Cancun to Placencia by bus

Getting to Placencia by taking a low cost flight to Cancun can save money, but definately requires an adventuresome spirit and high degree of patience and tolerance.  The folks who own the Danube Restaurant in Seine Bight have done the bus trip several times, primarily to pick up and drop his daughter who visited from Austria.  Here are his observations about the connections:

ADO Airport shuttle US $3.00- (ADO is a Mexican bus line - good buses-Carl)


ADO ( http://www.ado.com.mx/ado/index.jsp )Cancun to Chetumal leaving at 11 pm Arrival at 5am costs US $19.00-

Chetumal to Belize City leaving at 6am arrival at about 8-9am US $15.50 (it’s a small Express bus) (I don't think this is a former school bus)

Belize City arrival at Water Taxi Station – take a taxi to Novelo Bus Station -cost US $3.50

Take the bus to Placencia cost US $5.00- to Dangriga arrival at about 11.15 am, 12.15 pm or 1.15 pm( https://www.hickatee.com/belize_bus_times.html )and there one has to wait for the bus to Placencia which costs US 4.5 and leaves at 2 pm and arrives in Placencia around 3.30 pm.

(You can also take a James bus from Belize City to Independence, and catch a Hokey Pokey water taxi to Placencia for about  US $5.00. They run until 5 or 5:30 in the afternoon.  If tired of ground transportation, go to municipal Airstrip in Belize City and take Tropic Air or Maya Island Air to Placencia  for US $79.50. 1/2 hour flight. - Carl)

 

Leaving from Placencia:

Bus at 5.45 am or 6.30 am from Placencia, changing bus on the way near Dangriga to Belize City, arrival at about 10am.

Premier bus leaves at 11 am, costs US 8.-, there is also the chicken bus (used school bus) which leaves more often and sometimes is not slower, costs US 6.- arrival in Chetumal at about 3.20pm the premier arrives directly at the ADO Bus Terminal, while the chicken bus arrives somewhere else and one has to take a taxi- cost US 2.-, however the bus to Cancun leaves at 3.30 4.30 and then 6.30- depending on if there is time difference between Belize and Mexico it just did not work out to reach the 4.30 bus, so I had to wait till 6.30- right now, I think one can reach the 4.30 bus and one would arrive in Cancun at aroun 10pm, otherwise it would be around midnight..

A cheap but clean hotel right next to the ADO bus station is http://www.hotelalux.com/cancun/index.htm good enough for an overnight stay.

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This is very useful info, so if you plan to come to Belize or Placencia, print it out. There are also flights by Maya Island Air, Cancun to Belize for $213, but may require advance reservation.
Thanks to Herb at the Danube Restaurant, he and Simone specialize in Austrian cuisine!