The Best Ways To Get From Mexico To Caye Caulker, Belize
(Latest Update: October 14, 2023)
Even though most travelers fly directly into Belize City, international flights to Mexico are usually cheaper. So, flying into Cancun or Mexico City is a more budget-friendly option.
However, if you fly into Mexico you need to find the best ways to get from Mexico to Caye Caulker in Belize!
We talked to Belize and Mexico airlines, shuttle services, bus operators, and taxi drivers to find the best ways to get from Mexico to Caye Caulker, Belize.
Contents
By Air
The fastest route
If you fly into Cancun, you can book a flight from Cancun International Airport to Caye Caulker.
This is the fastest yet most expensive option. The Tropic Air flight alone will cost you around $700 US for the roundtrip. However, sometimes Tropic Air offer deals for as low as $99 US for a one way ticket.
The 1.5-hour flight to Belize City leaves Cancun at 2pm. There you go through immigration and connect to a flight to Caye Caulker, or take a taxi to the water taxi terminal to go to Caye Caulker by boat.
If your route is still open, consider the option to fly into Mexico City and connect to Chetumal on a Volaris flight. Depending on the travel date, you can book a Volaris flight from Mexico City to Chetumal starting at around $60 US incl. 1 checked bag, taxes, and airport fees.
Once in Chetumal you can cross the border by taxi to go to the airport in Corozal, Belize and book a flight with Tropic Air via San Pedro to Caye Caulker.
You’ll have to purchase two tickets. One from Corozal to San Pedro and a second from San Pedro to Caye Caulker.
Compared to the 2-hour flight from Mexico City to Chetumal, the 20-minute flight from Corozal to San Pedro and the 5-minute flight from San Pedro to Caye Caulker are rather expensive.
The cost for the flight tickets are –
Corozal to San Pedro $79.00 US one way and $140.00 US roundtrip
San Pedro to Caye Caulker $55.50 US one way and $97.50 US roundtrip
The schedule is different during the week and on weekends.
Monday to Friday
To go from Corozal to San Pedro, departure times are 9:30am, 1:30pm, and 5pm.
The flight leaves San Pedro to go to Corozal at 9am, 1pm, and 4:30pm.
Saturday and Sunday ONLY
The flight leaves Corozal to San Pedro at 7:30am and 5pm.
Departure at San Pedro to Corozal is at 7am and 4:30pm.
INSIDER TIP
To save the airfare for the short Caye Caulker leg, you can also take the local water taxi to head over to Caye Caulker from San Pedro. But only if you’re not on the latest flight in or earliest flight out. It’s an about 30-minute ride for less than half the price.
By Water
Water Taxi from and to Chetumal
Water Jets
The water taxi companies San Pedro Belize Express and Water Jets offered a ferry service from Chetumal to Caye Caulker. Unfortunately, the service has been suspended since the beginning of Covid in 2020.
But the good news is – Water Jets resumed the Caye Caulker to / from Chetumal route on July 6, 2022!
The schedule has changed a bit and Water Jets now leaves Chetumal for San Pedro and Caye Caulker at 10am, and Caye Caulker to go to Chetumal at 12:45pm.
San Pedro Belize Express
The San Pedro Belize Express’ ferry service from Chetumal to Caye Caulker had been suspended since the beginning of Covid in 2020, but we just received the update that the Chetumal – Caye Caulker run will resume on October 2, 2023.
The boat leaves Chetumal at 3:30pm (Belize time) and goes to San Pedro first. There you go through immigration and connect to Caye Caulker with an arrival time around 6pm.
The return departure is at 7am in Caye Caulker and you will be in Chetumal around 11am.
The cost for the on-way ticket is $77 US.
Water Taxi from and to Corozal
Thunderbolt Water Taxi
Corozal is the Bordertown on the Belize side of the Mexico-Belize border and you can get to Corozal by taking a taxi in Chetumal to the border.
