Seeking Yucatan/Belize Trip Suggestions/Meetup

You've missed Bacalar on the way down. Perhaps you've been there before, but if not, it's worth a day and a night. A couple of hostels. A blue lake. And there's a big cenote nearby, although it feels more like a pond.

Someone else will help you with your Belize questions, but another possibility is to skip Belize and do a circuit of the Yucatan peninsula: ...Chetumal; Xpujil; (Palenque); Campeche; Merida; Valladolid; Cancun.

Second vote for Bacalar instead of Chetumal, the name of the nearby cenote is Cenote Azul. We ate a couple of meals there since the restaurant at our hotel, Hotel Laguna, was not very good. we also visited the nearby ruins at Kohunlich while there but we had a rental car, not sure about the bus schedule.
Chetumal is a very busy town with lots of traffic, but do visit the very good Mayan museum they have there.

I also agree with Bacalar.

If you stay in Chetumal, I like Hotel Ucum near the Museum of Maya Culture. It was about 250 pesos for a cheap room -- safe, clean & has a pool.

It seems to be impossible now to avoid being scammed upon departure from Mexico. If you fly to Mexico, most airlines collect the DNI fee (or Mexican Tourism Tax) -- Thomson of the UK is the exception. There is no departure fee.

If you get an itenized receipt from the airline, the Tourism Tax appears in a list with all the other miscellaneous fees & taxes -- it has a "UK" code reference. I carry a copy with me, and so far have avoided paying anything at the land border. However, at the Chetumal water taxi terminal, it seems that Mexican Immigration won't allow you to board the boat unless you cough up the money (500 pesos now).

In Belize, I think you might like Caye Caulker rather than Ambergris which is more touristy. CC is smaller, quieter & more laid-back -- it's more popular with backpackers, and a bit cheaper. There are hostels on both cayes.

" I prefer to stay in frugal accommodations, use buses/ferries, and hike/walk around a lot"
I too am a frugal traveler, but I find that renting a car contributes to my finding places to camp - there are many places where you will be allowed to camp free with permission, and to get to the hostels. A car also provides a place to put fresh fruit, snacks, groceries instead of finding a cafe for meals. I believe I get more out of my travel experience by having the freedom to wander with a car. I fly in with all my camping gear in a Navy seabag. You can rent a car for about $125/week. Rent in Cancun - return car to Cancun, then take the bus to Chetumal for your Belize segment. I did cross into Belize via the Rio Hondo at a small village (more of a settlement) that was on a tourist map designating a place to kayak. I arrived, there were no kayaks ("many years ago"), but they had boats, did I want a boat ride for $5. I said OK, and then he wanted to pick somebody up on shore ("did I mind"). The new fare paid about 25 cents to cross the river with her sacks of groceries; we paddled up river, through some reed channels to a small dock. A bus was waiting to depart - the boatman and I helped with the sacks of groceries to get her on the bus in time. The boatman told me I was just in Belize! Maybe someone in Chetumal can give you some advice on this route. Looking at my map, might have been around Agua Blanca south of Ucum.

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