Belize’s main airport, Philip S W Goldson International Airport (BZE) is situated 30 minutes from Belize City’s centre.
Photo: Meritt Thomas / Unplash
Being a relatively small airport, BZE is easy to get around. For anyone looking to hire a car, the rental companies can be found just outside the main terminal in the car service building across from the parking lot.
To determine which car rental companies offer the best vehicles across our three categories (Most Affordable, Best for Luxury, Best for Minivans), TravelMag.com carefully researched prices, availability, policies and customer reviews of the 8 car rental companies operating out of BZE. Here are our findings:
Most affordable: Avis
For the ‘Most Affordable’ category, we found Avis to have the best choice of cheap car rentals, although Alamo comes in a close second. Throughout the European summer, Avis rents out the popular Hyundai I10 for under $65 per day and for a mere $10 more, the larger, and more powerful Hyundai Tucson. Avis receives great customer feedback for its speediness in handling drop-offs and pick-ups, the helpfulness of the staff and at this particular branch, the ease in finding its counter. During the high season, we’d recommend you make your reservation a month or so before your arrival. Belize has a limited amount of rental cars available so prices tend to increase across all agencies. Notwithstanding, even in high season, daily rentals of the most economical cars are rarely outside the $65-$80 price range.
Best for Luxury cars: Hertz
Picking the best rental car agency in the luxurious category depends slightly on your car of preference. The Hertz selection at Belize’s airport consists mainly of Japanese and American cars. Amongst its fleet, they have the Toyota Prado and the impressive Ford Everest. Hertz also rents out smaller, cars like the Nissan Kicks, a subcompact SUV that performs as well in the deep countryside as it does in the city. With a good selection of vehicles and its renowned customer service, it’s no surprise to find Hertz topping user feedback ratings across multiple online platforms.
Best for Minivans: Hertz
For security reasons, travelling in buses is often discouraged in Belize and even on relatively safe routes, buses follow a predetermined route. Renting a vehicle, therefore, not only allows you added security but also the chance to move freely. In Belize, the most popular tourist attractions are the Mayan ruins and historical landmarks like the Altun Ha. For those people travelling in large groups, the only agency we found renting out minivans was Hertz. On our researched dates, it had the reliable and roomy, 9-seater Volkswagen Multivan available at $160 per day.