The
best months to go to Mexico beaches are November - May.
July-August,
Christmas, and Easter attract huge numbers of holidaymakers from both
inside and outside the country, especially at beach resorts. The worst
are the hottest and most humid months, June - September, with an insect
problem too.
Aug-Nov has the possibility of rough seas on the Pacific coast due
to storms.
For diving off Baja California August - November is best, with warm,
clear water. Plus:
great varied food and drink are generally available, lively evenings
with music and dance are common, coral is superb in some places,
some nearby ancient sites are AMAZING [Chichen
Itza, Tulum], Spanish is an easy language.
Minus:
it's very package touristy in many places, souvenirs are poor, petty
theft happens.
Tulum,
on the Caribbean coast [picture top left; stormy season just finished
so seaweed around!]
One of the prettiest beaches in the world, with picturesque Mayan
ruins overlooking the beach.
130 km south of a massive resort of
Cancún,
it is a tiny but perfectly-formed white sandy cove, with a few palm
shade and the azure Caribbean sea to swim in.
The entrance to Tulum is totally touristy, with a huge car park,
souvenir shops, café and restaurants. There is no place to
stay on the spot, but there are a few hotels and restaurants in
Tulum village and also [far better option] plenty of resort type
places, cabañas [beach huts] and campsites along the coast
road south to
Punta Allen.
Playa
del Carmen, on
the Caribbean coast [not too far from Cancún] [picture top
right]
A cool, casual beach scene with plenty of accommodation [though an imbalance towards monster hotels these days], excellent bars, restaurants and shops. Although
it is very popular and attracts crowds from all over the world,
the place is reasonably low-key, friendly and relaxing.
It is the best place in Mexico to buy high quality crafts, especially
jewellery.
It has also boats to Cozumel - for
world class diving and a park for swimming with dolphins [at considerable
expense!].
Puerto
Escondido, on
the Pacific coast
Puerto Escondido has
several stretches of magnificent sandy beach, with a laid-back ambience
and plenty of inexpensive accommodation. Beaches are varied from
a 2 km long Zicatela, the surfing
mecca [nicknamed the Mexican Pipeline] to the east of the town,
to the calmer three coves including Playa
Puerto Angelito on the west.
August - November surf reaches 7-8 metre due to south Pacific storms.
Puerto
Angel,
on the Pacific coast
For even more tranquility go to the
Puerto Angel area, including the backpacker's
favourite, Zipolite Beach. About
60 km east of Puerto
Escondido, there you can find the most simplicity and relaxation
[except for the overdeveloped west end] in Mexico.
Recently there has been an increasing security problem. Beware of
high surf [particularly August -November] and strong currents in
deep water.
Cabo
San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, Baja California [peninsula]
Offering miles of marvellous beaches this is a major American tourist
destinations for fishing, golfing or young party animals.
Best beaches are:
Playa Cemeterio 4 km east, Playa
Santa Maria 12 km from Cabo San Lucas
for swimming, with easy access.
Playa Costa Azul, Playa Canta Mar are
ideal for surfing.
Playa Solmar, 1 km west of Cabo
San Lucas, is for whale- watching January - April.
Scuba diving and snorkelling are OK, but the the best sites are
offshore, reachable only by boat.
Infamous time-share salesmen can be annoying. Beware strong rip
tides at some of the beaches.
Bahía
Concepción, Baja California
The shore of Bahia Concepcion [Conception Bay], between 10 and 50
km south of Mulegé, has several scenic beaches including
Playa Requesón, Playa Buenaventura, and Playa Coyote. The
bay is on the coast of Sea of Cortez, which is a protected marine
sanctuary. The facilities are fairly basic [some places have no
fresh water], but there is wildness, natural beauty, and tranquility.
Excellent for watersports and great for seafood, especialy clams.
Playa Santispac has the best campsite, with a fine resaurant. If
you are up to kayaking, try Playa Buenaventura.
Bahia
de Matanchen, San Blas, on
the Pacific coast
This small and very Mexican fishing village of San Blas has an excellent
town beach, but the best in the area is just 4 km away - Bahia
de Matanchen, a broad crescent bay with splendid beaches
of prime soft sand and a relaxing atmosphere.
The only drawback is summertime mosquito and sandfly problems.
Between
Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco
on the Pacific coast
The central Pacific Coast has
several hundred miles of coastline with fine sandy beaches and excellent
facilities. The choices are enormous from international resorts
like Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco
for monster all-inclusive resorts packed densely, to smaller resorts
with local colour such as: Chamela
[the prettiest, 165 km south of Puerto Vallarta],
Barra de Navidad and Zihuatanejo.
Great activities, fantastic seafood, and lively night life.
Other
operators offering tours to Mexico can be found in our listings
here:
Mexico
Tours
See
also: Caribbean
Map
| North
America Map
| Caribbean Beaches | Caribbean
Beach Resorts
Hawaii
Beaches | Pacific
beaches | Pacific
Map
| Best Beaches in the World | Atlantic
Ocean |
