Will our U.S. cell phones and service work in Belize? Will we need to purchase new sims cards and phone cards? Can we buy them here or do we need to get them there?

Your cell phones will work, depending on your carrier. We have sprint and use to go home to bills of $700 or more, even when putting international on our lines. Your phones should work, but make sure you get the international on your phone so it will take it down to a lower price per minute. If your phone has a sim card, you can buy a sim card here on the island to get a Belizean number and then buy prepaid cards to add minutes to your phone. Other option is to buy a cheap phone here and add minutes as needed. If you have wi-fi where you are staying, make sure the wi-fi is turned on and the data is turned off. If your data is turned on, then depending on your carrier, you will be charged for data coming in (emails, etc). Texting is a great option, it's cheap. About 50 cents outgoing and .05 incoming.

Or you can use Quicksilver Go Phone service, which offers an excellent service and a local phone rental. Everyone I know who has used them has been very pleased. Quicksilver Go Phone

You can buy SIM cards and minutes online via the Hot Guide and we email you the number when you place your order so you can give it to friends and family back home.

Hi Oly, BTL (Belize Telemedia Ltd) uses GSM 850/1900 band for thier cell service and phones. You may be able to use your own phone if it is compatible with this system but roaming charges can kick your butt. Be particularly careful to disable roaming data on your phone if it has a data plan.

But the folks before me are right; Who is your carrier? AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM bands for their phones Verizon and Sprint use CDMA bands and they dont work (generally speaking). Frankly you may want to follow Gecko G's suggestions or buy an inexpensive unlocked phone and then purchase your own SIM and simply keep it topped off. Much cheaper rates than using your own phone.

Marty: This topic comes up so frequently maybe it should be thoroughly written up and peer reviewed as a sticky topic in the Living in Belize section of the boards...(if it hasnt already, doh! I should check)

By the way, there are no cheap phones in Belize. So, buy the cheap phone in USA or Canada, and make sure it's unlocked or get it unlocked here..... Use the specs provided above, but the Quicksilver option is very well received by many vacationers!

Once again thank-you all for your help!

Hi gang, one thing I forgot to mention that I pm'd Olyimpic about is getting a magicjack. It works well if you register the number in the states. I make a ton of calls back home and it is free, free, free!!! If you aren't familiar with the magicjack, they have a website you can google.

Bear, I have Sprint and they use both CDMA and GSM. The phone has to have international capabilities in order to work. My husband is actually on CDMA. My sprint phone wouldn't work on that so I had to switch to GSM. There are only a few Sprint phones that you can buy that have sim cards. No matter what carrier you have, it's going to be expensive. By an "el cheapo" phone for Belize.

Hahaha not sure exactly which of your phones does what at this point FC, but I'll take your word for it!!