Boca del Río's main public beach, a kilometre-long crescent of brown Gulf sand backed by palm-shaded dunes and the silhouette of the old Hotel Mocambo. The water is warm year-round, the waves are gentle, and the bottom is sandy enough to walk out a long way before it gets deep. It is not a turquoise Caribbean postcard — the Gulf here is a flat, opaque green — but it is the most pleasant patch of sand within the metropolitan area.
Weekends are busy with families from Veracruz and Xalapa, palapa restaurants doing brisk business in ceviche and michelada, and freelance vendors hawking everything from hammocks to oysters shucked on the spot. Weekdays the beach is largely empty. Currents can be strong on windy days; pay attention to the warning flags.