Most people don’t know that Caye Caulker is actually split into two islands. The south is the more popular and the developed island, but the Caye Caulker North Island is worth visiting too, whether for a day or longer.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Caye Caulker North Island, including how to get there, what to do, where to stay and the best restaurants.
This article may contain affiliate / compensated links, that may earn me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. For full information, please see our disclaimer here. While all efforts have been taken to ensure the information included in this post is correct and current, travel information such as opening hours, business operations and prices change frequently. If you find anything in this post that is incorrect or outdated please let me know in the comments so I can update it for other readers.
About Caye Caulker’s North Island
Most people aren’t aware, but Caye Caulker is actually split into two islands.
This wasn’t always the case, but Hurricane Hattie, which hit the island in 1961, supposedly tore it in two (I think this story is somewhat embellished, though!).
Many locals clarify that they deliberately dredged the small channel that appeared between the two islands after the hurricane to create a shortcut for boats.
This deep channel between the two islands has now become known as ‘The Split’, dividing Caye Caulker into two islands: south and north.
- 👇🏼 The south island is what most people know as ‘Caye Caulker’. It’s where the airport is, where the water taxis arrive, where the main village is, and where the majority of accommodations, restaurants and activities are. Most visitors won’t leave this island.
- 👆🏼 The north island is the more remote and secluded island. To get there, you need to take a short ferry ride across The Split from the south. There are just a handful of accommodation options and a few restaurants. It’s growing quickly, but for now, it is a remote and peaceful island, outside of the main hustle and bustle. This area is definitely a work in progress, and there is a lot of development happening. It does feel incomplete, but it is an excellent escape from the noise of the main island.
OUR CAYE CAULKER TRAVEL GUIDES 👇🏼
How to get to the North Side
To get to the Caye Caulker North Island, you need to cross The Split (that deep channel dividing the two islands). There are a few ways you can do this.
- 🚢 Public barge: two companies run the quick five-minute trip across The Split: Split-to-Split Ferry and North Side Ferry Service. The boats run back and forth on demand all day until around 10 pm. It costs $5 BZD per person, each way, and you can bring your bike on the barge too for free, or pay extra to drive on a golf cart.
- 🚤 Private boat: the two companies mentioned above, plus any of the resorts, restaurants and beach clubs on the North Side can coordinate a private boat for you. It’s a higher cost, but rather than delivering you just across The Split, they’ll take you directly to where you want to go on the North Island.
For example, the popular beach club, Bliss Beach, is in the northern part of the island, quite a walk/ride/drive from The Split, so you can get a boat to drop you off and pick you up directly from here. If you’re staying at one of the resorts on the North Side, they’ll most likely coordinate a boat for you.
- 🛶 Kayak: it’s possible to kayak across The Split from the main island. If you’re a strong enough paddler with calm conditions, you can probably kayak to any of the beaches and sights, at least on the west side of the island. A lot of accommodations include kayak rentals, otherwise the Lazy Lizard has a number of kayaks for rent right at The Split on the south island.
Day or stay?
- 🌞 Day trip: it’s very possible to see the Caye Caulker North Island in a day. Half a day, really. If you just want to relax at one of the beaches and cycle around a bit, you only need a few hours.
Given that there’s not really that much to see and do here, this is sufficient for most people.
We spent an entire day on the North Side lazing on the beaches. We stayed for sunset and then got the ferry back across to the main island for dinner.
- 😴 Stay: there are accommodations on the North Side, and the number of resorts is growing each year, so you can stay here, and an increasing number of people are choosing to do so!
However I would only recommend staying here if you like seclusion and quiet and really want to relax.
There isn’t much to choose from in terms of food on the North Island, and you will most likely have your meals at your hotel, or if you’ve got kitchen facilities, cook for yourself. You won’t have the convenience of walking out your door and being in the heart of the action, with restaurants, bars and cafes at hand.
If you do want to experience the Caye Caulker North Island for longer than a day, I would suggest first staying on the main, south island for a few days and doing all your exploring first, and then going to relax at a resort on the North Side for some downtime.
