Our friends regularly drive to a cabin in a ski area and stay for a week. They brought their cat with them a couple of times and said it was quite a challenge. The cat howls all the way and hides under the bed at the rental for a good portion of the time. 
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We have friends who winter in FL and summer in the northeastā¦and take their cat by car. BUT they own both houses so dealing with another owner is not an issue.
They take a few days to drive, and have friends along the way who donāt mind having the cat for one night.
The question is, how long is the vacation itself?
If itās just a few days to a week or two, your cats would probably be happier at home with a cat sitter. Adult cats that donāt have travel experience are likely to just hide under the bed a lot, as described by @BunsenBurner, above.
If youāre staying for several weeks or months, your cats would have more time to acclimate and get some enjoyment out of their vacation.
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We moved from Iowa to California with two cats in early 2018, then back to Iowa 3 years later during Covid time with the same two cats. They each had their own carrier.
They were in the same vehicle going to California and in separate vehicles coming back.
We stayed in hotels that allowed pets and paid extra. The cats were able to use the kitty litter over night and hold it all day while we were driving. We did offer them drinks of water when we stopped for gas.
They howled for a little bit as we started driving each day, then settled down and were ok for the rest of the driving day. They were a little traumatized but got over it quickly. They seemed to howl more when they were both in the same vehicle.
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I have a friend who drives several times a year between Provincetown and Philadelphia with two cats loose in the car. I have stopped trying to describe these cats as flying missiles if the car is hit or must stop short. Oy!
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I flew with a cat about two years ago. NJ to Phoenix, AZ on American. I had the vet give me a sedative, but it wasnāt needed because the cat was very calm. I had to make sure that I could fit the carrier under the seat in front of me, so I ordered a carrier off of Amazon that assured me it would fit (it did). At Newark airport, I had to take the cat out of the carrier going through TSA, so they brought me to an enclosed room. I took the cat out and they put the carrier through the x-ray machine. I stayed in the room with the cat. I lined the carrier with peepee pads (5 hour flight) but he never relieved himself. I brought a small can of cat food and fed him once. He never meowed during the whole flight. This is the carrier I ordered.
https://us.amazon.com/Carrier-18x11x11-Airline-Approved-Underseat/dp/B0D4M6XD2D
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The OP has a couple of issues.
- They mentioned Belizeā¦and you canāt drive from the U.S. to Belizeš
- They will be traveling internationally if they go to Belize, so they need to know the rules there!
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Someone else mentioned Belize not OP. They mentioned US Virgin Islands. Still a plane trip, but not international.
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Mine, too. They hate their carriers, but they REALLY hate the car. From the moment I turn the key, one lets out long, loud, mournful moans until we get to the vet. I canāt imagine how heād react to the loud airplane engines.
I also had to replace the soft-sided carriers with hard ones after they shredded them on the vet trip. Twenty minutes there and back, and we barely made it! My two big boys had no trouble destroying the netting.
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A few years before we moved, we went out to California from Illinois for two months with our cat. Our vet said a few hours by plane would be much less traumatic than three days by car. So we left her with a cat sitter, drove out, then I flew home to get her and back out with her. We had a soft sided carrier and she mainly just sulked through the whole experience. I kept her harness on throughout; the security guy had to detach her claws from the carrier for me to carry her through the machine.
We did drive her back, but I had discovered that she was fine and much quieter sitting on my lap instead of in the carrier. So I kept her on my lap, in harness and on leash, for most of the drive. We put her in the carrier when opening doors etc., and had a disposable litter pan for the car and hotels.
We also used Feliway spray on her carrier for all travels; not sure if it actually helped calm her but it didnāt hurt.
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A side note. I found it really strange that the French space program picked cats as their ātest astronautsā while the Russians and the Americans used much more trainable animals. Didnāt the French know how much cats hate being transported in a tight carrier? 
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Part of this is a matter of early experience. Cats that travel from a young age are typically okay with traveling in a cat carrier, and enjoy exploring new environments such as hotel rooms, etc. I also know cats that have adapted to traveling with their owners on a regular basis by private plane, bicycle, motorcycle, and sailboat!
Of course, adult cats without early travel experience typically do hate the carrier and tend to be difficult travelers.
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Iām allergic to cats (and dogs) - but I have never seen an airline get rid of the animal instead of telling me to āuse your epipen if you have toā which is extremely stupid because of course, if someone uses an epipen, that flight immediately diverts and lands. Also, as uncomfortable as a pet reaction is, the reaction that would occur through the carrier (and through my N95) would almost certainly not be anaphylaxis.
