Isla Isabel

Isla Isabel is a small extinct volcano rising from the Pacific about seventy kilometres off the Nayarit coast, protected as a national park and known to biologists since Jacques Cousteau filmed here as one of the most important seabird nesting sites in the eastern Pacific. Its fame among visitors comes from the animals' indifference: magnificent frigatebirds nest in low bushes with the males inflating scarlet throat pouches an arm's length from the path, blue-footed and brown boobies incubate eggs on open ground and step aside rather than fly, and gulls, terns and tropicbirds fill the air. Iguanas patrol the crater rim, and the surrounding water - clear, fish-thick, with dolphins and, in winter, humpbacks on the crossing - makes the snorkelling excellent. There is no hotel: visitors camp beside the fishermen's shacks with the park's permission, cook what they bring and share the beach with the wildlife. Crossings depend entirely on the sea, and the island is closed or unreachable when weather turns.

What you actually see

• Frigatebird colonies - scarlet throats inflating beside the trail.
• Nesting boobies - blue-footed and brown, on open ground.
• The crater lake - the island's green volcanic heart.
• The crossing - dolphins, and whales in winter.

When to go

December to May for nesting spectacle and calmer seas; the crossing is the constraint, and captains cancel freely for weather. Arrange several days of flexibility.

Honest expectations

This is camping on a national-park island: no facilities, no shop, no signal, and everything carried in and out. Boats are open fishing pangas for a long crossing. Follow park rules absolutely - the birds' tameness is a privilege, not an invitation.

Nearby

San Blas's mangroves and Matanchen bay serve as the mainland base; Mexcaltitan lies up the coast.