Big Bend, located in West Texas, is one of the most beautiful national parks, with sweeping desert vistas, towering canyon walls, and the Chisos Mountains. One of its most unique features, though, is that you can actually cross the iconic Rio Grande into the teeny town of Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico! Whether you want to get an authentic taco and marg fix or just want to walk your way into Mexico, here’s everything you need to know about visiting Boquillas del Carmen from Big Bend National Park.
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Visiting Boquillas del Carmen, frequently just called “Boquillas”, from Big Bend National Park is a super unique experience. Big Bend is actually the only U.S. National Park where you can literally walk into Mexico! But it’s not quite as simple as just strolling across the Rio Grande.
Before we dive into everything you need to know about visiting Boquillas, let’s back up a bit to look at how the town got there in the first place.
History of Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico
Boquillas, found along the Rio Grande in northern Mexico, was originally founded as a mining town in the late 19th century. However, only a couple decades later, mining here ceased and the town’s population dwindled to almost nothing.
In the 1930s, a massive U.S.-Mexico international peace park was proposed, which would join Big Bend National Park and Mexico’s Maderas del Carmen, with Boquillas right smack dab in the middle of it.
While the peace park never came to fruition, Big Bend visitors still started to flock to Boquillas. The town’s population rebounded and, by the 1970s, most of its economy became reliant on tourism. Nowadays, the teeny town can get up to 2,500 visitors per month from its neighbor across the Rio Grande!
How to Get to Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico
While Boquillas is located in Mexico, the best way to get to and from the town is through Big Bend National Park. In fact, the only other way to get to Boquillas is from the tiny town of Muzquiz, Mexico, which is still a four hour drive down a dusty road in the extremely remote Chihuahuan Desert.
How to get to Big Bend National Park
Although Big Bend is a popular national park, it’s also quite remote, located deep into west Texas, along the Mexican border. In fact, it’s pretty far from any major city.
Here’s how long it will take you to get to Big Bend from some of the larger cities in Texas:
- El Paso: 5 and a half hours away
- San Antonio: 6 hours and 50 minutes away
- Austin: 7 hours and 45 minutes away
- Dallas: 8 hours and 50 minutes away
- Houston: 9 and a half hours away
Accordingly, you’ll definitely need a car to get to and around the park.
Boquillas Port of Entry
Once you’re in the park, you’ll need to make your way to the Boquillas Port of Entry (also referred to as Boquillas Crossing), located on its southeastern border.
It’s important to note that the Port of Entry is not open every day. Its hours are:
- From November 2 – April 28: Open Wednesdays through Sundays, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- From May 3 – November 1: Open Fridays through Mondays, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
My husband, Justin, and I visited in March and originally accidentally got the days the Port of Entry is open wrong, arriving on a Monday. While it wasn’t all bad (we spent the morning at the Big Bend Hot Springs instead!), it was a bit annoying to have to drive over an hour from our campsite (one-way!) to the Port of Entry multiple days in a row.
Given that going to Boquillas is one of the most popular things to do in Big Bend and the limited parking around the Port of Entry, we’d strongly advise showing up here early, especially if you wind up visiting during a busy time, like weekends during spring or fall.
We visited during spring break and the parking area was so full that the rangers actually shut the entire area down to any traffic. We were eventually able to park, but there was a hours of waiting and anxious circling around for a spot.
Once you’ve secured a parking spot (woohoo!), you’ll enter the Boquillas Port of Entry, where you’ll need to show your valid passport or passport card to the U.S. Border Patrol agents.
While the border agents do a much more thorough passport check when you return from Boquillas, they still make sure you have it before entering the border crossing station. Having a driver’s license or other form of identification other than a valid passport is not sufficient.
After you show your passport, you’ll walk through the small Port of Entry building, which has two restrooms with running water in it (which can be hard to find in remote national parks!). Past here, you’ll walk about five minutes down a mostly flat, dirt pathway, until you reach a clearing along the Rio Grande.
Crossing into Boquillas del Carmen
To get to Boquillas, you’ll, of course, need to cross the Rio Grande.
To do so, you’ll take the “Boquillas International Ferry”—i.e., locals with rowboats that will take you across for $5 (in cash) per person roundtrip. Alternatively, if the water level is low enough, the men oftentimes will actually just walk across the river, dragging the boats full of tourists to and from each side—it’s pretty funny to watch!
This is how it was when we visited, with water that was less than knee deep. Since we were wearing our trusty Tevas and thought walking across the Rio Grande into Mexico sounded like a unique experience, we just walked ourselves across the river.
