Mexico to Belize | Crossing Borders..

We left Mexico with a heavy heart and a longing to return, but it was made all the easier knowing the fact that we were heading for the Caribbean inspired country of Belize, and we were not disappointed by what we found! Receiving the warmest of welcomes, we instantly fell in love with the laid-back lifestyle of the Belizeans!

But how did we get there..

There are a few ways to get to Belize from Mexico, with the most popular ways are being by bus from Bacalar/Chetumal or by speed boat from Chetumal.

By Bus:

We opted for the cheaper option, which in fact was the bus from Bacalar, Mexico all the way through to Belize City, Belize. This was an easy enough border crossing, in fact it was very simple in comparison to some of our previous border crossing in Asia.

You can purchase your tickets online or via the bus station which can be located in a small building on the main road leading out of town, your hostel/hotel will be able to direct you. I would make sure to buy the tickets at least the day before (probably even better to do it two days before) you travel, to make sure that there are seats available. There are also cheaper public buses that you can take to get yourself across the border, but this would entail catching multiple buses to and from the border. Do bear in mind that although this is cheaper there are possibilities of not being able to complete this journey all at once and the safety levels can increase along with this. After much deliberation we decided to pay a little more and booked the bus all the way to Belize City!

You will be picked up on the side of the road outside of the "Bus Station", and driven to Chetumal where (like us) you may need to change bus, here you will fill out the necessary paperwork to leave Mexico and enter Belize and pass this back along with your $25 USD exit fee to the bus driver, who will then help you to cross the border. Once you are at the border, you simply get off the bus with all of your luggage, pass through security to get your passport stamped and then return to the bus to wait for the inevitable other tourists that always seem to take a lot longer than expected!

As with most border crossings there will be lots of opportunities to exchange any of your left over Mexican Pesos here for Belizean Dollars, just make sure that they do not rip you off. Always have a rough idea of how much you should be getting in return. We always use the XE Currency app to work out what the exchange rates for each currency is!

Journey Time: 6-7 hours.

Bus Company: Marlin Espadas.

Price: $374-$449 MXN / £15-£18 / $19-$23 USD (You can do this a lot cheaper via cheaper public buses)

Exit & Entry Fee: $25 USD Exit fee but luckily there is no entry fee to Belize for UK citizens.

Visa: Not necessary.

Border Efficiency: Very easy process, no queues or complications.

By Boat:

This is the fastest but most expensive way to cross the border to Belize, boarding the speed boat at Chetumal you can travel directly to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker without having to go to the mainland via Belize City. I cannot say from personal experience of what this border crossing was like, but many fellow travellers have chosen this route and have had nothing bad to say as of yet! One thing that is essential however, is to make sure that you check the schedules of these boats with plenty of time to spare, as they can get booked up quickly!

Journey Time: Roughly 4 hours.

Boat Company: San Pedro Water Taxis or Belize Water Taxi.

Price: $875-$1000 MXN / £35-£40 / $46-$52 USD