11 Cheapest Beach Towns in Mexico to Visit

Are you looking for the cheapest beach towns in Mexico to vacation in? Or perhaps you’re looking to live in one of Mexicos many cheap beach towns.

Look no further, this list covers the cheapest beach towns in Mexico that are suitable for both a vacation or to relocate to.

While destinations like Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Puerto Vallarta are popular in Mexico. It’s well known these beach towns aren’t the cheapest to visit, due to high tourism and increased costs in the last few years.

Not to worry, there are many increasingly popular Mexican beach towns to visit that are affordable.

Well, let’s get to it, these are the cheapest beach towns in Mexico to visit or live in!

Huatulco

Huatulco is located along the Pacific Coastline of Mexico, a small but increasingly popular beach town for cruise ships to stop by.

Huatulco is most famous for its nine bays, consisting of over 36 beaches spanning over 20 miles of Pacific coastline.

The Western part of Huatulco is surrounded by a large national park covering over 29,000 acres. It’s home to many animal species and several secluded beaches to discover.

With a mix of mountains and the ocean, the town offers a perfect setting to unwind and a picture-perfect place to experience rich nature.

If you look at the map, Huatulco shows up as Santa Maria Huatulco, the main area for the small beach town is named La Crucecita. The town also has it’s own airport, so it’s easy to get to.

Huatulco is one of the safest and cheapest beach towns in Mexico, and because of this, the beach town is home to several ex-pats from the US and Canada.

Mazunte

Mazunte is a charming coastal town located on the Pacific coast of Mexico. It is known for its many stunning beaches, vibrant marine life, and small beach town charm.

Mazunte is most famous for its pristine beaches, easily accessible from the main road and vibrant sunsets.

Activities here range from snorkelling, surfing, swimming, and sunbathing. Besides the town’s beaches, the town is well known for its sea turtle conservation program.

One of Mazunte’s neighbouring places is Puerto Escondido, a popular backpacking and digital nomad beach town. Puerto Escondido has a more lively atmosphere with plenty of restaurants and bars, it’s around 1 hour away from Mazunte.

Whether you’re looking for relaxation or adventure, Mazunte is an ideal laidback beach town.

Progreso

Another excellent cheap beach town in Mexico is Progreso, located in the Yucatan on the Gulf of Mexico. The beautiful beach town is primarily known for being the port city of the Yucatan.

Progreso has a long beach shoreline full of restaurants, shops, and beach clubs. The town is rich in nature and home to many mangroves and lagoons. Besides the beach, the extensive highway port into the Gulf of Mexico is the town’s most famous attraction.

The beach town is well-known to the locals of Merida, it’s their beach destination on weekends. Merida is the capital of the Yucatan, and the city has no beach, around 1 hour away.

When locals want to escape the heat of Merida, they come to Progreso for a day. From Merida to Progreso, it’s only a 1 hour drive!

For those looking to relocate to a cheap Mexican beach town, Progreso is an excellent choice. With Merida only an hour away, you can always visit the big city if you needed to get shopping done, find something you can’t find in Progreso or use Merida’s airport.

Progreso is one of the best cheap beach towns in Mexico to retire in because of the towns close distance to Merida.

Sisal

Sisal is one of the smaller beach towns in Mexico. The small seaport town is located in the Yucatan region and faces the Gulf of Mexico.

Overall the tiny town is known for its beach and fishing industry, nothing else really. And that’s precisely what makes it an ideal beach town to come to relax in. This isn’t a beach town with lively nightlife; it’s a laidback tiny beach town.

The beaches in Sisal have beautiful emerald colour with stunning white beach sand. The seaport town has several mangroves, biodiversity, and natural landscapes to discover.

Things are slower here, town beach town is the definition of laidback. Sisal neighbours the capital of the Yucatan, Merida, and is only 59km away from it. Also, popular destinations like Playa Del Carmen, Tulum and others are only a few hours away!

If you’re looking to relax in a cheap beach town in Mexico, Sisal is an excellent choice!

Mahahual

Mahahual is a small beach town located along the Riviera Maya. It’s a quiet and calm beach town, ideal for those looking to enjoy life by the beach in Mexico.

The town has an extensive white beach shoreline with clear turquoise waters. Mahahual has a cruise port dock where cruise ships sometimes dock, and several tourists deboard to explore Mahahual.

