Beyond the Postcard: Discovering Mexico’s Underrated Beach Towns
When people start to think about vacation on a beach in Mexico, they usually come up with several globally popular spots. The clubbing of the Hotel Zone of Cancun, the hippie-chic charms of the jungle clubs of Tulum, luxury meets celeb-spotting of Los Cabos, or the fashionable boardwalks of Puerto Vallarta. Those places are truly worthy of the popularity they are enjoying as the sites not only are very beautiful but have developed tourist infrastructure as well. But even in the racy shore and the turnkey megalith, there is a compromise hand, silver, and more real, a place with a town where life still goes to the flow, not the tourist high season.
These unappreciated beach towns are the hidden secrets of Mexico, the places where one will be closer to the sea soul of this country. They become the attractions of the tourist, not merely of the traveler; of the visitor who wants the smell of newly caught fish on an ocean grill instead of the drumbeat of a discotheque, the gossip of the local fishermen rather than the pitch of the tour leader, and the hidden cove rather than the well-controlled row of resort deck chairs. The trip to these destinations is an investment into a different type of vacation the one that will be slower, denser and one that will be remembered forever. Experience the raw Pacific to relaxed Caribbean coast, this is a trip to Mexico, some of the most beautiful and underrated beach towns.
- San Pancho (San Francisco), Nayarit Voted best Place to Holiday in Mexico by Conde Nest
Only a 10-minute drive to the more well-known and trendy surf and yoga Mecca of Sayulita is its conservative, civilized elder sister: San Francisco, simply referred to as San Pancho by its longtime resident and fans. Although Sayulita is filled with young people and perpetual tourist traffic, San Pancho presents a community feeling with more free style and bohemian grace.
The beach is a lovely, large, rounded expanse of golden sand being bombarded by waves of the Pacific that, too often, are better adapted to an expert surfer rather than casual bathers a fact that naturally keeps the volume down in number. Here, you won’t find vendors every five feet. What you will encounter is long stretches of tranquil shores ideal to take a walk at sunset or a ride through day on a horseback.
To some degree, what makes San Pancho very unique is its bustling community life. The town is an attraction to artists, the intellectuals and happy givers. Central to it is the Entreamigos which is nothing short of a non-profit community institution that has a library, computer lab, recycling center, and programs to educate the children of the region. Its existence speaks volumes about the town’s ethos. There is another unexpected feature that makes you think twice when looking at the location map of the village. A posh equestrian venue called La Patrona Polo & Equestrian Club is a world-class polo club and a surprising element of equestrian style in this jungle-backed place in the provinces. The tradition on the weekend, a Saturday evening, to watch a polo competition has been the favorite of the locals.
San Pancho does not have a lot of restaurants to boast with however whatever it lacks by way of numbers, it more than makes up in terms of quality and variety as San Pancho boasts a culinary spectrum that exceeds its size and population. Here, life is slow, it is sipping a coffee in one of the town cafes, Table-browsing the locally-crafted shops, attending a production of a local theater, and even experiencing, even just on a temporary basis, something of a community that loves art, nature, and people.
Why it’s Underrated: It delivers the visions of the Riviera Nayarit with a small portion of the masses of Sayulita and a far greater and stronger sense of the local community of a home based town. It is a shore to relax and to interact not only to party.
- Yelapa, Jalisco: The Boat-Access-Only Escape
Consider a village that has no roads going to it. This is the reality and the magic of Yelapa. Situated in a virgin cove on the southern coast of the seventh-largest bay in the world, the Bahia de Banderas, on the west coast of Mexico, Yelapa may be reached only by a 45-minute water taxi (panga) journey up the coast of Puerto Vallarta. This very fact has kept its exclusive nature over the many decades.
When your boat draws near you will find a strip of sand bordered by palms and on it is a little village which slopes down the fertile green hill-side to the sea. No cars, no asphalt paved roads, only rocked and dusted roads that cut through the jungle between modest houses, rustic guesthouses and al fresco restaurants. The chief method of locomotion is a pair of your own feet (and every now and then a mule).
