The expanded Belize section has been submitted by our very own drivemeloco community member John Host, our man on the ground in Honduras. Drivemeloco editors have gone through and helped do some light editing, however the wisdom and knowledge comes directly from John's trip from Honduras to Belize with his car this month.

Thanks a million to John for sharing the love, I'd like to encourage member to submit updates to our community so that we can all have the best experience possible on our travels.

John's Experience, A Three Part Series: Trujillo, Honduras to San Ignacio, Belize

Part I: Honduras to Guatemala

This entry covers my 90-day visa journey from Trujillo, Honduras to San Ignacio, Belize. Just under 500 miles if you don't get lost! As I'm sure some of you know after 90 days in Honduras you have to leave the country for one day and then return for another 90 day Visa. Some people have said it's 4 days, but it is really only one day. Also, if you drove your car down from the US you’ll have to exit and reenter with the vehicle also---as it is stamped in your passport that you arrived with a vehicle.

But, and in Central America there is always a but, you have to cross two borders from what I call the four corners countries meaning you have to travel to Belize, Mexico or Costa Rica. So seeing as how I am at "the end of the road" in Honduras, Belize is closest.

After spending countless hours on the internet trying to find the best route to go and not finding anything more current than 2004 and lots of maps that show different roads I decide to just wing it and go. I know I have to head for San Pedro Sula, 5 hours, and then on towards Puerto Cortes. Getting close to Puerto Cortes the road splits and you take the  road to Frontera Guatemala---a very good road all the way to the Guatemalan border.

Let me say here and now, when you are traveling by car down here SAVE all the paperwork you get at each and every border crossing coming and going. They can really help when you reenter a different country.

Honduras to Guatemala.

At the Honduran border exit they don’t stamp your passport with an exit stamp, but you need to show the papers at Aduana for your car. Change your money here, as this is the last time you will be able to do so. I found this out the hard way! A ten-mile drive gets you to the Guatemala checkpoint. This is where things start getting ugly. I pick up a very nice couple from Holland at the Honda border crossing and they spoke much better Spanish than I did and probably saved my butt in this next part of my travels.

Part II: Crossing The Belize Border

This is the only legal border crossing between Guatemala and Belize. It is small and very busy as tour buses are taking people to Tikal, there are lots of semi trucks traveling back and forth and there are more chicken buses than a Mac nugget convention.

There is a point where the road merges into one lane, and you have to cross the river over a one-lane bridge. As I cross the river I remembered what the Honduran and Guatemalan border agents told me, "no stamp until Belize." Could this be right? I drive through a five-dollar bug spray car wash and go chat with the Belize customs folks. Now if you are just doing your 90-day turnaround you have to lie a bit to the officials and tell them that you're staying a few days in their fine country. Also if you tell them that you will be driving farther than San Ignacio you have to get car insurance. There is a police checkpoint at the city limits where the officials check for insurance, so don't think you can just slip by unnoticed.

Belize is very easy to get into even with a vehicle. It costs you nothing to get in, but $13.00 US to get out and five more bucks for another bug spray. I wonder what this spray is doing to the paint on my Rover! There are a couple nice places to stay before you get to San Ignacio. I stayed at Windy Hill, The Log Cab-Inn is right across the road. Now let me say right now that Belize is not cheap. There are no deals as the entire country is catering to the eco-tourist industry. Lodging starts at $65.00 US and goes up from there. Food and beer are about the same as going out to a nice restaurant in the states. My travel budget is going straight down the tubes in Belize!

Part III: Returning to Honduras