by Rachel Jensen 
In a culture of urgency and “right now,” this question about Does Amazon works in Belize? Does Amazon Ship to Belize? Continues to come up more and more. The short answer is YES but it is certainly not a 2-day, free Prime delivery. Let’s break down the process.
- You can place your Amazon order (or order from any company) and send it to a shipping company in the United States. Send the receipt to the shipping company so they are aware it is coming and let them know where you would like it further sent to once arriving in Belize.
- Upon receiving your order*, the shipping company will put your items on a barge. The Frequency of shipments depends entirely on the shipping company. Some are weekly, some are a couple of times a month, and some wait until they have a full container.
- Once your items are received in Belize, they are cleared through customs, and the shipping company will inform you of how much you will be charged in duties.** Usually this amount is added to your bill with the shipping company.
- Once you pay the bill for both the customs and the shipping to the shipping company, the shipping company will further send your order via barge, water taxi, or Tropic Air to the island. Be aware of how long the company transporting your order to the island will hold it. In the case of San Pedro Express, they typically hold an item for no longer than a week before discarding it if not picked up.
This process, from the time of your order till it gets shipped to the island can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks depending on a handful of factors including how long it took for the shipping company to receive your order, how often the shipping company ships from the States to Belize, if there is a backlog of goods coming through customs, etc.
* Note that the shipping company may not make you aware of when they receive the item from Amazon and when they put it on the barge. Check in with the company if you’d like regular updates.
**Note that once your order enters Belize, Belize will levy a customs duty on your item depending on what the item is. Duties can range from 0-100%, plus 12.5% General Sales Tax (GST), plus 3% environmental fee (up to 5% environmental fee if a vehicle). It is also standard for you to be taxed on the shipping fee. For a full list of fees, check Belize’s customs website:https://www.customs.gov.bz/ttpg.html.
There are a handful of shipping companies based in the States including Belizean Queen Freight (from Houston), US Belize Trade (from Florida), Reynolds Shipping (from Los Angeles) and more. Be in touch with them directly for getting your Amazon order shipped, a breakdown of their shipping rates and anticipated timelines.
Long story short, Amazon will work and ship to Belize but it will take time and can be expensive.
