Fodor's Expert Review Playa Mayto

Thirty-eight kilometers (23 miles) down a passable road from El Tuito, this gorgeous beach is several miles long, embraced on either end by a rocky point. The sand is grainy but clean and slopes down to meet the rough to semirough surf. Despite the slope of the beach, this is a great place for a long walk or shore fishing. In late summer and fall there's a turtle camp where volunteers protect the eggs of the black and olive Ridley turtles that nest here. The Hotel de Mayto has rooms at modest prices and offers massage; next door, the friendly folks of El Rinconcito have a small store and a few rooms to rent as well as four-wheelers and horses (200 pesos per hour for either). Facilities: ATVs, horseback riding, kayaking; food concessions, camping. Best for: solitude; walking; sunset.