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Belmopan
Capital city of Belize

Belmopan

Belmopan is the capital city of Belize.

Plan a trip to Belmopan→From Belize City

Its population in 2022 was 20,754. Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the continental Americas and the second-largest settlement in Belize, behind the former capital Belize City. Founded as a planned community in 1970, it is one of the newest national capital cities in the world. Since 2000, Belmopan has been one of two settlements in Belize to hold official city status, along with Belize City.

Get in

Getting to Belmopan

Getting into Belmopan is easy. Two highways serve as an entrance to Belmopan: the Hummingbird Highway and George Price Highway (formerly known as Western Highway). Travel from Belmopan to Belize City using the novelos or the batty bus lines is less than BZ$12 (Belizean dollars) - US$6 - per person. The

See

Worth seeing

Many tour companies in and around Belmopan, Belize Jungle Masters being the best for zip lining and run tours to a wide variety of interesting caves, ruins, and jungle trails. Belize True Adventures and Upside Down Tours are known for providing amazing tours to St. Herman's Cave and Crystal Cave at the Blue Hole National Park.

  1. 01
    Belize Zoo

    Mile 29 on the George Price Highway (Western Highway) (32 km E of city), info@belizezoo.org.

Do

Things to do

Belmopan is a good place to walk around the neighbourhoods and market plazas. It is a great place to discover, as it has a low crime rate and is very laid back and relaxing.

Eat

Where to eat

There are a lot of clean, Chinese-owned restaurants in Belmopan that make great Belizean food. The Yim Saan restaurant has great food and is a 4-star restaurant/hotel.

How locals move

Getting around Belmopan the local way

  • Get inTo Puerto Cortés, Honduras, the Gulf Cruza, a small, rickety speed boat (20 people) leaves Placencia each Friday at around 9:30AM (4 hr US$50), going first to Big Creek.
  • Get inSmall speedboats operate on a daily basis between Puerto Barrios in Guatemala to Punta Gorda, cost is around US$20 one way.
  • Get aroundThe MCI buses are typically used for some Express services or for international trips to Chetumal or chartered buses to Flores.
  • Get aroundFor those wanting a truly Belizean experience, take the water taxis from city to city.

From Wikivoyage: Belize, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-08.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Mike Peel (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.