Chetumal

Members Login

South of Tulum the scenery along Highway 307 takes on a new look as the road passes through humid, hardwood jungle, wending its way 120 miles to Chetumal, capital of Quintana Roo. This port town has a large, busy harbor that ships products of the peninsula such as chicle, tobacco, bananas, and precious hardwoods.

Chetumal has only lately become a stop on tourist itineraries. Now accessible by Highway 186 that comes east from Escarcega and by Highway 307 down the Caribbean coast, its free port status makes it a preferred place for picking up duty free foreign luxuries. Chetumal is also the take off point for trips to Belize (just across the river) and to Central America.

Though a hurricane target, Chetumal has modern storm warning systems and extrasturdy building construction that allow the city to continue its busy economic life almost unaffected by the weather. Modest accommodations and good restaurants are available.

For those who wish to learn more about the Yucatan, the best travel book ever written about it is still that by John L. Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, first published in 1841 and recently reissued in paperback.