The fastest and easiest way to Belize is by taking a direct 20 passenger coasterbus. The ride from Flores to Belize takes approximately 5 hours. You will be dropped off at the dock in Belize City.
Buses leave twice a day from Flores to Belize City, at 5.00 am and at 7.30 am. You have to take the bus in front of the island at 50 meters distance from the bridge at the office of San Juan.
We recommend to buy your ticket at least one day in advance. Tickets are available at this hostel. The price is Q 160 or $ 20. Buy your ticket al Los Amigos and earn yourself a free cuba libre at our bar!
Total travel time: 5 hours
Price: Q 160
Option 2:
The second option is to do the whole trip by public transportation. You leave from the new bus terminal in Santa Elena, which is located next to the new market. It is quite easy to get there: You cross the bridge and keep on going strait ahead. The bus station is at the end of the street. It is a 20 minutes walk. You can also take one of the red tuk tuks for Q 5 (per ride, not per person).
Once at the bus terminal you have to ask for the minibus to Melchor de Mencos. This is the city at the Belizean border. The ride to Melchor takes approximately 2 hours and costs Q 20.
Arriving at Melchor you walk for 1 minute to the border of Guatemala with Belize. Officially you don`t have to pay an exit fee when leaving Guatemala, but they always try to charge you Q 10. Asking for a receipt might help.
Once you crossed the border and are on Belizean soil you have to take a taxi to the nearest village, El Benque. The taxi ride will cost you US $ 3.00. From el Benque chicken buses leave frequently to Belize City and will cost approximately US $5.00
Total travel time: 6 hours
Total price: Q 90 or US $ 12..00
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Going to the islands:
The direct buses have connection to the boats leaving to Ambergriss Caye and Caye Caulker. The price of the boat is approximately US $ 15.00 for one way. The islands are very beautiful but also quite expensive. The smaller island Caye Caulker is supposed to be slightly cheaper. The best deal for the budget travellers is the local hostel there. Dorms are US $ 10.00 for a night.
Important
Take in consideration that Belize charges an exit fee of US $ 15.00 when you leave Belize.
Keep in mind:
Most nationalities don`t need an entrance visum to Belize but this is not always the case. If your not sure, you can check this on the website of the Belizean embassy.
Don`t take quetzales inside of Belize. None of the banks accept them.
Change quetzales to Belizean dollars at the border between Guatemala and
Belize for the best rate.