Life in Yelapa is simply beautiful and based on two attractions a beach and some waterfalls. The primary beach is an ideal place where one can have a good swimming and sunbathing experience and can also have some grilled seafoods and strong raicilla, a regional agave drink under the shade of the palapa-covered restaurants. Here a short, leisurely stroll into the village, past the first waterfall, a favorite place to plunge into the coolness of its pool, puts you in square with the whole show. A more vigorous sort of person will find a longer, more arduous trek up the river through the jungle, when the real prize is reached, a far grander, a far more wonderful waterfall.
The most mythical beings of Yelapa are the so-called pie ladies. The village women have been baking wonderful pies: chocolate, coconut, lime and walking the beach with large plastic tubs of slices on their heads, selling it to sunbathers, generation after generation. Having a piece of Yelapa pie is a key of the experience, a bite of a legacy that has gone through the course of time.
Reasons why it is Underrated: Unanswered Mass tourism Unreached by roads and swarmed by buses It is real “unplugged” where you are required to move more slowly and enjoy a more earthy simpler lifestyle of old fashioned coastal living almost like a time warp.
- Mazunte, Oaxaca: The Mystical Heart of the Emerald Coast
The Oaxaca coast is untamed, roughed, and has some mellifluous mysticism more than any other region in Mexico. Its main attraction is Mazunte, a tiny town, a Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) named after the unusual natural beauty and valued culture.
Squeezed between two tiny bays Mazunte has been washed by powerful surf of the Pacific. The vibe here is deeply bohemian, spiritual, and eco-conscious. It is a paradise to yogis and healers, backpackers and anyone who feels the need to be at on et with nature. There are yoga shalas everywhere, open-air classes with a spectacular view of the ocean, and advertisements about meditation and cacao ceremony and sound baths are placed on palm trees.
Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga (National Mexican Turtle Center) is a key research and conservation centre located in the town that was instrumental in overhauling the area as a sea turtle harpoon hot spot into the place where they are protected. The visitor gets to know the seven species of the sea turtles that visit the Mexican shores.
An everyday pilgrimage to Punta Cometa takes place in Mazunte. It is a rocky outcropping, the most southerly bit of the state of Oaxaca that jets into the Pacific and is regarded as a sacred healing site by many. Each night a silent cavalcade of locals and travelers uses the 20 minute hike to its tip to view one of the most spectacular sunsets in all of Mexico. The feeling of reverence and awe reaches the crowd as the sun sets behind the horizon turning the sky into the breathtaking tones of fire.
Zipolite, the only official clothing-optional beach in Mexico, is a few steps or a short taxi away and is a more open and left-minded environment, and the family friendly and swim friendly bay of San Agustinillo can be found in the same manner.
Why it is Underrated: As its reputation is gaining momentum, it is still nowhere to mention compared to other destinations of the boho kind, such as Tulum. The fact that it centers its efforts on ecotourism, spirituality, and conservation provides it with some sort of depth and authenticity that is difficult to discover elsewhere.
- Mahahual, Quintana Roo: The Caribbean’s Quiet Corner
Located in the south of the hectic atmosphere of Riviera Maya (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum), a region called Costa Maya can be found. Its crown jewel is Mahahual where the sleepy fishing village has some insight of what Portuguese Mexico Caribbean used to be prior to the mega resorts taking over.
Mahahual has a fascinating dual personality. The town becomes busy when a cruise ship visits its local port, its sandy beach malecn (boardwalk) becoming busy with passengers on their search of beach clubs, cheap massages and souvenir stores. But during days without cruise and all nights subsequent to the departure of ships, Mahahual comes back to its relaxed phase. It is hungry, and the only sounds that are heard are the comforting splashing of the turquoise sea and palm fodders.
