After a couple days exploring Flores and Tikal, it was time to leave Guatemala and head into Belize. We have done quite a few land border crossings over our years of traveling, and crossing the Belize-Guatemala border was overall pretty straightforward and easy. At the time, there wasn’t a ton of information online on the process (there’s definitely more now!), so we thought we’d share our experience along with the border crossing requirements.
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Entry/Exit Requirements
We do our best to keep the blog updated, but regulations can change at any time and vary country to country. Always check the official government pages for your own country and for the country you intend to visit before your trip to confirm the entry and exit requirements.
Belize
For citizens of many countries, including the United States, Canada, México, EU countries, Australia, and many others, a visa is not required for stays under 30 days. Check the current visa requirements for your country here.
Regardless of whether you need a visa or not, your passport must be valid for the duration of your visit – many recommend having at least 6 months validity past your trip. Though not always asked for when entering Belize, make sure you have proof of onward travel, the name and address of the hotels you’re staying at, proof of sufficient funds to cover your visit, and necessary paperwork for minors traveling with you. We’d recommend having these printed out given the issues some have had at this border crossing over the last year.
Visitors must fill out an immigration and customs declaration form. We just did this upon arriving at the Belize immigration building.
When leaving Belize, all visitors must pay the departure tax. As of 2026, the fee is $40BZD per person for land border crossings. When we visited, the fee was only payable by cash (USD or BZD accepted). Supposedly, you are now able to pay with card; however, we’ve read that the card machine frequently doesn’t work. So, we’d recommend having cash anyway.
Guatemala
Many countries can enter Guatemala for tourism without a visa, including citizens of the United States, Canada, México, EU countries, Australia, and more. Check your country’s visa status here.
Your passport must be valid for the duration of your stay (though 6 months is recommended). As with Belize, you may be asked for proof of onward travel, the name and address of the hotel you’re staying at, proof of sufficient funds to cover your visit, and necessary paperwork for minors traveling with you.
Visitors generally must fill out an immigration and customs declaration form when entering the country. When arriving by plane, we filled this out online before arrival. However, for land crossings, you can do this once at the Guatemala immigration building if asked to.
There is a common scam at the land border crossing where immigration officials will claim there is an entry or exit fee for Guatemala when there isn’t. If somebody tries to get you to pay it, tell them that you know there isn’t a fee. If they still try to get you to pay it, ask for an official receipt. We luckily didn’t encounter this scam.
Getting to and from the Belize-Guatemala Border
Public Transport
There are various colectivos running between Flores (Guatemala) and the border town of Melchor de Mencos. These cost 40Q per person and it takes 2-2.5hrs depending on the amount of stops the van makes.
We opted for public transport to make our way to the border. After a day of exploring Tikal National Park, we departed Isla de Flores and took a tuktuk to the main bus terminal in nearby Santa Elena. There was a driver calling out for Melchor de Mencos. There also may be some vans labeled with Melchor in the window. We hopped in and made the drive to the border town.
If you’re heading from Melchor de Mencos to Flores, head across the bridge from the immigration building to the spot where all the collectivos stop and catch one heading to Flores.
If you have large bags, no worries – the driver put our bags in the back. They may also strap them to the top of the van or slide them under seats.
On the Belize side, there is no public transport directly from the border. If you want to take a bus to San Ignacio or onward, you’ll have to make your way to the bus terminal in Benque Viejo del Carmen by walking 40min or taking a taxi. Once there, you can catch a bus. Find schedules here. Buses cost around $3BZD to San Ignacio, depending on the company and bus type.
Taxi
There are taxis on either side of the border to get you to Flores, Benque Viejo, San Ignacio, etc.
On the Belize side, prices are set – there was a sign outside listing the fares to different cities. We took a taxi to San Ignacio and paid the driver with the USD we had just received when we exchanged our quetzales. It cost us $10USD at the time of our visit. Make sure to go by the posted rates outside the building and confirm the price with the driver before getting in.
We opted for a taxi all the way to San Ignacio instead of taking a taxi to the bus terminal then a bus to San Ignacio because the price difference between the two options wasn’t much different and it was easier and quicker to take a taxi directly to our hostel.
