Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
expedite your claim, SAT has made serious inroads in recent years to reduce waiting times
for customs transactions and has generally done quite well at cracking down on corrupt of-
ficials. InJune2008,24SATofficials attheElCarmenborderwererelievedoftheirduties
after undercover
Siglo XXI
newspaper reporters revealed they were collectively charging
about $8,000 a day in illegal processing fees.
Bepatientandyou'llsoonbeonyourway.Alsobeadvisedthat,onceinGuatemala,you
may run into military checkpoints a few kilometers down the road from the border cross-
ing. If you are flagged down to stop, present all the required documents and be courteous
and friendly.
From Mexico
The main border crossings on the Pacific flatlands are Ciudad Hidalgo/Tecún Umán and
Talismán/El Carmen, near Tapachula, Mexico. On the Pan-American Highway, the border
crossing is at Ciudad Cuauhtemoc/ La Mesilla between Comitán, Mexico, and Huehueten-
ango, Guatemala. Many travelers recommend this last route as the best entry point into
Guatemala from Mexico when traveling in your own vehicle. All of these border towns
have frequent bus service to nearby cities within both countries.
There is direct bus service to Flores from Chetumal on Linea Dorada
(
www.tikalmayanworld.com
)
and San Juan Travel (tel. 7926-0041 or 5461-6010). Both
services stop in Belize City en route with a total trip duration of about eight hours.
At the time of publication, a new road was being completed from western Petén into
Mexico via El Ceibo; it may soon be possible to travel overland between Petén and Mex-
ico's Tabasco state.
From Belize
The Belize border crossing into Guatemala is at Benque Viejo del Carmen/Melchor de
Mencos. There is twice-daily bus service from Belize City to Flores via Linea Dorada
(
www.tikalmayanworld.com
)
. The trip lasts 4-5 hours and costs $15. San Juan Travel (tel.
7926-0041 or 5461-6010) also has a daily bus covering the route.
A less expensive option is to take Novelo's or Batty's buses from Belize City to the
border and make onward connections to other points in Guatemala on frequent buses and
minibuses from Melchor de Mencos.
From Honduras
The main border crossings are at El Florido (between Copán Ruinas, Honduras, and
Chiquimula, Guatemala), Agua Caliente (between Nueva Ocotepeque, Honduras, and
Esquipulas, Guatemala), and Corinto (between Omoa, Honduras, and Puerto Barrios,
Guatemala).ThereareshuttleminibusesrunningbetweenCopán,GuatemalaCity,andAn-
tigua, as well as first-class bus service to Guatemala City from the main Honduran cities.
