A few of my secret hideaway places, off the beaten path...
San Jeronimo de Juarez, Guerrero
This little town is located about an hour's drive from Acapulco on the highway towards Ixtapa. The town itself is nothing exciting, and if you blink, you might just miss it, but behind this town is a little treasure. You can take a taxi or if you are driving, it's a 10 min. drive from the town to a lagoon that meets the Pacific Ocean, you can park your car there and cross the lagoon in a little "lancha" boat where you will find many rustic palapa "Enramadas" on the beach - restaurants with long picnic tables and hammocks where Mexican families like to spend their Sundays relaxing.
Here you will enjoy the best grilled Huachinango fish - "A la talla" is my favorite, a spicy red marinade which is very traditional to this region. They will bring you a bucket of cold beers, or a fresh cold coconut, then start serving you a 5-course meal that starts with black bean and cheese sopes, quesadillas with hand made tortillas, spicy prawn soup (fresh from the ocean with tail intact), then they will bring you the main course, a full grilled fish on the BBQ, comes with tortillas, rice, beans, and salsa "machacada". Afterwards, you will need to take a little siesta in the hammocks and then you must try their signature dessert - fried bananas drizzled with condensed milk. All of this meal for about 7 people will only cost you 500 pesos.
I have travelled extensively all over Mexico from luxury resorts to frugal backpacking and this is the best food you will ever eat in Mexico! We always visit the same restaurant and the señora has promised me she will teach me the salsa recipe, next time I go I will post it!
The waves are pretty strong and you probably won't be able to swim here, but you can swim in the lagoon if you are not afraid of crocodiles or end the day with a walk on the beach and watch some of the most amazing sunsets! This place is very rustic, many people come here to camp with tents, there are cold outdoor public showers and toilets that you put buckets of water down to flush. Avoid going during the holy weeks of Semana Santa as you probably won't enjoy the crowds and seeing people bathe in the lagoon.
If you decide to stay in the town, there are only 3 hotels, and none of them have A/C or hot water, some have roosters that will get you up early. I usually stay in a nice place called Hotel Diana in Acapulco with a roof top pool for a very reasonable 550 pesos a night or in the neighbouring town called Tecpan, about 20 minutes away, where you can get a basic hotel with A/C and hot water for about 350 pesos a night.
Here you will enjoy the best grilled Huachinango fish - "A la talla" is my favorite, a spicy red marinade which is very traditional to this region. They will bring you a bucket of cold beers, or a fresh cold coconut, then start serving you a 5-course meal that starts with black bean and cheese sopes, quesadillas with hand made tortillas, spicy prawn soup (fresh from the ocean with tail intact), then they will bring you the main course, a full grilled fish on the BBQ, comes with tortillas, rice, beans, and salsa "machacada". Afterwards, you will need to take a little siesta in the hammocks and then you must try their signature dessert - fried bananas drizzled with condensed milk. All of this meal for about 7 people will only cost you 500 pesos.
I have travelled extensively all over Mexico from luxury resorts to frugal backpacking and this is the best food you will ever eat in Mexico! We always visit the same restaurant and the señora has promised me she will teach me the salsa recipe, next time I go I will post it!
The waves are pretty strong and you probably won't be able to swim here, but you can swim in the lagoon if you are not afraid of crocodiles or end the day with a walk on the beach and watch some of the most amazing sunsets! This place is very rustic, many people come here to camp with tents, there are cold outdoor public showers and toilets that you put buckets of water down to flush. Avoid going during the holy weeks of Semana Santa as you probably won't enjoy the crowds and seeing people bathe in the lagoon.
If you decide to stay in the town, there are only 3 hotels, and none of them have A/C or hot water, some have roosters that will get you up early. I usually stay in a nice place called Hotel Diana in Acapulco with a roof top pool for a very reasonable 550 pesos a night or in the neighbouring town called Tecpan, about 20 minutes away, where you can get a basic hotel with A/C and hot water for about 350 pesos a night.
El Solecito, Barra de Potosi, Guerrero
El Solecito is one of my favorite romantic places to travel, if you like to be lulled to sleep by the waves, you will enjoy staying in one of their small bungalows right on the beach. It feels like the waves will enter your room, you are that close. For USD$120 a night, you can rent a bungalow with a little kitchen, king size bed and a nice porch to sit and read and watch the sunsets. A short walk on the beach and you will find Enramadas that serve the best fresh seafood soup, sopes and homemade salsas. Breakfast is included, the chef is very good there, he was on his day off when we went and they actually called him in to specially cook for us.
There are only 2 ocean front bungalows, #1 and #5, I like #5 the best so book early if you want ocean front. We had a couples massage on the beach for 700 pesos. They also have a very large pool if you feel the waves are too rough to swim in. This little gem of a place is located in Barra de Potosi, about 20 min. outside of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa on the highway towards Acapulco. It can be difficult to find, it is best to call ahead for directions and try to arrive in daytime, it is a long drive down a little dirt road from the highway - we arrived late at night and the caretaker waited up for us.
There are only 2 ocean front bungalows, #1 and #5, I like #5 the best so book early if you want ocean front. We had a couples massage on the beach for 700 pesos. They also have a very large pool if you feel the waves are too rough to swim in. This little gem of a place is located in Barra de Potosi, about 20 min. outside of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa on the highway towards Acapulco. It can be difficult to find, it is best to call ahead for directions and try to arrive in daytime, it is a long drive down a little dirt road from the highway - we arrived late at night and the caretaker waited up for us.
In between these two lovely places I like to frequent a beach called Las Brisas, you can park your car on the side of the road and walk this beautiful long, wide virgin beach, it's great for photos as there are no people, and the waves are incredible.
No comments:
Post a Comment