Laidback and Loving It

Caye Caulker is only 20 miles from Belize City Belize but the limestone spit feels a world apart. Just five miles long by one mile wide, with a population of about 1,000, it’s a bastion of beachy Bohemia, where the motto, “Go Slow,” is more of a mandate than a suggestion.

While the island is peaceful and laidback, there’s no shortage of commerce thriving along the waterfront here. Small hotels, seafood restaurants, craft stalls, and a single mini-mart line a handful of sand-strewn streets along which golf carts trundle, leaving wavy tracks in their wake. But all roads lead to the water’s edge at The Split, where a narrow waterway divides the island in two.

That’s where you’ll find the Lazy Lizard, a buzzing bar where the entire island seems to converge. Most come to meet new friends, swim in the warm water and to sample the signature Green Lizard, a super-sweet, neon-green concoction of indeterminate  – but definite – alcoholic content. But whether you’re guzzling a green one, sipping a Belikin beer or just keeping cool with a bottled water, a leisurely afternoon here is bound to put you in an island state of mind.