of Caye Caulker and San Pedro. One where we could perhaps snorkel from the Caye ourselves, independently at our own pace…

Tobacco Caye is advertised as just that, a small Caye within the Southern Cayes Marine Park, there is just enough space for 5 small guesthouses, and there is snorkelling right off the island.

The question was, how to get there… I had a plan, and it worked in theory, but Belize time multiplied by Caye Caulker “go slow” time, who knew if it would actually work…

The plan was;

• Boat from Caye Caulker to Belize City – Leaves at 6:30am (first boat) and arrives at 7:15am
• Taxi from ferry terminal to Bus station
• Bus from Belize City to Dangriga – Leaves at 7:45am arrives at 11am
• Taxi from bus station in Dangriga to pier
• Boat from Dangriga to Tobacco Caye – Leaves at 11am, but organised by the lodge and they promised to wait for us since the bus only arrives as 11…

Fingers crossed…

We got to the Caye Caulker ferry terminal at about 6:15am and by 6:45am we still hadn’t set off… 6:50am nope… 6:55… Yes we’re just about setting off now… If the boat takes 45 minutes, then we might just make it….

We got to the harbour at Belize City at 7:45am… Dave decides it’s all over, the bus was due to leave at 7:45… Surely we’ve missed it, but we keep pushing on just in case… If everything is late here, maybe the bus is late too… 😉

We managed to get the fastest taxi driver in Belize haha, who speeds through the streets… It’s 7:53… Will we make it??

We pull up at the bus terminal as our bus (it has the destination in the window) is pulling out of the station! “That’s our bus!!!” I yell, and our taxi driver amazingly gets fully on board and parks up in front of the bus basically blocking it in hahaha, we jump out, pay him and jump on the bus before pulling away…

Some might say that it’s absolutely perfect timing ☺️

The bus actually made great time as we practically flew down the straight road towards Belmopan. After a brief toilet stop here we turned south east from Belmopan and headed down Hummingbird highway, an absolutely stunning road flanked by the hills and mountains of the Belize countryside and jungles.

We arrived at Dangriga with time to spare, and it was lucky too, as there were no taxis whatsoever, so we started the 15 minute walk to the pier.

We made it, it was a long travel day already and it still wasn’t over! Now for the boat ride to Tobacco Caye. We met up with the other guests going to the island, Ciara and Robbie, a couple from Boulder, Colorado who were very nice.

We’d booked to stay at Reef’s End Lodge on Tobacco Caye as I’d read it was the nicest place, literally at the reef end of the island, so even if we booked one of the other places, we’d be coming to reef’s end every day anyway… Plus the reviews mentioned vegan options every meal too, so I was sold!

We had a beach front room which was simple but perfect, with a balcony looking out over the beach and turquoise water, with a hammock and seating. No A/C, but lt really wasn’t needed, as the sea breeze was constant and we had great fly nets and open windows.

The food was amazing here too, and every meal was delicious! We loved staying here, and it was nice to have a touch of luxury within all the backpacking we’ve done in the last 8 months!

But the reason we were here was the reef, so at the first opportunity after our lunch, we got right in the water. The reef here was great, so many fish, and always loads of rays, including southern sting rays, little yellow rays and spotted eagle rays – which were our favourite!

We came back to watch the sunset and enjoy a tasty dinner then played dominoes with Robbie and Ciara to end the night.

That night, since it was clear, Dave woke up very early, about 4am to take pics of the stars with his new camera. Since we were quite remote here and on a tiny little Caye with only 5 lodges, the light pollution was absolutely minimal and he said it’s basically the BEST photo he’s ever captured!!

The next day we were up early to watch the sunrise on the opposite deck. One thing we loved about Reef’s End was the restaurant/Bar was out on stilts in the water and had both a Eastern facing and Westerly facing deck, so you could watch both the sunrise and the sunset from here, and depending on the winds one of the decks was usually a perfect breeze.

We got in the water for another snorkel after breakfast and it was great again, but in the afternoon then weather started to change, the winds picked up and the visibility changed, we could see a storm on the horizon, but it wasn’t here yet so after our snorkel we headed out for a kayak instead. It did drizzle a bit, but it was manageable, and actually nice since the clouds and slight rain meant we were less likely to burn! Haha

We kayaked all around the island, it didn’t take long as it’s only small and got back just as the heavens well and truly opened. It wasn’t just the rain, it was the wind, it was INSANE wind!! If this is just normal weather, I can’t imagine what a hurricane here is like!!

The next day we were still feeling the effects of the rains as the visibility was terrible most of the day, we tried snorkelling a few times throughout the day and it was just too murky and cloudy. To top it off, we heard that there is a bull shark which patrols these waters too… They said he’s friendly haha and they’ve had no problems, he only shows up near the boats when people are out fishing… And people were out fishing… So the murkiness and the prospect of a bull shark kept us chilling on land and kayaking again.

But then in the afternoon it did clear up and we could finally see enough to not be scared of the shark anymore! We spent a few hours looking at the reef, then had a wonderful encounter with a big (and beautiful) spotted eagle ray, probably the biggest and prettiest one we say, it’s spots were amazing, like leopard print! It let us follow and watch it foraging for food and eating. It was using its mouth, almost like a little pigs snout, to find food in the sand and then eat what we can only imagine were little molluscs or crustaceans. We ended up watching it for about 30 minutes I reckon, and it was absolutely amazing to get so close and see this behaviour. We nicknamed it “little piggy” haha

We decided to end the Snorkelling on a high, certain we couldn’t top this wildlife experience on this trip, and headed back for an incredible sunset.

What a great time on the island, we’re so glad we came here, and in hindsight we wish we’d spent 5 nights here and only 3 in Caye Caulker, not the other way round, but that’s the beauty of travel. You can plan all you want and try to research what somewhere will be like, look at photos, watch videos and read blogs, but at the end of the day, the only way to truly know if you’ll like somewhere is to go there and experience it for yourself. I think tobacco caye could be somewhere we return to in future, and we’d definitely stay at Reef’s End again. We didn’t even try any of the day trips! But if we’re comparing reefs, even though this was amazing, it’s still no match for the coral triangle in South East Asia or the Maldives… But it has it’s own charm and the spotted eagle rays and HUGE southern rays are amazing to swim with.

So that’s it… We now say goodbye to the sea and to snorkelling for probably a long time, as we head inland towards Guatemala. It might be the Costa Rica or even Panama before we get to go snorkelling again… So I’m glad we ended the run here ☺️

Thanks for reading and catch you soon!