Top 10 Beaches in Mexico 2026

A protected bay of the Gulf of California near La Paz, Balandra's shallow turquoise water over pure white sand is consistently ranked the most beautiful beach in Mexico by Mexican travel media. The Mushroom Rock formation and the complete absence of commercial development make it a rare untouched paradise.

Mexico's only official nudist beach, Zipolite on the Oaxacan Pacific coast is also the most cosmopolitan and alternative-culture beach in the country, attracting artists, backpackers, and long-term residents from across the world to its simple palapa restaurants and consistent waves. The cliff-top bar Shambhala watching Pacific sunsets with mezcal is among the great beach bar experiences in Latin America.

A car-free sandbar island at the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, Holbox is the departure point for swimming with whale sharks between June and September in one of the most extraordinary wildlife encounters available in Mexican waters. The island's shallow, perfectly warm turquoise water, accessible by sandbar walks at low tide, is unlike any Caribbean beach experience in Mexico.

Accessible only through a swim-through tunnel in a volcanic island off Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Amor is a circular beach enclosed entirely within the crater of a collapsed sea cave. Access is strictly limited by permits due to the beach's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status, making arrival by kayak through the tunnel one of the most adventurous beach experiences in Mexico.

The Gulf Coast beach resort of Ciudad Madero in Tamaulipas is little-known internationally but beloved by Mexican families from the north for its warm, calm Gulf water, long pier, and the weekend seafood restaurant culture that makes it a genuine Mexican beach town rather than an international resort. The caldo de camarón and fresh raw oysters served at beach palapas are the finest Gulf Coast seafood in Mexico.

A rugged three-beach cove on the Michoacán coast accessible via a single mountain road, Maruata is inhabited by an indigenous Nahua community that protects the beach from resort development and operates simple camping and hammock accommodations. The sea turtle nesting season between October and February transforms the beach into one of the most important olive ridley nesting sites on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

A protected sea turtle nesting beach between Tulum and Xel-Há that remains undeveloped due to federal environmental protection, Xcacel-Xcacelito offers the finest snorkeling on the Riviera Maya at its cenote and reef system accessible without boat transfer. The combination of sea turtle conservation, cenote freshwater spring, and pristine coral reef makes it the most ecologically significant beach on the Caribbean coast.

One of the small-scale surf villages near Puerto Escondido on the Oaxacan coast, San Agustinillo offers consistent point break waves, a local fishing community, and the relaxed atmosphere of Mexican Pacific beach life before resort development arrived. The fish tacos served at the beach palapas from the morning catch brought in by the local pangeros are among the finest in Mexico.

The northern tip of Isla Mujeres — a 20-minute ferry from Cancun — hosts a crescent beach of impossibly soft white sand in the most translucent shallow Caribbean water in Mexico, consistently voted the best beach in the Caribbean by international travel publications. The golf cart culture of the island and the sunset happy hours at Buho's beach bar create the most socially enjoyable small-island beach experience in the country.

A protected bay of the Gulf of California near La Paz, Balandra's shallow turquoise water over pure white sand is consistently ranked the most beautiful beach in Mexico by Mexican travel media. The Mushroom Rock formation and the complete absence of commercial development make it a rare untouched paradise.

Mexico's only official nudist beach, Zipolite on the Oaxacan Pacific coast is also the most cosmopolitan and alternative-culture beach in the country, attracting artists, backpackers, and long-term residents from across the world to its simple palapa restaurants and consistent waves. The cliff-top bar Shambhala watching Pacific sunsets with mezcal is among the great beach bar experiences in Latin America.

A car-free sandbar island at the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, Holbox is the departure point for swimming with whale sharks between June and September in one of the most extraordinary wildlife encounters available in Mexican waters. The island's shallow, perfectly warm turquoise water, accessible by sandbar walks at low tide, is unlike any Caribbean beach experience in Mexico.

Accessible only through a swim-through tunnel in a volcanic island off Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Amor is a circular beach enclosed entirely within the crater of a collapsed sea cave. Access is strictly limited by permits due to the beach's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status, making arrival by kayak through the tunnel one of the most adventurous beach experiences in Mexico.

The Gulf Coast beach resort of Ciudad Madero in Tamaulipas is little-known internationally but beloved by Mexican families from the north for its warm, calm Gulf water, long pier, and the weekend seafood restaurant culture that makes it a genuine Mexican beach town rather than an international resort. The caldo de camarón and fresh raw oysters served at beach palapas are the finest Gulf Coast seafood in Mexico.

A rugged three-beach cove on the Michoacán coast accessible via a single mountain road, Maruata is inhabited by an indigenous Nahua community that protects the beach from resort development and operates simple camping and hammock accommodations. The sea turtle nesting season between October and February transforms the beach into one of the most important olive ridley nesting sites on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

A protected sea turtle nesting beach between Tulum and Xel-Há that remains undeveloped due to federal environmental protection, Xcacel-Xcacelito offers the finest snorkeling on the Riviera Maya at its cenote and reef system accessible without boat transfer. The combination of sea turtle conservation, cenote freshwater spring, and pristine coral reef makes it the most ecologically significant beach on the Caribbean coast.

One of the small-scale surf villages near Puerto Escondido on the Oaxacan coast, San Agustinillo offers consistent point break waves, a local fishing community, and the relaxed atmosphere of Mexican Pacific beach life before resort development arrived. The fish tacos served at the beach palapas from the morning catch brought in by the local pangeros are among the finest in Mexico.

The northern tip of Isla Mujeres — a 20-minute ferry from Cancun — hosts a crescent beach of impossibly soft white sand in the most translucent shallow Caribbean water in Mexico, consistently voted the best beach in the Caribbean by international travel publications. The golf cart culture of the island and the sunset happy hours at Buho's beach bar create the most socially enjoyable small-island beach experience in the country.