Other Destinations

• NEW! Meet Betty Stark
• << Back To Article List

Huatulco as Good as it Gets

Betty W. Stark

Palm fronds rustled in the slight breeze as the afternoon sun edged lower across the blue expanse of the ocean. Offshore, snorklers floated over mini-reefs in the lengthening shadows of giant rock outcroppings. Excursion boats motored in toward the beach, depositing guests who had signed on for more energetic outings.   
   

 "Is this your first visit to Huatulco?" we asked, making idle conversation with a pleasant couple lounging on the poolside chairs next to us. We were in ultimate relaxation mode and in no real hurry to hear an answer.
 

"Hardly," our neighbor said with a chuckle. "We've been coming here for fourteen years."

As we would discover during our week-long stay, almost everyone who vacations in Huatulco, Mexico has been there before. Considering the fact that it's located a five-hour flight from Chicago on a nonstop charter (much longer if you connect via regularly-scheduled air through Mexico City) to an obscure dot on the map three hundred miles southeast of Acapulco, Huatulco perennial popularity is all the more surprising.

Until you go there the first time. Then you're hooked.

And that's exactly the way the Mexican government planned it. Just as they did when they created Cancun, the development agency FONATUR used computer-aided tools to turn their tourism telescope on The Bays of Huatulco (pronounced wha-tool'-ko), a pristine stretch of oceanfront not far from the Guatemala border that the computer pronounced top-of-the-line for beaches, scenery and annual days of sunshine.   

They first relocated the small fishing villages that dotted the coast and then began building the airport, an infrastructure of roads, and a water treatment plant to serve incoming vacationers. Other facilities---resorts, shops here and there, a golf course, and restaurants---followed at a leisurely pace over the next fifteen years.
 

Of the nine bays in the targeted region, only two are substantially developed. The others, some ruggedly rocky with tangles of giant driftwood and crashing surf, others ringed with wide toast-colored beaches, await the gradual growth that will happen over the next fifteen or so years.

Seventy percent of the development area has been set aside as an ecological preserve, and the long-range plan along the waterfront is to maintain building profiles no taller than a palm tree, an obvious effort to avoid Cancun's Miami-Beach-with pesos atmosphere.

So why go to Huatulco when Cancun and the bustle of the Riviera Maya are easier to get to? For one thing, the setting is spectacular. Beaches, cliffs, and cascades of bright flowers paint a broad swath against a lush brooding Sierra Madre mountain backdrop. The beaches that stretch past resorts on TangolundaBay, if not endless, are wide and inviting.

Then there's the weather. It's South Pacific tropical which prompts some enthusiasts to call it the Tahiti of Mexico. Temperatures typically hover in the 80's with just a slick of humidity, depending on the breeze. Evenings are shirt-sleeve comfortable, and mornings are refreshingly clear. Officially, the sun shines 360 days a year, so rainfall is minimal.

The relaxed pace is another draw for those disenchanted with overdevelopment and the go-go pizzazz of many resort areas. You won't find disco-til-dawn but you can amble across the road and find a restaurant owner who is eager to grill a platter of giant shrimp or succulent fresh tuna steaks just hours out of the coastal waters.

Or, flag a taxi for a short trip up the road to the town of La Crucecita, a cozy little place with a town square bordered by good restaurants, shops and a genuinely Mexican atmosphere. It's here that the coastal fishermen were relocated when area development began, and many are now operating thriving businesses that welcome tourists.

On one of the bays, the town of Santa Cruz is slowly shedding its sleepy demeanor as cruise ships plying the Mexican Riviera stop a couple of times a week. Local developers are hammering up hotels and condominiums at a slow maeana pace. If you are staying at a resort on TangolundaBay, you will probably be unaware that a cruise ship is in the area unless you venture out to La Crucecita or Santa Cruz.

Explorers will enjoy day-long outings to coffee plantations or bouncy four-wheeler excursions along tropical forest trails. Board an aircraft at the efficient airport for an excursion inland to Oaxaca, a beautiful mountainous colonial city with gold-and-silver encrusted churches and markets filled with stunning pottery and Oaxaca handicrafts.

Hook up with two other fishing enthusiasts and for about $75 each you'll enjoy a half-day with a local fishing guide who will take you to his secret places for tuna and other saltwater delicacies. When you return to the resort, ask the kitchen staff to prepare the catch for your evening meal; most will happily comply.

After dark you won't find wild enterainment, although most resorts offer something nightly. For the most part, resort guests are content to stroll down the beach to neighboring hotels for a casual dessert and nightcap or friendly piano bar conviviality. Night skies dusted with drifts of stars prompt couples to seek out chairs under beachfront palapas for a bit of hand-holding togetherness.

What Huatulco will look like 15 years from now is anyone's guess. The measured pace of development and careful planning on the part of the Mexican government points toward growth-without-excess. Those who frequent this idyllic spot seem comfortable with things as they are so it's unlikely that branches of Paris boutiques or a Hard Rock Cafe will pop up anytime soon.

We definitely plan to return to Huatulco; hopefully often. Perhaps one day you'll chat with us poolside and ask if it's our first visit.

We'll smile and say, "Hardly. We've been coming here for 14 years."

###

Betty W. Stark - 2006

<< Back To Article List