This video shows the major structures at Xunantunich’s Plaza A-1, including the towering temple called El Castillo. The ancient Maya ruins are in western Belize near San Ignacio. Click the icon in the lower righthand corner of the player to expand the video.
The jungle town of San Ignacio, Belize, is one of Latin America’s top locations for adventure travelers. This is how I reached it from the Belize City airport.
While most tourists arriving at Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport have Belize’s world-class beaches on the brain, others like myself are poised to head in the opposite direction: inland into the jungle. Including two custom maps, here’s the steps I took to reach the Maya Forest hub of San Ignacio via taxi and public bus from the Belize City airport:
1. Ensure you have an adequate amount of cash before leaving the airport
If you haven’t already, make sure you remove cash from an ATM before leaving the Belize City airport. The taxi and bus fares in this guide will cost around $30 USD ($60 BZD), but I recommend pulling out additional funds for incidentals and refreshments. If you already have American currency, you’re in luck; it’s accepted everywhere in Belize at a fixed and favorable 1:2 exchange rate.
2. Take a taxi to the Belize City bus station or a nearby bus stop on Western Highway
The first leg of my approximate three-hour journey to San Ignacio was by taxi. Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport is technically located just outside of Belize City in the village of Ladyville, and public transportation does not directly serve the location. If you are on a shoestring budget, the Northern Highway (shown on my custom map above) is around a kilometer to the north of the airport exit; you can flag down a bus heading to the Belize City station from there.
Carrying a heavy pack and already sweating in the tropical heat, I decided to save my energy for the jungle by taking a taxi. Drivers are parked in a line just outside the airport exit, and the prices I got from asking around at the taxi stands were consistent: $25 USD ($50 BZD) to the Belize City bus station or $20 USD ($40 BZD) to a bus stop south of the airport along Western Highway (also on my custom map above). I decided on the latter.
The car ride took around 10-15 minutes traveling on a brand-new unnamed road (marked on my above map) departing the airport. The bus stop is next to a roundabout on the north side of Western Highway, which is the road you will take to San Ignacio.
3. Get on the next bus heading west to Benque
Regardless of whether you ended up at the Belize City bus station or the stop outside of town, your next move is the same: catch a bus heading toward the Guatemalan land border. Westbound public buses – which are repurposed school buses known locally as “chicken buses” – will have a sign in the window that reads “Benque.” This indicates that the bus is heading to the border town of Benque Viejo Del Carmen.
Public buses in Belize run on a schedule, which is organized and provided by the Belize Department of Transport. Click to view a digital copy of the western bus service’s east-to-west schedule. It won’t be long before you step aboard your “chicken bus,” which will be brimming over with locals going to the Maya Forest.
4. Make the journey to San Ignacio
It took my bus around two-and-a-half hours to reach San Ignacio. The trip was broken up by frequent pickups and drop-offs of residents, along with an extended stop at Belize’s capital city of Belmopan (shown above on my second custom map). The cost of the trip is only $5 USD ($10 BZD) but make no mistake about it: This is not a comfortable journey.
Right when you step aboard a “chicken bus” at a bus stop, you better quickly find your balance or hang on to the handrail; the driver isn’t waiting for you to find a seat before he quickly motors back up to speed. The bus service has a schedule to keep, and there’s a litany of stops between yours and the Guatemalan border. Public buses in Belize also don’t have air conditioning, save rolling the window down to allow the warm, humid tropical air to waft through your hair.
Riding a “chicken bus,” like other modes of public transportation in places like Latin America, is a cultural experience. You are literally bumping shoulders with locals as they live their daily lives, traveling as they do from one location to the next. Welcome the heat, embrace the cramped conditions, and enjoy the blare of the reggaeton pumping from the speaker system.
This is the very definition of immersive travel.
5. Arrive at San Ignacio
Westbound public buses arrive in San Ignacio next to the Cayo Welcome Center & Tourist Information Center near the small park in the middle of the city. If you are heading to the Guatemalan border, simply stay aboard at this stop; the bus runs all the way to the border town of Benque Viejo Del Carmen, which is a short eight-mile ride to the southwest.
6. Read my travel guides for San Ignacio or crossing the Guatemalan border
Whether you are staying in San Ignacio or navigating the border crossing from Belize to Guatemala, I have tips to help you along your way. Read my travel guide “A Backpacker’s Guide to San Ignacio, Belize” to learn where I toured, ate, and stayed in the jungle town. Check out my other guide “How to Get to Tikal from the Belizean Border” if you are pushing further westward into Guatemala.
Related Content
– Click to view my high-resolution photo collection featuring images from San Ignacio, Belize.
– Click to read my travel guide “How to Take a Self-Guided Tour of Xunantunich” for tips on visiting the Maya ruins near San Ignacio.
– Click to read my feature article “Tikal: The Day the King Died” about how Mesoamerica’s most mysterious metropolis altered the course of Maya civilization on one fateful day.