Mahahual is one of the best small beach towns in Mexico because it’s just that, most locals own the businesses here, locals known one another, a typical authentic small beach town.

Located around 2 hours away is Chetumal, the closest big city where you can find everything you need if you choose to relocate to Mahahual, there’s also an airport their for domestic travel. For international travel, it’s Cancun Airport, which is 4 hours away from Mahahual.

From Mahahual there are many nearby places to visit too, Bacalar Lagoon is the most notable, Tulum is also a just under three hours a away.

Once the Mayan Train is completed, It will be easier to get to Mahahual and other nearby towns.

While the town is small, development has increased relatively over the last few years. Not only is Mahahual one of the cheapest beach towns in Mexico, but it’s also located nearby many other exciting places to visit!

San Pancho

San Pancho, also known as San Francisco (its official name), is a delightful beach town located in Nayarit state, Mexico, close to both Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta.

Sitting along the Pacific Ocean, the charming beach town is known for it’s surfing, coffee shops, and community-oriented atmosphere.

Through the last few years, more nomads have began to frequent San Pancho due to it’s relaxing atmosphere, affordable prices and bohemian charm.

Despite the towns tiny size, San Pancho is very close to Sayulita, another beach town just a short 15-minute drive. Sayulita is larger in size, so you’ll find more shops/restaurants there.

If you’re considering to live in San Pancho, another positive thing is that it’s only about 1 hour away from a large city, Puerto Vallarta. The best of both words, a small secluded beach town, but with big city convenicnes only an hour away!

Most visit San Pancho for a day trip from Sayulita, due to the towns tiny size. While San Pancho is technically cheaper to visit and live in than Sayulita, it’s a relatively small town. San Pancho is perfect for those looking for non touristy beach towns in Mexico!

Sayulita

Sayulita, a famous surfer town along the West Coast of Mexico along the Pacific Ocean. It’s best described as a small beach town with a perfect mix of hippy-surfer and a bit of bohemian chic.

The town has a charming city centre area where you’ll find countless restaurants, bars and a few local beach shops. The area connects directly to the central Sayulita Beach.

Sayulita is one of the safest beach towns in Mexico to live in, another reason the number of expats living here has increased over the last few years.

Popular attractions in Sayulita are the famous hidden beach, aka Lover’s Beach, only accessible by boat, Monkey Mountain, whale watching, and more!

In recent years, Sayulita has blown up as an alternative to visiting its more expensive neighbour, Puerto Vallarta.

The surfer town is a popular weekend destination for those visiting or living in Puerto Vallarta because Sayulita is only 1 hour away from Puerto Vallarta.

Bacalar

While Bacalar isn’t technically a beach town, it feels like it when visiting. That’s because It’s home to the famous Bacalar Lagoon, also known as the Lake of seven colours.

Located in the Quintana Roo state, the Bacalar Lagoon is a beautiful and excellent place to come relax. Many hotels in Bacalar offer accommodations right on the lagoon, making for unique morning/evening setting along the famous lagoon.

While the Bacalar Lagoon is the main attraction in Bacalar, there are many other things to do in town. But the main attraction is the fresh lake water in the towns lagoon, the perfect way to cool off on a hot day.

The town’s Centro is lively on weekend nights with many bars and restaurants hosting live music and not to far from Bacalar are a few historical Mayan Ruins to visit.

Bacalar’s neighbouring towns are Chetumal, only 40 minutes away, and Mahahual, the closest beach town to Bacalar, just over an hour away.

Ensenada

Ensenada is a coastal port town famous for being a weekend getaway for residents in San Diego, US. The popular surf town is only 80 minutes from San Diego.

Besides the town’s many beaches, Ensenada is famous for being home to the best wineries in all of Mexico. Several accommodations in Ensenada offer stays right by the vineyards, making for a unique stay.

Additionally Ensenada is very famous for its cuisine, you can find some of the best Mexican food in all of Mexico here. But don’t take my word for it. Anthony Bourdain himself said the best street food in the world is in Ensenada, Mexico.

Ensenada has it all, countryside, vineyards, and beautiful beaches. Additionally theres plenty of shopping options in the town, making it an excellent place to consider living in.

There are currently boats which operate between San Diego and Ensenada, so visiting the town from the US has never been easier.

Ensenada is an excellent choice for those who live in the US and are looking for an ideal beach town to retire or visit!

Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido was initially known as a small surfer town. While it still is today, over the last few years Puerto Escondido has grown into a midsized beach town.

Located on the Pacific Coastline of Mexico, Puerto Escondido is famous for its picturesque beaches, buzzing nightlife, many restaurants, and surfer/yogi communities.

Besides Puerto Escondido’s stunning beaches and nightlife, there are many things to do in Puerto Escondido from kayaking, to yoga, visiting the bioluminescent lagoon, mezcal distilleries, and more!

The beach town has become home to several ex-pats and digital nomads because it offers strong WIFI, mix of beach life, and it’s great location. Puerto Escondido offers many other beach towns to visit nearby, within one to three hours.

Puerto Escondido used to be one of the cheapest Mexican beach towns to visit or live in. But because its grown in popularity over the last few years due to expats, it’s not as cheap as it once was.

However, its still cheaper than other popular beach towns like Tulum, Cancun and others.

Isla Holbox

Located in the Gulf of Mexico, Isla Holbox is a secluded island known for beautiful shallow beaches, dirt roads suitable only for golf carts and vibrant sunsets.

Isla Holbox offers a completely laidback island atmosphere, things are slow here. Shops are owned by locals and there’s a prevalent community feel here.

The tropical island measures 1 mile wide and 27 miles long of tranquil shallow waters, white sandy beaches, and abundant wildlife.

There are many things to do in Holbox, including island tours, kitesurfing, swimming with whale sharks and more. Holbox is also home to a vibrant nightlife, with plenty of lively bars around the island. The cuisine here is excellent, with many International options.

While it’s last on this list of the cheapest Mexican beach towns, Holbox isn’t the cheapest to visit amongst other beach towns mentioned above, though it’s fairly cheaper than Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, which aren’t too far away from Isla Holbox!

Cheapest Beach Towns in Mexico to Live In

All beach towns mentioned above are excellent places to visit and vacation in for a few days or weeks. But only some of these beach towns in Mexico are suitable for living in.

When looking for a beach town that’s liveable, ideally you’d like to be somewhat close to big city conveniences, healthcare and an airport.

The following are all beach towns that are very liveable due to their great accommodations, wide variety of rentals, healthcare access and somewhat close proximity to an airport.

Huatulco – An excellent choice, the beach town is stunning, calm and has it’s own airport. Other beach towns like Mazunte and Puerto Escondido aren’t too far away too!

Ensenada – This beach town has many benefits for those looking to relocate. Ensenada has all the big box retail stores from the US, so you’ve got access to everything one may need, healthcare access is great here and its close to the US border.

Sayulita – Known as a surfer town, Sayulita is a great place to consider residing in for a slower pace of life. The beach town is very walkable, there are plenty of excellent restaurants and Puerto Vallarta is only an away.

Progreso – The port city is slowly developing itself has a more liveable beach town. Progreso is walkable, has a beautiful beach and it’s only an hour away from Merida, with access to anything you may need.

Cheap Beach Towns in Mexico for Digital Nomads

For those looking for a cheap beach town in Mexico to work remotely for a month or two, here are a few beach towns to consider, that won’t make you break the bank like Tulum or Cancun!

Beach towns mentioned below have decent internet speeds, a vibrant nightlife and a thriving ex-pat/digital nomad community!

Puerto Escondido – With its continuous rise in popularity, Puerto Escondido is an excellent choice due to its fast internet speeds, theres a thriving nomad community here and there’s plenty to do in town.

Sayulita – The laidback surfer town of Sayulita town is perfect for those looking for a slow pace of life and with it’s close proximity to Puerto Vallarta, it’s easy to get to.

Huatulco – There have been expats in Huatulco for years now, the beach town has some of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico, internet speeds are good and the airport is right in town.

Cheapest Beach Towns in Mexico by Coast

For those looking for the cheapest beach towns in Mexico to visit by coast, here’s a helpful list for just that!

Depending on where you’re flying from and how far the airport is from the beach town, it may be cheaper to visit one beach town over the other.

Cheapest Beach Towns in Mexico on the Caribbean

• Mahahual
• Bacalar

Cheapest Beach Towns in Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico

• Progreso
• Sisal

Cheapest Beach Towns in Mexico on the Pacific Coast

• Mazunte
• Huatulco
• San Pancho & Sayulita

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