Guatemala and Belize have a couple of border crossings, the most popular being the one that connects the Tikal area with northern Belize. This border is more common among travelers who enter Mayan territory.
Guatemala y Belize they share less than 250 km, and have two border crossings. You can cross by public transport or by car.
Borders between Guatemala and Belize:
- The southern border of Belize on the coast, linking the Garífuna populations of Punta Gorda en Belize y Livingston / Puerto Barrios en Guatemala. Southern Belize has less infrastructure and travelers do not tend to stay in this area of Punta Gorda, which borders Guatemala with the interesting Garifuna population of Livingston. The most popular southern population in Belize is Placencia.
- The northern border a Melchor de Mencos (Guatemala) and Benque Viejo del Carmen (Belize). This northern border is increasingly popular with travelers, linking two of the largest Mayan cities: Tikal y Snail.
Melchor de Mencos Border (Guatemala) - Benque Viejo del Carmen (Belize):
The border between Melchor de Mencos (Guatemala) y Benque Viejo del Carmen (Belize) It is located in the north: it connects two large Mayan areas, Tikal in Flowers and of Snail in San Ignacio, Belize. This border crossing is increasingly popular with travelers flying in and out of the Cancun International Airport (Mexico), and they travel through Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, very interesting territories of the Mayan route.
The border opens every day of the year.
I recommend whenever you can cross the borders early in the morning or measured tomorrow, avoiding Sundays and holidays, where some services may be closed. Take one photocopy of the papers that you are going to require the car at the border. I do not recommend you travel at night, if you go in your own car leave the road at dusk. The poor lighting of roads and security are the main causes.
In all border crossings there are money changers or money changers. You can exchange a small amount with them if you do not have local currency, or wait to find a bank or exchange house on your way. I don't usually exchange money at the borders.
If you want to cross with your pet, I leave this entry of a blog very good car and dog travel in Latin America.
General requirements to cross the border:
The travelers we need passport valid for at least 90 days. It is always advisable to travel with your passport valid for 6 months.
Now entrance to Belize is not paid, you will do it to the output from the country, 37.5 usd (if you have been in the country for more than 24 hours). Mexicans and Spaniards do not need visa for Belize. Check if your nationality needs a visa to enter Belize here!.
There are no entrance fees to Guatemala, although some officers demand it, they ask you for some 20 quetzales. Ask for a receipt, and in your person is the more or less discuss with the officers. Mexicans and Spaniards do not need visa for Guatemala. Check if your nationality needs a visa to enter Guatemala here!.
Cross the Melchor de Mencos (Guatemala) - Benque Viejo del Carmen (Belize) border by public transport:
- In tourist collective: a daily bus leaves between Belize City (from the Watertaxis dock) to Santa Elena-Flores, in Guatemala. This bus also leaves daily from Santa-Elena-Flores to Belize City. It is an easier and more comfortable way to cross the border with other travelers, while you do your exit and entry procedures, they wait for you on the other side. The tourist vehicles they use are buses of about 50 people, more comfortable than public transport. Tickets are sold at agencies in Flores and El Remate, in the Guatemala part, and at Belize agencies in the San Pedro and Cayo Caulker keys, and other tourist destinations. The price is about 25 usd and the duration of 4 to 5 hours. This option it does not allow you to stop in the interesting area of San Ignacio, where excursions to the colossal Snail y Xunantunich. You also won't be able to stop at Yaxhá, another colossal archaeological zone on the Guatemalan side.
- In public collective: the route from Santa Elena, here collectives to the border, take about 2 hours and cost about 30 quetzales to the border: Melchor de Mencos. From Flores there are 10 minutes in tuk tuk to Santa Elena, costs 5 Q. Collectives to the border go through The Remate too. Once at the border you do the paperwork and cross into Belize at Benque Viejo. From this point of the border the tourist town of San Ignacio is a couple of kilometers away. There are taxis that take you for 7 usd the full taxi, it is expensive for the short trip, it is what it is. You can share expenses with others. From Benque Viejo there are buses and collectives that take you to San Ignacio for 2 BZD (Belizean dollar), 20 min. You can go by bus to Belize City, it is about 10 BZD and it takes three hours.
