Paraíso & Around

Introducing Paraíso & Around

Twenty kilometers north of Comalcalco, Paraíso is doing very nicely from the economic spin-offs of Pemex oil installations on the nearby coast at Dos Bocas, and is something of a recreation center for western Tabasco. Wide, sandy beaches front the warm, clean waters of the Gulf of Mexico north of town: Playa Varadero (7.5km from town), Playa El Paraíso (9km) and Balneario Palmar (10.5km) all have simple beach restaurants but only El Paraíso (where parking costs M$70) normally has midweek service.

At Puerto Ceiba, 6km northeast of Paraíso, the Parador Turístico Puerto Ceiba (5 de Febrero s/n; mains M$70-80; noon-7pm or later) is an enjoyable waterfront restaurant where you can take boat rides (up to 14 people M$300; 1¼hr; 10am-6pm) along the palm-lined Río Seco and into Laguna Mecoacán, with its mangroves and bird life. It’s also possible to rent kayaks here. Follow the Puente del Bellote bridge over the lagoon’s mouth and you’ll reach several more restaurants serving fresh seafood. The first, popular Restaurant La Posta (335-40-92; mains M$65-85; 9am-8pm), serves seafood on a deck right over Laguna Mecoacán, and offers more boat rides (M$100 for 20 minutes on the laguna, or hour-long mangrove trips for M$250, both for up to 10 people). The road continues, through several villages and over many, many topes (speed bumps), to Frontera, 75km east.

Westward from Paraíso, a wonderful road makes its way along the Barra de Tupilco, a palm-covered sandspit strung between the Gulf of Mexico and a succession of lagoons, all the way to scruffy Sánchez Magallanes, 80km from Paraíso. The spectacular trip passes an endless succession of palm-lined, sandy beaches, with ospreys, pelicans and frigate birds cruising overhead. Where stretches of road have been washed away by the sea, vehicles have to detour through the property of enterprising locals who charge unofficial tolls (adding up to about M$50).

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009