Chetumal is the capital of Quintana Roo in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. It is on the Bay of Chetumal, a sheltered inlet of the Caribbean Sea at the mouth of the Rio Hondo. This bay, together with the Rio Hondo, forms the border between Mexico and Belize.
Understand
Lying by the border of Belize, Chetumal is much more than a mere travel hub between Belize and Mexico. It offers many tourist attractions. English is fairly generalized, whereas Spanish happily coexists with Maya, Criole, Lebanese Arabic and an impressive set of the growing multinational population of the city. There is a bit more than 260,000 Chetumaleños. The City of Chetumal is the capital of the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, and the capital of the Municipio (County) of Othón P. Blanco. Othón P. Blanco is the only municipio of Mexico, that has land borders with two nations (Belize and Guatemala), thus sharing this characteristic with the state of Quintana Roo.
History
The city was founded by the military, in 1898, who had the mission of protecting the borders (after more than 50 years of disagreements) accorded by the governments of Mexico and Great Britain. A lot earlier, it had been a Mayan realm governed by Nachan Ka án. He was given two Spanish slaves, one of whom was Gonzalo Guerrero. Guerrero assimilated to his new society, learned the language and taught new war tactics to Nachan Ka án's warriors. With this knowledge, the warriors defeated incoming Spanish conquistadors and Nachan Ka án became a great leader. He made Guerrero a captain and gave him one of his daughters, Zazil Há. Guerrero and Zazil Há had many children who are known to be the first mestizos in America by matrimony. For this reason Chetumal is called Cuna del Mestizaje (cradle of the Mestizo).
Get in
By plane
- 1 Chetumal Airport (CTM IATA). offers a limited selection of flights to major cities in Mexico.
It is also possible to fly into airports across the border, in Belize, and cross by land into Chetumal.Another option is to fly into Cancún or Merida and take a bus from the airport.
By car
Mexico's Federal Route 186 traverses the sparsely populated southern half of the Yucatán between Escárcega and Chetumal. After Ucum, the only municipality with services such as gas and lodging between Escárcega and Chetumal is Xpujil. Federal Route 307 branches off Route 186 to the north towards Cancun, from a point about 30 km west of Chetumal.
By bus
Several bus companies offer routes across the Peninsula to Escárcega, or north to Cancún and other cities on the Mayan Riviera. The main bus terminal, i.e. ADO terminal, where most buses arrive to is located about two kilometers north of the city center (in the crossing of Av. Insurgentes and Av. Belice). There's an official taxi stand right outside the terminal, and a taxi to the center costs about M$20 (pesos).
If you're arriving from Belize, your bus might arrive to the "old ADO station" (la terminal antigua de ADO) on Salvador Novo street near Av. Insurgentes and Av. Belice. This is also where you go to catch BBOC buses to Belize. Buses no longer stop at the New Market (Nuevo Mercado).
When leaving Mexico at the Belize border, you will be charged a fee of M$533 (as of May 2018) unless you can show proof that you paid the immigration fee when you entered Mexico. Your FMM tourist card is not enough. If you crossed at a land border, you'll need the actual receipt from when you paid the fee. If you reached Mexico via a commercial flight, you've may have already paid the fee with your airfare, but the border guards here do not care. You might be able to convince them if you have a print-out of an itemized receipt from the airline showing that this specific fee was included.
If you show up with proof of payment, your embassy/consulate's phone number, patience, and time, you'll avoid this scam. Just take your time and be polite.
By boat
- [dead link]San Pedro Belize Express, ✉[email protected]. has air conditioned boats leaving Caye Caulker at 07:00 & San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Belize to Chetumal daily at 07:30. The boat returns from Chetumal at 15:30. The terminal is on the pier in front of Wahoo's Bar and Grill in San Pedro, in front of the basketball court in Caye Caulker, and from the Municipal Pier in Chetumal. Tickets can be purchased at their website. US$30 one way and US$55 round trip.
Get around
- Busses to the Border Depart from a small office on Av. Primo de Verdad between 16 de Septiembre and Miguel Hidalgo. It is walking distance from the Maya Museum and the cost is M$14.
See
- The Museum of Mayan Culture (Museo de la Cultura Maya), Av. Héroes, in the corner of Mahatma Gandhi, ☏ 52 983 832 6838. Tu-Th Su 09:00-19:00, F Sa 09:00-20:00. Get to know the importance of the Yucatan peninsula's Mayan civilization, see many sculptures and scaled down versions of temples and palaces. Learn about the Mayan principal economic activities and how they are carried out while discovering the Mayan numerical system. You can also learn and use the Mayan calendar.
- The Fine Arts Cultural Center (Centro Cultural de las Bellas Artes), Av. Héroes, in the corner of Chapultepec. Tu-Su 09:00-19:00. Located within the walls of the antique Belisario Dominguez school. Inside you'll find an open air theater, an art walk and the Chetumal museum. There's also a dance school, music school and the institute of culture.
- Boulevard Bahía (by the sea shore). About a 3-km long walk by the sea. Many restaurants and bars, the governal palace and park, and many sculptures. The board walk ends at the sculpture of the manatees but the road continues to village of Calderitas
- Calderitas (6 km north of Chetumal). A fishing village with many seafood restaurants. If feeling adventurous, get in by the cheap and crowded communal ride that leaves next to the Mayan culture museum.
Archeological sites
There are many archeological sites near Chetumal and they're relatively close to each other. The ones below are open 08:00-17:00 daily, admission only until 16:20. Bring a lot of water and some snacks with you as many of the sight stores are not always open. A mosquito repellent doesn't hurt either.
- Oxtankah (7 km north of Calderitas). A Maya city which includes small temples, palaces, plazas etc. about a kilometer from the bay line.
