7 within 3½ hours · 2 under 2 hours
From Ciudad del Carmen the road east along the coast crosses the Puente de la Unidad to Isla Aguada, a fishing village on the Laguna de Términos where boats go out to see dolphins. Inland, Palizada is a river town of red-tiled roofs reached through wetlands, the only Pueblo Mágico in Campeche's far south. Over the state line in Tabasco is Frontera, at the mouth of the Grijalva, and for a weekend, the Maya ruins of Palenque and the sierra town of Tapijulapa.
Best months for the area: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec (when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons)
Day trips (under 2 hours) 2
Close enough to drive there and back from Ciudad del Carmen in a day. Closest first.
~1 h 40 min · 115 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec
Fiestas: May, Jun, Jul, Sep, Dec
Weekend escapes (2 to 3½ hours) 5
Worth a night or two. Closest first.
~2 h 25 min · 165 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Mar, May, Aug, Nov, Dec
~3 h 20 min · 225 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Nov, Dec
On the map
Getting there
Ciudad del Carmen has its own airport, Ciudad del Carmen (CME), so you can fly in and rent a car there.
A car is the easiest way to reach most of these towns; the bigger ones also have direct buses from Ciudad del Carmen. Each pueblo's page has its own getting-there notes.
Drive times are from OpenStreetMap routing without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance and may run longer on mountain roads.