Playa Las Islitas & Matanchén Bay

Playa Las Islitas curves along Matanchén Bay just southeast of San Blas, Nayarit, forming part of a long stretch of coastline once claimed as one of the world's longest rideable waves during favorable summer swells. Outside of prime surf season, the beach is a quiet, palm-backed stretch of dark volcanic sand where local palapa restaurants serve fresh seafood at tables set directly on the beach, and the water stays calm and shallow enough for easy swimming most of the year. The bay's shape shelters it from the open Pacific, and the beach sees a fraction of the visitor traffic found at Nayarit's more developed coastal towns further south. A visit combining a swim and a seafood meal at one of the beachfront palapas typically takes two to four hours. Surfers time visits to the summer south swell season (roughly June-October) for the bay's long, mellow point break, while non-surfing visitors find the calmest, clearest water and fewest crowds in the morning before the day's boat traffic and beach vendors arrive.