Belize's customs are ordinary; what you may not take out - reef and Maya - and the BZ$40 you pay to leave by land are the parts worth reading.
- Coral, turtle products and marine curios may not be exported. The barrier reef is a World Heritage site, and dive bags are checked at Philip Goldson airport.
- Archaeological objects from the Maya sites are national property and may not leave the country, whatever the seller at the roadside says.
- The allowance is a carton of cigarettes and a small quantity of spirits per adult, plus personal effects, declared on the form handed out before landing.
- Cash above the declarable threshold must be reported. Belize dollars and US dollars both circulate, and both count.
- Leaving by land or by boat costs BZ$40, or US$20, paid in cash at the border. That applies to both the Guatemalan and the Mexican crossings, and to the water crossings - so the Melchor de Mencos run that resets your CA-4 clock costs this in each direction. It bundles the exit fee, the PACT conservation fee and a border development fee.
- Leaving by air, the equivalent is usually already in your ticket. Non-Belizeans pay about US$73.50 in airport charges, PACT included, and airlines normally collect it with the fare - check rather than assume, because you cannot leave without it.
- Rosewood and other protected timbers need a permit, which affects carved souvenirs more than people expect.
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