- By private taxi: It is another option to cross the border. I honestly do not know the prices of this option, it depends on the route you want to make.
Cross the border Melchor de Mencos (Guatemala) - Benque Viejo del Carmen (Belize) by car:
It tienes private car It is easy to cross this border.
What do you need?
- passport in order
- driver's license
- the circulation card / vehicle registration certificate
- Temporary import permit, valid for a maximum of 30 days, is processed free at the border. This requirement is necessary to enter into Guatemala.
If the car is not in your name You will need a written permission before a notary that appears as owner on the circulation card.
The person who drives the car when crossing the border of Guatemala it must be the same one that leads it when leaving the country.
Procedures with the car:
- Seal the outlet: Stop at the border post to seal the exit of the car and yours. You must deliver the required photocopy of the car at the borders of Guatemala and Belize. In Belize They charge 30 Belizean dollars for entering the car.
- Fumigate the car: crossing to Belize You must fumigate your car for 3 usd. In Guatemala I'm not sure if there's a spraying booth.
- Traffic insurance: in Belize it is mandatory un circulation insurance. After the border of Benque Viejo, on the right there are insurance houses. The approximate prices are: per day-USD 6, 7 days-USD 15, one month-USD 30. «For a week's insurance they charged us 29 Belizean dollars» the information is given by César, who crossed by rental car in October 2015. It is mandatory to have this insurance, if the police stop you (surely they will) and they will not you carry, you will have problems. The insurance is visible in the car, on the front window. In Guatemala does not need car insurance to drive, although I recommend you always travel with car insurance. Insurance from other countries is not valid. In banks they make insurance for a year, the truth is that they do not facilitate the insurance issue much. Caution: on Sundays and holidays some services where they manage insurance are closed.
Can you cross in a car to rent the border?
Yes you can, but there are very few companies from Mexico that give the option of crossing to Belize and Guatemala by rental car. American Car Rental if it does, you will have to pay an extra approximately 180 usd for this procedure to the car company. Another company where you can also rent, as a traveler noted in comments on this blog, is Price Car Rentals, and carry out the free process. Sure there are other car rental companies, but I don't know.
In this search engine is American Car Rental, if you want to rent a car and look at prices
Thanks to the information that César gave me, a traveler that I met thanks to the blog, who was joined by my passion for travel and the desire to help other travelers, I have been able to write this post completely. Good information for travelers is essential, this is what this blog is about, making travel easier. People like César make you do this blog with more enthusiasm, thank you.
Good way,
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If you prefer, you tell us your idea of the trip and together we organize it.
Once again we ask you for help, if you had to spend three days in Belize, which you would visit. We have the Xunantunich and Caracol archaeological sites, the coral reef, visit some key (Ambergris), Mountain Pine Ridge National Park, Blue Hole, or ...... Thank you and we read.
Hi guys,
Enchanted, you already know.
Caracol takes you all day, from 6 to 17 in the afternoon, on the way you visit Mountain Pine Ridge National Park. It's one of the big ones, I'm very crazy from the archaeological zones, and Caracol is one of those mythical Mayan areas. Xunantunich you have on hand to visit from San Ignacio, a couple of hours are enough.
Many have spoken well of snorkeling in Hol Chan Reserve, from Caulker Cay, where access is easy. I link you a blog post: https://lomejorestaporllegar.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/belice-el-mejor-snorkel-de-nuestra-vida-en-cayo-caulker/
We are still in it 🙂 Greetings travelers!
Sandra
Blue Hole I can not talk
Hello Sandra, I want to go to Tikal from Chetumal for the month of May, cross the border through Corozal to Belize and then cross to Guatemala through Melchor de Mencos, the question is if it is safe to travel by private vehicle with Quintana Roo plates through Belize AND Guatemala and if the season is good because of the rains and what do you recommend in Flores.
