Distances

The table below contains the distances from Xcalak to other cities of sites of special interest:

	Distance [km] Xcalak / Mahahual (Majahual)	Travel time by car [h:m] Xcalak / Mahahual (Majahual)
Local
Xcalak	na / 065	na / 0:50
Mahahual (Majahual)	065 / na	0:50 / na
Mahahual (Majahual) port	070 / 005	0:55 / 0:05
Cafetal	118 / 058	2:20 / 1:35
Northwards
Limones	123 / 063	2:30 / 1:45
Chacchoben	130 / 070	2:40 / 1:55
Felipe Carrillo Puerto	191 / 131	3:15 / 2:30
Muyil	262 / 171	4:10 / 3:25
Tulum	287 / 227	4:30 / 3:45
Akumal	311 / 251	5:00 / 4:15
Playa del Carmen	350 / 290	5:45 / 5:00
Puerto Morelos	383 / 323	6:15 / 5:30
Cancun	419 / 359	6:30 / 5:45
Merida	421 / 361	6:30 / 5:45
Southwards
Pedro Antonio de los Santos	125 / 065	2:40 / 1:55
Bacalar	165 / 105	2:55 / 2:10
Chetumal	202 / 142	3:25 / 2:40
Calderitas	214 / 154	3:35 / 2:50
Oxtankah	218 / 158	3:45 / 3:00
Kohunlich	236 / 176	4:00 / 3:15
Kinichna	240 / 180	4:05 / 3:20
Dzibanche	248 / 182	4:10 / 3:25

The times listed above are based on a speed of 70 to 80 kms/hour and regular breaks. Distance and time are approximations. All roads are in good conditions. Local times are measured on the main road from Xcalak to Mahahual (Majahual) which is asphalt (the beach road is sand).

Traveling time on the Mahahual (Majahual) - Cafetal - Chetumal route has improved due to the new road.

Car

For driving in Mexico you need a valid driver's license from you home country. Renting a car can be done in most mayor cities. A credit card or high deposit (approx. 5000 pesos) is required. Always include an insurance when renting a car. The cost of renting a car range from 30 USD (Beetle) to 100 USD (Dodge Voyager) in low season. In high season add 20 %.


Different insurances can be bought:

Additional Liability Insurance - For claims against injury/death or property damage.

Personal Accident Insurance - Covers medical expenses for driver and passangers.

Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) - Covers damage as a result of an accident to the car.

Loss Damage Waiver - Covers loss or damage to the car in case of an accident or theft.

The insurance listed abouve range from 5 to 25 USD.



When driving in Mexico be aware that the conditions are different from your home country. On most Mexican roads you will encouter topes. These topes are placed on the road to reduce the speed of the cars. Be carefull when you cross them.


Cancun or Cozumel

Coming from Cancun or Cozumel take the highway 307. This highway is in excellent state. The highway 307 is being extended to a four lane road. If you are coming from Cancun, you should fill up your tank in the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. It is the last gas station before Xcalak. If you are coming from Chetumal fill up your tank in Chetumal. You can buy gas in Xcalak at Loncheria Silvia most of the time but it will be more expensive.
For safety of the villagers the highway contains topes near the villages. The topes are always marked with signs 200 m before the tope. If you happened to hit a tope at full speed you can be sure the car will not run anymore after that. There will be mayan's trying to sell fruit and Mennonites trying to sell cheese while you try to take the tope. A short distance after you pass through Los Limones from Cancun, take a left off of Highway 307 at the (overhead) sign to Mahahual (Majahual).

Chetumal

Coming from Chetumal turn right just before Los Limones. After 50 kilometers, take a right on the road to Xcalak. There is a military checkpoint at the intersection. After 60 kilometers, you will come to a "T" intersection where you take a left and enter the town after a couple of kilometers.

Merida

Coming from Merida take Highway 261 in south east direction. At Muna turn left on Route 184 through small Mexican villages and haciendas to Felippe Carillo Puerto (3 hrs). After that follow the route as described above from Cancun. The trip will take about 6 hours.

Xcalak

In Xcalak the roads are unpaved. When entering Xcalak, the road curves to the left around the soccer field. Take the 2nd left and continue down this road. You are now in the center of Xcalak. From here you can drive to the hotels North and south of town.