Where to stay on the Caye Caulker North Island
If you do decide that staying on the North Island is the right choice for you, there are a handful of resorts to choose from, and seemingly more each year.
- 💙 Blu Zen: one of the most modern and luxurious options across both islands, with ultra-sleek condos, all with private kitchen facilities, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, dining areas and private terraces. The resort has three pools, a private beachfront area, a gym and a range of dining options. Blu Zen offers guests bicycle and kayak rentals, and daily boat shuttle services to the south island.
- 🛖 El Ben Cabañas: natural, palm-thatched cabañas set amongst lush tropical gardens on a peaceful waterfront surrounded by mangroves. There are pool or ocean cabañas of various sizes. The rooms don’t have too many kitchen amenities, but they do have an on-site restaurant that receives good reviews. There are two small swimming pools with plenty of loungers and a sun deck to swim and relax on.
- 🏖️ Bay Towers: self-contained suites equipped with a kitchen, with balconies with stunning ocean views. There is a pool on the property and a gorgeous private beachfront area with clear waters and amazing sunset views. The hotel offers daily boat shuttles to the south island from their dock for free, and complimentary hire of bikes and kayaks.
- ✨ Island Magic Villas: near-new, high-end self-contained villas with everything you need! There is a great restaurant on-site and an incredible pool overlooking the ocean. The upper floor villas have private rooftops with swinging chairs and a view to die for!
Things to do on the Caye Caulker North Island
There aren’t too many things to do on the Caye Caulker North Island, but the primary appeal of coming over to the island is BEACHES! There are barely any stretches of sand on Caye Caulker’s main (south) island, but the north has some gorgeous stretches of sand that feel like a proper tropical beach.
Northside Beach Club (formerly Koko King)
The situation is a bit weird here. The beach club has technically been closed since October 2022. On Google, you’ll see it listed as ‘permanently closed’.
However, someone still opens up the property each day, and the gate is open for visitors to come and enjoy the beach. When we visited, it was free, but they are now charging $5 – $10 BZD for entry.
You won’t be getting the full beach club experience – the bathrooms aren’t open, the restaurant is shut, and the bar is not fully functioning.
But the old beach furniture is still there (although in varying states of disrepair), and some locals have set up a very informal, make-shift bar selling beers and limited cocktails. So you can lounge on a daybed, swing on a hammock and sip on a Belikin beer in paradise!
Whether the beach club is operating or not, this is still one of the best beaches in Caye Caulker, with clear, calm waters and powder-white sand. Lying in a lounge half-submerged in water under a palm-thatched palapa was paradise, and we had the best day here.
I can’t guarantee the access will remain open, but it is 100% worth trying to visit Northside Beach Club on your trip to North Caye Caulker.
If you attempt to visit Northside Beach Club, I would love to know about your experience in the comments. I will try and keep this information updated and as accurate as possible. But until (if?) the beach club officially reopens, the best source of information is generally other travellers.
Bliss Beach Club
Since our last visit, a new beach club has opened on the Caye Caulker North Island.
Bliss Beach looks like a similar vibe to Northside, with a big open sandy beach, lots of lounges and hammocks, a bar shaking up some tasty cocktails and of course, some crystal clear blue waters to swim in.
The owners are from France, and they even have charcuterie boards on the menu, what a treat in Belize! Stick around for sunset if you can; the view is perfect from here.
It only opened in 2024, but it’s gained a lot of traction. This is definitely the new go-to spot on the North Side.
Bliss Beach is a lot further north on the island than Northside Beach Club, so you’d definitely want to bring a bike or a golf cart across on the ferry to get up there, as it would be quite a long and hot walk. Alternatively, you can organise a boat to take you directly to Bliss Beach and back.
Bliss Beach is open from 11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily, except Wednesdays. Be sure to check their Facebook page before your visit, though, as they occasionally shut unexpectedly due to bad weather.
