travelling solo

Hi Solofemale,
Checkout this great forum for Belize. belizeforum.com
This is easy to do but there are a couple things you need to know. The Yucatan Pennisula has a lot to offer once you get south of Cancun. This part of Mexico is not the dangerous part that you read about. The trip by bus from Cancun to Belize City is really too much for one day so you need to stop somewhere in Mexico for a night anyway.
Here is what you can do:
Walk out of the Cancun airport and hang a right out the door. Walk the length of the building and you will see two buses. One goes to Playa Del Carmen and the other goes to the downtown Cancun bus station but that is in the opposite direction from where you want to go plus many of the buses stop at every resort on the strip first. Make sure you take the bus that goes to Playa Del Carmen. When you get to Playa you may well want to spend the night there especially after a long plane ride. It is busy but not as bad as Cancun. Lots of shops, restaurants, hotels and a nice beach. If you wish to continue then go to the bus station and look for a bus south to Chetumal which is the border town before Belize. Take the next express bus. No need to book in advance. The buses are excellent with movies and comfortable seats. Now if you haven't slept yet I would recommend stopping in Tulum for a night or two or three. You can visit the ruins, experience beaches much better than Belize and take a trip to some incredible Cenotes, clear pools in the jungle not to be missed. If you would rather continue on to Chetumal that would be a good place to stay before you go onward to Belize. Wherever you decide to spend the night be sure you leave early on the morning of travel. Belize City is a place to avoid at night. If you take that boat to the island as John suggested then you will avoid the city so that is an option. Most people get on a bus from Chetumal to Belize City (again arrive there in the DAYTIME) From the bus station in Belize City you can either walk or taxi the short distance to the Marine Terminal and go to Caye Caulker (before 5PM) or get a bus inland to San Ignacio where you can do jungle trips or visit the ruins at Tikal, Guatemala which are really worth seeing. So in conclusion, The trip from Cancun to Belize City will take about 9 or 10 hours with connecting time included. You need to stop somewhere so as not to arrive in Belize City after dark. I hope this isn't too complicated. Have a nice trip! Greg

Edited by: Greggo

I've done it twice. I prefer an early flight, arriving Cancun around noon, then modocking to the border, and staying at one of the cheap cribs across the street from the bus station at Chetumal. On the return leg, I prefer Tulum. Tolerable hostel named Viajero Fatigado (?) there.
I tried Playa on the way in last time. TWO CRUISE SHIPS ferried their passengers across from Cozumel and disgorged them on the pier where they swarmed the place, making it puke time for me. If you must dawdle on beaches, do it on the way back. You may regret wasting time you could have spent in Belize.

The other posters have given you some great options for Cancun-Belize. I have also taken an overnight bus from the Cancun bus station to Chetumal. The seats are like first class airplane seats and only 3 across. Because they lie flat you can get a good sleep. This is an option if your flight arrives at night.
To connect with other budget travelers, Tina's Hostel in Caye Caulker is your best bet. They have had some bad reviews lately regarding bed bugs. It is my understanding that the bed bug problem is confined to two rooms and the rest of the hostel is OK, so you will have to make sure that you ask about the room. It is unfortunate that the operators do not address this problem, because Tina's is a great place for solo budget travelers to meet potential travel buddies and Caye Caulker in general is a good place to start your stay in Belize..

Hi Solofemale,

I was in Belize this year (May to June) travelling solo as a female and had no problem what soever. I've never felt unsave. I also must say, that I tried to avoid Belize City as much as I could.
I had a great time in Belize and definitely will go back.

I flew into Cancun, arrived there in the early evening, took the bus to Playa del Carmen and spent the first night there. Early the next morning I took the express bus to Chetumal, (takes about 4h) and had some time in Chetumal to have good lunch and walk around before I took the water taxi to San Pedro. I stayed in San Pedro for 4 nights and went with the water taxi to Belize City and stayed for the next 1,5 weeks on the main land: around Belmopan at Banana Bank Lodge, San Ignacio, Hopkins. San Ignacio is great to stay for some days to explore the jungle around there, do ATM cave, Caracol, river tubing or to head over to Guatemala. Then I took the bus to Hopkins, stayed there for 3-4 nights (really nice and relaxing little town, not much to do there - I can recommend Mayflower National Park for hiking) and went then to Caye Caulker (had luck that a family was driving to Belize City anyway directly from Hopkins). From Caye Caulker I left after 4 nights to take the water taxi to Chetumal and the bus to Playa del Carmen again and on to Cancun.

I had never problems as a solo female travelling there, I met a lot of very nice people, other travellers as well as Belizeans.

Places I have stayed and I can recommend: San Padrino in San Pedro, Conch Shell in San Pedro (more expensive but very nice), Hotel Casa Blanca in San Ignacio, Lebaha drumming center in Hopkins (low budget and very nice owners), The Tropics Hotel in Caye Caulker.

Things to do: Zip-Lining at Jaguar Paw but you could get it cheaper in Guatemala near Tikal, if you will be going there anyway and have some more time. Belize Zoo: did not do it but heard a lot about it, ATM cave tour, Caracol, snorkelling trips from Caye Caulker since you pay about half of the price as from San Pedro, horse riding at Banana Bank Lodge, hike to the water falls at Mayflower National Park and Tikal.

Have a great trip.

I have also been travelling in both Mexico and Belize as a solo female traveller (travelling by bike and camping!) over most of the last year.

I feel safer in Mexico than Belize but I think that both are fine outside major cities and even in them if you take the normal kind of precautions that you should in a big city. That said, Belize City (which I haven't been to) has quite a reputation.

I'm taking the same route. Several posts say don't worry about reserving a bus seat, but seems on www.ticketbus.com.mx and www.ado.com.mx there are limited dates/seats available. Are these sites reliable? Or should I risk it and assume there'll be space available?

Belize and the Yucatan are both awesome. I met many female solo travelers. Check out this recent article RE safety in that area of Mexico They say it's safer than Canada. I'm not so sure about that, but I felt very safe in the Yucatan. http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2010/08/mexico You should be aware that the men in Belize can be very forward with the single ladies. Be aware and you're certain to have a great time. Stay at Hostel Quetzal in Cancun!