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La VagaBlonde

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How to get to Bacalar from Caye Caulker

How to get to Bacalar from Caye Caulker

Getting to Bacalar from Caye Caulker

If you’re looking to get to Bacalar from Caye Caulker, Belize, then you’ve come to the right place!

When we were looking for how to get to Bacalar from Caye Caulker, we ended up finding lots of contradicting information, and it took us awhile to actually get our info straight. So, now that we got it figured out here is what we learned!

Photo of a grass hut roof on the Bacalar lagoon

The options

There are 2 options when going from Caye Caulker to Bacalar. Choosing an option will depend on 2 main factors: how much time you want to spend in a boat, and if you want to leave Caye Caulker early morning or at noon.

Option 1

Leave Caye Caulker early in the morning with the 7:30 water taxi. You can purchase your ticket either ahead of time, or the morning of. Make sure to arrive at least 20 minutes before departure time. 

After you arrive in Belize City, catch the 9:00 shuttle bus to the border. You should buy your bus ticket ahead of time as there are limited seats. This can generally be done directly at your hotel/hostel. 

After about 1-2 hours of driving, you’ll have the border crossing, then you’ll get in a taxi (which is pre-arranged by the agency you book with). Finally, arrive in Bacalar. Your total travel time will be about 5 to 6 hours, depending on how long the border crossing takes.

Thats a condensed version of one of the options.

Option 2

Leave Caye Caulker around noon with a tour company (EZ boys for example). First, the boat will take you to San Pedro, then, on to Chetumal. Once in Chetumal, you’ll cross the border and take a taxi to Bacalar.

I have little information about this option as I met very few people who did it and apparently it was rather problematic as not all boat companies have the permits to go to Chetumal by boat. 

For more information about this option, keep reading!

How I got to Bacalar from Caye Caulker

To get to Bacalar from Caye Caulker, we decided to choose option 1, for a few different reasons. Those being: I don’t like long boat rides; we had heard that option 2 could take a very long time; there aren’t lots of boat options directly to Chetumal (companies need a special permit to go).

There are many areas on Caye Caulker where you can arrange in advance your shuttle from Belize City to Bacalar. We booked one directly with our hostel (Go Slow), and the price was $40 USD per person. They told us which water taxi to take, and where to go once we arrived in Belize City.

 

Day of

We caught the 7:30 a.m. water taxi from Caye Caulkers’ main port and arrived in Belize city. From there we went to the “Atlantic Express” shop where we were told to meet our shuttle driver.

From there, we took a shuttle to the Belizian border. This section of the border crossing took us about 40 minutes, and you have to pay $20 USD to exit the country. Once you’ve gone through the border, the shuttle drives you about 3 minutes down the road where you hop in a taxi for the next part of the trip. The taxi is prepaid as a part of the full shuttle service, so no worries!

Next, the taxi drives you through this ‘no man’s land’ that is between the Belizian and Mexican border, and drops you off at the Mexican border. Here, you’ll fill out some paperwork, show your passport, and yet again pay a crossing fee. This time, expect to pay around $36 USD. I recommend having cash on you, because otherwise you might have quite a wait to pay at the card booth.

Once you’ve done the necessary paperwork, and crossed the border, your taxi will take you directly to Bacalar. In all, the journey takes 5 to 6 hours, depending on how long you spend at the border.

Yes it’s quite a long day, however the gorgeous turquoise waters of Bacalar are worth the journey!

Bacalar Mexico from the Lagoon

Know before you go

The cost

It is not cheap getting from Caye Caulker into Mexico. Here are the costs associated with the transfer:

Water taxi from Caye Caulker to Belize City: $15 USD

Shuttle from Belize City to Bacalar: $40 USD

Belize border fee: $20 USD

Mexican border fee: $36 USD

Total cost: $111 USD

 

Like I mentioned before, I highly recommend having cash on you!

Getting to Bacalar via Chetumal

If you’re looking to get to Bacalar from Caye Caulker, you will have no choice but to take a water taxi to either Belize City, or Chetumal. Like I mentioned before, one of the options is taking the water taxi directly to Chetumal. According to a friend who took this option, he had to pay double the fees because prior to arriving in Chetumal they asked him to fill out the border forms online and pay there. However, once arrived at the border the forms would not load not his proof of payment. Additionally, because of the delay at the border, his whole trip ended up taking around 8 hours. Yikes!

The main water taxi service between Caye Caulker and other cities in Belize is “Belize Express”. Even though Belize Express advertises a water taxi from Caye Caulker to Chetumal, apparently it doesn’t actually run, due to permit issues. You can go see tour companies, such as EZ boys, to book a transfer.

I hope you found this information useful, and that it helps you get from Caye Caulker to Bacalar! Looking for more information on Bacalar? Check out my posts:

Planning your trip to Bacalar


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