South from the border, the road meets the sea at Corozal, near the mouth of the New River. The ancient Maya prospered here by controlling river and seaborne trade, and two sites, Santa Rita and Cerros, are both within easy reach.

The present town was founded here in 1849 by refugees from the massacre in Bacalar, Mexico, who were hounded south by the Caste Wars. Today's grid-pattern town is a neat mix of Mexican and Caribbean, its appearance largely due to reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Janet in 1955.

There's little to do in Corozal, but it's an agreeable place to spend the day on the way to or from the border, and is hassle-free, even at night. The breezy shoreline park is good for a stroll, while on the tree-shaded main plaza, the town hall is worth a look inside for a vivid depiction of local history in a mural by Manuel Villamar Reyes. In two corners of the plaza you can see the remains of a small fort, built to ward off Maya attacks in the late 1800s.

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