How do you get to Punta Gorda from Belize City with a group?
Three ways. A 45-minute flight to the Punta Gorda airstrip on Maya Island Air, a five to six hour bus down the Southern Highway, or the daily ferry from Guatemala. Most groups fly in and bus out, or the reverse.
Punta Gorda is the southernmost town in Belize, and getting there is the part most group leaders underestimate.
Flying is the fast option. Maya Island Air runs to the Punta Gorda airstrip and the flight is roughly forty-five minutes from Belize City. The planes are small, so a group of twenty is several aircraft and needs booking well ahead. It is the expensive choice and it saves most of a day.
The bus is the Southern Transport service down the Southern Highway, and it takes five to six hours. It is cheap, it is how the country actually travels, and for a student group it is often the better introduction to Belize than a plane window.
There is also a daily ferry from Guatemala, which matters if your itinerary includes Livingston or Puerto Barrios.
A practical note for anyone planning a first trip: build the travel day in properly. A group that lands in Belize City in the afternoon and tries to reach Punta Gorda the same day usually arrives late, tired and hungry. Groups that overnight in Belize City or fly early tend to start the week better.
Related questions
Where can a group stay in Punta Gorda, Belize? When should a group come to southern Belize?Bring your group
Twenty-five beds in the middle of Punta Gorda, one group at a time, meals cooked on site. Send your dates and a headcount and you will have a price back the same day.
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