Monterrico

Monterrico is the beach most easily reached from Guatemala City and Antigua, a stretch of hot black volcanic sand on the Pacific with a line of hotels behind it and, inland, the Chiquimulilla canal and a reserve of mangrove channels and lagoons that is the real interest of the place. Boats go out at dawn through the mangroves for herons, ibis, kingfishers and iguanas. A hatchery on the beach collects olive ridley and leatherback eggs, incubates them and releases hatchlings in the evening between roughly September and January, which visitors can join. The surf is heavy and the current strong, and swimming here needs real caution.

What you actually see

• Mangrove canal boat trips - dawn runs through the reserve channels.
• The turtle hatchery - egg collection and evening hatchling releases.
• Black volcanic sand - the beach the coast is made of.
• Herons, ibis and iguanas - the wildlife of the mangroves.

When to go

November to April for the drier weather; September to January for turtle releases. Two days. Weekends bring crowds from the capital.

Honest expectations

The surf and rip currents here are genuinely dangerous and people drown most years; swimming is not casual. The sand is too hot to walk on barefoot in the middle of the day. Weekend crowds and noise are heavy. Hatchery release times vary with the eggs.

Nearby

La Avellana is north across the canal; El Paredon lies west.