If you want to do this, just be sure the water level is low enough—the current can be deceivingly strong! Plus, taking the boat across is a great way to support the locals.
After you cross the Rio Grande, there will be more locals awaiting you, offering rides into town on burros ($5 roundtrip), horses ($8 roundtrip), or by truck ($5 roundtrip). While I’m all about supporting the locals, I’d strongly advise against taking the burros or horses into town—they didn’t appear to be treated very well during our visit. If you choose to get a ride of any sort from one of the locals, they’ll give you a ticket for your return trip back to the Rio Grande.
We chose to walk the 0.5 miles flat dirt pathway into town, which took about 15 minutes or so.
Once you’re in town, you should check into the Mexican immigration office, located in a trailer near the entrance of the town. They’ll check your passport here and, sometimes, charge you $3 USD, as you’re technically in the Maderas del Carmen Protected Area.
In full transparency, we walked around Boquillas and couldn’t figure out where we were supposed to go to check in with Mexican immigration. So we simply continued to wander around the town without checking in and didn’t get bothered. That being said, I’d strongly recommend trying to check in during your visit—messing around with immigration is definitely no bueno.
What to do in Boquillas del Carmen
Boquillas is a teeny town, with just a handful of buildings. Still, there’s plenty to keep you busy for a couple of hours.
Get your guac fix at the restaurants
There’s two restaurants in town that are directly across the street from each other and owned by the same family:
- the Boquillas Restaurant, which is the cheaper option but has a pretty limited menu, and
- Jose Falcon, which is a bit pricier, but has a nice patio overlooking the Rio Grande and the surrounding canyons and a much more expansive menu
We wound up stopping at Jose Falcon for some chips and guac, a vegetarian taco, a vegetarian burrito, and two margs.
In our experience, the service was quite slow (although, looking at Google reviews, perhaps that was just a fluke?) and the prices were generally on par with what you’d expect in the United States, but, nevertheless the food and drinks were quite tasty. Plus there was live music and views of the Rio Grande to keep us occupied while we waited for our food!
Get a drink
If you’ve still got room in your tummy after your meal in town, consider popping over to the Park Bar, which has a small selection of cervezas, tequila, mezcal, sotol, and sodas, as well as a pool table and a dart board.
When we visited, the bar was totally empty, but we’ve heard that it can have a really fun, lively vibe at times, with tons of tourists and locals mingling and enjoying drinks together.
Tip: Try the sotol, a type of spirit that’s made from a succulent found in the Chihuahuan Desert. It has a brighter and more earthy taste than tequila or mezcal—plus we loved that it was a type of spirit that was unique to this part of the globe!
Peruse the locals’ handicrafts
Throughout the town, you’ll find several shops and stands selling locally-made handicrafts, like embroidered shirts, small sculptures made out of wire, or woven bracelets. Many Boquillas families make their living by selling these souvenirs, so, if anything strikes your fancy, pick up something to remember your time in this unique place!
Just be sure not to buy anything that has feathers or animal fur or bones in it—you won’t be able to take it back into the United States!
Tour outside of Boquillas’ downtown
While you can easily walk the length of Boquillas’ downtown in a few minutes, there’s actually a ton of cool things in this area that wouldn’t quite be walkable, like old mines, hot springs along the Rio Grande, and sand dunes, canyons, and mountains surrounding the town.
If you’d prefer to organize this ahead of time, there’s a tour guide named Esteban Onate that provides a variety of tours around Boquillas that you can choose from, like an all-day tour, including lunch, for around $150 USD. You can reach out to him before your trip at [email protected] or at 1-830-765-6072.
Alternatively, you can just ask some of the locals that wait on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande to take visitors into town if they can direct you to any guides. They’re friendly and happy to help!
Returning to Big Bend from Boquillas
When you’re ready to head back to the good ol’ United States, you’ll either need to track down the guide that brought you into town from the Rio Grande (this is much easier than it sounds, given how small Boquillas is!) or simply walk back.
After you cross the Rio Grande, you’ll make your way back to the Boquillas Port of Entry and have to clear customs, including a passport check and questions to ensure you’re not bringing anything you shouldn’t be back into the U.S.
One super important thing to note here is that the Port of Entry promptly closes at 4 PM—meaning, if you arrive at the border any time after 4 PM, you will not be able to get back into the United States until whenever the Port of Entry opens next.