Best regards
Marco A Rico
Hello Marco, the 2 times that we have been by car, with QR plates we crossed, without problem. Always travel during the day, there is hardly any lighting on the roads and we will not deny that there are occasional robberies. Check that the border is open, recently they closed again. From San Ignacio you can take the option of going on a tour to Tikal, in case you want to contemplate it. Heavy rains can hurt us at times, but they are occasional occasions. I leave you the information to cross to Belize and another article about Tikal and how to get around there. On the way to Tikal, crossing the border is Yaxhá, a jewel of the Mayan world that is well worth a stop. There is where to stay to sleep too. Any questions that remain in the pipeline, we try to support you. Best regards,
https://www.elcaminomascorto.es/frontera-mexico-belice/
https://www.elcaminomascorto.es/tikal-como-ir-llegar-dormir/
Hi. I am from Mexico City. I plan to make a trip to Guatemala and Belize in a private car soon. Among other things I would like to know if there is enough offer of hotels in those countries because when driving on the road many times you need to know where you can sleep. Likewise, I would like to have an estimate of how much money I should bring by converting Mexican pesos to quetzales. I also need to know what is the currency of Belize and where I can change the currency. Beforehand I appreciate the attention and congratulate them on the page as it solves many doubts for those of us who venture to know these countries. Greetings.
Hi Gerardo, sorry for the delay in answering. The hotel offer you will find is similar to that of Mexico, there is always a place to stay for the night. You have the tool of trivago.com to see prices and if there is a hotel where you go. To see the conversion you have several websites, I usually use http://www.xe.com/es/currencyconverter/. To change to the local currency you can do it in the exchange offices in Belize (Belizean dollar) and Guatemala (Quetzal), or try to get in a central bank of CDMX currency of Belize and Guatemala. You will not have problems changing the Mexican peso in Belize and Guatemala.
If something else I can support you here we are.
Greetings and good trip!
Hi good afternoon.
One question, will you be able to tell me what are the percentages that they charge in Melchor de Mencos to let out or let in some merchandise?
Thank you
An apology Diego, I do not know that information.
Regards,
Hello, I will make the bus trip from C. Guatemala to the border with Belize, you can recommend the bus line.
Hi Teresita, I don't know if they leave from Guatemala City, but this company operates from Flores: http://www.marlinespadas.net/ I hope the information serves you.
Good way,
EXCELLENT! Thank you very much for the post
I'm glad, thanks?, Good way!
HELLO FRIENDS TRAVELERS. I AM ORGANIZING A TRIP IN CENTRAL AMERICA. I HAVE QUESTIONS TO SEE IF YOU CAN COLLABORATE ME:
* HOW DO I TRANSFER FROM CITY OF GUATEMALA TO FLOWERS? WHAT DOES THE TICKET COST? HOW FREQUENTLY THE BUSES EXIT?
* HOW DO I TRANSFER OF FLOWERS TO TIKAL? WHAT DOES THE TICKET COST?
* IF WE ARRIVE TO FLOWERS AT 2 PM, WOULD WE REACH THE SAME DAY TO GO TO TIKAL OR IS IT BETTER TO GO TOMORROW?
WHAT TIME DOES THE BUS OF FLOWERS GO TO CITY OF BELIZE?
THANK YOU FRIENDS A HUG FROM COLOMBIA
Hi Armando,
I leave your comment in case someone helps you with your doubts.
I answer what I know: I have a link that can help you for Tikal https://www.elcaminomascorto.es/tikal-como-ir-llegar-dormir/ Personally I would wait for the next day to Tikal, and I would go with the first bus that leaves Flores to Tikal, to take advantage of the day in Tikal. There are many agencies in Flores that help you with this process, when you arrive, solve those little questions quickly. You will not have problems transporting you in that area.
Best regards travelers, very good trip!
Hello, if you can tell customs schedules in Melchor de Mencos))
Hello Iana, 6 schedules in the morning to 22 hours.
Regards,
Good afternoon!. Thanks for the info :). We are seeing my partner and I as we can go from Remate to Belize by bus. Do you know the name of any company and the transit in which buses pass?
Thank you!.