The water is extremely calm and crystal clear and is guarded by the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System which is the second largest system of corals in the world located just off shore. This also becomes a perfect place to snorkel and kayak as you can do it offshore. Serious divers and snorkelers may have what is more important, however, and that is the easy access to a vast, featureless and distant atoll, Banco Chinchorro and biosphere reserve. This top-rated dive destination is truly a shipwreck graveyard that features galleons and modern vessels full of multi-colored coral and covered with sea life of all types, including sharks, rays, and colossal groupers. A trip to Chinchorro is a true adventure.
The town itself is unpretentious. The malecn goes hand-in-hand with the informal eateries where you can stick your toes in the sand and consume ridiculously fresh lionfish ceviche (devouring this invasive species is strongly promoted).
Why it was Underrated: It offers the signature white-sand, turquoise-water and not-rush experience of the Caribbean that the Riviera Maya gives, but without the crush, the snobbery and the expense. It is a must see to serious underwater enthusiasts owing to its accessibility to the unspoilt Banco Chinchorro atoll.
- Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo: The Barefoot Island Dream
Although technically, Isla Holbox (pronounced hol-bosh) is perhaps, the most rated of this list, it is nevertheless, in another planet concept than the mainland giant of Quintana Roo. Isolated on the northern extension of the Yucat n Peninsula and separated by the Yalahau Lagoon to the mainland, the charming town of Holbox still has a rustic, relaxed atmosphere that is like a world away to Canc n.
As soon as you get in, what you can see is the streets they are all of sand. There are no paved roads and very few cars. The golf carts and bicycles are the primary means of transport, and the rhythm of the life immediately slows down to sweet poetic tempo. The aesthetics of the Island is the combination of barefoot luxury and sensational street art, so every wall in the pastel colored buildings is painted with colorful murals.
The biggest attraction between the months of June and September is the availability of a chance to swim with whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), the giant peaceful creatures of the sea. These huge filter feeding fish meet in the waters opposite Holbox in one of the biggest gatherings in the globe. Being in the water with these magnificent animals is one of the humbling and life changing experiences. It can also be described as a birdwatchers paradise since the island is found to be within Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area that ispopulated with flamingos, pelicans and hundreds of other bird species.
The beaches are long, white, and shallow. One is able to walk meters out over the tranquil emerald-green water. Punta Mosquito has famous sandbars that will make you walk on a piece of sand which is covered by the sea and it is a very surreal and dreamy sight. Other reminders of the smaller miracles of nature found on the island occur in the evenings when certain sections of the lagoon will be bioluminescent.
Reasons why it is Underrated: The island location and its no cars policy have left a certain free and artistic flavor, regardless of the rising popularity. It is a place with nature experiences of world class (whale sharks, bioluminescences) that manages to feel like a real escape nonetheless.
Mexico is a country of great diversity and this continues with its coast line. To assume that what is commonly celebrated in the paradise resorts is a more dependable and comfortable version of that, but the real flavor of coastal Mexico can always be found in these little less trafficked towns. A decision to pass on San Pancho in favor of Sayulita, Yelapa in place of Puerto Vallarta, or Mahahual instead of Tulum is a preference to sacrifice comfort to character, mass-market to micro-culture and fashionable fad to enduring tradition.
These towns teach us that the five-star rating is not the ultimate luxury during traveling but the quality of the experience: a bite of a pie baked with the pride of centuries; the silence of a sacred sunset that can be shared with everybody; the euphoria of reaching the place that no road can enter; and the mere pleasure of strolling barefoot on the sand streets. Finding out about one of these hidden treasures, is finding out a slice of Mexican heart, and as well as carrying home a souvenir that is uniquely and purely your own.
This adventure through the obscure coasts of Mexico however is merely scratching the surface. Along the coast of the country extends a broad, varied carpet of rock and sand, jungle and desert, whose secrets may yet yield to the sharper eye of the inquiring traveler. It extends about 10, 000 kilometers, and in the country the total area blooms with about 1,600,000 square kilometers of surface area. Even further will lead only to greater tranquillity and greater intimacy with the land and its people. The thread of discovery stretches, to the places where time passes even more slowly, tourist impact is even minimalistic, and the feel of nature is even more encompassing.
