Journey from Cancun to San Pedro, Belize

by Darcie Parkhurst (Canada)

A leap into the unknown Canada

My first trip to San Pedro, Belize was a journey of the unknown. My husbands’ best friend was getting married on the beautiful island and we were very excited for this trip, we had never been to Belize before. When we tried to book our holiday, we discovered there were no direct flights from Canada. I decided the best way to get there was to fly into Cancun, Mexico and drive to Chetumal where we would catch a boat to San Pedro, Belize. This journey required us to drive for 4.5 hours through Mexico to get to Chetumal, a city that we had never been to. Being a regular vacationer in Cancun I knew the area well and was concerned about driving across the countryside for a few reasons. First of all, if you have ever been to Mexico you will know that it is common to see Police on the side of the highways holding military grade weapons. As a Canadian, we don’t ever see this, our police have handguns in covered holsters strapped to their belts like cowboys, which for some reason makes me less nervous. Second, I read online that we would be out of cell service for a good hour during a portion of our journey, so if anything were to go wrong with the rental vehicle we could be stranded on the highway. We only knew a few sentences in the Spanish language; this included where is the bathroom, one more beer, I don’t speak Spanish, I am Canadian. None of these are very valuable sentences when you are broken down on a Mexican highway. However, my husband and I are risk takers, so even with my concerns of the trip we decided it would be an adventure to remember. After our arrival at the Cancun International we picked up our rental vehicle and headed towards Akumal, a small town that is about an hour and twenty minutes from the Cancun airport. We discovered Akumal in a past trip to Cancun when a local had told us about a beach where you could swim with the turtles. The first time we went to Akumal beach we were blown away by the white sands and the number of turtles that you could easily find and swim above. Unfortunately, the area, like many other beautiful beaches around the world, has become overcrowded with tourists and this has affected the lives of the turtles. I discovered that sunscreen has given many turtles cancer and decided to skip snorkelling with them on this trip. I also decided that I would never again put on sunscreen before entering the ocean. We went straight to our hotel, the Grand Oasis Tulum, for a few nights to help break up our travel time. Upon arrival the bellman brought us to what should have been our room only to discover that it was already occupied. Normally this would have been something I would complain about, but the front desk immediately rectified the mistake by putting us in an enormous suite that most brides probably stay in. The suite’s bed faced a floor to ceiling window that overlooked the beach and ocean. It was also connected to a beautiful hair, makeup and dressing area. Our previously booked 3.5 star room had now become 5 star accommodations at no extra cost. It was the best way to start a holiday. After a few days of all-inclusive luxury, we headed back on the road towards Chetumal. The drive to Chetumal was just over 3 hours. We went through a few small towns and then found ourselves on the stretch of highway with no cell service. Luckily google maps helped us get to the pier in Chetumal with no problems. We found parking for under $10 a night and got our boat tickets. The Border Police showed up their heavy artillery and dogs to sniff our luggage while they checked our passports. Fortunately there were no problems and they allowed everyone to load the boat for the hour trip to San Pedro. It ended up being a great way to travel to our destination because we also got to enjoy another country on the same holiday.