Five Low-Key Mexico Beach Towns Worth Discovering
5 Favorite Low-Key Beach Towns in Mexico, perfect for escaping the crowds.
Mexico is renowned for its lively beach towns, but many have become overly-hyped and flooded with tourists in the recent years. For travelers looking to avoid the crowds of places like Cabo San Lucas and Cancún, Mexico has a number of lovely, largely untouched beach towns that offer low-key relaxing vacations. In that spirit, we’ve listed five of our favorite laid-back Mexican beach towns below. Read to learn more about where to go and what to know!
Puerto Peñasco
On the opposite side of the country along the Gulf of California, Puerto Peñasco—known to many visitors as Rocky Point—is a humble fishing village home to a colorful and laid-back scene of fish markets, food stands, stall-lined streets, and remote beaches. Even though Puerto Peñasco has grown in popularity over the recent decades, it still remains a pristine vacation destination.
Go hiking amongst the ethereal volcanoes at El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, where scientists ran tests on their equipment in preparation for Mars missions. Ride an ATV up one of the enormous sand dunes of the Sonoran Desert, or gallop along the beaches and canyons on horseback. Traverse the cool waters of the gulf at high speeds on one of the iconic banana boats. Stroll along El Malecón and breathe in the scent of mouthwatering street food. In Puerto Peñasco, your options are endless.
Tulum
Much smaller than its nearby neighbors of Cancún and Playa del Carmen, Tulum is renowned for its turquoise, crystalline waters and soft white sand beaches along the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. Tulum was once an important port city for the ancient Mayan civilization, and is famous for the well-preserved Mayan structure known as El Castillo, a temple dedicated to one of the Mayans’ serpentine deities. Other Mayan sites worth visiting include the Temple of the Descending God and the Temple of the Frescoes.
Inside of the Parque Nacional Tulum, you’ll encounter more pristine beaches, lush mangroves, and otherworldly cenotes like Gran Cenote and Cenote Dos Ojos, natural sinkholes made of limestone that are often fantastic for snorkeling and scuba diving. The underground river inside of the LabnaHa Eco Park is also an awe-inspiring sight.
Huatulco
Nestled on the southern tip of Oaxaca in Southern Mexico, Huatulco is an undeveloped beach-going destination consisting of thirty-six beaches and nine bays, with many ecological preserves in between where development is outright forbidden. Spend your days rafting on waterfalls, visiting coffee farms nearby, or reveling in water-based sports like snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, and surfing in its clear waters.
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a small beach town located on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in the state of Sinaloa, where big-game fishing, ornate nineteenth-century architecture, and a lively nightlife scene color visitors’ experiences in a town once frequented by Hollywood A-listers like Gary Cooper and John Wayne. Stroll through the slower-paced Centro Histórico, also known as Old Mazatlán, and admire the impressive Immaculate Conception basilica and the Teatro Ángela Peralta. When you want to switch things up, head to Zona Dorada for a great night out on the town. And dive into Mexico’s fascinating history and culture in one of the city’s informative museums.
Todos Santos
Located near the tip of the Baja California Sur Peninsula, Todos Santos is an artist and surfing town nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range. Art galleries abound here, and nearby beaches to the south like Los Cerritos and San Pedrito have ideal surfing conditions. History is rich in Todos Santos, with museums like the Profesor Nésor Agúndez Martínez Cultural Center—which is housed in a former school—keeping old traditions and culture alive.
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About The Author: Jacob Levine is an online blogger for FMI Rentals, a vacation rental company offering luxury condo and home rentals all across Rocky Point, Mexico. Visit their site for more info.!
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Image Sources: Pixabay, Flickr
