Puerto Balleto is one of Mexico's few island towns, set on a bay on the east side of Isla María Madre, the largest of the Islas Marías, about 128 km off the coast of San Blas. For more than a century it was the main settlement of a federal penal colony. Today visitors arrive by ferry to find whitewashed walls, tiled roofs and cobbled streets running from the dock to the parish church, surrounded by a protected biosphere reserve of dry tropical forest.
History
The first European to reach the Islas Marías was Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, a cousin of Hernán Cortés, in 1532. He found no sign that anyone had lived there before. The three main islands were later named for the three Marys of the New Testament.
In 1905 the federal government established a penal colony on Isla María Madre, and Puerto Balleto became its administrative center, with the offices, housing, workplaces and places of recreation. Under the director General Rafael M. Pedrajo the settlement gained a hospital, schools, a library, a pier and paved central streets, and it came to be described as a prison without bars. Prisoners worked on farms and ranches and could live with their families, alongside staff, clergy and marines. Boats were not allowed within twelve nautical miles. Keeping Mexican citizens on the islands was also seen as a way to affirm sovereignty.
UNESCO designated the archipelago a biosphere reserve in 2010. The prison was closed in February 2019, and Puerto Balleto was turned over to conservation, culture and tourism. It was named a Pueblo Mágico on June 26, 2023.
Climate warm
Best months to visit: Mar, Apr, May, Dec (driest months with comfortable afternoons)
Average daily high and low (°C) and monthly rainfall, 2020–2024.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Puerto Balleto
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Puerto Balleto.
Tours & activities
Guided tours, tastings, and day trips in and around Puerto Balleto.
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Where it is
Puerto Balleto within Mexico
The town up close · Open in Google Maps
Getting there
- Fly into TPQ: Amado Nervo National Airport, about 117 km away in a straight line
Drive times are estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, without traffic.
Nearby Pueblos Mágicos
58 km away
69 km away
100 km away
117 km away
Sources: population from Wikidata (may count the whole municipality) · elevation and climate from Open-Meteo · airports from OurAirports (straight-line distance).