_edited_edited_edited_.png)
On January 12th 2025, Bree and I decided to save some money and travel local style from San Ignacio in Belize to Flores Guatemala. In this blog we will detail our journey providing information on costs, bus stops and other things to expect if you plan on taking this journey yourself. Spoiler alert, this trip is super easy, super cheap and one we would recommend. So without further ado, let's begin!
Step by Step Breakdown
San Ignacio to Benque (chicken bus)
Benque to border (taxi or walking)
Malchor (border town) to Flores/Santa Elena (colectivo)
Flores/Santa Elena to Flores island (tuk tuk or walking)
Contents
Step 1 - San Ignacio to Benque
First things first is to head to the San Ignacio bus 'terminal' and I use the word terminal loosely as its more of a bus stop next to the central park. There isn't really a clear indication on what the stop looks like so I have pinned the location on google maps here and provided photos below:
After chatting to quite a few locals and the employees at our hostel we found that the buses run every half an hour, Monday-Saturday and every 1 hour on Sunday's. We did our journey on a Sunday and for us it took about 1.5 hours for the bus to arrive. I don't think this delay is as common on a weekday but as an overall suggestion, the earlier you plan to leave, the better.
The bus you will need to look for will state the word ‘Benque’ but its always good to ask the bus driver if it’s heading there to be in the safe side. Once on board you'll most likely realise why its called a chicken bus as people can take just about any animal onto the bus with them. About 5 or so minutes into your journey, the bus official will come around and ask for payment. Now there are a few different bus companies that do this route and we heard that they charge slightly different prices.
However, we personally found that information to be false as we caught the Westline bus twice and once they charged us $2BLZ ($1.60 AUD) per person and the other time was $2.50 BLZ ($2 AUD). In our experience, we would say it's most likely $2 BLZ for locals but $2.50 BLZ for tourists but sometimes they may charge the local price if you confidently give them $2. The journey to Benque will take about 20-25 minutes
Step 2 - Benque to the border
Now unfortunately the bus station in Benque isn't super close to the border so once you get off you will have plenty of taxi drivers hounding you to use their service. The cost for a taxi to the border is $5BLZ per person which is $4 AUD.
Now this isn't your only option, you can opt to walk to save some extra money. The journey will take about 40 minutes to the border and it is a bit hilly but if you're up for it and have time to kill, then I would say it's quite doable.
Step 3 - The border crossing
Once at the border you will enter Belize immigration. Here you will need to pay your exit fee which is $40BLZ ($31.50 AUD) if you have stayed in the country for more then 24 hours and $32.50 BLZ ($25.60 AUD) if you havn't.
A good thing to note is you do not need to pay this fee in cash, you can opt to pay by credit card with no added fee.
Once you've got your stamp out you will walk about 2 minutes to the Guatemala immigration office. On the way you will be approached by many taxi drivers offering their service to Flores or Tikal but just politely decline as you move along. The Guatemala immigration was really simply with no fee to pay and no questions asked. Once you’ve got your stamp you then exit the building and head towards the bridge to cross over into the town of Melchor in Guatemala.
Step 4 - Melchor to Flores/Santa Elena
Now as soon as you cross over the bridge you will most likely be approached by someone saying "colectivo". This is what you want but incase no one does approach, I have pinned the location where you will want to head to on Google maps here.
Once at the collectivo terminal, mention that you are wanting to head to Flores. The price of the ride is 40Q ($8.50AUD) per person which you will pay during your trip, not before or after. So we would suggest that you exchange any leftover Belize money you have at the Guatemala border. We heard the exchange rates at the border are pretty good, especially on the Guatemala side. About $11-13 BLZ will get you around the 40 Q that you will need for the colectivo.
Another reason we’d suggest you exchange money is because the closest ATM past the border is about a 10 minute walk away and for us it was out of order. We then had to ask the driver to take us to an ATM which he was happy to do. However we used a ‘5B’ ATM where they took our money and never dispersed cash. Now this appears to be a common issue with these ATM’s so we would suggest avoiding them if possible.
If you do end up being in the same situation as us, we’d recommend to instead ask the driver to take you to a ‘BI’ ATM not a 5B one to get cash out. This atm has a lower card fee as well, about 4 USD ($6.30 AUD)!
The colectivo itself is quite comfy but it does stop along the way picking up people so it can become crowded. The journey itself will take about 1.5-2.5 hours depending on the amount of stops.
Step 5 - Flores/Santa Elena to Flores island
Now if you are like most backpackers, you will have decided to stay on the island of Flores. Unfortunately the colectivo does not stop there, even if you ask the driver nicely. It will instead drop you off at the main terminal in Flores/Santa Elena town which I have pinned here. Once you arrived, you again have 2 options. You can either walk to the island which will take you 25-30 minutes or opt to get a tuk tuk. We decided for the less tiresome option and paid 10Q ($2 AUD) per person. The tuk tuks have signed pricing so you know you aren't being overcharged but don't be alarmed when you see 1 person = 5Q, that price is for a smaller tuk tuks (one where you can’t fit luggage onto it)
The journey on the tuk tuk takes about 10 minutes and will drop you off at your accommodation.
Cost breakdown in AUD
San Ignacio to Benque (chicken bus) = $2
Benque to border (taxi) = $4
Malchor to Flores (colectivo/shuttle) = $8.50
Flores to Flores island (tuk tuk) = $2
TOTAL = $16.50 AUD
Therefore the total price in terms of transport for this journey is $16.50 AUD however if you decided to walk for the options where you could, the total would be only $10.50! When comparing to the cheapest tourist shuttle price which is $24AUD, you'll save about $7-$14!
Travel time breakdown
San Ignacio to Benque = 20 - 25 minutes
Benque to the border = 5 minutes for taxi, 40 minutes if you walk
Malchor to Flores/ Santa Elena = 1.5-2.5 hours
Flores/ Santa Elena = 10 minute tuk tuk, 30 minutes for walking
Approximate journey time = 2 to 4.5 hours
The total time above is an approximation of the transport times but not the overal journey.
To give you a better idea on the time for the overal journey, we got on the chicken bus in San Ignacio at 11:30am and arrived on Flores island at 3:30pm. Therefore, it took us a total of 4 hours and that’s with using all the transport options that we could.
However, I would say that if you are prepared early with Guatemala cash and leave early on a weekday, then the journey time could be even quicker!
Things to remember:
Ensure you have enough cash to pay for the journey. Exchange left over Belize money at the border if you can.
You can pay the Belize exit fee with credit card.
Have the locations I mentioned for the bus stops/stations pinned on google maps.
Leave as early as possible, we’d suggest no later then 9am.
Final thoughts:
Now, besides from saving money there are a few other reasons you may want to consider when doing this trip yourself. One being that the alternete option; the tourist shuttle, only departs at 2pm each day (but they are usually late) so you don't get to Flores until 5-6pm.
Also, we believe the experience itself is worth it as doing it the way the locals do is sometimes what backpacking is all about!
If you have any questions please let us know and if any of this information has changed as time moves on, please comment below so we can update the blog.
If you're more of a visual learner, click below to watch our Youtube video of this border crossing to get a better understanding on what you will experience on your journey!
As for now
Happy Travels
Aiden & Bree
Comentarios