When thinking of traveling to Mexico, then one thing which is most common, it is not hard. Mexico had a quite open country policy. Also most people are getting in without a paid visa, but land way is way different. Find out how the border between Mexico and Belize is.
What is important to know?
When entering Belize, you need to fill in a lot of things and have an address prepared, even when you are not planning to stay at that address. They are not checking it. When you are leaving Belize, the landway would be the cheapest, you need to pay money for the exit. Same thing is happening in Costa Rica for example, there it is just on the way out at any land border.
When entering Mexico over the landway, when you want to stay more than seven days then basically they want you to pay. When entering from any airport you are not having it. Even though I stayed more than seven days after entering, I said that I just stayed seven days to not pay. More to this in the Mexico section of this article.
When wanting to reach both of the borders, it is not as cheap, when wanting to take a taxi, because they rip every person off. Because walking to the border from the Mexican side was not allowed, a taxi needed to be taken, because the hitchhiking to the border went wrong. Being at the border worked, but it was not for tourists and high walls stopped me from getting to the right border without a car.
When entering Belize many people want to overcharge you a lot, so hitchhiking was the only good option. Even from the border on it was easily working out. Click on the text to read the article: Hitchhiking in Belize
How was the border in Belize?
The border situation in Belize was during the time of arrival really relaxed. People were able to talk in English, because it is an official language. They are quite strict with the entering policy, but when being nice and filling out everything it should be working.
After entering the country many people are standing there to exchange money. Here it is quite easy with the exchange rate. When thinking in $US then you are getting exactly two Belizan Dollars for one $US.
When exiting the country, it was also simple, just paying the money and leaving to the Mexican border. Even crossing by car was going quickly, which I saw was different at many other borders.
It felt really safe, same as the Mexican one, but with the selling people being annoying a lot, to be completely honest.
How was the border in Mexico?
The Mexican border was somehow way more packed, people took way longer in the border surprisingly. When arriving there they wanted me to pay a lot of money, because I said that I would stay 30 days. At the airport there was this rule not a thing.
I just didn’t want to pay the usual for free entry. I told the border officer that I will just leave in less than seven days, to receive the free stamp. He was fine with it, so I had to pay nothing.
When leaving Mexico to fly back to Europe, they didn’t say anything, so it was not a problem to stay longer than seven days. It looks like the normal stamp from the airport, so it was not suspicious for the airport border. I think if someone would have checked correctly, it would have been time to play dumb and just paying for it then at the airport.
This is of course illegal to do, but same as in the illegal border crossing in the UK, it is always a matter of being willing to try it out. I will never say to actually do it, it is just an experience of what I did.
Summary
Generally speaking, when you are owning a decent passport and especially a passport from the European Union, then this border and all other in Central America are no issue for you. It is easy to get into every country there and the controls are weak as well.
Just important to know, when crossing from Belize into Mexico and wanting to stay longer than seven days, they want to see money.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
Click on the text for more Central and North America stories. : Land Border between Mexico and Belize, what is important to know? Mexico Stories: Land Border between Mexico and Belize, what is important to know?
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