San Carlos sits on the Sea of Cortez just outside Guaymas, in Sonora — one of our favourite overnight stops when we’re heading south on Mex 15.
It started as a planned beach community, and today about 3,000 people call it home — a number that swells past 7,000 once the winter snowbirds roll in. The bays here are clear and shallow, which is why San Carlos has become such a draw for swimming, scuba diving, fishing, boating and sailing.
Summers are hot and humid. Winters are the opposite — mild enough that RV parks, hotels and resorts fill up with Canadians and Americans escaping the cold.
Watching over all of it is Tetakawi Hill, a jagged double peak the Yaqui called the “broken mountain.” Locals have their own, more colourful name for it in Spanish.
San Carlos is just 5-6 hours — about 400 km — south of the Arizona border on Mex 15, which makes it a natural first-night stop if you’re driving into Mexico. We’ve stayed here more times than we can count.
Watch the full 60-second reel above, and if you’re planning your own drive south, we’ve got guides to Mexican auto insurance, border crossings and road conditions right here on the site.
Have you stopped in San Carlos on your way south? Tell us in the comments.
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