Fishermen might have gotten there first, but decades before Cancún put Mexico at the top of the heap for sun-and-sand vacations, peripatetic surfers discovered the sublime beaches that fringe Mexico's west coast. In the 1950s, Matanchen Bay in northern Nayarit, appears to have been the lodestar for surfers with a case of wanderlust — about as far as they could go in a creaky woody without sacrificing home, job and family for the sake of an exotic wave.
Hundreds of surf spots dotting more than 2,000 miles of tropical coastline have been conquered since then, some of them many miles from nowhere, some near small fishing villages and others the centerpiece of major cities. Lured by year-round long points, reefs and hollow beachbreaks, die-hard surfers know them all and think nothing of rattling their bones on long rutted roads and dropping a sleeping bag on any horizontal surface to surf their favored spots or try out a new one.
For the rest of us — casual surfers who enjoy traveling or travelers who think they might like to give surfing a whirl — a place with comfortable rooms, a few good restaurants and some cultural options is preferable.
TRONCONES
This once-drowsy fishing village, about a half-hour drive north of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, has mushroomed into a winter resort for U.S. and Canadian residents fleeing the cold. Besides a pristine coral-sand beach curling toward a picture perfect little bay, it offers small beachside accommodations, basic groceries and water, and ecotourism galore. If you need more excitement, Ixta and Zihua are close at hand.
Troncones Point, jutting out into Manzanillo Bay, is famous for its consistent left point break and suitability for novices and veterans alike. Waves have been reported over 15 feet in peak season, May through October, so it's not for beginners during those months.
A dozen other surf spots, many within walking distance, lie no more than an hour away. Suitable for all experience levels, La Saladita is an exposed reef and surfing point break ideal for longboarders. It's seemingly never-ending lefts earn it the moniker, "The Wave Machine."
