By Julie Etra—

San Agustín has long been our favorite beach for snorkeling, watching marine life, and lingering over an early seafood lunch. It’s one of the few places where spending the entire day feels effortless. You can get there by driving: it is 13 km from the turnoff just west of the airport. The road in April 2026 remained partially paved with ‘washboard’ surface in some areas but nothing intimidating and I am fine driving it alone. One can also hire a taxi but make sure you negotiate a round-trip fare and time as you are unlikely to find one-way service given its location. Phone service is intermittent or nonexistent depending on your plan, and although Wi-Fi is available for 50 pesos, power outages are common. You can also take a water taxi or sign up with one on the larger tour boats.

We follow the tides, although this reef is not as shallow as Playa La Entrega, or Riscalillo, so avoiding low tides is not as critical. Our now favorite restaurant was selected for its location, structure, and amenities, being a bit east of the more congested palapas closer to the reef, and with the high roof providing great ventilation and spectacular views from the second story. Shade for the car, showers and bathrooms are additional benefits. And food? Our limited dining experience at three different restaurants at this bay led us to believe that the menus are pretty similar, so this was a minor factor in selecting this particular palapa.

The extensive menu features seafood and fish (surprise!) in various shapes, forms, and flavors. Fish is prepared in a variety of ways such as: a la diabla (guajillo, pasilla, and chiles de árbol), a la plancha (on the grill), in mojo de ajo (sauteed in butter and garlic), and a la talla (butterflied with spices). Dorado (mahi mahi), corvina (corvina rayada), barillete (skipjack), and mojarra are typically available, but ask first. The mojarra served here is often farm-raised tilapia, which I find pretty flavorless. Don’t forget langosta (Mexican lobster, which lacks the claws of its Atlantic relative), or huachinango (red snapper), cooked whole with all the garnishes, a large meal for several people. Shrimp dishes include cocktails, which are a bit sweet since the cocktail sauce is prepared with ketchup, and large shrimp salads accompanied with sliced avocado and tomato.

Aguachile is similar to ceviche but is marinated for less time and is typically made with shrimp rather than fish. This is my favorite restaurant dish. Guacamole, black beans, and rice are all standard fare. All orders come with a basket of tostadas, saltines, and a variety of bottled salsas. Don’t forget to ask for the salsa casera, homemade and fresh in addition to the pico de gallo accompanying your order. Pulpo, or octopus, is also on the menu, but I can’t bear to eat these highly intelligent cephalopods. There are a few meat dishes, such as arrachera (flank steak), but nope—you won’t find hamburgers or hot dogs.

When we first started frequenting the palapa restaurants we were surprised by the indifference of the owners and staff to the beach vendors passing along the perimeter. This is carefully controlled, with all vendors requiring licenses, and only entering the premises with the permission of the owners. Vendors offer a variety of wares and souvenirs, from wooden spoons and other wood carvings, to T-shirts, hats, bathing suits, jewelry, and keychains. Services, such as massages, trenzas (braiding) and temporary tattoos are available. We have never found the vendors to be overly aggressive at San Agustín as opposed to those in Los Cabos, from which we fled 18 years ago.

And FOOD. There are the cacahuate (peanut) vendors, pepita (pumpkin seeds) vendors, paletas (popsicles), bolis (icy fruit treats), pay de queso (cheese pie), pay de elote (cornbread) from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, tamales, elote (corn on the cob, Mexican style), platanos fritos (fried bananas) with lechera y/o crema (condensed milk and/or cream) and coffee. Ostiones (oysters) on the half shell, a half or full dozen, and even on occasion mejillones (mussels), harvested fresh and locally, are frequently offered.

My all-time favorite beach snacks—a close tie with the plátanos fritos—are the molotes. These are deep-fried mashed plantains shaped into pastry-like parcels and filled with either cream cheese (aka Philadelphia) to appease the tourists, or more traditionally with quesillo, the tasty Oaxacan cheese. Delicious and filling, order them with lechera and crema, and enjoy the extra sweetness.