- Kohunlich (65 km east of Chetumal). Famous for its grand stone carved masks and exotic species of flora and fauna. The temple of the masks was built on the 6th century and is one of the most noticed amongst the Mayan culture.
- Dzibanché (75 km east of Chetumal). Mayan city ruins. The temple VI was built around 200 BC, and about five hundred years later Dzibanché developed into a greater city.
- Kinichná (Two kilometers from Dzibanché). Partly well preserved town. It was originally lesser in hierarchy than Dzibanché. Principal pyramid consists of three levels with a wide stairway that leads to two other temples.
- Chacchoben (60 km north of Chetumal). Largest Mayan settlement belonging to the region of the lakes.
Do
- Bulebuzz (Leaves by the Mayan culture museum). Ride the Bulebuzz and see the city. Bulebuzz is a small bus that runs down the Avenida Héroes to Boulevard Bahía, which it covers fully.
- Reef diving and snorkeling. The city does not offer diving but you can go to Mahahual to dive and snorkel with access to Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
Work
Chetumal is more and more becoming the Mesoamerican center of environmental friendly technologies. Efforts by individuals belonging to the private sector, in this direction, have begun to show signs of success.
Buy
Finding other than Mexican products from Chetumal is not easy. As there are not many tourists, most of the stores actually sell stuff to the locals.
- Belize Free Zone (Zona Libre de Belice) (11 km from the city off the Chetumal-Belize highway). Located by the border Belize Free Zone houses over three hundred stores. You can shop at many of the duty free stores for clothing, perfumes, liquors, and electronics. You can try your luck at any of the three casinos or eat in one of the many restaurants. No documents or passports should be needed as you will not go through Belize immigration, but take them with you anyways just be safe. Entrance fee about US$1.
Eat
Typical local joints can be found here and there around the city, but there are basically no places on the main street Avenida Héroes between the Mayan culture museum and the sea. For fancier places go to Boulevard Bahía. The fishing village Calderitas' main economy is restaurant industry and you can find a lot of good seafood restaurants there.
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Drink
Also the bar scene of Chetumal is quite thin. Boulevard Bahía has some bars.
- El Horno Creativo: Biergarten Café (El Horno: Biergarten, café &Snacks), 17 Zaragoza Ave, Col Barrio Bravo,Chetumal, Quintana Roo CP 77098 (Corner with Isla Contoy Street (15 meters from Bahía Blvd)), ☏ 52 983 2853135. Tu-Su 20:00 - 02:00. The coffee beverage (cold or hot) that you prefer, prepared according to quality standards of Cafetería La Barra, Mexico City.; The genuine barrel beer at 2°C, as in the famous German beer gardens (biergartens); Snacks, with original recipes of El Horno Creativo (Buffalo chicken wings, roasted ribs, tacos al pastor)
Sleep
There are at least 20 places to sleep in at Chetumal. Get a copy of a guide magazine from the Mayan culture museum or ask a taxi driver if you don't know where you're going.
Budget
- Hotel Ucum, Av. Mahatma Gandhi 167 (100 meters east of Museo de la Cultura Maya), ☏ 52 983 832 0711. Clean and well located budget hotel. Double room with private bath and fan and without a TV, M$220.
Mid-range
Splurge
- Capital Plaza Hotel, Avenida Héroes 171-A, ☏ 52 800 712 1717.
- Hotel los Cocos, Avenida Héroes 134, ☏ 52 983 835 0430.
Connect
- Tourist Security (Seguridad al Turista), ☏ 52 1 800 903 9200.
- Quintana Roo Police (Policia Estatal), ☏ 52 983 832 9600.
- Emergency (Emergencias). Dial 066.
- General Hospital, ☏ 52 983 832 1932.
- Chetumal Tourism (Turismo Municipal), ☏ 52 983 833 2465.
Stay safe
Chetumal is quite safe. Since there are not a lot of tourists, you can easily get through a week without anyone trying to fool you. Taxi drivers don't usually try to drive you into places more expensive than what you are looking for.
Cope
English is not commonly spoken.
Go next
- Mahahual
- Costa Maya - Get anywhere on Costa Maya by taking a bus from the ADO bus terminal, 2 km north of city center.
Belize
There no departure tax when leaving Mexico, although charging a M$200 tax is quite common. Look on the web for Mexican Belize exit fee scam.
By car
Get on the Chetumal-Belize highway and drive to Belize.
By bus
To get a bus to Belize, you can either go to ADO terminal or New Market (Nueva Mercado), the latter being probably the better choice. Taxi drives usually know where New Market is, and nowadays also from where the buses leave. Bus from New Market to Belize City costs M$90 and runs farely often via Orange Walk where a break of 15 minutes is usually scheduled. These buses are older and have no A/C, and they stop often. Once you arrive to New Market, someone will approach you and tell about the schedules. These guys are working for the bus company and not just there to rip you off.
ADO terminal also has a service to Belize but it's less frequent and more expensive.
By boat
You can also get a boat from Chetumal to San Pedro, from where you can continue to Caye Caulker or to Belize City. As of January 2015, a one-way trip from Chetumal to San Pedro is US$45 on Belize Express Water Taxi [1] and US$50 on San Pedro Water Taxi [2]. Including preparation to depart, the latter took around 2 hours.
| Routes through Chetumal |
| Escárcega ← Xpujil ← | W  E | → Jct north-south branch  → END |
| END at Jct 5 km north of border ← Santa Elena ← | N S | →  → becomes Northern Highway → Corozal → Orange Walk → Belize City |
| Cancun← Felipe Carrillo Puerto ← Mahahual ← Bacalar ← | N  S | → END at Jct 20.5 km west of town |