Driving from Cancun to Belize

Hola, Jenny, and just done that! Unless you want to see Mexico, it is a pain flying  in and out of Cancun. Customs is another pain. American Car company has rentals that go into Belize. Some private people in Belize also have vehicles that can go across the Mexican Border.

Hola, Did you have any problems with them when returning it?  And, have you heard of Europcar and whether you can cross the boarder?  They seem to be less expensive and they chard $15 day when in Belize but did not know about any paperwork needed in order to cross, so I questioned them.  Thanks, Jenny

Renting a place for 3-6 months in various locales is a recommendation that was given to me .  There are so many different atmospheres that you might enjoy (or not)!  I spent two months traveling throughout the country both inland and beach cayes January and February.

Hola, yes I did see Eurocar while I was at the airport. $15? That is very inexpensive. Also be aware that Belize has very few streets signs.

The Europcar even with the 15.00 day is half the price as American Car Rental, that is why I questioned it.  We hope to be fine driving through...the main problem is we do not speak spanish, LOl!  We just did 3 weeks in Dominican Republic and travel almost the entire coast from top to bottom...stayed at three different resorts over the three week period -- roads were good but the country was very very poor...but we did fine.  We also did 3 weeks in Costa Rico with no reservations the entire 3 weeks even stay with locals.  We did good.  My husband gets away from it, because he looks like a local, Lol...defintely does not look like a tourist.

Items to check prior to renting your car and heading south:

Insurance - make sure you and your car are fully covered for Belize (Belize is very strict on car insurance and requires a sticker on the windshield displaying this).  They have checkpoints on the major highways looking for these.  I have never drove across the border, but I would imagine that you would have trouble crossing without proof of insurance.

Visa - Don't carry a lot of items with you in the car into and out of Belize.  This will delay your crossing and you may have to spend time and money documenting all the items with Belizean border folks.

Others who travel back and forth to Chetumal for shopping may be able to add more to this.
good luck,

Also going to drive the same route have u found out anything???
Tks malcolm

Not really, everyone seems to be vague...just watch for speed bumps and speed traps and police asking for money. I did reserve my car with Europcar seems less expensive.

When are you taking your trip and are you flying into Cancun and driving down to Belize?  We arrive July 8 and  returning on the 28th. Jen

Hi jenny
Not sure if you still need the info or not but my wife and I just did that trip in Feb of this year. It was totally fine and safe, neither of us would be considered well traveled. I had lots of fun my wife was a little more concerned but still a good sport. I rented a car from Lowest car rent, their office is in playa del Carmen. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel in playa, then a rep from the rental place picked me up the next morning at the hotel. Make sure they know in advance that you plan to take the car to Belize cause they need to prepare paper work for that. It's a lovely drive that took us 4 or 5 hours to complete from playa to Belize city

Thanks for the information.  Great news, Jenny

Was the car company called Lowest Car Rent (I can't seem to find online)  Jenny

fifthavenuecarrental.com/

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Again, thanks.  I reserved a rental car...I just got a small car, automatic.  Is that sufficient?  Did you need a 4 wheel drive?  did you have any problems with Police?  We are spending 4 days driving down Mexico, staying at Balamku then going to Belize and flying to San Pedro and taking boat to Tranquility Bay (hoping get padi certified there) and then we are going to Hopkins area and driving the Humingbird Hwy.  After leaving Hopkins area, we have 6 more nights before flying out of Cancun.  We do not have reservations after Hopkins.  Any suggestions on what we should not miss seeing?  We plan on doing the ruins in Mexico and in Belize.  We thought about spending our last 3-4 days in Tulum.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks a bunch  Jenny

Small, non 4wheel drive is sufficient for driving on highways and in towns. I would not take a car to Caracol or El Pilar or on some more remote back roads. In rainy season, rivesr and creeks can come up pretty fast and roads can get flooded.

Hi jenny
We didn't have any trouble with police, I think as long as you're polite and friendly you generally shouldn't have a problem. We rented a tiny Fiat, it was actually quite hilarious, the wheel base was so short you could actually park it entirely on one of the many speed bumps. If you're coming up the humming bird hwy you'll pass the blue hole park I would definitely stop there for a swim maybe explore St Herman's cave or the crystal cave only a few miles apart right of the hwy. The humming bird hwy ends at Belmopan, if you go west on the western hwy from there you can get to the ATM cave its probably 45 min west of Belmopan, San Ignacio has ruins right in town cahal pech or the Xunantunich ruuns are apparently amazing I've never been to them, that's probably another hour west of San Ignacio. Spanish lookout is a little Mennonite town between Belmopan and San Ignacio very interesting to see as well. If you keep an open mind and aren't too posh you will have an amazing vacation. Have fun we hope  to go back this fall for a month, would love to hear how it went when you get back.
P.s The Midas or windy hill resorts are nice if you are looking for a place to stay in San Ignacio