Taxi

For some shorter distances taxies can be used. Here is an overview of the approximate costs:

		Costs roundtrip [pesos]
Mahahual (Majahual)	Xcalak	100
Mahahual (Majahual)	Limones, Chacchoben, Pedro Antonio de los Santos	500
Mahahual (Majahual)	Mahahual (Majahual) port	25
Mahahual (Majahual)	Kohunlich	650

Bus

Chetumal

There is a daily bus from Chetumal main station to Xcalak. The bus leaves around 6:00 am and 14:00 pm hrs and takes about 4 hours to arrive in Xcalak / Mahahual (Majahual). From Xcalak the bus returns around 10:00 am and 18:00 PM from the dock of Xcalak to Chetumal.


Playa Del Carmen and Tulum / Chetumal

From Playa Del Carmen and Tulum South to Chetumal you need to get off in Limones (about an hour after Felipe Carillo Puerto) and catch one of the 2 buses/day from Chetumal to Xcalak (via Limones). The morning bus goes through Limones at about 7:30 and the afternoon bus goes through about 5:30 give or take 30 minutes.

The Mayab bus schedule leaving from Limones is going north at 6:30am, 8:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:45, 1:30pm, 3:00, 3:45, 5 and 6. The ADO buses don't stop in Limones, you have to catch it in Chetumal.

Ferry

The dock on the Chetumal Bay side has just been finished. The dock is a few Km west of Xcalak. In the very near future there will be a daily service linking Chetumal to the Costa Maya within in a one hour reach.
By the time the ferry is operating there will probably be a taxi service to the village. Until that time is wise to make a pick up agreement with one of the local hotels.



If you are comming from San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Belize, you can ask XTC diving to pick you up for 150 USD during the week and 200 USD in the weekend (price for the boat with maximum 8 people).

Yacht

Xcalak is an unavoidable destination when traveling between Mexico and Belize. Xcalak is the point of entry/exit for Mexico in the Caribbean. On average there are 5 to 10 ships laying in front of the Xcalak beach. Be very careful when entering the Xcalak waters. There is just a small opening in front of the dock.

Cruise ship / Ferry

The newly built dock in Mahahual (Majahual) receives cruise ships on an almost daily basis. The ships stay at Mahahual (Majahual) from about 9:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs. You can take a taxi from Mahahual (Majahual) to Xcalak if there is one available. It should be less than one hour to reach Xcalak. The details of the cruise ship time tables can be checked on the web site of Puerto Costa Maya.







Mexico Ferry will start operating a ferry in November 2004. The ferry is called Yucatan Explorer and will run from Tampa to Progresso and Cancun. The 480 miles trip takes approx. 32 hours. A one way ticket will be 99 USD.

The schedule is from Friday, November 22 to Wednesday, April 23:

Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
Friday	Tampa, Florida	9:00 AM	5:00 PM
Sunday	Progreso, Merida	7:00 AM	6:00 PM
Tuesday	Tampa, Florida	7:30 AM	11:00 AM
Wednesday	Morelos, Cancun*	5:30 PM	11:59 PM

* suspended

Times are local. Approximate sailing time is 35 hours.

You can get more info on:
Web: http://www.mexicoferry.com, Email: info@mexicoferry.com

Plane

Xcalak

There are no scheduled flights to Xcalak. Instead there are chartered air plane flights to Xcalak (there is a small local airport just east of town).

Playa Del Carmen to xcalak is approx. 925 dlls one way, the price is for the airplane, up to 5 persons, and you have to add the taxes.

The companies that have this service are Aero Costa (from Cancun), Aero Saab, Aero Ferinco, Aero Charter de Mexico.




Mahahual (Majahual)

There are no scheduled flights to Mahahual (Majahual). Instead there are chartered air plane flights to Mahahual (Majahual) (there is a large airport just east of town). One such charter company is called AeroCosta and they have flights from Cancun to Mahahual (Majahual). Mahahual (Majahual) is about 65 Km from Xcalak by car or taxi. At this very moment the Mahahual (Majahual) airport is adjusted to enable the reception of international flights.





Chetumal

Chetumal has scheduled national flights from most Mexican airlines. It is about 3 hours by car to Xcalak. Amongst others Aeromexico and Mexicana have regular flights to Chetumal.

Cancun

Cancun has many international flights from all over the world by many major airlines. It is about 5 1/2 hours by car to Xcalak.