San Juan de Alima

San Juan de Alima is a small coastal village of about 300 people in the municipality of Aquila, near the north-western end of the Michoacán coast and the border with Colima. It is the most developed stop on this northern stretch: where most beaches nearby offer only palapas and rustic cabins, San Juan de Alima has a proper row of hotels and seafood restaurants facing the sea, including places with pools, plus convenience stores and mobile phone signal. That makes it a comfortable final stop for road trips along the Michoacán coast.

The beaches are long, flat and calm, good for walking, camping or simply watching the sea, with birdsong from the vegetation behind them. Inland, the Ostula river has dense vegetation and plenty of wildlife to explore, and from the Las Brisas lookout above the coast adventurous visitors launch paragliders and hang gliders, with some of the best views on the coast. The local dish to try is ceviche blanco, and the enramadas on the sand cook seafood platters, octopus in butter and fish soup.

Sea turtles also come ashore on these beaches, and San Juan de Alima is one of the places on the Michoacán coast where nests are protected. Between here and Palma Sola, about 40 km to the south-east next to Faro de Bucerías, the highway passes La Placita, Las Brisas and La Ticla, with its viewpoint, as well as the turtle camp of Punta Ixtal and the Ixtapilla ecotourism centre, where the olive ridley comes ashore in large numbers.