Hi Juan, I do not know the company name, but there is public transport to the border. From there you have to take a shared taxi to San Ignacio, where there are already tourist services and public transport. I leave this link with good info of an inn in the Auction http://www.lacasadedondavid.com/es/travel.php
Greetings travelers,
Hello, I plan to go to Mexico by car with my dogs (2) to go through Belize. Is there a problem with that? or what papers they must carry
Hello Adela, there is no problem with that, yes you can spend with your dogs. In the article there is a link to another blog where he explains what is necessary to cross with pets. I link it to you here: http://dfushuaia.com/web/2013/01/viajar-con-perro/
Have an excellent trip,
hello Sandra, you say on your page that you do not recommend going through the Melchor-Benque border on holidays, since some services would be closed, what would be the same? It is that I plan to cross the 1 ° of January! thank you very much for your attention
Hello Sandra,
I mean more if you cross in a car, subject car insurance, fumigation and those things. If you are going to cross by free, surely there are staff for the usual procedures, the borders do not make vacations. Some maybe with raw and expensive few friends wait for you hehe
Have a good trip, I like your email 🙂
Good afternoon, one question, can I travel to Belize 3 days only with DPI?
Hi Hugo, I think that is not possible. Contact the Government of Guatemala better to make sure, but I doubt it very much. http://www.minex.gob.gt/
Regards,
Hello My name is Silvio I will be in the city of Cuatemala on August 15 next. and I would like to rent a car for 14 days. My question is if I can enter Belize in it. From already thank you very much..!!!
Hi Silvio, yes you can, but there are few car rental companies that offer the possibility of crossing the car. In the section of the article that we talk about crossing in a rental car we give you the information about it. Yes, we can help you with something else, with pleasure.
Greetings and good trip
Hi, honey, Jony would like to go to Belize to look for work, open possibility,
Jonh, with all the love and grief I answer you that we are not the right place to support you. We talk about travel, there we do not know the reality of Belize.
The best of luck to you,
Hi, my wife is working in Guatemala City and I am in Venezuela. We want to see us before December but the Visa for Guatemala has not come out so we plan to meet in Belize. What places do you recommend to rest and take a 2da Honeymoon in Belize?
Thank you
Hello Wilfredo, sorry for the delay I've been without a signal.
Let's see if I can help you a little with your honeymoon, that despite the circumstances you will surely enjoy it a lot. In Belize, what is much styled in a relax plan is to go to a key, which are islands near the coast. The most popular are San Pedro and Caulker Cay, where there are more services. We met Tobbacco Cay, where there is almost nothing, which is what we were looking for. If you want a beach on the coast, the best place is Plasencia, where there is a variety of accommodation and services. If you want to continue refining information with pleasure I try to support you in what you know.
Best regards, you spend some excellent days 🙂
HELLO: I plan to travel before the end of the year from Chetumal to Flores and Tikal, by car, approx. 10 years I made the same route and the road from melchor de mencos until shortly before the auction, was dirt, I would like to know the current conditions of it and how safe it is to travel in those directions today.
Thank you
Hello Alberto, well you will see it quite changed, the same thing happened to me when I was in Tikal in the 2000, returning years later and seeing how services are improving. The road is not dirt road now, without being the best, they are well equipped. The procedures and routes are simple in this border, what I recommend is not to do overnight trips. I wish you an excellent trip in these directions.
Good way Alberto,
Hi, I'm planning a trip from Guatemala to Mexico, I'll do it in vans, the car is not in my name so I've already done the driving license, but in Spanish, is it necessary to have it in English too? and as for the roads of Belize, are you able to cross them with a small car? and finally, there are toll stations on the Belize route, if there is someone knows the amount to pay. Thanks in advance
Hi Marcelo, in our case we crossed to Belize with the permission of the owner in Spanish without problem, but it does not hurt in English, good idea. Regarding the roads, the main ones are OK for any type of vehicle, even if they have little lighting, do not drive at night. The roads that connect points like the border to Belize City, Belmopan, San Ignacio, Dandriga and Plasencia can move you without problems. If you want to go to Caracol or Punta Gorda, or take a coastal secondary is not recommended because they are with many holes. The road known as Hummingbird is a beautiful landscape. There are no tolls in Belize, yes the mandatory subject of vehicle circulation insurance.
Have an excellent trip, good way.
