Beautiful and uncrowded. You can walk for hours enjoying the lull of the ocean waves, watching the sea birds catching fish, and if you’re fortunate you can see baby turtles making their way to the sea. Playa Las Tortugas is a 12-mile uninterrupted, fine-sand beach with palm trees and tropical vegetation. The waters are calm, warm and inviting.
A 10 minute stroll down our jungle access road you get to the beach village of Platanitos where there is another lovely sheltered sand beach. We love Platanitos for its rustic laid back genuine Mexican charm. The swim is great, but even better still, you can relax at one of the many beachfront restaurants, barefoot, toes in the sand, a bucket of icy coronas, delicious shrimp or BBQ fish, some musicians to add to the atmosphere, and ice cream from the cart for the kids. Happy Mexican families everywhere. Such a happy place
You can see the surf right outside the kitchen window. 3 minutes and you are down on the beach. We have a fine or even better surf break than just about anywhere along the coast. The little ones can boogie board in the shallows, body surfing is great. Bring or rent a surfboard. Its all about the ocean here, aa full time playground for young and old.
Villa Estrella has a private pool where you can spend the day lounging in privacy enjoying the magnificent gardens and nature.
Experienced anglers who are familiar with our area may disagree about inshore fishing vs. offshore. Both are target-rich with an abundance of seasonal species such as grouper, snapper, cobia, king mackerel, amberjack and barracuda. Onshore anglers will tell you there are unlimited shoreline locations where you can cast your line and test the waters. If you are looking to do some offshore fishing, there are charters in the area with experienced captains who have extensive knowledge of the reef system in the area. Our property manager, Ismael Franco, can help arrange for a charter; he is familiar with charter services locally and in San Blas.
Humpback whales summer in Alaska and winter just off of our shores. You can see families of them spouting, fluking and leaping into the air right from our shore, December to April. If you desire a close-up view, maybe even get splashed, you can arrange a boat and guide through our property manager, Ismael. Your guide will arrange to have you picked up in Platanitos and get you close to these friendly giants. You may see dolphins, turtles, leaping manta rays and sea-birds that never come ashore.
On our beach about 5 minutes away is a Ridley Turtle conservation camp, where turtle eggs, freshly laid in the sand along the beach by mature returning turtles, are collected and protected from predators until they hatch. The baby turtle hatchlings are then carefully released back into the ocean, thereby significantly increasing the survival rate of the turtles. Our guests are welcome to participate in baby turtle release activities. Ismael can make the arrangements for you.
Serious bird watchers come to our region, which is considered one of the world’s hot spots for both endemic (year-round) and migratory species. April is considered to be the best month for bird watching. Google “bird watching in San Blas, Nayarit”, there are numerous websites that provide extensive detail about the activity in this region. Ismael Franco, our property manager, will help you arrange a tour of the estuaries and low foothills near San Blas, conducted by an experienced guide. 45-minute drive. If you are not that committed, a walk around the adjacent woods and beaches, or a kayak paddle up our estuary will yield sightings of shore birds, herons, ducks, eagles and more.If you do the serious guided tour you will go to San Blas, 45-minute drive, you consider combing a visit, but I am told the tour can be up to five hours and quite tiring.
Our beach, Playa Las Tortugas, is a 12-mile uninterrupted stretch of uninhabited fine-sand beach. Our property manager, Ismael Franco, can arrange for a local rancher to meet you on the beach and provide a guided tour of Playa Las Tortugas. The horses like to stroll into the surf and gallop in the sand. Local ranchers provide the horses and will ensure you are outfitted for a ride along the ocean.
El Cora Waterfall (1 Hour Drive). The waterfall runs all year, plunging more than 100 feet into a large pool of briskly refreshing clear water. The fern and moss-clad cliffs and the wooded valley are a beautiful setting. It’s quite a steep hike from the parking area, but well worth it.
Mangrove Jungle Crocodiles (45 Minute Drive). This is must see for first time visitors. Take a boat from the dock at La Tovara and ascend the winding tidal river through a mangrove forest that crowds its banks and in some places overarches the river. Of the reptile realm, you will see turtles, iguanas, boa constrictors and immense crocodiles. You will also see the elusive and well-camouflaged nightjar or tecolote, perhaps an owl, a variety of shore birds, eagles and kingfishers. At the end is a cool crystal clear spring where you may swim (it’s fenced against the crocodiles). There are changing rooms and a few pleasant but simple restaurants by the spring where you can eat fresh fish and oyster dishes. Your boat will wait as long as you wish to hang out.
