Playa Viva

Take everything that annoys you about mass tourism on the Mexican coasts and put it out of your mind. Whatever your mental image, Playa Viva is more or less the opposite of that. A mere 12 casitas, for starters, is about as far as it gets from mass tourism in the first place. And this location, on protected land a half hour outside of Zihuatanejo, has a long, long way to go before it could be considered developed, much less overdeveloped.

The accommodations are perhaps more reminiscent of something you’d expect to find in Bali, or at least St. Lucia: these thatched-roof villas are open to the air, their walls absent in order to maximize the sea views. It’s all very low-tech, and it’s no surprise that Playa Viva is about as green as they come, its low-impact approach perfectly suited to the hotel’s low-key charms.

This means morning yoga, spa services and meditation classes, as well as a wide variety of outdoor explorations, on land and on the water. For a bit more human contact you’ll have to venture as far as Zihua, if not farther — there are any number of resorts elsewhere on this coast where a party atmosphere is easy to come by, but Playa Viva is where you go to get away from all that.

How to get there: Playa Viva is located 35 minutes from the Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa International Airport. Transfers are included in regular room rates for stays of three nights or more.