About Playa Troncones

Mexico’s Secret Beach

Pristine, world-class beach

Three miles of gorgeous, clean, uncrowded seashore

For beach living at its most peaceful (with some major first-world perks, like internet and the international airport just 45 minutes away). Here, peace and quiet reign supreme. It’s all about the gorgeous crystal clear waters out front, and the miles of sandy beach on which to frolic. The sound of the ocean is your soundtrack. There’s very little night life, and what there is mostly winds up early.

A stay in Troncones offers the best of both worlds

Spend the morning in total peace on an unspoiled, nearly empty beach, and then head a mile down the beach road to catch a yoga class, do some shopping, have a great meal, and chat with friends. Spend a quiet afternoon on the beach or in the hammock catching up on reading, and then head off to a restaurant for a delicious meal and some live music. It’s all in a day’s work in Troncones.

A largely undeveloped paradise

Eco-friendly limited development

With a full-time population of 500 people, Troncones exists in a sea-breeze time warp. Once you pass the first tope (speed bump) and enter the village, you’re somewhere else entirely. Governed by an ejido, or agricultural cooperative, Troncones has escaped the huge developments plaguing most of the world’s coastline, and retained its time-warp peace and quiet.

Ecotourism destination

Strict ecological regulations limit building and land use. Homes on the beach are generally earth toned, to blend in with nature, and there are no buildings over three stories tall. Respect for nature is growing in Mexico and in Troncones, and we even have our very own ecological groups and young turtle rescuers, young eco-warriors in training.

Troncones community after a swimming competition

Friendly, welcoming people

Life in Troncones

Troncones is a happy place. Just amble down to the town square for one of our fiestas or fundraisers, and you’ll see. The standard of living has vastly improved in the past decades, with the advent of tourism. And tourism continues to employ and offer opportunity to the village. Tourism remains Troncones’ main industry, and everyone appreciates the visitors who create this industry. (Gone are the days of having to endure a long, costly commute to a low-paying job in Ixtapa or Zihuatanejo.)

Ecologically minded, sustainable tourism

Tourism on a sustainable scale allows for unparalleled access to nature, an amazingly peaceful way of life, and an incredibly beautiful beach. Unlike many more crowded ad expensive places in Mexico, Troncones residents are friendly, welcoming and helpful — truly happy to welcome tourists into the community. Tourism brings jobs and income. And they realize that protecting nature is protecting that tourism. So, life is better, for everyone, and for nature as well.

Tips mean a lot

But of course, it could be even better. There is poverty in Troncones, as in all of Mexico. So be generous. The standard tip is the same as in the US: 15 to 20%. And of course it’s completely voluntary. If you got good service and a smile, do some good. That tip will go a long way down here.

Tight-knit community

Vibrant community fun

A colorful mix of personalities and nationalities makes for a vibrant community and varied fun activities, as pictured above—the yearly swim from Majahua to Manzanillo Bay.

The larger community

And there’s always more people to meet and things to do in nearby Zihuatanejo. A small, bustling city, Zihua draws a more international crowd than most expat communities in Mexico, so there’s a wide variety of cuisines and boutiques. And tons of fun stuff: the yearly Guitar Festival, scuba diving, sport fishing, a nature preserve, concerts, art galleries, and tons of cool shops. (But Troncones is by far the better home base, with its gorgeous, clean beach.)

Expat community

The Troncones expat community has long worked with the local community to improve infrastructure, education and ecological sensitivity. The Troncones Homeowners Association puts out a guide and phone book. Local charity groups provide a library, animal care and rescue services, and school scholarships—as schools beyond grade school are expensive and require a daily bus trips to nearby cities, which not many families can afford.

Give back

Local groups that provide easy, tax deductible ways to make a difference in the Troncones community.

Humanitarian Wave. Scholarships for girls
Surfers for Strays Animal treatment, education and rescue

Thriving (and yummy) scene

Plenty to do and eat

Troncones has much more to offer than other villages its size: apart from year round surf, there’s quite a little restaurant scene (including a few with gourmet offerings), a sports bar, live music, yoga, boutiques, local artists, handicrafts, fresh produce and fish delivered daily, and more.

And more nearby

In case that’s not enough, the big city (Zihutanejo and Ixtapa) with big city shopping and amenities (like Sam’s club, etc.), is only 20 minutes away.

Time warp town

Hop in the time machine

Troncones is a laid back, friendly place where everybody knows and watches out for each other. Where people still walk from place to place (sometimes barefoot, sometimes with a guitar). Where they still smile and wave, and always have time to stop and catch up.

Peace and quiet, just like old times.

No stress, no rush hour, no traffic jams, no parking problems. Just authentic Mexican village small-town peace, with a world-class unspoiled beach — an amazing combination.

Nature lover’s paradise

Nestled in nature

Between the mountains, the tropical forest and the sea, life in Troncones is very close to nature. Whether it’s the iguana in the palm tree outside your kitchen window, egrets and pelicans playing in the surf, sea turtles laying their eggs right in front of Casa Oasis (they love our secluded beach), swarms of winter flowers and summer fireflies, or the astounding abundance of birds in the trees and stars in the sky (seriously, the Milky Way hangs out right over us), life in Troncones is truly a gift from Mother Nature.

Eco-tourism activities

And then there are all the many Troncones nature activities: swimming, surfing, tidepooling, kayaking, SUP, hiking, mountain biking, tide pooling, bird-watching…even spelunking! (Troncones has some huge caves.)

A surfer’s dream

Surf breaks galore

With several great surf breaks right in town (including one in front of Casa Oasis), and tons more to choose from within a 30 minute drive, Troncones has something for every surfer, and something for almost every surfer’s mood or skill level. For more info, check out our Troncones Surf page!)

Year round surf

Unlike many surf spots, we get waves in winter and in summer. But summer is Big Surf Season in Troncones, when the big swells come. And when Troncones waves get big, they get epic — this was taken in front of Casa Oasis during an especially huge summer well.

To really, really enjoy all that Troncones beach has to offer,

Stay at Casa Oasis

and stay on the best beach in Troncones:

Troncones main beach

Casa Oasis’ pristine, practically private beach

Troncones quiet residential beach in front of Casa Oasis

Troncones area amenities

If you’ve already been there, done that in Playa Troncones, the Zihuatanejo area has tons more activities to offer, just 20 minutes away.

And afterwards, you still get to escape back to your world-class beach in a time-warp town. For more Zihuatanejo area information, check out our Troncones Travel Guide.