Taking the local bus is a relatively easy and cheap way to get from Palenque in Mexico to Flores in Guatamala (or vice versa). In case you read this and decide that the local bus is not for you, we’ve also linked the shuttles you can take between these locations.
Palenque to Flores
Palenque to Flores by local bus is a relatively easy journey to take. There are shuttles available for the same journey if you’re not up for multiple buses. We’ve outlined your options below.
Options
Cost | Time | |
Local Bus | 100 GTQ + 100 MXN + 60 MXN (~22.50 USD) | 9-11 hours |
Shuttle | USD 50.00 | 8 hours |
Option 2: Local Buses
Taking the local buses from Palenque to Flores is a long day but it’s relatively easy with only 3 buses involved.
Journey Overview
Cost | Time | |
Palenque – Tenosique | MXN 100.00 | 2h 30m |
Taxi or 30 minute walk between bus stations | MXN 40.00 | 30m |
Tenosique – El Ciebo | MXN 60.00 | 1h |
El Ciebo – Flores* | GTQ 100.00 | 4h 30m |
*note at certain times of the year there is a 1 hour time difference between Mexico and Guatemala so take this into account when planning your journey.
Palenque to Tenosique
- 2.5 hours
- 100 Pesos
The first step on your journey is to make your way to the collectivos here. They are supposed to leave every 20 minutes past and 45 minutes past the hour (though ours left at 9 am)
This costs 60 pesos and will take about 2.5 hours to reach Tenosique.
Tenosique to El Ciebo
- 1 hour
- 60 pesos
The collectivo will drop you off here in Tenosique and the bus to El Ciebo leaves from cnr calle 37 and 16 here. It’s about a 30 minute walk but we opted to take a taxi for approx 40 MXN.
Once we arrived at the bus for El Ciebo it was waiting there, however, it wasn’t leaving for another hour. There is a bathroom and food here. When we were there (April 2024) the timetable was 6, 7, 8.40, 9.30, 10.30, 11.30, 1 and 5. As we arrived at midday we had to wait for the 1pm departure.
Cross the border
You’ll be dropped off near the border and can walk to the Mexico immigration to check out of the country. We recommend filling in your FMM online and having it printed with you as well as having proof you’ve paid the entry fee (such as a flight ticket break down or a receipt if you entered by land). We flew into Mexico both times and were never asked for proof (presumably because our immigration form showed we had flown in) but we’ve heard of others having issues so it’s better to be prepared.
We’ve outlined more information on the FMM and fees at the end of this article.
El Ciebo – Flores
- 4.5 hours
- 100 GTQ
Once you cross the border you should see a van on the right. It should have Flores written on it. You can simply ask them when they’re leaving, for us it was in about 40 minutes. They should leave on the hour every hour. The shop next to the bus sells some chicken and chips. The shop next door (closest to the border) has clean toilets and offers currency exchange.
Once you’re on the bus to Flores it will take 4-4.5 hours with only a quick toilet stop. It also can get quite full as locals hop on and off along the way but you should have seats since you got on at the first stop.
Flores
The bus will drop you off at the Flores bus station, a 30 minute walk from the island. There will be taxis there waiting but we took the walk and it was pretty straight forward (and safe)
Flores to Palenque
Flores to Palenque by local bus is a relatively easy journey requiring only 3 buses. There is also an option to take the local bus to the border then try and join a shuttle the remainder of the way (which is what we did) .
Options
Cost | Time | |
Local Bus | 100 GTQ + 100 MXN + 60 MXN (~22.50 USD) | 9-11 hours |
Shuttle | USD 50.00 | 8h |
Local Bus + Shuttle* | 100 GTQ + 200 MXN (~25 USD) | 10h |
*in this option you take the local bus to the border then jump onto a shuttle if there are spare seats
Option 2: Local Buses (or local bus + Shuttle)
Journey overview
Cost | Time | |
Flores – El Ciebo | GTQ 100.00 | 4h 30m |
El Ciebo – Tenosique | MXN 60.00 | 1h |
Taxi Tenosique (Or walk) | MXN 40.00 | |
Tenosique – Palenque | MXN 100.00 | 2h 30m |
OR Shuttle Border – Palenque | MXN 200.00 | 3h 30m |
Flores – Border
- 4.5 hours
- 100GTQ
Head to Flores bus station and ask for El Ciebo. There will be people who will direct you to the station. When we visited (April 2024) the departure times were 3.40, 4.40, 5.40, 6.40, 8.30 and 10 am. This bus will take about 4 hours to get to the border. Ours took us almost all the way to the border then swapped us into a very small, cramped van for the remainder of the way (but this was included in the cost that we initially paid.)
