Service· San Blas· Mexico
Matanchén Bay Beach Landing (Las Islitas Palapas)
21° 30.8′ N · 105° 15.0′ W · approximate
A surf landing on the long sand beach in the northwest corner of Bahía Matanchén, lined with palapa restaurants. It's how crews anchored in the bay get ashore for dinner, the La Tovara jungle boats and a taxi into San Blas.
Practical
There's no dock: you beach the dinghy through small surf. In 2022 the crew of Pragmatic Voyager found the swell gentle at anchor but building near shore, and they got wet driving back out through it. Use wheels if you have them, time the sets, and keep electronics in a dry bag. They left the dinghy pulled up at a palapa restaurant where they ate, and the staff kept an eye on it. Ask before you leave it, and eat or drink there in return. Mysis III on Playa Las Islitas is open 10 am–6 pm daily (Wikivoyage). Mosquitoes and jejenes swarm the shore around dusk, so most crews are back aboard before sunset. For San Blas town (about 3.5 nm northwest by road), a 2015 crew waited about 15 minutes for a passing taxi on the road and paid 30 pesos to San Blas plaza (verify locally). The La Tovara boats leave from the Matanchén bridge, which is walkable from the beach. The bay also has a small muelle and malecón (Wikivoyage). Coordinate is approximate: it's Mysis III restaurant on Playa Las Islitas (OpenStreetMap), at the back of the landing beach, not a surveyed landing spot.
Best for
Dinner ashore and taxi or tour access from the Matanchén anchorage
Season
Nov–May; surf landing gets wet or unsafe in SW swell
Nearby
- Las Islitas Surf (Matanchén)Right here
- Mysis III (Playa Las Islitas)Right here
- Bahía Matanchén Anchorage0.7 NM away
- Muelle de Matanchén1 NM away
- La Tovara Jungle River Tour (San Blas)1.2 NM away
- Playa El Borrego (San Blas)2 NM away
- Restaurante Playa Bonita (Playa El Borrego)2 NM away
- Coco Loco Beach Bar (San Blas)2.2 NM away