Rancho Grande

We enjoyed our week stay here. Great palapa with a concrete floor. Right on the beach. 250 pesos per night with no services other than an outhouse and trash collection but the view is incredible. Enjoyed some great days paddling out to the island, saw whales, enjoyed the quiet nights under the stars. The name of camping area is Rancho Grande and not Alfonsina's which is next door. Saw an option for paid wifi at 30MB 15 pesos for 30 minutes. You probably need to buy at the well equipped little store across the street on Hwy 5. No cell service in the area.

(Note that Alfonsina's is actually a community of full-time residents, this review is for the camping palapas immediately south of that community).

The dirt road directly behind the Pemex will take you to Alfonsinas, a bar, restaurant and I suppose fancy campo, as campos go. But there is no camping there (campo translates, as far as I can figure, to "some land a guy owns and rents out to people who then build small housing there but still don't own said houses").

So instead, if headed south take the next dirt road on your left. That will lead to a series of palapas (some improved but head further down to the empty ones). Apparently the cost is $10 / night (and you can share if you want), but we stayed from late afternoon to just before noon the next day and no one showed up to ask for money (and there was nowhere to just leave money).

Though Alfonsina's is off limits to camping, there is nothing stopping you from making the mile plus trek down the beach (or road behind the houses), to her bar and restaurant. The beach is tougher, but of course more beautiful. You will see whale bones.

And the store across the street from Pemex is a treat this far south into the Gulf's coast.

The road ceases to be pavement much further south of Gonzaga Bay, but if you make the trek and have any trouble, look for Jose at the tire shop (llantera) just as you hit Mexico 1. As of this writing, that's a good 25 miles of doable but rough terrain.

Enjoy!