Things to do in Quintana Roo

Quintana Roo is a young state. It stopped being a federal territory on 8 October 1974, and its capital is Chetumal rather than Cancún. The coast runs about four hundred kilometres from Cancún down to the Belize border.

Down the coast road

Almost everything in Quintana Roo happens along one highway. The 307 leaves Cancún airport and heads south with the sea on the left. Towns are strung along it in order.

• Puerto Morelos. Thirty-six kilometres down, a fishing town with the reef almost at the beach.
• Playa del Carmen. Seventy kilometres, the busiest place on the coast and the ferry port for Cozumel.
• Tulum. A hundred and thirty kilometres, with cliff ruins, cenotes and the edge of Sian Ka'an.
• Bacalar. A long freshwater lagoon in the far south, banded in several separate blues.
• Mahahual and Chetumal. The Costa Maya cruise pier and the state capital, roughly five hours from Cancún.

Why the water looks like that

The peninsula is a limestone shelf. Almost no rivers run on the surface, because rain sinks straight through and travels to the sea underground. Where a cave roof gives way, you get a cenote.

• The flooded caves. Ox Bel Ha and Sac Actun, both near Tulum, are the longest surveyed underwater cave systems known.
• The reef. The Mesoamerican Reef, the largest in the Americas, sits a few hundred metres off much of this coast.
• Cozumel. An island of wall dives, about forty-five minutes by ferry from Playa del Carmen.
• Sian Ka'an. Over half a million hectares of lagoon and forest, on the World Heritage list since 1987.

Practical

• Weather. Hot and humid all year, with hurricane season from June to November. December to April is the dry, calm window.
• Getting about. ADO coaches link every town on the 307, and colectivo vans fill the gaps. The Maya Train opened in stages from December 2023.
• Two airports. Cancún serves the whole coast. Tulum's opened in December 2023 and shortens the drive if you are staying south.
• Seaweed. Sargassum varies by stretch and by week. Open beaches facing south collect the most of it.
• Clocks. The state has kept Eastern time since 2015, an hour ahead of the rest of Mexico.
• Protected areas. Sian Ka'an, Contoy and the reef parks charge separate fees and cap numbers.
• Sunscreen. Cenote and marine parks ask for reef-safe formulas, and many make you rinse first.
• Cash. Cenote gates, colectivos and village stalls want pesos.