Lunch and pool at El Ben Cabañas
One of the resorts on the North Side, El Ben Cabañas, has a great restaurant on-site. T&T Bar & Grill is open to non-guests for breakfast, lunch and dinner. From what I’ve read, they also let you use their pool, too!
This can be a great place to stop by on your way back to the ferry for a cool off and a bite to eat.
There are also restaurants at Blu Zen open to non-guests, but I’m not sure if they allow you to use their other amenities like the pool.
Explore
I highly recommend bringing a bicycle over on the ferry with you so you can get around the North Island with ease. It’s actually quite long, and it would be a hot and tiring walk.
This area is very much a work in progress, changing all the time with new resorts and developments. You’ll come across a lot of construction sites, and we had a lot of head-scratching moments trying to interpret what was being built. I don’t know how great this is for the natural environment, but it seems to be happening nevertheless.
While there isn’t a ton of specific attractions, we really enjoyed just riding around and seeing what we could see. There are hidden sandy pockets, mangrove-lined lagoons, some great local restaurants and funky beach houses to look at.
There is something marked on Google Maps as the Caye Caulker Forest Reserve at the very northern tip of the island, but it was extremely muddy and wild when we tried to visit. It’s worth checking out if you’re just exploring aimlessly – let me know if you manage to find a path!
Watch the sunset
As with the main island of Caye Caulker, you can get an excellent sunset from the west side of the North Island. Aka Bliss Beach and Northside Beach Club!
We hung around for sunset at Northside, managing to snag the hammocks on the dock, and it was just beautiful. It was so quiet, barely anyone else was around, and we had a front row seat to the sky glowing up!
The ferries run back to the main island until around 10:00 pm. While I wouldn’t leave it that late to go back if you’re not staying, you can safely enjoy the sunset without rushing off.
Restaurants on the North Side
There aren’t too many places to eat on Caye Caulker’s North Island, but this is growing and changing. A handful of independent local restaurants are gaining popularity, and most of the resorts have restaurants that are open to non-guests too.
- 🦞 North Side Happy Lobster: one of the only independent restaurants on the North Island that isn’t attached to a resort. They have a very popular branch in the main village of Caye Caulker, and their branch here is also a fan favourite! Despite the name, they don’t just serve lobster, but there is a lot of seafood among other local dishes.
- 🍕 La Fogata (Blu Zen): one of the restaurants inside the Blu Zen resort, this is their more casual option that specialises in tasty wood-fired pizzas. Open to non-guests.
- ☕️ Korner Stop Cafe: another great local option on the North Side, open for breakfast and lunch. They’ve got good coffee, frappes, smoothies, breaky options and a range of light lunch dishes.
- 🌮 T&T Bar & Grill (El Ben): this restaurant inside the El Ben Cabañas is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They’ve got all kinds of local and international dishes, cocktails and themed nights like sushi night and taco night. The restaurant is open to non-guests, and I’m pretty sure you’re even allowed to use the resort’s pool!
Caye Caulker North Island: Worth it?
I think it is definitely worth spending at least a day exploring the North Island of Caye Caulker.
The beaches are absolutely worth the trip, because while there are lots of nice swimming spots on the main island, there aren’t really any proper, sandy beaches.
We had an incredible day at Northside, despite it being shut, and I can only imagine how good Bliss Beach Club would be! It’s first up on our agenda when we go back to Caye Caulker.
I don’t think I would have opted to stay on the North Side for our first visit to Caye Caulker, but looking ahead to future visits, this would be a great place to spend a few slow, relaxing days!
MORE CAYE CAULKER POSTS
- Caye Caulker, Belize Travel Guide: The ‘Go Slow’ Island
- 17 Very Best Things to Do in Caye Caulker
- Where to Stay in Caye Caulker: 16 Options For All Budgets
- Our 10 Favourite Restaurants on Caye Caulker
- Caye Caulker Snorkeling Guide: Underwater Wonderland
- How to See the Great Blue Hole Belize – Scenic Flight vs Scuba Diving
- Ragga Sailing Adventures 3D/2N Tour from Caye Caulker Review
