Already a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, Chileno Beach (Playa Chileno) has been made all the better by recent improvements: new signs, new palapas providing much-needed reprieve from the sun, even a wooden walkway.
Come during the week to avoid the larger crowds that pack in come Saturday and Sunday. Vendors hawk tacos and buttered corn, children run in and out of the water, and parents relax under the palapas or private umbrellas. There’s also a reef that’s great for snorkeling and spearfishing. Chileno does have nice, clean restrooms, but you’ll want to bring your own toilet paper.
Well known for excellent snorkeling, diving, kayaking and clear aquamarine water teeming with marine life, Chileno (Chilean) is the best all-round beach in the Tourist Corridor. Chileno is wide, fairly flat, perfect for strolling or running, with safe swimming. The only beach with restrooms, you’ll also find garbage cans, and a palm grove for shade. Like Santa María, Chileno receives snorkel tours around midday—head northeast toward the point for more privacy. Rocky reefs run parallel to the beach with tropical fish, sea turtles, moray eels, invertebrates, sea urchins, gorgonians (sea fans), sponges, and starfish all abundant. Since the sale of the hotel to the Chileno Bay Club in early 2005, the Cabo Acuadeportes dive shop on the beach has been closed. Development plans call for a 36-hole Jack Nicklaus course, villas, homesites, 88-slip marina and yacht club at this private club.
***NOTE: This is the only beach that we know of that ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT allow dogs on it.