If you’re wanting a taxi from Melchor to Flores, you may have to do a little negotiating. Knowing some Spanish will definitely come in handy. These cost somewhere between 400Q and 600Q.
Shuttle
There are multiple shuttle companies that run between Flores and various cities in Belize. Some will even organize your travel to Belize’s islands if that’s where you’re headed.
You can find agencies that offer shuttle transport in San Ignacio, Flores, and other towns in Belize. Your accommodation might be able to help you organize a ride with a shuttle company as well. Additionally, some of these companies allow you to book online in advance on their own sites or through platforms like Get Your Guide.
Shuttles will take the group to the border where you’ll cross and go through the entry and exit processes on foot. Once across the border, everyone will hop into another shuttle to their destination. On the Belize side, there may be multiple shuttles for the group, depending on everyone’s final destinations.
Tour
Tours from San Ignacio into Guatemala are a popular option for those wanting to visit Tikal National Park for a day. While we’d recommend staying in Flores to have more options for exploring Tikal and to be able to see more of the Petén area of Guatemala, a day trip is a fine option if you’re short on time or really just want to see Tikal.
When I was a kid, my family opted for a day trip to see Tikal from Belize. It was really cool to see the ruins, though I’m glad I could return to see more of Guatemala!
Tours can be booked through agencies in San Ignacio or through your accommodation, though we recommend booking in advance if your schedule isn’t flexible. You can find popular companies online, like PACZ Tours and MayaWalk, or book through platforms like Get Your Guide and Viator.
Some companies include the Belize departure tax in their price while others don’t. Be sure to clarify beforehand.
Crossing the Belize-Guatemala Border
Hours
This Belize-Guatemala border is open from 6am until 10pm.
Currency Exchange
If you haven’t prepaid for transportation to get you to your destination once you cross the border, you’re going to need local cash to pay for transport (plus USD or BZD if you need to pay the Belize departure tax). Taxi drivers on the Belize side also accept USD.
Upon hopping off the colectivo in Melchor de Mencos, we were pretty instantly met by a man who asked if we wanted to exchange currencies. He offered a surprisingly good rate, so we just exchanged with him. He ended up giving us both U.S. dollars and Belize dollars because that’s what he had left at that point in the late afternoon. If you feel you’re being ripped off, ask the next exchanger in the area.
If you’d prefer to take out cash from an ATM upon arrival, there are a couple ATMs about a 40min walk away from the Belize border crossing in Benque Viejo and a handful in Melchor de Mencos on the Guatemala side about a 10min walk away from the border. Note that the ATMs can run out of cash in these smaller towns, especially in Benque where there’s limited machines.
We generally prefer to just withdraw local currency upon arrival to a country instead of exchanging currencies, because we lose less money on ATM fees than the exchange rate. But in this situation, we were glad to have cash to exchange. If we were coming from Belize into Guatemala, we may have opted to go to the ATM since there are multiple not too far away from the border.
The Border Crossing Process
After exchanging our remaining Quetzales, we headed towards the Guatemala immigration building. From where we hopped off the colectivo, we made our way across the bridge over the Mopan River and made it to the building in about 5 minutes.
We have heard of people encountering quite long lines at this border crossing, sometimes taking 4+ hours to cross. The wait is worse on weekends or in the middle of the afternoon when tours may be making their way back to Belize.
We went in the late afternoon on a Friday and encountered only a few other people crossing when we were. On the Guatemala side, all we needed was an exit stamp. It was pretty quick and we continued onward. If you’re entering Guatemala, you may be asked to fill out an immigration form, though many have said that they weren’t asked to complete this.
After crossing the Belize-Guatemala border on foot, we went right into the immigration building on the Belize side. Here, we each filled out an immigration and customs form and waited in a short line to talk to an agent. If you’re traveling with a tour or a shuttle company, you may have been provided with this form to fill out earlier.
If you’re leaving the country, you’ll pay the departure tax and take that receipt to the next immigration agent.
Once with the agent, we presented our paperwork. She asked us a couple questions, stamped our passports, and we were on our way. You may also be asked to have your bags searched. This day, the officials waved us through without searching our belongings.
On the Belize side, we caught a taxi just outside the building to get us to San Ignacio.
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