Hey,
Does anyone know how much a cab from the airport to the bus station in Belize city should cost more or less and how long it takes? Or is it just as smooth to take a regular bus?Is there more than one bus station - I need to get on a bus to San Ignacio so want to make sure I end up in the right place.
Also, how much is the entrance to Tikal in Guatemala if anyone knows? Are there different prices for Europeans and people who are not Guatemalans?
Thanks a lot!
It's $25US for a taxi (they have green license plates) from the airport to the bus station (just 1) in Belize City. If you want to shoulder your bags and hike to the highway you can flag down a bus heading to town; would be cheaper but hotter and more hassle imo. Here's a terrific transportation blog with lots of info.
I last visited Tikal in late July and here's what I wrote in the travelogue I posted here on Thorntree:
Here's what Roxy says is the latest on the park fees at Tikal: the 150 quetzales (~$20) entrance fee to Tikal can still be stamped for the next day if purchased after 4pm if you're staying at 1 of the hotels in the park; it used to be 3pm and isn't automatically offered. You can only enter for the sunrise tour (we were at the gate by 4:30am) if you're staying in the park (so folks staying in Flores, don't let the tour agencies convince you otherwise) and the cost is an additional 100 quetzales (~$12).
PS 'Roxy' is Roxzanda Ortiz - awesome guide.
If you form a group and pretend youre travelling together you can get a minivan and split the cost. It takes about 20 minutes, airport to the bus station. It's a big ripoff, as are the flights into Belize. That's why I fly through Cancun.
How much it should cost and what it actually costs are two vastly different amounts. Anyway, a taxi from the airport costs BZ$50 (also payable in USD, $25) to go to anywhere in Belize City (including the bus terminal). The trip takes about 15 to 25 minutes depending on traffic. Before exiting the airport, try to find another person to share a taxi and split the cost (the taxi drivers won't like it).
There are no public buses from Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (PGIA).
There was a shuttle service that advertised pickups from the airport, but they were only a few dollars cheaper than a taxi.
The cheap option is to walk or taxi from the airport terminal to the Northern highway (about 2.5 km) and wait for a bus. As you approach the intersection with the highway, Belize City will be to your right so just wait on the side of the highway. When you see a bus coming, wave your arm up and down to get it to stop; Express buses will not stop. If going to Belize City, the fare is BZ$1 or $2, and the bus will terminate at the bus terminal where you can change to a bus to another destination.
There is only one bus terminal in Belize City -- it's still known as the Novelo's terminal (named after a former bus company). Buses to San Ignacio depart from that terminal every 30 minutes.
If you go with the walk/bus strategy from the airport, bring a good raincoat. It's raining about half the time, moreso when youre least able to cope with it. And by good+ I mean a non-goretex, solid nonwoven raincoat. You dont want your raincoat to +breathe rain, you want it to bloody shed it! All this technobabble about "breathing" is a crock of shit.