Bahía Concepción

There is good diving and fishing immediately around Mulegé, but the best beaches are between 10km and 50km south of town along the shore of Bahía Concepción, for once easily accessible from Hwy-1 – the drive down to Loreto along this stretch of road is truly spectacular. The bay ranges from 3km to 6.5km wide, is 48km long and is enclosed on three sides and dotted with islands. The blue-green waters, tranquil bays and white-sand beaches are gorgeous and relatively undeveloped – though you will at times find teams of RVs lining the waters – and it’s a good place to break your journey for a day or so before travelling south. As far as kayaking goes, there are few places better than Bahía Concepción.

The best stretches of sand include Playa Punta Arena, at Hwy-1 km 118, 2km along a dirt road, where there should be some basic palapa shelters to rent (around M$80). In 2008 arsonists torched most of the units on the beach, allegedly to make way for a private buyer – ask in Mulegé for the latest situation. Playa Santispac, some 5km further on, is right on the highway – despite the early stages of development and occasional crowds of RVs, it still has plenty of room to camp (M$60) and enough life to make staying here longer-term a realistic option (toilets, showers, basic groceries), though there are free open palapas to hang out under during the day if you just want to swim. Stop at Ana’s for cheap fish tacos and potent Bloody Marys; you can also rent kayaks (M$250–350/day) and snorkelling gear (M$100/day). Posada Concepción, just south of Santispac, shows the beginnings of Cabo-style development and has permanent residents; full RV hookups are around M$100. If you follow the road to the right from Posada Concepción you’ll pass a bend and 1km thereafter arrive at the rather secluded Playa Escondida. Few trailers can make it over the hump, so the campground is more hospitable to tent campers (M$60). It is rustic (cold showers and outhouses) and there are no services. Escondida Kayak Rental (Dec–April daily 7am–7pm) has kayaks to hire for M$300/day and snorkelling gear for M$150/day.

Further south there are few facilities for anything other than camping: Playa El Coyote and Playa El Requesón, another couple of popular, bone-white beaches, are the last and the best opportunities for this (M$60 for each). Note that there’s no fresh water (pit toilets and palapas only) available at either, but locals drop by in the early morning and afternoon selling everything from water to fresh shrimps. One exception to the camping rule is Hotel San Buenaventura at km 94.5 (t615/155-6126, wwww.hotelsanbuenaventura.com; M$1200–1599), a small resort in between Coyote and Requesón with a campground (M$250) and restaurant. The motel-type rooms have air-conditioning and ceiling fans. The beach here is clean but gravelly.