Traveling from Mexico to Guatemala? Most travelers choose between two popular routes:
1. Starting from San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas State, you can cross at Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, which leads to La Mesilla in Guatemala via Route 190.
2. From Oaxaca State, many prefer the coastal Route 200 through Chiapas, crossing the border at Ciudad Hidalgo, leading to Tecun Uman in Guatemala.
As we decided to spend some time in San Cristobal, we opted for the first route.
(All prices mentioned are in US Dollars.)
You can take public transport from San Cristobal, like the OCC Bus (about 100 MXN/$6.50 for a 3.5-hour ride) to reach Ciudad Cuauhtemoc. There, you’ll need to get your passport stamped to exit Mexico and take a collectivo taxi (10 MXN/$0.65) through “no man’s land” to the Guatemalan border.
At La Mesilla, the Guatemalan side, you can hop on a chicken bus to places like Quetzaltenango (40 Quetzals/$5.25) or Huehuetenango (20Q/$2.65 for a 2-hour ride). Pullman buses are also available to Guatemala City (around 170Q/$22.30, departing at 9:00 pm for an 8-hour journey).
Our destination was Lake Atitlan, 220 km from the Mexican border. Instead of figuring out transportation on our own, we opted for a shuttle bus from San Cristobal to Panajachel at Lake Atitlan, finding it logical and costing about the same.
In San Cristobal, tour companies can book your ticket. We reserved our shuttle bus through our hostel (Rossco Backpackers) with Chincultik, which charged 305 MXN ($19.75) each for an 8-9 hour journey.
Our minibus left the hostel at 7:30 am with 17 others. We stopped at 9:30 am for breakfast at a touristy restaurant (cold buffet for 95 MXN/$6.15).
Around noon, we reached Ciudad Cuauhtemoc. Here’s where things got tricky. We were told about an “official” exit fee for leaving Mexico, supposedly included in airline tickets if you arrived by plane. Our hostel advised the fee was 250 MXN ($16.22). We had airline fee breakdowns ready, but the driver collected everyone’s passports and an “exit fee” of 332 MXN ($21.70). Comparing this to last year’s fee when exiting to Belize (306 MXN/$20), it seemed unofficial.
One solution is paying the fee at a bank in San Cristobal to avoid corrupt border officials (295 MXN/$19.15).
With stamped passports, we continued in the same bus to the Guatemalan border, a bustling area with money changers and food vendors. We walked about 100 meters to the immigration booth for our Guatemalan stamp, paying an unofficial entry fee of 20 MXN ($1.30).
From the border, you can head straight to Lake Atitlan or stop in Antigua first. We had difficulties exchanging Pesos for Quetzals in San Cristobal, so we exchanged at the border (0.45 Q for 1 Peso versus an expected 0.50 Q for 1 Peso).
Our driver directed us to a colleague for the final leg to Panajachel, while he returned with other passengers to San Cristobal. The remaining journey was smooth, including a couple of bathroom breaks.
We eventually reached a tour agency in Pana by 5:30 pm and took a boat for 25Q ($3.30) to the village of San Juan on Lake Atitlan. The entire journey took about 10 hours.
If you haven’t paid your exit fee in San Cristobal or lack proof of payment, carry enough Pesos or US Dollars for both the exit and entry fees, though the exchange rate may not be favorable.
The roads are mostly fine on the Mexican side, but get winding in Guatemala, so consider motion sickness pills if needed.
We highly recommend the shuttle bus option for $19.75, as it’s convenient and includes food and bathroom breaks. Doing the trip independently could save a few bucks but might take much longer.
Make sure to bring water, food, and snacks to avoid high-priced options along the way.