The water taxi company Thunderbolt offers transfer from Corozal, Belize to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. They don’t service Caye Caulker, but their departure / arrival schedule give you plenty of time to connect to the water taxi to and from Caye Caulker.
You have to get up early to catch the boat from Corozal as it leaves at 7am (Belize Time) and it returns to Corozal from San Pedro at 3pm.
The cost is currently $26 US for a one-way ticket.
You can make reservations by contacting Thunderbolt by phone at +501-628-8590
or via email at thunderbolttravels@yahoo.com
There is a second water taxi company in San Pedro offering the ride between Corozal and San Pedro. However, since they don’t service Caye Caulker and their schedule doesn’t consider the same-day water taxi connection to Caye Caulker, we won’t get into details.
By Land
Shuttles & Taxis
Set Schedule
Atlanta Express
Atlanta Express goes to Belize City from several locations in Guatemala and Mexico. In Mexico they serve the route to Belize City from Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, Bacalar, and Chetumal. Pick up and drop off locations along this route are flexible.
On the Mexico side, you can be picked up at your hotel or the ADO Bus Terminal by a taxi to go to the border where you will meet the Atlanta Express shuttle driver for the further transfer to Belize City. All transfer fares are included in the ticket price.
As of April 2022, the ticket price to / from Belize City is
Chetumal & Bacalar $45 US — Price reduced to $35 US as of September 2022!
Tulum $85 US
Playa Del Carmen $90 US
Cancun $100 US
To go to Belize a taxi driver will pick you up at your hotel in Bacalar at 12pm or in Chetumal at 12:30pm. The driver will bring you to the Mexican Border where you need to go through Mexico immigration to get your exit stamp. There you will meet with the Belizean shuttle driver who drives you over to Belize immigration and to Belize City from there.
Upon return, the shuttle leaves Belize City at 9:30am and the drive to the Mexican Border takes about 2.5 hours.
It’s a very well organized trip and the drivers on the Mexico and on the Belize side communicate when they get close to the border, so the waiting time is being kept to a minimum.
Atlanta Express don’t have a website at this time, but you can book your ticket(s) by contacting Mohamed at +501-652-6565 via WhatsApp or phone.
Marlin Espadas - Travel Agency & Tour Operator
Marlin Espadas, a Mexican Tour Company, offer daily transfers from and to Chetumal and Bacalar in comfortable busses from a centrally located office in Chetumal directly to the water taxi in Belize City.
The cost is around $35 US per ticket from and to Bacalar and $25 US from and to Chetumal.
Departure from Bacalar is 7am and from Chetumal 8:30am.
You can book your tickets online on the Marlin Espadas website.
Flexible Schedule
Rey's Transfer Service
We also recommend Rey’s Transfer Service for transportation in Belize or transfer to and from Chetumal, Mexico, especially if you want to be flexible with your schedule.
His rates depend on the number of passengers.
The cost of his transfer service between Belize City and Chetumal, Mexico is
For 1 – 3 passengers $175 US
For 1 – 6 passengers $225 US
Group of 14 passengers $300 US
You can book Rey’s service by visiting his Facebook page Rey’s Transfer Service,
by email at reyh390@gmail.com, or
via WhatsApp at +501-614-5537.
Belize Paradise Shuttles
We talked to Roni at Belize Paradise Shuttles, a Belize City company that offers private transportation from and to Chetumal.
A very convenient option, if you prefer to go at your own schedule. Belize Paradise Shuttle pick you up at your scheduled time and location for the transfer.
The cost for this service is similar to the taxi services at $200 US for 1-4 passengers, plus $25 US for each additional passenger.
Roger Dougal Taxi Service
Roger Dougal is our “go-to guy” for any transfers within Belize or to and from Chetumal.
He is located in Belize City and his charge for the private Chetumal-Belize City transfer is $200 US.
You can WhatsApp him at +501-600-4751 to schedule your transfer.
INSIDER TIP
Contact the Shuttle or Taxi companies before your trip to see if they have other customers who would be interested to share a ride with you!
