There's a decidedly laid-back vibe: Guests laze on the beach with
frozen margaritas made with the inn's boutique house tequila, or relax
in the pool surrounded by coconut palms and bougainvilleas. Surfers
will catch the biggest swell from May through October, although the
inn's private point break throws consistent waves throughout much
of the year.
Want to learn how to surf? Bensal will set you up with a local instructor
for private lessons on a nearby sandy beach break, ideal for beginners.
011-52/755-533-2884, www.manzanillobay.com, from $128.

Christian Aslund/Lonely Planet Images
Surfers watching the waves in Troncones.
On Mexico’s Coast, a Surfer’s Secret
By JULIA CHAPLIN
Published: December 10, 2006
As any surfer knows, there’s nothing worse than trekking to
some Endless Summer beach town, driving down a bumpy road and then
paddling out at daybreak only to find 30 pumped surfers clawing and
fighting for the same wave. This won’t happen in Troncones,
a small fishing village about 20 miles north of Zihuatanejo on Mexico’s
Pacific Coast. For now, at least, it’s still an undeveloped
surfer’s paradise.
Hammocks and shady palms adorn most yards, chickens wander the dirt
roads, and the night life is pretty much limited to two local hangouts:
the Inn at Manzanillo Bay and El Burro Borracho. That may explain
the recent sightings of such chilled-out surfers as Stacy Peralta,
director of “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” and the fashion designer
Maia Norman, who owns a winter home nearby with her partner, the artist
Damien Hirst.
There’s a bounty of breaks to choose from, so there are rarely
more than a few surfers in a lineup. “Other spots like Puerto
Escondido have major local attitude,” said Randall Brook, the
manager at the Inn at Manzanillo Bay, which claims the town’s
only surf shop. “But here no one is taking ownership of the
wave, and people are actually nice.”
The surf might have something to do with that. Breaks in Troncones
tend to be on the mellower side and more suited to long boarders,
although swells can build to 15-foot kahunas during the peak surf
season from May to November.