Bahía de Tangolunda

Tangolunda is the heart of Huatulco's hotel zone, the bay east of Chahué, a few kilometres east of La Crucecita in the municipality of Santa María Huatulco. Its name is usually translated from Zapotec as "beautiful woman". The bay holds several beaches, among them Ventura, Manzanillo, Tornillo, Rincón Sabroso and the main Playa Tangolunda, and most of Huatulco's large all-inclusive resorts stand along its shore and on the headlands around it.

The bay was built up as part of the Huatulco resort project that the federal tourism fund FONATUR began in 1984, when it acquired some 21,000 hectares of this coast and moved the earlier population inland. Behind the beach lies the 18-hole Tangolunda golf course, opened in 1992 and designed by Mario Schejtnan. In March 2024 the federal government decreed the golf course land a protected natural area and briefly took it over, in a dispute with the businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who holds the operating contract; the case went to the courts, so check its status before planning a round.

Most of the shoreline is reached through the hotels, but Playa Tangolunda and Rincón Sabroso are open to the public. The water is usually gentle and shallow enough for swimming, and there is snorkelling around the rocks. Tangolunda was among the beaches holding Blue Flag certification in 2025, together with Santa Cruz and Chahué. From December to April, boat trips from Huatulco go out to watch whales offshore. The airport is about 20 minutes away by road.