Is Boquillas Del Carmen Worth it?

I think Boquillas del Carmen is an interesting cultural experience and absolutely worth visiting! However, I have read a few travel blogs where they did not recommend it. In the end, if you only have a day or two in Big Bend, you may want to focus your time in the national park.

However, I went to Boquillas del Carmen as a kid over 30 years ago when I was about 10 and I distinctly remember it. While it may not be super exciting or have a lot of things to do, as a child it was really interesting to see another culture and how other people there live.

Check in At the USA Border Crossing

You are crossing into another country, so if you will need either a USA passport or passport card. Be sure to check the NPS site for all of the details in advance as the border crossing is only open certain days.

Cross the rio grande in a row boat

Someone from Boquillas del Carmen will row you across the Rio Grande for a $5 round trip ticket.

Hike to town or ride a burro?

It is about a half mile walk to town. It is an easy walk or you can pay to ride a burro (or horse) to take you to roundtrip to the town. The cost when we went was $10-15 per person. My wife and I walked and the kids rode burros.

should you hire a guide?

There will be numerous people offering to guide you through town. However, it is optional and the guides seemed respectful to those that declined.

We chose to hire a guide, wanting to support the local economy and hoping to get some extra information about the town. The guide did answer some questions and let us visit his home, which was interesting. However, his wife does sell goods so their was some self promotion. Also, my 6 year old daughter really enjoyed playing with their puppy. Additionally, I think it was eye opening for my older daughters to see how people here lived, mostly in 1 or 2 room homes.

Be aware that the fee for the guide is not pre-determined. Our guide also waited while we ate lunch. After about 1.5 hours, we paid him $20. I did feel a little rushed having a guide, so if you are looking to just hang out and explore, you may be best on your own. Additionally, our guide did not have great English so information was limited.

Where to Get Lunch?

There are two restaurant options right at the front of town. We ate at Jose Falcons. The other is Boquillas Restaurant Bar.

The food was good, but be prepared to pay US prices, there isn’t much of a discount for dining on the Mexico side of the border. US dollars are accepted as well.

Buy Souveneirs

Tourism and souvenir sales is the main income source for Boquillas del Carmen. In fact, there were donations to support the town while the border was closed during the covid pandemic.

I did not feel that sellers were overly pushy, but you should be prepared to be solicited by young children. Additionally, while some of the items are hand made, a lot of the items seemed to be mass produced (probably in China). However, we let each of our children pick out a small gift during their visit.