Tecolutla

Tecolutla sits where its river meets the Gulf in northern Veracruz, a modest beach town of low hotels, a malecon, seafood palapas and a long grey-gold beach that fills with Mexican families in holiday weeks and empties the rest of the year. Two things distinguish it. The first is the water beyond the sand: boats run up the river and into mangrove channels for birds, and out to the sandbar where the river meets the sea. The second is the turtles. Tecolutla is home to a long-running community hatchery - founded by a local conservationist known nationally as "Papa Tortuga," who spent decades protecting nests of Kemp's ridley and green turtles - which collects eggs from the beach, incubates them, and holds public hatchling releases in season, with visitors invited to carry a bucket to the sand at dusk and watch them go. Around the town, the coast runs to quieter beaches and the Totonac country of Papantla and El Tajin lies an hour inland, which makes Tecolutla the natural beach half of a northern Veracruz trip.

What you actually see

• The turtle hatchery - nests protected and hatchlings released.
• The river mouth - boats, sandbar and mangrove channels.
• The malecon - palapas, seafood and family beach life.
• The long beach - grey-gold sand running north and south.

When to go

April to October covers the turtle nesting and release season; November to April is drier and calmer. Holy Week and summer holidays fill the town.

Honest expectations

Gulf water is warm and brown-green rather than clear, with a shore break that can be strong. The town is simple and domestic in character. Releases depend on nests - ask at the hatchery rather than assuming a schedule.

Nearby

El Tajin's ruins, the voladores and Papantla's vanilla country lie an hour inland.