The Best Hotels in Monterrico, Guatamela, for Wildlife Fans

Visitors can watch wild turtles being released into the ocean in Monterrico, Guatemala.
Visitors can watch wild turtles being released into the ocean in Monterrico, Guatemala. | © Maxime Bessieres / Alamy Stock Photo
Alex Robinson

From June to December, hatchling turtles migrate between the volcanic sands and pounding surf of this Guatemalan beach town, enticing nature lovers to stay beside the shore.

With long, black-sand beaches washed by powerful Pacific waves, Guatamela’s Monterrico Coast is all about the drama. People don’t come here just to chill in the sun and sip cocktails under the palms, mind. Over the last decade, the area has become an important center for turtle conservation and while hotels are basic, it’s the best place between Costa Rica and Mexico to see hatching reptiles waddle into the big deep.

Hotel Maya Jade

Hotel

Hotel Maya Jade
Courtesy of Hotel Maya Jade / Expedia.com

Rooms and dorms in the main building, and the plusher and more spacious garden villas behind, are simple at Hotel Maya Jade – done up in brown tile and whitewash, with little more than a bed. But turtles nest on the beach right in front of the hotel, there’s a tiny pool and the hotel has a wealth of activities – from wakeboarding in the adjacent canal to surf classes and sports fishing.

Hotel Dos Mundos

Hotel

Hotel Dos Mundos
Courtesy of Hotel Dos Mundos / Expedia.com

Popular with weekend visitors from Guatemala City, Dos Mundos has a range of rooms (the largest big enough for families) in balcony-fronted palm-thatched villas gathered in an open-lawned garden. They’re stylish but simple affairs – in all white, with tiled floors and airy pitched roofs – but the hotel is right on the sand and has a big infinity pool and cocktail bar. Activities include mangrove tours, massages and turtle-release trips.

Playa Plana Hotel

Hotel

Playa Plana Hotel
Courtesy of Playa Plana Hotel / Expedia.com

This on-the-beach hotel, with a selection of swimming pools for all ages, is great for families. Most rooms are simple – in whites and sky-blues – so consider an upgrade to a Superior King suite for enough space for five and a large, shared living area. Adirondack chairs lining the shore and a beachfront restaurant grant you a front-row seat of the Pacific at all times.

Hotel Cayman Suites

Hotel

Hotel Cayman Suites
Courtesy of Hotel Cayman Suites / Expedia.com

With a huge pool, swim-up bar and a cavernous beachside restaurant, the Cayman are popular with families at weekends. Whitewashed rooms are simple and sparsely furnished, but they’re larger than nearby neighbors. And what the hotel lacks in intimacy, it makes up for in location (just a few minutes from Monterrico, right on the beach) and value. Tours to the mangroves and turtle-releasing trips are also on the menu.

Hotel El Delfin

Hotel

Hotel El Delfin
Courtesy of Hotel El Delfin / Booking.com

With dorm beds as cheap as a couple of caipirinhas, a busy bar, pool and ample party space, this beachside hostel is a backpackers’ favorite. Mixed dorms are cheerfully painted in rich marines. But for just a few dollars more, it’s worth upgrading to the doubles (with shared bathrooms). In keeping with the sociable style, there are hammocks for lazing, ping-pong and pool tables, beach and pool volleyball nets.

Marbella Eco Lodge

Hotel

Marbella Eco Lodge
Courtesy of Marbella Eco Lodge / Expedia.com

Low scale, low rise and low key, Marbella sits right on the quieter end of the beach, 1,640ft (500m) from downtown Monterrico. Double rooms and small dorms are set on the shore and in a small shady garden – all whitewashed and simply furnished; the best with balconies facing the sea – and there’s also a small beachside pool.

Café-Del-Sol Hotel

Hotel

Cafe-Del-Sol Hotel
Courtesy of Cafe-Del-Sol Hotel / Booking.com

Bustling with families, with a big pool and a swim-up bar, a paddling area for kids and beach palapas, Café del Sol is very popular with locals, especially at weekends. Accommodation is simple, but brightly-colored and adorned with art. The centrepiece is the beachside cafe, with its tables and chairs all angled towards the sea – especially welcome at sunset, cool drink in hand. The couple behind it run a social enterprise that invests in rural areas, so many staff are hired from local villages near Montericco.

Buri Hotel

Hotel

ezgif.com-gif-maker (2)
Courtesy of Buri Hotel / Booking.com

Painted in whites and ocean blues and with rooms splashed in Guatemalan indigenous textiles, the Buri sits on the edge of a palm grove, a mere minute from the sea. There’s a small pool (with a walled-off shallow area for kids) and a large rooftop sundeck. The staff are welcoming and there’s a decent on-site seafood restaurant.

landscape with balloons floating in the air

KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?

Connect with like-minded people on our premium trips curated by local insiders and with care for the world

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.

Winter Sale Offers on Our Trips

Incredible Savings

X
Edit article