Crossing the Belize/ Chetumal Border

A couple weeks ago Jay and I headed to Belize because Jay’s tourist visa was about to expire. We arrived in Chetumal by ADO bus (about $20 one way from Cancun) after a 5-6 hour bus ride. I was fairly impressed with ADO. Their terminals were large and more or less efficient and the buses were just like greyhound buses (air-conditioned with an on bus bathroom). They also seem to have a decent number of routes at fairly reasonable prices.


Chetumal is a nice city; less touristy than Cancun but has a bit more culture. We headed over to the main market to catch a bus to Belize. We were looking for a marked bus, but after a lot of wandering around we realized that they use an old school bus for the trek! The trip should cost about $2 each (but make sure you ask before you get on as he tried to charge us double that at first). They seem to run every 30 min or so and the trip is about 30 min.

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The border is a bit of an intimidating place for a gringo: lots of security, not much English, and poorly signed. We got off the bus and followed the other passengers over to a booth with an official inside. This is where is gets sketchy and confusing. I had done some research before we left about what was “supposed” to happen at the border. I’ve also read that it’s a bit of a crap-shoot, every time is different. We went up to the window and I handed him my passport. I asked for it to be double stamped (which allows me to re-enter Mexico on the same tourist card). He obliged and returned my passport and card to me. He then stamped Jay’s passport and took his card (which was expiring). All was great until he asked for an “exit fee.” This is an issue that is really confusing and hard to get a straight answer about. My understanding is that it’s actually a fee for the tourist visa and if you fly in you pay for it in your airfare. If you enter Mexico by land you must pay it, but NEVER pay a border official, pay it at the bank and get a receipt! We refused to pay it as we had entered Mexico by air. A “random” Mexican who spoke English then jumped in and tried to explain to us all the reasons why we had to pay it. We continued to refuse. Luckily a fellow Canadian (who happens to have Belizean citizenship and crosses the border frequently) was passing through and helped us out. With it three against two the official finally let us cross without paying. But not before he took my tourist card!

We decided to let it go for the sake of our trip and didn’t make a big deal of it. Luckily our new Canadian friends Pete and Tina offered to give us a ride to Corozal (our first stop in Belize). It’s a good thing they did as our bus left us at the border for taking too long!

When we reached the Mexican border on the way home (this time by boat) we had to have our bags inspected by drug sniffing dogs! I guess a lot of drugs come into Mexico by boat so it makes sense, but I felt like I was in a thriller movie lined up against the wall while cops with machine guns searched our belongings.  I received a new tourist card on the way in, for which I am supposed to go to a bank and pay the fee. I really should’t have to pay again since my old tourist card had been valid until January, so Jay and I headed over to the immigration office in Cancun.

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We spoke to an official who told us that I could get a new tourist card for free but I needed to file a police report against the official at the border who asked me for money. It sounds easy enough until you realize that nothing is easy in Mexico. I was a bit nervous about going to the police station as the police in Mexico are notorious for being corrupt. I was pleasantly surprised however as the officers were polite and friendly (except for a bit of whispering because we were tourists). To the credit of the police, every time we have spoken to them during our 7 months in Mexico they have been perfectly professional. Once inside the compound we were told that we needed to speak to the Canadian embassy and have them come in with us. What? Something tells me we are going to be on this trail for a long time. No one seems to know exactly what should happen or what did happen or what can be done to fix it.

I’m ready to just pay the fee again (it’s only $22), but Jay wants to continue fighting out of principle (and a bit out of curiosity).  I will let you know how it ends. Wish us luck!

UPDATE: I contacted the Canadian embassy and they said they couldn’t get involved. I could have gone back to the immigration office and fought it, but I decided to just pay the fee. It wasn’t worth the effort (to me) for a such a small amount. However, the Mexican government really needs to make the process clearer for travelers and should be tougher on corrupt border officials.

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