Mexico beaches

July 9, 2007 3:42 PM

Where can we go in Mexico that fulfills all our wishes?

I've looked at some previous threads and I can't find what I'm looking for.
We are two twenty-something people who enjoy music and film and things (usually of the indie-variety, if anyone finds this relevant) looking for a beach in Mexico to spend a week visiting.
Our options are limited to only the towns shown here because we are going to get a free place if we use these resorts.

What we want:
Beach location
Ideally a town with a university so that there will be concentrations of people our age
As non-touristy as possible
Things to do during the evenings
Good restaurants and bars (we are picky eaters and drinkers)
A town with where locals actually live and work.

What we don't want:
All-inclusive, tourist-only, kid-friendly, just-off-the-cruise-ship-frat-boys kinds of towns.

We are actually trying to set this up for the first week of August so if there are some places that are just intolerably hot at that time, let me know.

Also if nothing in Mexico fits this description, suggestions of other places are helpful too. They just have to be cheap to get to (relatively).

Anything is helpful. Thanks

posted by greta simone to travel & transportation (16 comments total)

I spent a week in Guaymas / San Carlos a couple of years ago. San Carlos is fairly gringo-touristy, but Guaymas is a real city with real local people who live there and work there.

I went to good restaurants and bars in both Guaymas and San Carlos.

It looks like one of your places is there.
posted by dersins at 3:57 PM on July 9, 2007

Merida. Could be hot there though, I was there in November.
You are 30 minutes from the beach, so that is the only thing that doesn't quite fit.
I love this city!
posted by dchunks at 3:58 PM on July 9, 2007

Check out San Blas--a small fishing village a couple hundred miles from Mazatlan. We rented a car, the drive is spectacular. Great beach, good restaurant/lounges. It is small-village Mexico, non-touristy, no kids (except the locals). Interesting people, safe to walk around at night.
posted by wafaa at 4:34 PM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Um - it seems like a lot of the places on your list *are* all-inclusive resorts. Many of them are in their own little compound zones outside of the center of town, with the exception of the ones in Mexico City (but a caveat on that one below).

Don't feel limited by this list, though - there are heaps of places to stay for $30-60 a night that are really nice, inn/B&B-style operations all over the place, even in Mexico City. Traveling inside Mexico is pretty cheap, too, as there are lots of Mexican low-cost airlines which Americans might not know exist, and the nicer buses might as well be private jets with 180° reclining seats, snack/meal service, movies, bathrooms, and x-ray machines before boarding. Furthermore, all Mexican beaches are, by law, public, regardless of the billions spent by Marriott/Hilton/Hyatt etc. to try to wall them off, so don't think you have to stay on the beach to use the beach.

I loved Mexico City and would recommend it in a heartbeat - a couple previous posts on it here - but the places listed on your free accommodation list in the city (The Intercontinental near the top of the list, for example) are in the "red zone" on the RCI website, which means reduced availability or something - you might want to call on that.

I'd also say Guanajuato, the capital of the state of Guanajuato, and the area around it would fit your description perfectly other than the beach: it's in a stunning location, has oodles of history, a big university, catacombs, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's served by Leon/Bajio Airport.

To get the best of both worlds, I say fly to Cancun, which is often the cheapest place to fly into Mexico for people on the east coast, head for Playa del Carmen or Isla Mujeres to get your beach fix, and then head to Mexico City or Guanajuato for the rest of your trip.
posted by mdonley at 4:37 PM on July 9, 2007

Look in Oaxaca -- maybe Puerto Angel? I really liked the capital of Oaxaca, but it's not on the beach.
posted by salvia at 4:45 PM on July 9, 2007

Seconding Guanajuato as a locale that fits most of the criteria on your list. It is not a beachy place, but it looks like all of the hotels have pools...

Mdonley is right about all its high points. I will only add a link with some excellent pictures.
posted by B-squared at 4:57 PM on July 9, 2007

You should understand that your list of cities is the exact list of tourist/resort cities in Mexico.

I think the ideal trip for your criteria, ignroing your list, would be to visit the state of Veracruz and spend time in Xalapa (sometimes spelled "Jalapa"), Vercruz (the city) and the many small nearby beach towns. These places are definitely not full of American/European tourists, though in August there will be locals and vacationing Chilangos on the beach.

Xalapa is a hip college town with very cool bars and music and an interesting colonial history. Veracruz is bigger and sleazier, with even cooler bars and music.

For reference, Veracruz is a port town, Xalapa is about an hour inland, and they are separated by coffee plantations.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 6:00 PM on July 9, 2007

Thanks for the help so far, ya'll. Please keep the recommendations coming.

I am aware that my list of free accomodations are very resort-y, which is why I am asking you lovely peeps which of these places would be the best pick. Free is free, and although we are aware that hotels can be cheap, saving $300 by staying in a free place is great for a waiter and a grad student who are traveling together and putting the entire trip on a credit card.

We are willing to stay a little inland (max hour or two) if it means a cooler town and we'll rent a car to go to the beach. We are just looking for some ideas to narrow down our options.