Take Troncones, Guerrero which is the epitome of what a surfer town of rugged eco-consciousness is like. Troncones is a stones throw north of the sonic fitted hotel pair of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and it feels like a different world. The main road is a dusty dirt road, which parallels a three mile long gorgeous, wild beach. In this case, it is the Pacific flexing its muscles with regular surf breaks which creates a niche community of surfers who prefer longer sessions with an absence of crowds that other popular breaks promote. Great reverence to the environment has formed the development of the town. There is a lot of accommodation, mostly boutique eco- hotels, yoga retreats, and unfancy guesthouses that merge with the landscape, frequently with solar panels and local materials. Life in Troncones is active and restorative. The mornings are filled with a yoga lesson in an open-air shala with a view on the ocean or surfing. Afternoons may be spent wandering the dramatic tide pools at Manzanillo Bay, letting the baby sea turtles of the local sanctuary or just relaxing in a hammock on the ocean breeze. Nights are peaceful and social mostly around a common table with a healthy dose of fresh and home cooked food with the background music by roaring waves and the cries of exotic wild birds. Troncones is the place that promises the traveler to get back in touch with the raw force of nature and feeling of well being and indeed, paradise can be both unruly and highly quiet.
Whether one believes that the real prize is far at the end of the road –Xcalak, Quintana Roo. A tiny town that hovers on the tips of the Costa Maya and is just a few miles to the border of Belize, Xcalak is what you would call remote. To get there one drives a long distance along a single road cutting through mangrove swamps and coastal jungle, a drive that naturally eliminates most casual visitors. And they are not going to find a town full of conveniences, but a state of mind. In Xcalak two activities, in particular, are choiced: fly-fishing, and diving. Its associated shallow flats are one of the world fisheries to the “grand slam” of saltwater fly-fishing, the permit, the bonefish, and the tarpon. Fishing anglers all over the world travel here to challenge themselves in this near perfect, tough fishing terrain. To divers, Xcalak provides the best access to the least visited southern part of the Banco Chinchorro atoll and the spectacular walls of the Xcalak Reef National Park. This is not resorts diving; this is expeditionary diving and the diving is in healthy, alive, and full of life coral systems. Life in Xcalak is self-sufficient and profoundly quiet. Several tiny, family-owned inns, dive shops and fishing lodges scatter the coast. No night club, no souvenir stands and no signal to your cell phone. It is where one can get away in the modern world, read a book, gaze upon the stars in a light pollution-free sky and experience the persevering feeling of being in a place not yet charted on the world map.
Leaving the resourceful Pacific and the blue Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico presents another, but equally magical, seaside experience. Here, the star is Celestún, Yucatán. This sleepy fishing town is not really about lying in the sun on the pristine beaches but rather indulging oneself into one of the most magnificent wildlife shows that Mexico has to offer. The town of Celestn is the entrance to Ria Celestn Biosphere Reserve, a huge wetlands ecosystem of mangrove tunnels, estuaries and lagoons. Population of the American Flamingos providing an overwhelming sight is the unquestionable star event. Between November and March tens of thousands of these beautiful, unbelievably pink birds accumulate here to feed and make a spectacular scene of nature. Without doubt the definitive Celestn experience is a boat trip where you motor through the calm waters of the ria and your local guide will not only show you the flamingos but also the hundreds of other species of birds, herons and egrets, pygmy king fishers, the crocodiles that lie hidden in the mangroves. There is usually a stop (and more welcome swim) at an ojo de agua (freshwater spring), and there is the petrified forest, dying trees in a weird scene caused by historical fluctuations in the water salinity. In the village there is a long and nice wide beach with casual restaurants offering some of the finest seafood imaginable in the Yucatn. In Celestun, there is the memory that the character of a beach town can be formed not only by the sea, but by the life around it that flourishes where the fresh water life meets the salty.
