As we ate our last quesadillas and sipped our last Coronas in a lively Mexican restaurant, a feeling of melancholy crept over us. Our two months in Mexico were relaxing, rejuvenating and exactly what we were looking for, but we weren’t expecting to be so sad to leave this colourful country. We reflected on our time here and enjoyed our last delicious Mexican meal. As we made our way to the Chetumal pier, our sadness soon melted away in the intense sun and we both became excited for our next paradise, Belize.
We were greeted by unexpected costs and fees when we arrived at the windy dock. Apparently there is a $5 USD “port fee” as well as a $25 USD fee (306 pesos) for exiting the country. The somewhat friendly immigration officers told us “If you flew into Mexico, this fee would have already been included in your ticket price”. The good news was that we did fly into Mexico, the bad news was that we didn’t have the papers to prove that we already paid this “tourist” fee. Officially, there is no fee for exiting Mexico and the fact that we flew into the country should have been proof enough that this fee was already paid.
This is a border scam that you either have to give in to, or be prepared for, by having the correct breakdown of flight costs sent to you by your airline. You either pay the fee, present the proper papers, or you’ll be left sitting at the dock watching the boat leave without you.
As we searched through our documents, we realized we still had our boarding pass and printed itinerary. We crossed our fingers and hoped these would be sufficient. As our turn in line came, we presented the border patrol with these papers, which they immediately said were incorrect documents. After about 30 minutes of talking, smiling, pleading and being overly polite, we eventually got our way and they waived the fee!
Due to these border issues, we were the last to board the San Pedro Belize Express Boat that would take us from Chetumal in Mexico to Caye Caulker in Belize. We looked around, eager to find two spaces to accommodate us. The small boat was full, with no proper seats, just hard benches to sit on. Knowing a bit about boats (and knowing that I tend to get nauseous when on them), we were both praying that we wouldn’t be sitting at the front of this ride. Fortunately, we were able to find two spots on the middle bench and settled in for the bumpy journey ahead.
The water was abnormally choppy and treacherous on this travel day. Even though the sun was beaming down and the sky was bright blue, the sea was angry. During the first 10 minutes or so, the people at the front of the boat were laughing and enjoying the intense jolting upwards with each wave, and the inevitable slamming down hard on the other side. There were no cushions on these benches and as we predicted, those smiles soon turned to frowns and those happy white faces soon turned green.
Nick and I tried to make the most of this 2 hour ride to our island paradise. We listened to our iPod, tried to talk (which was basically impossible due to the loud engine) and put life jackets under our bottoms to reduce the ensuing numbness and soreness. Standing up to stretch our legs wasn’t an option, unless we wanted to be tossed to the other side of the boat. We were reduced to wiggling around and trying to stretch our long legs under the seat across from us.
After a little over two hours, we saw land up ahead and began to get very excited. Our boat passed over the offshore reef and we were instantly relieved. The waters were glass-calm and we all cheered at being able to finally stand up! We had arrived at Ambergris Caye, where immigration for the Northern Cayes is located.
We eagerly disembarked onto the wooden pier that jutted out into the turquoise waters. By this point, the sun was setting and we knew we were going to be arriving at our final destination of Caye Caulker in the dark. As we were waiting in line, Nick and I decided to have a look at our exit stamp from Mexico. We bought new passports when we were home in Canada and since we only had a total of two stamps in our passports, it shouldn’t have been difficult to find this exit stamp, Nick located his, while I was still frantically searching for mine. Finally I gave up, looked at Nick and shook my head.
The Mexican Immigration forgot to stamp me out of the country!
During our four years of travel, this has never happened. So, we stood nervously in line on the rickety wooden dock waiting to see if the grumpy immigration woman would send me back into the choppy waters to Mexico. Luckily, she was too busy yelling at a tourist for taking a photo that she didn’t even look in my passport, she just stamped it and shoved it back in my face.
Phew! Note to self: Always check for entry and exit stamps.