But this is all to say, what glorious airline is it that tells the pet to wait until later if an allergic person is on board? I want to fly them (with apologies to pet owners on this list!)
It was a Southwest flight that required me to wait to board until after everyone else had boarded, and until they had asked if any passengers or crew members had a cat allergy.
However, I wouldnāt actually recommend Southwest if you are profoundly allergic and are trying to avoid exposure to pets while flying. Normally, Southwest is relatively casual about pet travel. Two pets are allowed per carrier. Pet reservations are not required prior to checkin. Southwest also doesnāt limit the total number of pets (unlike other airlines that require reservations and have a limit, such as 5 per cabin).
I am not sure what triggered the unusual procedure in this particular incident, but it wasnāt Southwest policy.
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I wish I had a picture of ours. All 4 are terrible - all that weāve ever owned are terrible! But one in particular. He gets all four paws bracing against the edges of the thing and resists with all his might! Blood is always involved. And heās usually a very sweet cat!
One the vet said that it stressed one of ours out so much to not bring her unless she really needed to be seen.
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What about using a cardboard box as the cat carrier, since many cats like to go inside cardboard boxes?
Our cat chews cardboard boxes and always has. We have a hard sided carrier. But this car is done traveling except for vet visits.
@tamagotchi this kitty was a frequent traveler as a young kitty rising on crowded buses in a developing country. My kid seldom left this cat at her place when she was out visiting friends overnight. Stillā¦he meows like crazy on the way TO the vet, but doesnāt make a sound on the way home!
He did his one very long airline trip from Africa to the United States. Thatās it!
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We live in 2 states and frequently flew with our cats over 10 years. Our typical stays would be 2 months or longer, so far too long for a cat sitter. We also once drove cross-country (during Covid) with 2 cats. Flying is MUCH easier.
Adds to previous posts:
ā¢ When making animal reservations, we always used the Chat feature ā so we had a record in writing.
ā¢ We introduced our cats to harnesses (and leashes) well before flying. Holding onto a cat in a harness makes going through security much easier.
ā¢ Each cat took about 5 days to become comfortable with a new home environment. But on second and all subsequent visits, they immediately recognized either location as āhomeā.
ā¢ Stop food & water the day of a flight. Our flights were approximately 4-5 hours. Add about 2 hours before departure. It takes longer to go through security, and you need to check-in usually at a separate counter. Add time at arrival.
ā¢ Include a pee-pad on the floor of the carrier. Fortunately, it was only an issue once with our very senior cat.
ā¢ We had soft carriers that met most airline requirements. Research size restrictions in advance. Delta was a pain. Oddly, Delta had such small restrictions, barely a hamster would fit. When reserving Delta in advance I would tell them the size that met their restrictions, but arrive with the larger carrier. It was never a problem ā but COULD be depending on the gate agent. I was nervous the first time, but the check-in agent said my carrier was just fine. Delta also said they could turn us away at the gate if too many passengers showed up with service animals since they were restricted to the number of animals accepted on board. SO, we always tried to arrive extra early if flying Delta. Delta also counts the cat carrier as carry-on luggage even though it goes under the seat like a personal item. So, you need to check any carry-on. Just added stress. We never had issues with Alaska or Southwest.
ā¢ Our cats were troopers! They would complain in their carriers occasionally while waiting at the gate, but never made a sound on the plane (perhaps too scared). I would often put my hand in the carrier on take-off and landing just to reassure them.
ā¢ We usually reserved an aisle and window seat. More often than not, no one was assigned the middle seat. Not sure if by design or luck.
ā¢ When traveling by car, we had two separate crates (our cats were friends ā but not best buddies, so needed their own space). We would occasionally open the crates while parked, just so they could move about in the car. (We also had a portable litter box in the car, which they never used. We were shocked how long they can go without using one!)
ā¢ If driving, be aware that not all hotels that are āpet friendlyā are cat-friendly. Many accept only dogs.
ā¢ Happy to share more about the cross-country drive if helpful (send PM).
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Just yesterday while flying American at OāHare, a woman in the security line had a cat in a carrier. When it was her turn to walk thru the scanner she handed the carrier with the cat in it to the TSA agent who motions peeps to go thru the scanner, and the agent then handed the carrier back to the woman on the other side of the scanner. Thinking thatās not typical based on this thread!
We are looking at a cross country move later this year with 3 cats (plus dogs.) Will reach out when we get closer. Vet said we will give the cats drugs.
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