We were told by the border crossing agents that, even if you’re just waiting in line behind other visitors to get your passport checked at 4 PM, the agents can and will leave. I’m not sure the veracity of that statement but I personally wouldn’t want to risk it—I’d advise leaving Boquillas no later than 3:15 PM so you’ll have plenty of time to get through customs and back into the United States.
What to bring to Boquillas
- Passport: You won’t be able to get past the Port of Entry without it!
- Plenty of cash: Boquillas’ businesses and vendors do not take credit cards, but do take U.S. dollars—so no need to worry about getting pesos! There aren’t any ATMs on the Mexican side, but there is one at the Rio Grande Village Visitor Center, just about five minutes from the Port of Entry.
I’d recommend bringing more cash than you might think you’d need. After traveling extensively in Mexico, most of the prices I’ve encountered in the country have been quite a bit lower than in the United States, but that definitely isn’t the case in Boquillas! You can expect to pay around the same amount as you would at any bars or restaurants in Terlingua, Texas.
- Sun protection: The sun can be HOT here—we visited in March and the temperature still soared over 95 degrees during our visit!
So be sure to bring along plenty of sunscreen and other sun protection, like a hat and sunglasses. Other than if you’re in one of the buildings, there’s really no shade here! - Water: You can find bottles of water in Boquillas, but I’d recommend taking along a big refillable bottle of water to keep you nice and hydrated amidst the desert heat. Just remember not to fill up in Boquillas or you might get sick!
- Hiking sandals: If you’re visiting during a timeframe when the Rio Grande is low and you’d prefer to walk across the river, I’d suggest bringing along hiking sandals, like our beloved Tevas, which helpfully double as water shoes!
Frequently asked questions about visiting Boquillas del Carmen
Is visiting Boquillas del Carmen worth it?
Boquillas is an itty bitty town and admittedly has a lot less things to do than some of Mexico’s more popular destinations, like Oaxaca or Mexico City.
Nevertheless, it’s incredibly unique that you can cross the Rio Grande into a whole different country, explore a tiny Mexican town, have some delicious authentic food and drinks, and cross back into the United States, all in just a few hours.
In full transparency, if you have just one day in Big Bend National Park, I’d personally recommend prioritizing experiencing some of the amazing hikes in the park, like the Lost Mine Trail, Balanced Rock Trail, or the Windows Trail, as opposed to visiting Boquillas. However, if you have two or more days in Big Bend, I think it’s absolutely worth including in your Big Bend itinerary.
Is visiting Boquillas del Carmen safe?
In a nutshell, yes, Boquillas is very safe.
Unlike other border towns, like Tijuana or Nuevo Laredo, you won’t find nightclubs with throbbing music or a Red Light District here—rather, you’ll find a quiet town of 200 residents that exists almost solely on tourism.
From digging around the Internet, it seems like there’s been about two violent crimes against tourists in Boquillas over the last three decades (which, for context, is considerably less crime than has been reported at Disney World over the same time period).
When this incidents occurred, the United States responded by closing the border to Boquillas for an extended period of time, effectively crippling the town’s economy. So the town has a vested interest in keeping you and all other visitors safe during your time in the town.
Do you need to know Spanish to visit Boquillas del Carmen?
In our experience, no, you do not need to speak Spanish. All of the people working at the shops, restaurants, and stalls speak basic English.
That being said, if you have any health concerns (like sever allergies you may have to communicate to your waiter or some other kind of medical condition), I’d suggest downloading Spanish on Google Translate on your phone to ensure you can communicate if necessary.
When to visit Boquillas del Carmen
The best time to visit Big Bend National Park and Boquillas are from October through March, when the skies are clear and the temperatures are more moderate. As mentioned above, even when we visited in March, the temperature was over 95 degrees!
Otherwise, I’d recommend trying to schedule your visit when the Port of Entry first opens. Not only will you have a better chance of snagging a parking spot if you’re visiting during a busier time period, but you’ll also have more flexibility to enjoy the town and explore outside of its “downtown” area, if you so choose.
When we visited, we weren’t able to find a parking spot by the Port of Entry until the early afternoon and after experiencing slow service at Jose Falcon, felt stressed and rushed to get back to the border in time. If we had just shown up an hour or two earlier, we would have been able to kick back, listen to live music along the Rio Grande, and enjoy a marg or two.
We really enjoyed our visit to Boquillas and hope you have a blast in this quirky town, too! Do you have any questions about visiting Boquillas? Let us know in the comments below!