Sisal is also part of the Gulf coast of the Yucat, and it is also a Pueblo Magico whose peaceful surroundings owe their origin to history. During the greatest part of the 19th and early 20th centuries the Yucatan was dominated by Sisal, the major port of the Yucatn and exporter of the green gold henequen, the fiber of the agave cactus that was made into sisal rope. Monuments to this once prosperous past are the grand, colonial-era customs house as well as the elegant, impossibly long pier. This desperately busy commercial atmosphere has now been transformed to a calm silence. Sisal is where visitors to the outside town of M rida go to spend a peaceful weekend. The beaches are developed as soft, white sand beaches with shallow and emerald-colored waters much more placid than the Caribbean which families love perfectly. A sleepy renaissance is happening in the town where intelligently refurbished colonial houses are being turned into boutique hotels and there is emerging interest in eco-tourism. You are able to Kayak in the surrounding mangroves, bird watch in the state reserves, which surround the town, or just walk the old pier at sunset and watch the locals fisher men picking up their daily catch. The charm of Sisal is too understated: it is its tangible touch of history, unpretentiousness, saccharine delight of experiencing the soft rhythms of the Gulf.
On the Pacific side, squirreled away into the already famous Riviera Nayarit, the hidden gem of a cove goes by the name of Chacala. This place provides a deep sense of serenity. And in case San Pancho is the more reserved sibling of Sayulita, Chacala is the quiet unassuming cousin of the family. The settlement lies in an ideal J-shaped harbor, sheltered on each side by jungle clad headlands which hold the surf of the open sea. This topography causes one of the best calmest water which can be swum along this coastline. The peach is a smooth bow of fine sands bordered with one row of simple, family-owned palapa restaurants where you can binge on some amazing grilled fish with your toes in the sand at a fraction of the internationally celebrated towns. The town of Chacala is a very family friendly town and has been touted as one of the safest friendliest villages in the area. There is a palpable sense of peace here. Where to eat lunch is one of the largest decisions of a day. To add a bit of adventure to it, there is a series of secret beaches in and around the bay that is accessible by a short boat ride and the Altavista petroglyphs which is a very interesting array of ancient rock carvings accessible by a hike up along the hills. Chacala is the remedy against over-development; the spot that shows that you should not neglect the issue that the most gorgeous location may be the most common one.
And last but not least, to get a flavor of true rustic Guerrero living, there is Barra de Potos This is not quite a town but a small fishing village that is actually located on an extraordinary part of land and it is based 20 minutes south of Zihuatanejo. The village is located between the crashing surf the Playa Larga and the huge, calm expanse of the Laguna de Potos. The exciting thing here is obviously the lagoon itself which is a rich ecosystem and a wildlife habitat. It can be best experienced by renting a local guide who will take you through the kayak mangrove tunnels. There is no sound except the splash of the paddle and the cry of bushels of birds roseate spoonbills gleam brilliant pink, great blue herons pose like status and schools of ibis fly. The village life is also played out on the lagoon bank, where a row of basic open-air eateries called enramadas offer fish which was probably caught only a few hours previously. Here you can get a memorable lunch of pescado a la talla, which is a whole fish that has been butterflied, bathed in two marinades and then basted over piles of hot burning coals. You can walk miles at a time along the wild, mostly undeveloped expanse of playa Larga, and often not see a soul, after eating. Barra de Potos has no luxury, no night life and no pretention. The reason behind its popularity is that it is supremely (and directly) true, and that it is straight through to the rhythms of a coastal ecosystem.
After all, the quest to get the best Mexican beach is subjective. The fact that the choices are almost unlimited can be proved with what these underrated destinations demonstrate. They are an investment into a more long-term and responsible travelling, into helping smaller communities and saving the beauty that leads to them to be so special in the first place. By getting out of the beaten trail, one further exposes oneself to the unknown-the group of people one would never meet anywhere, the dish one cannot learn of anywhere, the vision of wildlife interacting in its natural setting, and a peace of the shore felt like no one except oneself. The postcard place places will never cease to abound, but the real coastal spirit, the jagged, silent and mystic core of Mexico is there to be found in those towns that you hear about in a murmur, not a roar. The best of journeys does not only consist of discovering a gorgeous beach but rather discovering your own take of a paradise, one grain of sand at a time.
