Digi's Tourist SIM: what the page says
Digi's Tourist SIM page lists a price of BZ$40 or US$20 including GST. It includes 25 GB of LTE data, 500 local minutes and 500 local texts, and 50 international minutes and texts. The service is active for 10 days, and the physical SIM remains usable for up to 21 days after purchase. It comes as a physical SIM or an eSIM depending on the device, and the DigiGO app manages the account.
Digi says the package is sold at any DigiStore or authorised Tourist SIM agent, and lists agents in Belize City, San Pedro, Independence, Orange Walk, Belmopan, Camalote and Placencia. That agent list suggests the product is meant to be bought in town rather than at an arrivals desk, which is consistent with our not finding an official airport counter. The page does not set out identification requirements, so expect to show a passport.
Digi's regular prepaid line and its eSIM rules
Digi's eSIM page lists a prepaid eSIM or SIM at BZ$22.50 including GST, with BZ$10 of bonus credit and 1 GB of data, and a postpaid one at BZ$16.88. It lists supported models including the iPhone 13 and 14 series and the Samsung S22 Ultra, and says more would be announced. The steps are to visit any DigiStore, receive a QR code, scan it and follow the on-screen prompts.
The eSIM page therefore describes in-store activation rather than an online purchase. The compatible-device list looks short and may be out of date, so ask a DigiStore about your own handset before relying on it. Support is on 119 or WhatsApp at +501 608 8888.
SMART's TourSim, and the limits of what we could verify
SMART's website promotes a Tourist eSIM under the heading Visiting Belize? Explore TourSim, with online sign-up through its Travel SIM page and a roaming message for travellers abroad. The page we opened gave no prices, data allowances or validity, so we do not quote them. SMART lists a customer line of +501 280 1000 or 1090 toll-free and an address on the Philip Goldson Highway in Belize City.
Separately, the Belize Public Utilities Commission published an application by Speednet Communications, the company behind SMART, dated 26 February 2024, for a licence for 5G mobile and fixed wireless services countrywide in the 3.5 GHz C-band. The notice shows an application, not a launch, so we do not say 5G is available.
Registered lines since 2011
Channel 5 Belize reported in 2011 that, from 11 October 2011, prepaid SIM cards with Belize Telemedia and cell phones with SpeedNet had to be registered with the providers under the Telecommunications Act, with a six-month period ending 11 March 2012 and disconnection afterwards for unregistered lines. Officials cited criminal use of unregistered phones, including from prisons.
That report is old and about residents, but it explains why an agent will ask for identification before activating a visitor's line. Operators' current terms govern the details, and the Digi pages we opened do not state them, so keep your passport with you when you buy.
Entry rules and the online declaration
Travel Belize, the tourism board, says visitors need a passport valid for at least 30 days for most travellers going straight home, six months if continuing to a third country, a return ticket and sufficient funds. The standard stay is one month. It lists an international airport departure fee of US$55.50 and US$20 at land borders or by boat. Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Caribbean and Central American countries do not need a visa.
The tourism board's entry page also points travellers to a free online immigration and customs declaration at ideclare.gov.bz. We could not open a current government notice on whether the form is mandatory, so use that portal and check with your airline before travelling. The page we read also mentions Covid-era rules that look out of date, so treat it as a pointer to the portal rather than as a statement of current health requirements.
Emergency numbers, boats and remote areas
The UK Foreign Office lists 911 or 90 for ambulance, fire and police in Belize. It advises using licensed operators for snorkelling and diving, notes that the hurricane season runs from 30 June to November, and warns that road conditions worsen in the rainy season. It also says theft is a concern in tourist areas such as San Pedro and Caye Caulker.
Digi's Tourist SIM includes local minutes, so a plan with voice is the safer choice for a boat trip to the cayes. Tell your lodge or dive operator where you are going, and download offline maps before you leave the mainland, because we found no official coverage map for the cayes or the south.
Networks our Belize plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Belize, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Belize Telemedia4G
- BTL4G
- DigiCell4G
- Smart4G
- Speednet (SMART)LTE