I just made a tour of 13 hours between San Pedro Sula Honduras and Mango Creek Belize. The route I took was after the 9 CA, the 13 CA to Melchro de Mencos to enter Belize via Sna Ignacio.
The Google map shows me another route of 7 hours of duration, with a detour in Chacte that leaves by a shortcut to the Southern Highway in Beliza, however this deviation is not noticeable in the CA 13 road and there is no indication that for this There is neither Guatemalan nor Belizean customs.
Can someone confirm if this route exists or not and if there are customs in both countries>
Thank you
Hello Jose, that we know that route with detour in Chacte there is no border where foreigners stamp passport. Yes there is a local step, but not as an international border. Have an excellent trip, and tell us how the tour ended.
Hello Sandra, thank you very much for the info. what you give!
I would like to ask you a question:
What do you mean, do not make trips at night? I explain. We plan to visit Tikal until the 18: 00 (closing time), pick up our backpacks from the accommodation (In Tikal) and get a transport that will take us to San Ignacio to spend the night there.
If all goes well at 20: 30h we would be at the border (Melchor / Benque). Once in the part of Belize we are trying to negotiate that, either the Hotel where we are going to stay, or the agency with which we are going to visit the ATM Caves, pick us up to take us to San Ignacio.
How do you see this plan, it's too late for 20: 30h.?
Thank you very much!
Hello Carlos, happy to help 🙂
I say this as a precaution, and above all if one is driving, there is hardly any lighting and the routes become difficult. Something you can do and it is a great indicator, is to know if there is public transport that make that trip at that time to the border. If there is not, it is for something. And in this case, I would wait for the next day to go to San Ignacio. Good idea about the taxi that you wait crossing, there is always waiting, but that way you are sure. That you have an excellent trip, any doubt here you are. Good way.
Thank you very much Sandra!
I would like to take advantage of your knowledge and experience in archaeological sites to ask you another question.
Not having all the time we would like, we have to prioritize visits and eliminate some.
Tikal, Yaxhá, Caracol and Lamanai are on our route, but as I say we can not cover them all. Tikal we are going to visit it for sure, of the rest, which one would you eliminate?
At first we have included Yaxhá and Lamanai, but of course, Caracol, every time I read something about her makes me doubt. In principle I eliminated it for the time it takes to visit it but making some adjustments and eliminating one of the remaining 2 (Yaxhá and Lamanai) we could fit it.
Good without more and very to your regret, with what would you be left?
Regards!
hahaha, you killed me Carlos, how hard you put it, the 4 are tops. Sometimes Caracol is discarded alone due to the conditions of the road, on two occasions I have not been able to go. Do you go by private car or on a trip? As an excursion it is almost the most expensive Caracol. Tikal is non-negotiable, Lamanai by river is a plus ... so I would choose between Yaxhá and Caracol, both are delightful. Caracol to be more tucked and hidden is an adventurous candy, of those that we like travelers, but YaxHá is not far behind, and does not occupy you all day. There are cabins where to sleep in the area of Yaxhá.
I know that I am not the best help, but something has been limited.
Have a good way through these lands, any doubt you tell me.
Best regards,
Hi. I have been reading this so far looking for info about Belize because I plan to go soon. I would like to ask you if these Mayan sites (Caracol, Lamanai) are accessible in any way by public transport from any town in Belize, or if at least the transport leaves you closer, or is it all by private tour? Thank you.
Hello Francisco, to get to Caracol forget about public transport, you are very involved in the jungle and no public services arrive. Only excursion from San Ignacio, a town that you also have the beautiful Xunantunich and Cahal Pech to visit, you can go on your own. You can also reach the piers where the boats leave for Lamanai to visit it on your own. I pass the links in case the information is useful: https://www.elcaminomascorto.es/lamanai-maya-cocodrilo-sumergido-llegar/ https://www.elcaminomascorto.es/caracol-ruinas-belice/
Good road through Belize, it's a very interesting country 🙂
I NEED A PERMIT MODEL TO CARRY THE VEHICLE FROM EL SALVADOR TO BELIZE
THANK YOU
Hi Mirna, I don't have any permission model to help you with that process, I'm sorry.