My Favorite Beach Towns in South America

An array of mind-boggling beaches awaits the adventuresome at Tyrona National Park near Santa Marta, Colombia

Anybody can spend a boatload of cash and go to Rio. Another option is to fork out for a brochure secure, mono-cultural, claustrophobic cruise where passengers can rub elbows with same bedfellows in a sterilized atmosphere.

Sure Rio has great beaches…and exorbitant prices, crowds and lots of pickpockets. The violence is cordoned off from the favelas (slums) to the beaches but enough seeps through to create separation from the hunger dens. Before you go ask yourself: “Why would anyone with any sense go to Rio when there are so many other gorgeous, untamed and idyllic beaches within a bus or boat ride up and down this magnificent coastline.

Having spent a good deal of time beating feet in South America I have seen a lot of empanadas and a lot of sand. The following beach towns were chosen to review because they were beautiful and culturally enlightening. They are places that, due to access, overgrazing, sprawl, weather and pollution are disappearing in North America and many parts of Central America

In South America, where life moves a bit slower and a precarious adventure could be right around the next palm tree, the beaches represent a lifestyle that has not gone away. Whether you watch people drink mate in Uruguay or rum on the Colombian Caribbean a Neptune connection is clear. There are still seascapes seemingly untouched by man. There is undisturbed sand. There is warm, salty peace in the middle of the day.

Town Beach at Santa Cruz Cabralia, Brasil . Easily one of the most enjoyable spots on the globe.

Santa Cruz Cabralia, Brasil

Here is where Pedro Alvaras Cabral and his Portuguese thugs made the initial landing in the New World, although nobody seems to give a damn. There is little plaque, a 16^th Century church and a great little restaurant called Cabralia 1500. Otherwise it’s just a sleepy beach town of surprising dimension.

Only half an hour by bus from the airport at Porto Seguro, two large families, one white and one black, who take care of problems quickly and efficiently, effectively monitor Cabralia. As a result there is no noticeable crime (I never even saw a cop in three weeks) and an overall atmosphere of tranquility.

The beaches that run on empty for miles and miles are of fluffy sand, peppered with baraca bars, eateries and houses to rent for the season. The surf is pleasantly gentle after spending time on the Pacific. The fishing is good.

Besides the drama of the Atlantic at one’s feet, visitors will enjoy wide-eyed Rio Joao de Tiba. A primitive ferry connects Cabralia to the even more serene beaches of Santo Andre and Santo Antonio to the north.

Time for lunch? Bahian cuisine is wonderful if not varied. Yesterday I had fish with beans and rice and salad. Tomorrow I will enjoy fish with beans and rice and salad. Today? I’ll have the fish with beans and rice and salad. No need for a menu but nobody’s complaining. And if you want to sling a few compliments on the way out the door mention the beans. That is the pride. Anyone can make fish, rice and salad. It is the steaming frijoles that separate the mystic from the mortal in the kitchen.

Monkeys up river, lobster boats bobbing in the bay, smiling people, cold beer and samba…and the experts at Lonely Planet “don’t think it’s worth staying overnight”. In a sense they were right. I spent three weeks.

If you want to head further north to the amazing city of Salvador from here you can take a series of inland waterways and buses until you reach Olivenca and Itacare two more developed, yet incredible beach stops as well.

Tayrona, Colombia

Perhaps the most beautiful beaches on the continent can be found in the state of Magdalena at Tayrona National Park, which skirts the Caribbean and the Sierra Madre de Santa Marta. The lowland heat can be sweltering but the mountains (less than 35 miles from the Caribbean) reach 18,000 feet in elevation, Tayrona is made up of over 20 superb beaches such as Playa Cristal, Bahia Concha, and Palmarito. Along with the eye piercing landscape these locales also feature a healthy mosquito population in rainy season. The rest of the year (November through April) basic precautions should be taken at feeding time (except in the case of travelling, cold-blooded vampires).

The park, with its rainforests and classic tropical beaches can be reached by boat from Taganga, a questionable pseudo-hippie town where bad pot and petty theft reign. Go early in the morning before everyone’s awake.

On the other side of Santa Marta there is Rodadero, the up-market strip of sand with high-rise hotels and a reasonable beach scene. It’s a great place to get away from all this infringing nature that can certainly be overwhelming. Typical of most civilized beach scenes in South America, Rodadero beats the Santa Marta town beach/harbor, which, unless you enjoy trash in the sand and last night’s stale aromas, is best avoided.

The evening in Santa Marta features a slew of great restaurants and plazas, impromptu music, venders, dancing and stray dogs sadly looking for a meal. Santa Marta is the oldest city in Colombia and the second oldest in South America.

One exhilarating side trip is the lovely village of Minca, which sits at about 2000 feet above sea level and offers some respite from the heat. The no-see-ums await your arrival with a baptism of fire but citronella keeps them off. Near Minca are several hikes to waterfalls, coffee farms, world-class bird watching and anthropological jaunts that further showcase the contrasts of nature and remarkable bio-diversity. Pico Simon Bolivar at 18,946 feet is part of the highest coastal range in the world but due to inversions, storm clouds, and tight proximity is almost never visible.

Back to the beaches (mountain people have to spend some time talking about the mountains too) the tide is in and it’s time for a swim.

The warm water waves at Playa Las Pocitas run 24 hours offering surfers and swimmers a paradise of sand and sun. Solitude (depending on the season) is just a ten-minute tuk-tuk ride from Mancora.

