Before this trip I had never considered visiting Belize so as I stepped off the boat in Caye Caulker, I had no idea what to expect. But, after spending five days on this tiny island, I'm so glad I visited Belize.

Though it's just five miles long and a mile wide, Caye Caulker is home to amazing wildlife, beautiful beaches and friendly people who know how to enjoy life.

Go Slow

You'll see it on signs, emblazoned on t-shirts and even have it shouted at you by locals, but what does 'go slow' even mean? 

The island's slogan, 'go slow' invites you to embrace the local's relaxed attitude. There's no rushing on Caye Caulker once you realise the island is one big beach, with palm trees everywhere, friendly locals and drinks no matter the time. 

As an anxious person, I thought 'going slow' would be difficult for me, but I was surprised by how quickly I slipped into island habits, staying up late with a few beers, sleeping in and spending all day at the beach.

Accommodation

I stayed at Go Slow Hostel, just a few minutes walk from the ferry terminal. The brightly coloured wooden building fits in perfectly with the rest of the town and though small, it was very social with outdoor seating, hammocks and a little dog called Coco.

What to do in Caye Caulker?

Snorkelling

Home to the second largest barrier reef in the world, one of the main attractions in Belize is the incredible marine life. You can explore the reef by diving, swimming or snorkelling depending on your budget and skill level.

I chose to do a one-day snorkelling tour with Traveller's Palm Hostel. It was about £70, but the abundance of wildlife we saw made it more than worth the money. We saw nurse sharks, turtles, eagle rays, stingrays and manatees during the seven stops we made throughout the day.

The night before I had seen two sharks near the beach and was very pleased. Little did I know I would be swimming with nurse sharks the next morning. I had always been told to be afraid of sharks and although it's true they can hurt you, with a little room and respect they are calm, elegant creatures. Many simply swam past or under me, brushing me with their surprisingly hard and speckled tails. When they swam away in the dark turquoise water, it felt like we were encroaching on their mysterious, private world so we soon moved on to our next stop. 

Next up, we visited the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, where protected sealife including puffer fish, turtles, stingrays, eagle rays and sharks roams. We were very lucky to see two huge turtles munching on leaves on the ocean floor and I was delighted when our guide offered to take my Go Pro down to get a closer view.

As we headed back to our hostel, I was very pleased with the wildlife we saw, even though we missed out on the mysterious manatees. But just as our guide was giving his goodbye speech he suddenly spotted them, shouting 'There's five f**king manatees over there! Get in now!'. We rushed to get our gear on and jumped into the water, frantically searching for the fascinating animals.

After a few minutes of scouring the water, we spotted them deep below us. I was stunned at how big they were, at least two metres long and very wide, with funny little snouts and beady eyes. To be honest, I have no idea how Christopher Columbus mistook them for mermaids as they look much more like overweight seals.

After the excitement of swimming with the manatees, we couldn't stop smiling and thanking our fantastic guide for spotting them. Then, after a quick stop at the tarpon feeding station, we headed back to the hostel to relax.

Beach days

On my other days in Caye Caulker, I truly embraced the 'go slow' motto, chilling at the hostel or at one of the island's beach hangouts: The Split or the Iguana Reef Inn.

The most popular hang out spot is The Split. This beach club marks where the island was split in two (North and South side) by an earthquake a few years ago. It has deckchairs, a bar, a jumping platform and a view of the leafy mangroves to the other side of the island.

However, I much preferred the Iguana Reef Inn. The music was much more relaxed and though small, the shoreline was packed with swings, hammocks and deck chairs. I have never felt so content as I did in that hammock, reading and watching the stingrays swim by in the water.

As the sun sets, the Iguana Reef Inn transforms into a wildlife hotspot. There are beautiful, friendly stingrays that swim over your feet, huge tarpons leaping out of the water, wild sea horses and nurse sharks who come out to hunt after darkness has settled in.

I spent multiple evenings at the Inn admiring the sun as it turned into a glowing ball of pink and growing strangely accustomed to the stingrays swimming right beside me.

Nightlife

In the evening, I would play card games with friends I met at the hostel while enjoying some of the local beer, Belikin or Land Shark.

We played Spoons, Go Fish, Sh*thead, Blackjack and even charades. Unfortunately, this ended badly for one of my new friends, who chipped her tooth on a rogue conch during a particularly competitive game of Spoons.

Over those few days, I grew to know a lot of people in my hostel and the neighbouring Bella's Backpackers. It really felt like a community of travellers had started to form.

Bella's is the biggest hostel on the island, meaning they organise many events like bar crawls and boat parties. I went to both and though the bar crawl was fun, we only went to two 'bars' one of which was the hostel. Surreally, we were also roped into participating in a local dance hall artist's music video, so for all I know, I might well be in the background of Belize's next number one. 

In comparison, the boat party was amazing. After unlimited rum punch, games of corn hole, beer pong and Jenga in hostel garden, we piled onto boats and sailed out to the party boat. Waiting for us was a huge float and of course more punch. We had fun playing like children in the water, dragging each other off the float and attempting to run around on it.

Another memorable night was the karaoke at The Sport's Bar, one of Caye Caulker's two main bars. One thing I loved about Belize was it's cheekiness and love of a good pun. So my friends and I just had to buy matching 'You Better Belize It' shirts for the occasion. We played several games of 'Sh*thead', deciding that whoever lost had to announce themselves as the loser at the karaoke.

Fortunately, none of my friends lost, so we sang ABBA and Taylor Swift without hanging our heads in shame (until of course we saw the videos the next morning).

If you don't fancy a party, there are plenty of local restaurants to try. However, Belize is much more expensive than other areas of Central America so I tended to eat in the hostel, only venturing out for a traditional Fry Jack (A doughy, crispy taco-like breakfast wrap with fillings of beans, eggs and bacon) at Errolyn's as a farewell breakfast before I caught the boat back to Belize City.

A little note

On the morning walk to get a fry jack, most locals say hello and good morning. But one thing to note about Caye Caulker is that during the afternoon and evening the tone changes to catcalling. Even though I never felt threatened by it, I did feel a bit uncomfortable and often went out with headphones on as a deterrent.

Final thoughts

Over the five days I was in Caye Caulker, I felt like I really got to know the small island. I had only planned to spend a couple of days there but was enchanted by the relaxed vibe, fun activities and the lovely people I met. It was the perfect place to relax and recharge before heading onto Guatemala, a much busier portion of my trip and I'm glad I stayed on so I could travel with my new friends.