By the time everyone was done checking in to the country of Belize, it was 7:00pm and dark. We hopped back on the ferry and enjoyed the calm, moonlit, 30 minute ride to Caye Caulker. We were greeted with Reggae music echoing from funky beach bars and as soon as our feet hit the soft sand, we knew this was a place we were going to want to stay a while.
***Goat Notes
- There’s only one boat per day from Chetumal to Ambergris Caye & Caye Caulker. It leaves at 3:00pm. From the Cayes back to Chetumal, there’s only one boat. It leaves at 7:00am from Caye Caulker and 8:00am from Ambergris Caye.
- The cost of a one-way ticket from Chetumal to Caye Caulker is $49.50. Book ahead as this boat can fill up quickly. You can book tickets online if in Mexico, or purchase from the terminal if on the Cayes.
- Make sure to get a seat in the middle or near to the back of the boat. Otherwise, it’ll be a bumpy ride. Also note, there are no toilets on board and you are only given one small bottle of water to drink.
- As there are some long formalities that need to be dealt with when leaving Mexico, make sure to arrive at the Chetumal pier at least an hour before departure.
- If you arrived in Mexico by air, make sure to have your airline send you a breakdown of all taxes & fees that were included in your ticket price. You will need to show immigration proof of payment of the “tourist fee”. If you can’t prove it, you will need to pay 306 pesos (or beg and plead like we did!)
Have you ever had an immigration officer forget to stamp you out of a country?! What happened? Share with us below.
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WOW what an exciting adventure! Great tips for the airline breakdown on fees. I’m sure we need to do that for Roatan.
We have never been to Mexico or Belize but I really want to.
I’m not sure that you have to show proof for Honduras actually, I think it’s a Mexico thing! But definitely look into it. If you have a chance when you’re in Central America, we recommend Mexico and Belize for great food, people, scenery and activities 🙂
Hey Nick, I met you and your lovely on the boat that day, I live on Caulker and you caught me in your photo at the front of the boat (but, I didn’t turn green n’ kept on laughing. Think we chatted on those sandy roads of Caulker once. A friend sent me a link to your blog cause she recognized me in the photo – great blog, thanks. Check out my place in Belize on the river: http://www.howlerhouse.com Enjoy, love and peace and stay cool 🙂
Hi Erika!
We remember seeing you as well 🙂 You looked like you were having a great time at the front of the boat and making the most of it. Your property looks lovely, we’ll have to check it out next time we’re in Belize! Nice to connect with you.
Cheers and happy travels 🙂
I had no idea that there was a tourist fee, next time I buy plane tickets to fly into Mexico I will look for that. Other than that it looks like you guys had an amazing adventure going to Belize. It gives me inspiration to go there again. Love to see your adventures!
Thanks a lot Michael! We did have a great time in both Mexico and Belize, and we plan to go back too!
Cheers.
I guess we just can’t avoid those additional costs on the boat rides and other terminals. That is why we really have to be financially prepared whenever we go to new places. But still, I am sure that it was a wonderful stay. I wish to visit the place soon.
Exit stamps :
Exiting belize requires an exit stamp. It can be easy to miss getting this stamp because at one window you pay the exit fee and then take that paid slip to the next window to receive the stamp.
The problem with not having the stamp is that if or when you come back to belize they will probably look for your exit stamp from last time. If it’s not there they may consider that you didn’t leave belize. If that happens you may face penalties, and not small penalties.
This happened to my girlfriend a couple years ago. The thousand dollar nightmare was thankfully solved because she happened to have the little slip of paper given to her at that first window I mentioned earlier.
Also, the exit fee when leaving Mexico is pretty tough to get out of. If you don’t have ALL the exact paperwork please keep in mind that you’re holding up an entire bus or boat load of people for possibly hours over 25 dollars. One year I paid someone’s 25 dollar exit fee for them because I was fed up listening to the hour long rant over 25 dollars. The large round of smiles and cheers at my paying for them was completely worth twenty five dollars.