Public Bus Service
The cheapest mode of transportation between Mexico and Belize is public bus service.
It is no comparison to the busses in Mexico and you won’t get a super comfortable ride in air conditioning, but you can’t beat this ticket price!
ADO
We highly recommend the Mexican bus service ADO. The route from Mexico to Belize started again and you can also take the ADO bus for transportation within Mexico. It’s an about 6-hour bus ride from Cancun to Chetumal with stops in Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, and Bacalar.
The one-way ticket prices from Belize City to the various stops are –
The ticket price for the route from Cancun to Chetumal depends on when you book your trip and ranges from approximately $300 MXN to $600 MXN ($15 US to $30 US).
INSIDER TIP
If you purchase the bus tickets on the ADO website in advance, you can get an up to 50% discount!
O’Tillet Bus Service
O’Tillet Bus Service, a Belizean company, offer a daily run from Chetumal to Belize City. It leaves the Nuevo Mercado in Chetumal at 12:30pm (Belize Time) and the about 3-hour ride passes through Corozal and Orange Walk on the way to Belize City.
That schedule should give you plenty of time to reach the water taxi terminal in Belize City for the 4:30pm or 5:30pm boat to Caye Caulker.
The return to Chetumal leaves the Belize City Bus Terminal at 6am. So, you’d have to spend a night in the city as the earliest water taxi leaves Caye Caulker at 6:30am and won’t get you to the city before 7:15 or 7:30am.
However, you can’t beat the price for the bus ticket at $14 one-way!
You can purchase the ticket when you get on the bus from the conductor. His name is Javier and you can contact him at +501-630-5223, if you have any questions.
Chetumal border transportation
If you are more adventurous, not in a hurry, or on a budget, you can easily take a taxi either in Chetumal, Mexico or Corozal, Belize for a ride to the border.
They won’t cross the border, but drop you off at immigrations and you can catch another taxi on the other side.
Taxi Tour Bacalar
Alternatively, you can schedule this ride on the Mexico side with Enrique Cuéllar at Taxi Tour Bacalar. They offer transfer to the Belize / Mexico border in Chetumal also from Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, or Tulum.
The cost from Chetumal to the Belize border is $400 MXN, which is currently about $20 USD. This is a bit more expensive than a regular taxi, but convenient if you’re on a tight schedule.
You can schedule the transfer with Taxi Tour Bacalar by contacting Enrique at +52-983-138-2719 or on the Taxi Tour Bacalar website.
Once in Belize, ask the Belize taxi driver for a ride to the Corozal airport, if you connect with Tropic Air, to the water taxi Thunderbolt, or to the bus station.
Hopping on a Belizean public bus is by far the cheapest option to make your way from Corozal to Belize City and will cost you about $5 US per ticket.
Border Crossing Tips
When immigrating into Mexico you will receive an FFM card (tourist visa) on a piece of paper, which you have to return when you leave the country. In case you lose it, visit an immigration office (INM) a day before your departure to get a replacement, or you may have a problem leaving on your scheduled day.
In addition, Mexico charges a tourist tax of $638 MXN, approximately $30 US, payable in Mexican pesos (MXN). However, if you fly into Mexico, this fee might already be included in your plane ticket. If included, make sure you print the receipt that explicitly states that this tourist fee has been paid.
When you leave Belize by land border or water taxi and you are not a Belize citizen or permanent resident, you will have to pay the “Belize Land Border
Exit Fee” of $40 BZ / $20 US, payable in cash. This money is typically used for infrastructure development, airport or land border maintenance or expansion, or national conservation efforts of protected areas.
Once you figured out what mode of transportation is the best way for you to get from Mexico to Belize, you can start planning the rest of your Caye Caulker visit.
Check out our Blog “Caulker Talk” for more travel tips and what to do when in Caye Caulker!
Where to stay in Caye Caulker
Now that you know how to get here, check out the lovely cabanas at The Gumbo Limbo for your stay in Caye Caulker!
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