Costalegre, a series of bays and beaches on Mexico’s Pacific coast, has been selected as one of the world’s top less-visited destinations for 2025 by travel magazine Afar, while Travel & Leisure rated it as one of the 50 best places to travel in the coming year.
According to Afar, crowd-free travel is set to be a major trend next year. The ranking recommends off-the-beaten-path places like Chios in Greece, Columbus in Ohio or Toyama in Japan. Afar’s rankings include “some of the world’s most fascinating and lesser-visited countries, regions and cities” in the world, the magazine reported.
If you’re looking for “untouched beaches and wild, windswept nature spark joy”, as Afar describes it, Costalegre will surely be one of the best places to visit next year.
A remote vibe
Secluded between the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Costalegre has remained protected from mass tourism for decades, despite sitting between two major tourist hubs: the resort city of Puerto Vallarta and the port of Manzanillo, Colima.
“The 200-mile stretch of sugary sand is bordered by dense jungle, protected estuaries, and sea turtle sanctuaries, juxtaposed with the peaks and valleys of the Sierra Madre mountains,” Afar wrote.
In Costalegre’s secluded beaches, travelers can enjoy snorkeling, horseback riding, hiking, fishing and swimming. However, the destination is about to become less remote due to the new Chalacatepec International Airport.
5-star hotels and ultra-luxury projects
Some of the top resort brands in the world have properties in Costalegre.
In 2022, Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo opened on a private reserve, offering 157 rooms. The property has a biologist on staff and a 35-acre low-impact farm.
Set to open in 2026, Xala Resort is another ultra-luxury development coming to Costalegre. The billion-dollar project, from the same team behind Mandarina Resort and Residences on the Riviera Nayarit, will feature 100 vacation residences and at least two luxury hotels, including Mexico’s first Six Senses.
Other luxury developments that call Costalegre home include Las Alamandas, Careyes, Las Rosada and Cuixmala.
‘Leading by example’: Preserving biodiversity in Costalegre
Jalisco boasts 13 estuaries classified as Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance). This is the highest number in any Mexican state, with Costalegre being home to eight of them. Furthermore, the Four Seasons preserve alone is home to over 70 endemic species of flora and fauna.
“There is a shared and unwavering commitment to the preservation of [Costalegre’s] natural landscapes among those who live here,” Four Seasons Tamarindo’s resident biologist, Francisco “Paco” Javier León González, told travel magazine Afar.
Kathryn Romeyn, a travel journalist for the magazine, added that “in leading by example, Costalegre’s developers are broadcasting a new global standard for coastal development in an area that has been, until now, a beautiful secret.”
With reports from Afar and Travel + Leisure