Thanks bunches!
posted by greta simone at 6:06 PM on July 9, 2007

Is the beach that important? Heavily thirding Guanajuahato here. And does it really have to be Mexico? Antigua Guatemala would also fit the bill (um, except for the beach, again).
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:41 PM on July 9, 2007

Free is free, but you get what you pay for. Why is it free? Is there some kind of trade-off? Will you be required to spend money in some other fashion?

Also, don't think of spending this money as wasting it where you could have gotten free accommodation instead. Think of it as education. Which is to say, you need to learn about how to find cheap accommodation on your own if you ever intend to do serious traveling. I would say that it is very realistic that you could probably spend less than $150-200 for the entire week staying at nice hotels, and probably even less if you're willing to live a bit grungily, which is also excellent experience for future travels. Again, this assumes that you do eschew resort haunts.

Seriously, you will be happier. Just think of the money you'll save on food, for example, rather than being forced to pay exorbitant prices at the resort restaurants. Just think of the cultural experiences you won't have if you stay in a cookie cutter resort. I mean, you might as well go to a motel in your home town and swim in the pool.

Oh boy! Looks like RCI is indeed a timeshare corporation. Hope you know what you're getting into.
posted by Deathalicious at 6:49 PM on July 9, 2007

Deathalicious- my travel partner's parents have free points to use. I know the pitfalls, but if it weren't for the free accomodations, we wouldn't be going at all. We are shit broke. I am a seasoned traveler and I am well educated in deals, but I am at a point in my life where I have NO money. As I said previously, this is all going on my credit card, so the less I have to pay the better, seeing as how I am already in debt. I'm just trying to have the cheapest last hurrah before I start school in the fall.
For all other advice givers, please try and work within the parameters of the places we can stay for free. Thanks-
posted by greta simone at 9:05 PM on July 9, 2007

Based on your desired characteristics, I think you could safely write off all the places on the Yucutan Peninsula (Quintana Roo). That entire coastline from Cancun south pretty much exists only for tourism, and especially the kind of tourism you specifically state that you want to avoid.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:20 PM on July 9, 2007

I can't think of a Mexican beach town that has a University. If it's terribly important to around a bunch of young folks, try a place that attracts surfers like Peurto Escondido or Sayulita.

I'm not really sure what you mean by "Good restaurants and bars". Most beach tourist towns have lots of food and drink places. I love them, but I'm not sure if they'd appeal to "picky eaters". If you're looking for more upscale dining, I'd look to the larger centers like Peurto Vallarta. The larger places also have a greater choice of nightlife, too.

Non-touristy is tough on the coasts. If it wasn't for tourists, these places would all still be little fishing villages at the end of dirt roads. There are still a few palces like that, but ey don't have hotels, restaurants or night-clubs. In Mexico the choice is generally culture (Merida,Oaxaca, Guanajuato) or beach. You can get from one to the other but it's usually a day's travel.

And lastly, August anywhere on the Mexican coast will be very hot and humid. You have to head up the plateau to get cooler weather.
posted by timeistight at 3:00 AM on July 10, 2007

My vote?
Reef Yucatán All Inclusive Hotel & Convention Center (#7693)
Progreso, Yucatán,
Beach location? Check
Ideally a town with a university so that there will be concentrations of people our age? No, but a 30 minute bus ride from Merida. (Seconding dchunks love. Gawd what a great town!)
As non-touristy as possible? Kinda, better than Cancun or Playa.
Things to do during the evenings? Check.
Good restaurants and bars (we are picky eaters and drinkers) Check.
A town with where locals actually live and work. Check.
posted by Floydd at 6:46 AM on July 10, 2007

I have been to the Reef Yucatán hotel, and I'm not sure it's what you guys are looking for. I had a great time, but most of the people there were families with kids. It is an all-inclusive hotel. Also, it's kind of isolated, I'd say it's about 45 minutes from Mérida.

I think you'd like Michoacán more. It's not really touristy, and it's the most popular place for young people these days. The towns are very small, most of them are fishermen villages, but the beaches are great. It is very cheap too.
When I went there I stayed at a relative's house, so I don't know much about this zone, but I found a review here.

Also, do not visit Playa del Carmen. I went there last year, and I was amazed and saddened at the change. It was like being in the U.S. I had a US$5 Häagen-Dazs ice cream and left to never return.

I also recommend Guanajuato, is one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico.
posted by clearlydemon at 1:19 PM on July 10, 2007

Guanjuato is indeed beautiful. Apart from the picturesque location (a warren of cobbled laneways & spanish colonial architecture nestled into a couple of intersecting valleys), history & crazy underground roadways, what wasn't immediately apparent in the links above is that it's a smallish town with a bustling student life.

Every evening (?) part of the university tradition is for groups to wander from cute cobbled square to cute cobbled square, dressed in mariachi type uniforms, playing instruments & singing songs. Not specifically a tourist treat, this is apparently some kind of fraternity-style oneupmanship: "ha! we sing the best serenades in all of guanajuato!". Plus, you get all the restaurants, bars & cafes you would associate with a student scene. Ok, I shut up now.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:49 PM on July 10, 2007