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Matamoros, Mexico, Day Trips and Tours
New! Daily Day-Trips Matamoros roundtrip $12 per person
from
Rio RV Park
Brownsville, Texas

You might want to visit these pages to see what an "On The Border by the Sea" with Low Crime is like!
The free day trips from Rio RV Park to Matamoros and Progresso, Mexico are no longer due to the news media's stories. Our guide found another job due to the press on Mexico. I travel in Mexico regularly with no problems, just following same good sense precautions I use in the USA and Canada. The opposition is to great too over come.


Explore Matamoros, Mexico from Rio RV Park. The Rio office has information on shopping, dining, historical, heritage, and cultural day trips, tours, and activities. Plus, find information on border crossing requirements, insurance, purchase amounts & limitations, parking in US, bridge of choice, and Duty Free Shopping. Shopping can include curios, jewelry, boots, leathers, horns, clothes, hats, vanilla, cigarettes, liquor, beer, soda pop or soft drinks, medicines, blankets, pottery, and lots more. Excellent dining and services can include Mexican, seafood, steaks, chicken, or any combination to fit your tastes. Food is reasonably priced, safe and delicious. Stay in your RV, Rental Unit, or Tent.
Find maps and information at the park office.

See specific days for day trips on our Calendar page linking to monthly calendars.


Enjoy heritage, cultural, and historical events and festivals all year. Heritage and Historical events like Cinco de Mayo, Fall and Spring Festivals, Charro Days, Christmas, and others can be enjoyed both in Matamoros, Mexico and Brownsville, Texas. Cultural events like Gastronomical Feast (Taste of Matamoros) in January and September have food, drink, and folkloric dancing. The Mexican people are very family oriented and friendly. Rio organizes these trips with Matamoros Language Institute (CEB) twice a year. Rio guests meet adult students one on one learning English. The students give you a tour and a meal. Lots more opportunities are available even in daily day trips and tours.


Make the most of your Matamoros visit by staying at Rio RV Park in your RV (see RV Sites), our Rental Unit, or your Tent. Our Information Packet you receive at registration has a Matamoros Map and Customs Regulations, Assorted Tours, plus our knowledge of shopping and dining options can help you make the best choice for you. Call 866-279-1775 to discuss the advantages of reserving at Rio. Visit Reservations and Rates to see prices and park layout Site Views to see individual sites.


The Day Trips or Tours are via carpool and public transportation. You can feel comfortable going on your own or with fellow Rvers with park office information and maps or after a few guided tours. Matamoros is just across the Rio Grande River from Brownsville. Parking is in U.S. with walking two blocks through customs and across the bridge to shopping and dining is easy. Public transportation to the Historical Center, Market, and other locations can be obtained at the bridge on the Matamoros side. Personal expenses on our tours and day trips are parking, your own food and drinks, plus shopping. A van for $8.00 can be arranged to ride from Brownsville to the Market seven days a week. Cost of many items can be about 25% of what you would pay back home for curios, blankets, vanilla, etc. Shopping for the kids, grandkids, and friends back home for Christmas or birthdays adds something very special to the gift. Save money and being really appreciated is like hitting two home runs. It is a fun day on your own or with a group no matter how many times you go.
 
Costumes of many worn at The Taste of Matamoros in February and other festivals. Costumes are part of folklorica dances of different regions.

What do I need to cross into Mexico?

USA and Canadian citizens basically need a passport effective June 1, 2009. Keeping up to date on changing information since 9/11 can be done by visiting these government web sites. The main Immigration and Naturalization Service web site is: www.ins.usdoj.gov or the site for Entry Papers is: www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/howdoi/legadmit.htm If you have any questions you can check as you enter into Mexico with the Border Patrol on the US side. The US Customs site http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/ will let you know the rules of crossing with purchases under their main site at TRAVELER INFORMATION.

The center of town Hidalgo Square boasts a cathedral dating to the early 1800, city hall, a Parisian restaurant, and periodic events and festivals give you a look at the citizens of Matamoros. The plaza also supports a Church's Fried Chicken restaurant and a Burger King is about a block away for those on US food only. The plaza is the city's main place for people watching by both the locals and visitors.
Hidalgo Plaza or main square in Matamoros Mexico
Click for Hidalgo Plaza Slide Show - 92KB size
A driving tour via a local tour company or the trolly offered at the International Bridge tourism office of Matamoros offers many unique plazas or squares which Mexico as a whole is noted for. The Historic restored buildings are very evident when driving around just like in Brownsville. A driving or walking tour of the downtown area has much to enjoy both Historicly and Culturely.
Matamoros restored historic buildings
Click for Slide Show of tour - 129KB
The Cross House, a two story red brick home, represents one of the many different building styles of the middle 1800's. The house is like a museum today and very near the downtown shopping market.
Cross House Museum located in Matamoros Mx
Click for Slide Show on Casa House - 77KB
The market is like the Mexican markets of old where the buyer and seller bargain over the price with a high price to start up front. Many of the stores are air-conditioned and near by restaurants and cafes are available for the weary shoppers. The prices are pretty well set at resonable rates outside the Market. Los Dos Republicas is a pleasent location for a drink and snack in the lower picture.
Juarez Market in Matamoros Mx
Click for shopping slide show - 256KB
Casa Mata Museum is the only remaining fort of the four original. It has a small museum and is open daily. Photos, artifacts, and uniforms paint an accurate picture of Matamoros's Historical past. All the descriptions are in Spanish. Several tours offer the museum on their tours with bilingual guides to handle the language difference.
Casa Mata Museum in Matamoros Mexico
Click for Casa Mata Slide Show - 93KB

A cemetery, built much like the one in New Orleans and Brownsville, has many above ground crypts due to the frequent flooding of the Rio Grande River in early times. A visit here can tell much of the history of the city and where the people came from.

 
  Public Transportation is very accessible with Maxi-Taxi Vans or Buses as well as the standard Taxi-cabs! A free TOURIST BUS provides regular runs back and forth from the International Bridge to the Market area. Starting Sept. 2004 a van will do daily round trips to the market. The park office will have a map of all these locations that can be given to a Taxi for a personal tour.


Progreso, Mexico is another Mexico border option. It is much smaller and really just for shopping and dining. Being about eight blocks long you can do the whole town and not get lost. Lots of the same shopping and dining, but no real Mexican Market like Matamoros where you can bargain for even lower prices. Visit our Progreso Page for more details.
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Call us to talk about a Trip to the tip - of Texas!

 Rio RV Park
8801 Boca Chica Blvd.
Brownsville, TX 78521
Phone: 956-831-4653 or 866/279-1775
Fax: 956-831-0147
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