Layout of Guaymas
Guaymas is built around a hooked natural harbour on the Gulf of California — the Sea of Cortez — where the Sonoran Desert runs straight into the water and bare volcanic hills shelter the anchorage from every direction. Jesuits established a mission at the site in 1701 and the presidio of San José de Guaymas followed in 1769; the port was opened to foreign trade in 1814 and its position made it the natural outlet for the mines of the interior. The city centre is compact and set back from the quays, laid out around the Plaza 13 de Julio and the 19th-century church of San Fernando, with Avenida Serdán, the main street, running parallel to the shore past the customs house, the fish market and the naval base. Behind it the colonias climb the hillsides; the malecón and the ferry terminal are at the eastern end of the waterfront.
This is a working port rather than a resort. Guaymas is the principal deep-water harbour of Sonora, shipping copper concentrate from the mines at Cananea and La Caridad, wheat from the Yaqui valley and cement, and it supports one of the larger shrimp and sardine fleets in Mexico along with dry docks and a naval command. General José María Yáñez International (GYM) is about 8 km north-west of the centre on the San Carlos road, with limited scheduled service; most visitors use Hermosillo (HMO), 130 km north. Highway 15D, the toll road along the Pacific side of the country, passes just inland, and the Ferromex line from Nogales to Guadalajara runs through Empalme on the far side of the bay. The municipality had 156,863 residents at the 2020 census, roughly three-quarters of them in the city itself.
Distances from Guaymas
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bahía Bacochibampo (Miramar) | 6 | 10 min | City road west |
| Guaymas airport (GYM) | 8 | 10 min | San Carlos road, taxi |
| Empalme | 10 | 15 min | Highway 15 around the bay |
| San Carlos | 20 | 20 min | Highway 124 north-west |
| Hermosillo (state capital) | 130 | 1 h 30 | Highway 15D north |
| Ciudad Obregón | 130 | 1 h 30 | Highway 15D south |
| Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur | 190 | 10 h | Ferry across the Gulf |
| Navojoa (Álamos turn-off) | 200 | 2 h 15 | Highway 15D south |
| Los Mochis | 350 | 3 h 45 | Highway 15D south |
| Nogales (US border) | 400 | 4 h 15 | Highway 15D north |
San Carlos, Empalme and the bay
San Carlos, sometimes called Nuevo Guaymas, lies about 20 km north-west on its own bay, below the twin rock summits of Cerro Tetakawi, roughly 400 m above the water. It was developed from the 1960s as a marina and sport-fishing base and holds most of the visitor accommodation in the district, along with a winter population from the United States and Canada; the film of Catch-22 was shot on a runway built beside the bay in 1969. The diving is on rocky reefs and the sea mounts offshore, and the marine park at Isla San Pedro Nolasco, 25 km out, holds a sea lion colony. Closer in, Bahía Bacochibampo — Playa Miramar — is the city's own beach, 6 km west of the centre and calm enough for swimming.
Across the bay to the south-east is Empalme, a separate municipality of about 55,000 people that exists because the Southern Pacific de México built its locomotive shops and marshalling yards there in 1905; the name simply means junction. Inland, the Sierra del Bacatete rises behind the coast, the range that sheltered the Yaqui through the campaigns that ended in 1929; the eight Yaqui towns lie south along the river in the irrigated valley that feeds Ciudad Obregón. The ferry to Santa Rosalía is one of only two vehicle links to the Baja California Peninsula, and Guaymas is the mid-point of the coast described on the beaches map. For the desert and the gulf see the physical map, for the highway corridor from Nogales to Sinaloa the road map, and for the surrounding tier of states Northern Mexico. Sonora keeps UTC−7 with no daylight saving, as the time zone map shows.
Questions about Guaymas
Where is Guaymas on the map of Mexico?
On the Gulf of California coast of Sonora, at 27.92° N, about 130 km south of the state capital Hermosillo on Highway 15D. It has the only large natural deep-water harbour on the Sonoran coast, enclosed by desert hills.
What is San Carlos?
A resort and marina about 20 km north-west of Guaymas on Bahía San Carlos, under the twin summits of Cerro Tetakawi. It grew from the 1960s around sport fishing, diving and a winter population of US and Canadian visitors, and is the base for boat trips in the northern Gulf.
Is there a ferry from Guaymas to Baja California?
Yes. A vehicle and passenger ferry crosses the Gulf of California to Santa Rosalía in Baja California Sur, about 190 km, an overnight run of roughly ten hours. It is the northern of the two ferry routes to the peninsula; the other runs from Topolobampo, near Los Mochis, to La Paz.
How far is Guaymas from the US border?
About 400 km to Nogales and the Arizona line, four and a quarter hours on Highway 15D. Tucson is roughly 500 km, Phoenix about 690 km.
Is Guaymas safe to visit?
The US State Department places Sonora at Level 3, reconsider travel, citing crime and kidnapping, and restricts its own employees to the Highway 15 and 15D corridor, which passes Guaymas and San Carlos. Check the current US State Department advisory before travelling.