Ten minutes off Highway 200, La Ticla is one of the few places in mainland Mexico that gets waves all year round. In summer south swells make a super fun left which peels across the rivermouth and down the point for some leg achingly long rides. In winter the north swells create a shorter right-hand point break off the rivermouth and a few beachies right in front of the surf camp.

The town is home to a small indigenous community who have kicked out the narcos and are proudly caring for their land – protecting the forest, cleaning the beach and running a cooperative surf camp. There’s minimal construction on the beach, just two restaurants and the surf camp, and not a whole lot to do except surf, eat and swing in a hammock. The sunsets are sensational here and in the right season you can watch turtles nest and hatch on the beach and whales cavort in the waters offshore.

The Surf

A rivermouth combines with a bend in the beach to create a rocky bottom left hand point break where surfers of all levels will find something to entertain themselves. There are three peaks to surf depending on your experience and on a good day they can join up to make one super long ride. The wave gets slower and easier as it moves down the point, going from fast barrelling sections closer to the rivermouth to a cruisey longboarders wave off the point. Pick your peak based on experience and comfort level and enjoy some super fun rides.

This spot can get super crowded, especially when the weekend warriors roll in from Guadalajara, but it spreads out enough across the peaks to be manageable. Or you can surf around midday when the rocks and sand get super hot to walk on and most people opt for a hammock or a beer instead. Watch out for urchins in the water and prickles on the path back through the coconut trees.

Sleep & Eat

Sleeping options are limited here with either camping at the surf camp or restaurants (50-70 pesos a person), or cabanas at the surf camp starting at 200 pesos a person.

We opted to camp at the surf camp and it was the best paid camping spot we had in Mexico. There are a variety of sand or concrete floored palapas all with electricity and lights. Try to arrive on a Monday and you might be lucky enough to grab one of the small concrete floored spots – less sand in the tent! Whilst we were there it was only outdoor showers as the others were being renovated, but getting to shower underneath an old growth cactus was something I wasn’t going to complain about.

There’s a lady selling fruit and veggies on the way into town and some tiendas with the obligatory eggs, refried beans, tostadas, etc., but you’re probably best off stocking up at a supermercado before heading down here. The restaurants aren’t too expensive considering the location and the first restaurant on the beach had some of the best fish and shrimp tacos we had in Mexico for 15 pesos a piece!