Mancora, Peru

On the Peruvian coast, near Ecuador, where the Humboldt Current finally turns out to sea, we find warm Pacific water and arguably the best   langostinas (prawns) in the world. The surfing is free and you can take home a kilo of these giant shrimp for $7 (if you get to know the local fishmonger). A distinctly young crowd is drawn to this spot where 4-meter waves are not uncommon but safe swimming is the norm.

What may not be so secure is a cab ride from Tumbes (closest airport) about 80 km north. My driver, a likeable fellow named Jesus, sped through town after town at 70 to 80 miles per hour on the way down the night time coast. He only slowed down to 50, so as to point out a few landmarks, when we passed though his village.

Upon arrival in Mancora it is apparent that the Pan-American Highway runs the show. One can actually sit at an outdoor locale and dangle his flip-flopped feet onto the highway – just watch out for the big rigs coming up from Lima!

But back to the beach: My bungalow is located in a serene spot on Playa Las Pocitas (with a pool just five feet from the sand), a 75-cent tuk-tuk ride into town. The beach here is excellent and there are no people in my dreamy post-Semana Santa destination. Just me and the fish (and a few fishermen who insist on selling me fresh lobster for $2.50 a pound).

One night I prepared shrimp scampi for two restaurant owners, a Miraflores cooking show host and a food critic for the Lima daily paper. Nobody had much too say after the plates hit the table. I’ve always been told that was a good sign. Note: Several of the diners are still alive today!

Near my digs is Donde Teresa Restaurant, which serves creative cuisine and has a nice pool, just steps from the bar. Diversions include tropical cocktails and maybe even a knife fight with the owner over his beautiful wife.

35 km down the coast at Lobitos the ocean water is colder than the beer. Turning east one enters a massive desert that doesn’t look as if it could support so much as a horny toad.

Inside info: The Kon Tiki, way up on the hill with views of the whole area is hands down the best lodging bet for the weary traveler.

Cold, cold Pacific waters may limit the activities at Quintay, Chile but the seafood more than makes up for any inconvenience. Miles and miles of open beaches and pine forest views of the South Pacific are remarkable.

Quintay, Chile

Only 25 km collectivo ride from Valparaiso, Quintay offers a complete escape from the hectic pace of Santiago and the coastal cities. The countryside is beyond belief with endless cliffs and pine forests feeding into surreal panoramas of the sea. The collectivo driver dropped me two miles north of town and told me I’d love the walk into the village which is one-street pleasant and sells everything from live chickens to tacky beach towels.

Most of the other tourists are Chilean with a few western Argentines thrown in. Long walks await the visitor in search of solitude while the ocean dictates tomorrow’s priorities. Although the beaches are wonderful the water is very cold.

Better to enjoy las frutas del mar than to wade into in her icy waters. The surfing is best south but be sure to wear two or three wet suits. Great restaurants (the best I found in Chile) await the hungry at with exceptional service and ultra-fresh yellow fin tuna and an assortment of local shellfish.

The black eel ceviche is beyond words, especially with a freshly baked baguette and a cold beer. Besides the fine eateries, and some little kids selling shells on the overlook, there is little commerce going on today.

Probably the least spoiled of all the beaches in the region, Quintay remains in the sphere of Valparaiso, which, due to the construction of the Panama Canal fell from favor in the shipping industry and has never fully recovered. In downtown Valparaiso be attentive as there are lots of people standing around wondering what you are carrying in your backpack or suitcase.

Up on the Ceros it is all quite cosmetic nouveau leaving very few barrios in the middle. You’re either rich or poor with little in the center. Valparaiso looks and feels a bit like San Francisco or Vancouver. Quintay offers its own salty reality.

Punta del Diablo, Uruguay

Although a bit remote (from Montevideo) the beaches surrounding the town of Punta del Diablo, Uruguay offer big surf, fine sand, rolling dunes and marvelous wooded areas.

There are no less than 9 magnificent beaches within an hour’s walk from the central grocery store here in this now discovered gem. Four and a half hours by bus from Montevideo and 45 km from the Brasilian frontier the town is called “poco rustico” by smiling natives. The catch runs from white corvina to shrimp and everyone serves overpriced pizza. Tip: Try the Milonesa and the empanadas at what was the Ruta del Sol old bus station. Relax and digest, then take a walk to the old lighthouse (one hour) or journey to the unspoiled Playa Esmeralda or Santa Teresa National Park, roughly two-hour hikes away.

Once a fishing town and artist colony, this fragile place gets mobbed in January and February by mindless youth from Argentina and Brasil. The best time to enjoy the place in a normal state is December and March when all the restaurants are open but the tourist impact is lightest. After Easter the place rolls up the sidewalks (which it has not yet built), boards up the windows and goes back to Montevideo to watch futbal and eat red meat for the winter.

Getting around is best by motorcycle but me feets be me only carriage and all the walking sure didn’t hurt my physique. Bikes work well as to large sticks to discourage aggressive dogs after dark.

Yes, the surfing is good. Rivero is safer. LaViuda (riptides) is a good way to end up in China before breakfast. Young, thin, female novice surfers in need of instruction should contact: Tom Thompson, Certified LSMFT, early in the day.

With a year-round community this might be nice place to live. Interestingly the pavement ends near town and the streets remain dirt at last report. If this place had trees near the beach it would be perfect. Don’t buy into the South part of South Atlantic, since the winter temperatures drop to 40 degrees and the influence of the constant sea “breeze” puts one to wishing for those balmy February days in Gunnison.

Budget lodging suggestion: Hostel de La Viuda. Great owners, pool, about 15 minute walk from two superior beaches.