Three airports, one drive, a bus or train if you'd rather.
The closest airport is Chetumal (CTM), 45 minutes south. Most connections go through Mexico City.
Cancún (CUN) is four and a half hours by car. It's the busier airport and the more common arrival point for international visitors.
Tulum (TQO) opened in late 2023 and is about two and a half hours. Still fewer direct flights than Cancún, but growing.
From any of the three, a private transfer or a rental car is the simplest path. ADO runs buses from all three to the Bacalar terminal — comfortable, direct, slower.
The Tren Maya also stops in Bacalar. The Cancún–Chetumal route leaves from Cancún airport, stops in Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and reaches Bacalar in about four and a half hours. There are only a few departures a day, so check the schedule and book ahead. The station sits on the edge of town; a taxi gets you to the hotel from there.
If you're coming from Belize by land, Bacalar is the first real town north of the border. About an hour from the crossing at Chetumal.
Cover photo: ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