Border
Once you get to the border you can cross by foot. We recommend paying your Mexico Tourist fee online and bringing your printed FMM form and tourist tax to get through the border quicker. We met others there who had to wait ages to be seen just to be told they had to walk down the road to pay the tax and then join the back of the line to start all over.
See our section below for more information on forms, fees and printing for crossing the border.
El Ciebo – Tenosique
- 1 hour
- 60 MXN
If you walk up a little from the border there is a small convince store where the bus should come to take you to Tenosique (it’s where it dropped us off when we did it in reverse). However, when arrived there was only a taxi (offered to share with others) and they said there was no bus coming. Taxi drivers often do lie about this, however, we waited half an hour in the heat and ended up joining in a shuttle that offered us a seat direct to Palenque for 200 MXN each which was actually only $2.50 USD more than soldiering on and taking the public bus – if this opportunity comes up I would say take it! They’ll give you a cheap seat they just drop you off a couple minutes walk outside of Palenque (as I presume they’re pocketing the cash).
If you do want to wait, the bus should come roughly 7am, 8am, 9.40am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 2pm, 6pm – this is based on the schedule we saw of buses coming in the opposite direction.
Tenosique – Palenque
- 2.5 hours
- 100 MXN
Your bus to Tenosique will drop you off here. You can either walk or taxi to the edge of town for the collectivo to Palenque here. The collectivo to Palenque should leave about every half an hour. This will take about 2.5 hours and drop you in the centre of Palenque.
Border Entry/Exit Information
Of course – please do your own research or as your hostel for the most current info on entering and leaving Mexico and Guatemala. This is just some useful advice we have from our crossing twice in April 2024.
Entry to Mexico
Mexico FMM Form
You can fill out the FMM form at the border or online. We filled ours out online to save time at the border. Note that if you do fill it out online you’ll need to print it as they physically stamp it when you cross the border.
Mexico Visitor Tax
When entering Mexico you’ll need to pay the tourist tax. When you fly into Mexico it’s covered as part of your ticket. When you cross by land it’s not so you’ll have to pay. This is seperate to the Tourist Tax in Quintana Roo (which is not so strongly enforced…) As of May 2024 the tax was 717 pesos (about 43 USD). You don’t have to pay the tax if you’re crossing by land and only staying less than 7 days. You also don’t pay it if you fly in as it’s included in the ticket.
We recommend paying the tax online to save time at the border and bringing your printed receipt with you to show you’ve paid it. We did this and had no issues crossing the border. You can find the link to make the payment when you fill out your FMM online here.
Exit from Mexico
FMM
If you travelled to Mexico via land you should still have your FMM you filled out to enter. You’ll need to show this when you exit.
If you travelled to Mexico via plane you can get your FMM (automatically generated for you) online here. You’ll need to print a copy of this and take it to the border (see where to print this out below)
Visitor Tax
When you exit you may be asked to prove that you’ve paid the visitor tax. As of May 2024 the tax was 717 pesos (about 43 USD). If you flew into Mexico you would have paid it as part of your ticket. As our FMM said we flew in we were never asked to prove that we paid it BUT it is a good idea to take a breakdown of your flight ticket showing you have paid it as we’ve heard some border agents can be difficult and try and make you pay again. If you crossed by land make sure you have a receipt showing you paid it.
Entry to Guatemala
Extremely easy. No fee and no documents needed, just get a stamp and you’re good to go.
Exit from Guatemala
Same as entry, no fee and no documents just grab a stamp and you’re good to go.
Where to print your documents
Flores
There’s a printer across the road from the Flores Bus station where you can print all of your documents. You can use a USB to log on to their computers or send to them on What’s App. The printer is located here
Palenque
There is a printer in Palenque located here called Cyber de la Luz. You can send your documents to be printed via What’s App.
There you go! A long but comprehensive guide on everything you need to know to cross the Mexico to Guatemala border by local bus. We hope you found this useful – if you take the journey and have any information that may be useful to future travellers please leave it in the comments.
