Does anyone have more info about this(buses, hostels etc.)? My friends visa is finishing in 6 days and she feels its time to start moving :shock:
The regular ADO bus gets you to Chetumal, once in Chetumal there are buses running into Belize from the same station (and another station in town as well). "Officially" I believe you are supposed to be out of the country for 48 hours, but there are ways around it. The border agents generally know exactly what people are doing and will have their hand out, if you know what I mean. There aren't that many choices for hotels in Chetumal, but here's a list... http://quintanaroo.turista.com.mx/hoteles-chetumal-14.html If they are going to stay in Belize, they can go to Corozal.... http://www.belizenorth.com/corozal_hotels.htm Or a little further to Orange Walk... http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-481638-orange_walk_vacations-i
If they do spend time in Belize, make sure they change their Belize currency back into pesos before returning to Mexico, it is REALLY hard to find a bank or casa de cambio that will do the exchange.
CancunCanuck: Thank you! I remember when I arrived to Cancun(2007) that I saw "adds" that showed "packages" for visa runs to Belize. They stated 30$US and included return trip(bus) and hostel in Belize :lol:
This info is about 3 weeks old so it is pretty much hot off the press. Canuck pretty much tells it like it is BUT 3 guys I know went down to Belize for this purpose at the beginning of September. They went into the "free zone", shopped a bit and two hours later came back and got new FMT's, for 180 days. When I asked the guy I know the best if he turned in his FMT when he left Mexico he said he did not. I think that is possible due to the free zone situation. But when they came back into Mexico he said it was as if they had never been here. So, in this case anyway, there was no 48 hour requirement, although like Canuck, I had heard this before as well. My suggestion is that if you only want to go down for the visa/FMT, then try a quick turnaround but if it fails, just hang out a couple of days and come back. I would suggest not going to Belize City unless you are only passing through and going to the Cayes. My favorite, and the least expensive, is Caye Caulker. Either that or take the western highway almost to Guatemala to a cool little town called San Ignacio. Feel free to PM me if you have any really specific questions.
If you don't spend all your Belize money, there are usually guys hanging around the fences in the Migracion/Aduana area who will exchange for you at rates that are not too far off base. Same thing when you are entering Belize from Mexico. However, your best bet is to just pay in US Dollars and get your change in dollars. $1 US is worth $2 Belize and that is a constant exchange rate. It is pretty neat that you can pay for things in either or both currencies and get your change in one or the other or both. So there is no need to get stuck with Belize currency if you don't want it as a souvenir. Just my thought anyway based on a few trips there.
T.J.: Thanks heaps! Looks like she is taking off to Cuba instead... She found some cheap flights that includes a hotel for 2(3?) nights. Im going to save your info since I do know quite a few people whom are interested in the visa run to Belize Thanks again.