1 hour and 1.5 hour’s drive respectively; get careful directions from our property manager, Ismael). Beyond Las Varas and a drive through pasture and woods is a spring-fed swimming pool set in a mango orchard. It’s pleasantly warm and the water is clear and odorless. There is a small fee for entry. This is a popular pool. Bathing suits required. About 10 km. beyond Alta Vista is a developed hot-spring in which the water is fed into family size stone pools. You pay a modest entrance fee and pick your own tub, where you can adjust the temperature to your taste. The water is clear and odorless. The pools are set in a little valley and are shaded by the trees. The pools are not indoors and bathing suits are required. If you are a hot spring fan and are staying in Punta El Custodio in cool or moderate weather, we strongly recommend this hot spring as well worth the effort and time. It is unusual, picturesque and very well-maintained. Many people bring a picnic and there is simple food and drink available.
get careful directions from our property manager, Ismael. Combines well with a trip to the hot springs). The ancient Indian tribes of Nayarit left a lot of petroglyphs behind, but the “Templo” near the village of Alta Vista is the most remarkable around. Worldwide, petroglyphs are notoriously hard to date but these may be over two millennia old; at the time a brisk civilization flourished here. The stones along a narrow creek were elaborately carved. There may or may not be a small fee involved as visitors cross a private stretch of land to reach this amazing spot.
San Blas (45 minute drive). San Blas was founded more than 400 years ago and was a major port for the Manila Galleons, which would bring trade goods back from the orient to be trans-shipped across Mexico and sent on to Spain. It was raided by Sir Francis Drake in the 16th Century. It remained an important port until the 19th century when its deep harbor silted over. It remains an important port for commercial and sport fishing. It is somewhat the worse for wear but there are features which recommend a visit. Las Varas (30 minute drive). Las Varas was originally a hacienda (estate) and only formally became a pueblo in March, 1935. Local chronicler Alejandro Martínez Osuna wrote a book about the town, which recounts the history of this beautiful Mexico destination. Primarily dedicated to agriculture, the town of Las Varas is surrounded by fields of beans and tobacco as well as fruit orchards. Las Varas has several excellent fruit and vegetable markets, a supermarket and several nice restaurants. Zacualpan (20 minute drive). Zacualpan is a small farming community with two small markets, a handful of restaurants and a good fish market. Every Wednesday there is village open air market day, known as a “Tianguis” which is a fun experience. It is known in the surrounding area for its rotisserie chickens; it is always helpful to ask our property manager which one he recommends.
Platanitos (10 minute walk) is a small fishing village about a 10 minute walk from Punta El Custodio. The village has a large cove with a wonderful crescent beach, the waves break gently along the shore. Depending on the tide, you can usually wade 40 – 50 yards into the ocean with the water no higher than your chest. This beach is very popular among locals; they come to spend the day playing on the beach, wading in the water and, most importantly, eating at the local restaurants. There are about twelve small restaurants specializing in sea food, generally locally caught fish. Their speciality is sarandeado, red snapper grilled over an open wood pit fire. This region is known throughout much of Mexico for its sarandeado. We highly recommend that you venture down to one of the restaurants, request a table on the beach, order a bucket of your favorite Mexican beer and as much as you can eat. The staff generally speaks English and the locals are very friendly towards tourists.
Serious bird watchers come to our region, which is considered one of the world’s hot spots for both endemic (year-round) and migratory species. April is considered to be the best month for bird watching. Google “bird watching in San Blas, Nayarit”, there are numerous websites that provide extensive detail about the activity in this region. Ismael Franco, our property manager, will help you arrange a tour of the estuaries and low foothills near San Blas, conducted by an experienced guide. 45-minute drive. If you are not that committed, a walk around the adjacent woods and beaches, or a kayak paddle up our estuary will yield sightings of shore birds, herons, ducks, eagles and more. If you do the serious guided tour you will go to San Blas, 45-minute drive, you consider combing a visit, but I am told the tour can be up to five hours and quite tiring.
A beautiful 90 minute drive to the colonial state capital. A city of 500,000. See the real Mexico
Harmony Holistic Life offers a variety of personal holistic therapies. Specializing in Nutritional and Herbal Consultations, Transformational Hypnotherapy, Behavioral and Life Coaching, Mind-Body and Energy Healing Techniques, Massage, Yoga, Pilates, Feng Shui Consultations and retreats. These retreats are held at Punta el Custodio is a safe, peaceful and relaxing gated vacation community in the Compostela area of Nayarit, Mexico. It is nestled between two diverse beaches that are easily accessible from our location so you can enjoy the private island feel of Playa Las Tortugas, (Turtle Beach) or the calm waters and local charm of the cove at Platanitos Beach (Little Bananas Beach). With tranquil estuary and majestic mountain views you become one with nature in a way you seldom experience elsewhere. The beautiful landscaped community pool has bird’s eye views of both the spectacular beaches and is sheltered by a beautiful 400 year old Chalata tree. The private and shared room accommodations are comfortable and luxurious with tropical garden and ocean views designed artistically in the traditional Mexican style architecture.